Headline Or Hoax? with Dr Tommy and Tara Brown

Two headlines hit the board, and only one can be real. One claims cracking your knuckles builds extra bones over time. The other claims a man’s hands ooze yellowish cholesterol nodules after living on an extreme meat, cheese, and butter diet. We make our picks, talk through why certain health myths stick, and then reveal the truth behind the grossest story of the day. 

From there, we get surprisingly practical about the science: what that knuckle “pop” likely is, why joint noise doesn’t automatically equal damage, and why visible cholesterol deposits can be more than a weird headline. We also talk about the uncomfortable question the story raises: if cholesterol is high enough to show up on your skin, what might be happening in your arteries? It’s part medical comedy podcast, part myth-busting, and part reminder to take real warning signs seriously. 

Then we fully commit to the bit and scrub in. Caps, gloves, an N95-style mask confusion, and a surgical “timeout” lead into the Dr. Ben Buzz Battle, where we put comedian Tara Brown on the clock with a 60-second surgery challenge while Dr. Tommy and Dr Ben comment on every focused move. 

If you like funny health conversations, medical myths, cholesterol education, and a behind-the-scenes feel for why real surgery takes skill, hit play. Subscribe, share this with a friend who loves wild health headlines, and leave a review. Which headline would you have believed first?

THANKS TO OUR GUESTS:

Dr Tommy: LinkedIn: tommytranmd IG @tommytranmd,  www.tommytranmd.com

Dr Tommy jumps out of plane for patient:

https://www.newschannel5.com/news/i-will-jump-for-you-burn-survivor-gets-his-doctor-to-go-skydiving

Tara Brown: IG/TT @tarabrowncomedy, X @TaraBrownComedy, FB/YT Tara Brown Comedy, www.tarabrowncomedy.com

Tara’s TEDx The Laughter Assignment:

https://youtu.be/Fjy2eQF7kcs?si=L5usforWt12v0V8B

Subscribe wherever you listen, share this with a friend and leave a review so more people can find honest conversations about weight loss, health, and a little comedy along the way.

This episode was produced by Angie Debelak with post-production editing by Ben Hill Sound.

Thanks for listening to Dr Ben and Friends.  Laughter is the best medicine...unless you're treating bowel or bladder incontinence.  See you next time!

Team Dr Ben

The Needles Group
Experience elevated coastal living in Marco Island & Naples. Connect with The Needles Group today!

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Transcript

Welcome To Headline Or Hoax

Dr Ben, Dr Tommy, Tara Brown 0:05

Dr. Ben. Okay, listener, Dr. Ben here. We appreciate listening from your car, your office, your home, wherever you may be. Now it's time for Headline or Hoax with Dr. Ben. Our pro comic and our healthcare hero each have a dryer race board. They're going to guess with you which headline is real. One's a real headline, one's a hoax. Alright. So, listener, are you ready? Miss Tara Brown. Let's do it. I'm ready. Dr. Tommy? I'm always ready. Alright. Listener, you decide which one is headline or hoax. Okay, let's scrub in for this

Two Wild Health Headlines

Dr Ben 0:48

one. Headline number one. Cracking your knuckles builds extra bones over time. Cracking your knuckles builds extra bones over time. That's headline one. Headline two is man's hands ooze yellowish cholesterol nodules from extreme meat cheese butter diet. Man's hands ooze yellowish cholesterol nodules from extreme meat, cheese, butter diet.

Tara Brown 1:16

Can we have three for gross?

Dr Ben and Tara Brown 1:20

Which one do you think is the real headline? Cracking your knuckles. Cracking your knuckles will build extra bones over time. Do you think you'll get extra bones from cracking your knuckles repeatedly? Are you a knuckle cracker?

Tara Brown 1:35

I haven't cracked my knuckles in a while.

Dr Tommy 1:36

This is a news headline, right? I know. Okay. Alright.

Tara Brown 1:39

Tell me when we're ready.

Dr Ben, Dr Tommy, Tara Brown 1:41

Okay. I'm ready. Think carefully, deliberately. Okay. Alright, you guys. Yeah, let's do a reveal here. Three, two, one. Ah, they both guessed. Both guessed number two. Show the camera. They both guessed number two that a man's hands ooze yellowish cholesterol nodules from extreme meat cheese butter diet. Why did you guys pick number two? Because it's sensationalized.

Tara Brown 2:06

That's what I'm thinking. I think it's so ridiculous that it has to be true. Is it true?

