The Retrievals

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The Retrievals
Presentation
Hosted bySusan Burton
Genre
  • Investigative journalism
  • Serialized audio narrative
LanguageEnglish
Length3h 51m
Production
Production
  • Susan Burton
  • Laura Starecheski
Editing
  • Laura Starecheski
  • Julie Snyder
Theme music composed byCarla Pallone
Audio formatPodcast (via streaming or downloadable MP3)
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes9
Publication
Original releaseJune 22, 2023 (2023-06-22)
Related
WebsiteLink to NYT Podcast

The Retrievals is a podcast by Serial Productions and The New York Times and hosted by Susan Burton.

History

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The podcast is produced by Serial Productions and The New York Times.[1] The show debuted on June 29, 2023.[2] The podcast is a five episode show hosted by Susan Burton.[3] The podcast focuses on how female patients are treated in contemporary medicine.[4] A nurse at the Yale Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Clinic was switching out fentanyl-based painkillers for saline.[5] The nurse had switched out 175 vials.[6] The show interviews Laura Czar who underwent a procedure where she was given the saline instead of the painkillers.[7] The show includes interviews with dozens of women who were impacted.[8]

Season 2, of The Retrievals, subtitled The C-Sections, was released on July 10, 2025.[9] This season focused on women who were not listened to when they said they were in pain during childbirth.[10] Episode 1 interviews Clara, a labor and delivery nurse in Chicago who experienced traumatizing pain while giving birth in her own workplace. Episode 2 follows Clara and her friend and co-worker Heather, a medical photographer who is motivated to make a speech about Clara's experiences to a medical conference. In Episode 3, the show interviews Susanna, a traumatized patient in England who conducts her own medical research and gets published in medical journals.[11]

Content

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The first two episodes of Season 2 are available on traditional podcast distributors. The third and fourth episodes were available for New York Times subscribers only. The first episode was released as an episode of This American Life.[12]

Reception

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The series was named the best podcast of 2023 by Nicholas Quah at Vulture[13] and Eliana Dockterman at Time Magazine.[14]

Awards

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Award Date Category Result Ref.
Peabody Awards 2023 Podcast & Radio Won [15]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "3 Podcasts to Listen to in July". Podcast Review. July 5, 2023. Archived from the original on July 7, 2023. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
  2. ^ IV, Daniel Figueroa (June 30, 2023). "'How could this happen at Yale?': Serial podcast features women whose pain meds were swapped at fertility clinic". CT Insider. Archived from the original on July 8, 2023. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
  3. ^ "The Retrievals podcast explores 'living nightmare' at Yale fertility clinic – Rodina News". July 3, 2023. Archived from the original on July 19, 2023. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
  4. ^ Sawyer, Miranda (July 8, 2023). "The week in audio: Into the Dirt; The Retrievals; Taste; Walt Disney: A Life in Films – review". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on July 10, 2023. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
  5. ^ Gupta, Neksha (July 9, 2023). "Donna Monticone Controversy and Scandal: Yale Fentanyl Clinic Lawsuit Explained". PKB News. Archived from the original on July 4, 2023. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
  6. ^ Brown, Natalie. "New podcast The Retrievals explores 'living nightmare' at Yale fertility clinic". news. Archived from the original on July 3, 2023. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
  7. ^ IV, Daniel Figueroa (June 30, 2023). "'How could this happen at Yale?': Serial podcast features women whose pain meds were swapped at fertility clinic". New Haven Register. Archived from the original on July 5, 2023. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
  8. ^ Sturges, Fiona (July 10, 2023). "Women denied pain relief tell their stories in podcast The Retrievals — review". Financial Times. Archived from the original on July 11, 2023. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
  9. ^ Burton, Susan (July 10, 2025). "'The Retrievals' Season 2 Is Out Now". The New York Times. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
  10. ^ Sawyer, Miranda (July 11, 2025). "The Retrievals is disturbing but essential listening". The Observer. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
  11. ^ Koenig, Sarah (August 7, 2025). "Listen to All Our Episodes of 'The Retrievals'". The New York Times. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
  12. ^ "Chicago Hope". This American Life. July 11, 2025. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
  13. ^ Quah, Nicholas (December 7, 2023). "The Best Podcasts of 2023 Despite a tough year for the industry, the podcast world remains vast in its pleasures". Vulture.
  14. ^ Dockterman, Eliana (November 22, 2023). "The 10 Best Podcasts of 2023". Time Magazine.
  15. ^ "84th Annual Peabody Award Winners Announced". The Peabody Awards. May 8, 2024. Retrieved January 24, 2025.
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