Beyond Impaired: True Stories of Blackout Drunks – Ep. 11

“Dr. X” drinks a glass of wine with dinner, performs emergency surgery that night, and remembers nothing the next day? It happened, and (spoiler alert!) the patient knew nothing. 

We talk often on the Escape Pod about how the brain is a funny thing. The doctor’s experience is just one of several true tales of people going beyond a state of impairment to “blackout” mode. They might seem perfectly normal, but – in fact – their brains are in a totally different state. In one case, a man uses his blackout drunkeness as an excuse for killing his boss. Does that defense fly in the courtroom? Find out in this episode of The Escape Pod! 

 

Bullet Points of Key Topics and Markers: 

• Topic #1   1:25 “Passing out” vs. “blacking out” 
• Topic #2 10:49 Dr. X doesn’t remember performing surgery  
• Topic #3 18:30 18-year-old girl blacks out in foreign country; surveillance cameras show her becoming the victim of a violent crime 
• Topic #4 26:35 2013: Man charged with beating boss to death; doesn’t remember anything 
• Topic #5 30:10 Escape Pod co-host meets a perfect stranger who knows way too much about her – details she apparently shared herself on a night involving a lot of “liquid courage” 

 

Resources & Links 

https://www.thesun.co.uk/fabulous/9424753/cider-teen-blackouts-hospital-drinking/  

https://www.augustachronicle.com/story/news/2020/11/11/blackout-wednesday-is-deadly-night-for-teens/114860816/  

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/healing-addiction/202203/true-story-alcohol-blackout  

https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/blackout-drunk-defense-used-in-murder-trial-over-architects-death/71964/#:~:text=The%20defense%20for%20a%20man,he%20was%20%E2%80%9Cblackout%20drunk.%E2%80%9D  

https://www.rehabcenter.net/blacked-out-a-story-you-wont-remember/ 

https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/higinio-salgado-man-sentenced-to-15-years-for-murder-of-architect/67093/ 

 

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