Dr Ben 2:11

Yes,

The Reveal And The Gross Truth

Dr Ben 2:12

you are both correct. Number two is the headline.

Tara Brown 2:15

I would think that cracking your knuckles will weaken it as opposed to buttoning it.

Dr Ben and Dr Tommy 2:20

Pick number one that maybe you get some osteophyte or bone spur formation from cracking. Um it just uh whatchamacallit? Um releases air bubbles.

Tara Brown 2:30

Ah, is that what it does? Yeah.

Dr Ben, Dr Tommy, Tara Brown 2:32

I haven't been in aircraft, but yeah, there was a Florida man who developed butter-handed nodules from sky high cholesterol, literally seeping out fat deposits from his hands.

Tara Brown 2:43

Has he not had a heart attack yet?

Dr Ben 2:45

You could think maybe he has.

Tara Brown 2:47

I was like, maybe the heart attack might have been the same.

Dr Ben and Tara Brown 2:49

Of course, it's a Florida man. It's like that game you play, Florida Man, where you Google Florida Man and a date and you come up with some crazy headlines. All right, listener, did you get number two? The butter. Do you think they call him butterfingers? Butterfingers. He probably wasn't very good at football. Basketball. Okay. All right, listener. Did you get it? Okay, thank you.

Decompressing With Dr. Ben And Friends

Dr Ben 3:17

All right, folks, Dr. Ben here. We love our games. We're serious all day long. When you're with Dr. Ben and Friends, you have to decompress. Whether it's at my stand-up shows or on the podcast, Dr. Tommy. We have uh Dr. Tara as help us all the ground.

Tara Brown 3:34

Lord help us all.

Dr Ben 3:34

Surgeon. All right, Dr. Tommy, if you would help her with a surgical cap, gloves, mask. Wow. In surgery, you can either wear a buffant cap or a paper surgeon's cap.

Tara Brown 3:47

This is what they call the buffant capon cap. Thank you. My hair stylist thanks you for the buffant cap.

Dr Ben and Tara Brown 3:53

Oh, looking good. Looking good. And we got gloves to keep the patient sterile, gloves. Are these sterile mask?

Dr Tommy 4:00

Oh, this is a mask.

Dr Ben 4:02

This is a mask.

Tara Brown 4:03

I haven't seen one of these in a while.

Dr Ben 4:04

So that we're not uh dropping junior mint into the patient.

Tara Brown 4:07

Is this I-95? What did it say? I95. Yeah. N95? I-95 is interstate. It's interstate. This is why I probably should not be performing surgery.

Dr Ben and Tara Brown 4:17

Have you ever thought of uh being a surgeon? Not at all. Okay.

Tara Brown 4:20

Okay, wait. This doesn't go over my head thing. I mean my ear thing.

Dr Ben 4:23

Okay.

Tara Brown 4:24

Wait.

Dr Ben 4:24

Yeah, we'll uh help get the mask out here.

Tara Brown 4:27

Okay, how we do that?

Dr Ben 4:28

Okay, there you go.

Tara Brown 4:30

Is that right?

Dr Tommy 4:30

Is that all right?

Dr Ben, Dr Tommy, Tara Brown 4:31

No, it's not gonna stay. Okay, wait, here's what we do. Take off the head. Okay, here we go. There you go.

Dr Ben 4:36

This is the best.

Tara Brown 4:37

People don't get me to do your surgery. I can't even put the mask on.

Dr Ben 4:40

Well, yeah, that's a tricky mask.

Mask Mix-Up And Glove Tutorial

Dr Ben and Tara Brown 4:42

Okay, hold on. And we may forego the mask on this one if we need to. I'm a mess. Okay. Okay. There we go. There we go. We got a mask.

Tara Brown 4:50

We got a mask.

Dr Ben 4:52

All right.

Tara Brown 4:52

Okay, hold on. We got the buffant. Wait, let's do the buffant.

Dr Ben 4:55

The buffant cap.

Tara Brown 4:57

Yeah. Okay.

Dr Ben 4:58

The hair doesn't fall into the patient. All right.

Tara Brown 5:00

All right.

Dr Ben 5:01

We're going to glove you up here.

Tara Brown 5:02

All right.

Dr Ben 5:03

Get the gloves for surgery.

Tara Brown 5:05

These look like the gloves I wear when I'm eating seafood. Okay.

Dr Ben and Tara Brown 5:09

So yes.

Tara Brown 5:11

There we go. Okay. One finger in each thing, Tara. One finger in each. Otherwise, it becomes a different show. Okay.

