S5 Episode 15: Deep Sleep

Step inside one of the most disturbing chapters in modern psychiatry. In this episode, author and journalist Jon Stock joins us to discuss his book The Sleep Room: A Sadistic Psychiatrist and the Women Who Survived Him, an investigation into the shocking experiments of Dr. William Sargant in 1960s London.

Sargant’s so-called treatments—prolonged drug-induced sleep, electroconvulsive therapy, and other invasive procedures—left deep scars on the women subjected to them, many without their consent.

We also hear from Mary, a survivor of the Sleep Room, who shares her firsthand experience of life inside those locked hospital wards. Her story brings a haunting, personal dimension to Stock’s reporting, shedding light on the lasting impact of medical abuse and the courage it takes to speak out.