Surgeons across the country race to transplant the human heart. The stakes are unimaginably high, rivalries turn vicious, and the first surgeon to cross the finish line shocks the world.

Presented by: Chris Pine
Written and Narrated by: Jamie Napoli

Executive Producers: Cristina Everett for iHeartPodcasts; Dub Cornett and Jason Ross for OSO Studios; Gerald Imber; Eric A. Rose, M.D.; John Mankiewicz; Joshua Paul Johnson; and Jamie Napoli

Supervising Producer: James A. Smith

Editing and Sound Design by: Joshua Paul Johnson

Composer: David Mansfield Cover Artwork by: Alexander Smith

Production Companies: iHeartPodcasts, OSO Studios, and 13th Lake Media

Production Legal Services: Jacqueline Eckhouse & Mel Pudig, Sloss Eckhouse Dasti Haynes LawCo; and Lincoln Bandlow, Lincoln Bandlow Law

Additional Archival Materials Courtesy of: "The Dick Cavett Show" (ABC 1970); "Nova" (WGBH Boston & PBS 1988 & 1999); "The Vision of Perseus: Norman Shumway" (Stanford University Libraries 1993); Vanderbilt University; American Academy of Achievement; US National Archives; John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston; SABC News; BBC Archive; "A Tribute to Professor Barnard" (Netcare 2017); "Barnard: Straight from the Heart" (Electric Sky and Alexander Street 2013); BBC; and the McGovern Historical Center of the Texas Medical Center Library

Additional Music & Stock Media Provided by: "Dokter Bernard" by Bonnie St. Claire, adapted from "Sister Mary" by Joe Dolan, written by Peter Koelewijn, Peter Yellowstone and Roberto Danova, label: Phillips; Publishers: Red Bus Music, Dayglow-Tripper, 1976; eitanepsteinmusic / Pond5; Music Bed; Premium Beat; Artlist; APM; and Envato Market

This podcast was recorded under a SAG-AFTRA collective bargaining agreement.

For more information on the history of open heart surgery, check out Dr. Gerald Imber's book "CARDIAC COWBOYS: The Heroic invention of Heart Surgery."

Copyright 2025, TTB, LLC. All rights reserved.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Introducing: Cardiac Cowboys

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Cardiac Cowboys