Dr Ben 5:18

And then Dr. Tara is going to have 60 seconds.

Dr Ben and Tara Brown 5:21

Can I not wash my hands? I see that on ER. Yes. When they do this, and they come in like this. I always wanted to come in like that.

Dr Ben 5:27

Scrub in.

Tara Brown 5:29

Am I scrubbed in?

Dr Ben 5:30

The Dr. Ben Buzz Battle. Now I'm going to don't start yet. Okay. I'm going to start the timer, and then you're going to have 60 seconds to remove as many ailments as you can. If you hear a buzz, move on to the next one. Okay. And we'll see how many you can help. And then we have some commentators, two surgeons, critiquing your surgical skill.

Tara Brown 5:56

I would like to say my guy he looks really sick.

Buzz Battle Rules And Surgical Timeout

Dr Ben 5:58

Yes. And so before each surgery, we have to do what's called a timeout. We have to form a timeout, make sure we have the correct patient and surgeon and procedure. So timeout. This is uh Cavity Sam here. He's here to have 12 ailments removed by Dr. Tara Brown.

Tara Brown 6:12

Okay, can I talk to Cavity Sam? Cavity Sam. This is my first time. I hope it works out for you. I hope you got your living will in order. If it doesn't, I'm sorry. Okay.

Speaker 6:24

That instills confidence.

Dr Ben and Tara Brown 6:25

Okay. So all right.

Dr Ben 6:27

Anesthesia has put him to sleep. We're going to start the timer at 60 seconds and see how many out of uh the 12 you can help him with, okay? Okay, let's see. Are you ready, Dr. Tara?

Tara Brown 6:36

I am.

Dr Tommy 6:37

All right. All right, time

Operating On Cavity Sam Under Pressure

Dr Tommy 6:39

in.

Speaker 1 6:39

Okay.

Dr Ben 6:41

Here we go, folks. She's gonna help him.

Dr Tommy and Tara Brown 6:44

I'm gonna start with the looking very confident.

Dr Ben and Dr Tommy 6:47

Oh, it buzzed.

Tara Brown 6:49

Okay. It's okay.

Dr Ben 6:52

She's going on to the various ailments.

Tara Brown 6:54

He got another foot.

Dr Tommy 6:55

He's going on to the left foot here.

Dr Ben, Dr Tommy, Tara Brown 6:56

Right toe is I've just made him a little bit of a little bit of a little bit. I think you got enough on the wrong foot.

Dr Tommy 7:04

Okay. Right hand.

Dr Ben 7:07

Don't worry.

Dr Ben and Dr Tommy 7:08

It's this hard. It's not easy. And plus we're all critiquing him and watching, so.

Dr Ben, Dr Tommy, Tara Brown 7:12

Uh-oh. Okay. Left hand. Almost got it. You got this, you got this. You got the little little moving on. Where's an easier one? Oh, teddy bear. It's a teddy bear, it's a teddy. Butterflies in the stomach. More purple falls. She's going after the butterflies.

Dr Ben 7:29

More propofol.

Tara Brown 7:30

This poor guy is so dead. Okay. Is there anything left again? Okay. Okay, wait.

What Went Wrong And Final Laughs

Dr Ben, Dr Tommy, Tara Brown 7:37

Alright, and that's the wrap. Alright, she got two. No, no, no, but that one.

Tara Brown 7:41

Oh god, Sam. I'm sorry.

Dr Ben and Dr Tommy 7:44

The patient was moving, it's Anesthesia's fault. It's my fault.

Tara Brown 7:48

It back defense. I warned cavity Sam this would happen.

Dr Ben 7:51

We we blame Anesthesia.

Tara Brown 7:53

I told him I would kill him.

Dr Ben 7:56

Alright, doctor.

Dr Ben and Tara Brown 7:57

I'm nothing if I'm not sure about word. Oh my gosh. Listen, this is harder than it looks. Kudos. Surgery is harder than it looks. No one thinks you can do this at home. Looks like comedy and surgery. Harder than it looks.

Dr Ben 8:11

I love it. I love it. You're right. Comedy and surgery, harder than it looks. The tagline of the day.

Tara Brown 8:16

That was uh sorry, cavity, Sam.

Dr Ben 8:18

Kids, don't try this at home. Thank you, Dr. Brown.

Tara Brown 8:21

Okay. That was fun.

Dr Ben 8:23

All right.

Speaker 1 8:24

That was fun. Doctor Ben and Friend.