New Season - Dr. Death: The Cowboy

Summary

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Podcast Summary: American History Tellers — New Season "Dr. Death: The Cowboy"

Episode Date: June 9, 2026
Host: Lindsay Graham (not the Senator)
Featured Clip: From Dr. Death: The Cowboy, hosted by Laura Beale
Main Theme:
This episode teases the launch of “Dr. Death: The Cowboy,” focusing on the dark true story of a charming but dangerously incompetent neurosurgeon in a Western town, and the shattered lives left in his wake. The segment explores how medical trust can be exploited, the struggle of patients and their families for justice, and the systemic failures that let harmful doctors operate unchecked.

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Overview

The episode introduces the chilling case of Dr. Schneider, a neurosurgeon who destroyed lives under the guise of confidence and care, earning the moniker “Cowboy” for his bold persona and cowboy boots in the OR. Through Christy’s firsthand account, listeners witness the trauma and confusion surviving family members endure as they untangle a web of medical harm and deception.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Betrayal of Trust in the Medical Profession

• [00:00] The podcast begins by reflecting on societal trust in doctors:

  "There are people you are told to trust, like lawyers, teachers, and especially doctors. But what happens when you put your life in someone's hands and they betray you?"
  - Narrator (A), 00:00

• The central question: who can you really trust with your health?

2. Christy’s Family Ordeal

• [01:01] Christy and her mother consult a new doctor, Dr. Nowadsky, after suffering failed surgeries performed by Dr. Schneider.

  • [01:16] Dr. Nowadsky’s devastating assessment:

    “We're going to have to do surgery. We just need to fix the fusions that never healed. None of them healed.”
    - Dr. Nowadsky (C), 01:16

  • [01:28] Christy's shock as she grapples with the truth about her mother’s injuries:

    “So my mom was walking around with a broken back all this time?”
    - Christy (C), 01:28

  • Dr. Nowadsky clarifies:

    “Yeah, none of it's healed.”
    - Dr. Nowadsky (C), 01:35

3. Fear & Second Opinions

• Christy’s dilemma:
  She's afraid Dr. Schneider was right in his warnings about intervention, fearing additional harm if another doctor touches her mother:

  “I asked him if this was going to paralyze my mom. I still believed that he was right. Dr. Schneider and anybody that touched her was going to paralyze her. There was nothing to be done.”
  - Christy (C), 02:25

• Dr. Nowadsky provides calm, clear reassurance:

  “He wasn't pushy at all. He said, think on it. Get back to me. Let me know what you think.”
  - Christy (C), 02:41

4. Confrontation with Dr. Schneider

• [03:25] Christy attempts to confront Dr. Schneider by phone, expressing anguish and demanding answers:

  “I told her I wanted to hear it from Schneider, that he lied to us all these years, that my mom had a broken back, that she was walking around with hardware that's not even connected to her bones. And I wanted to hear it from him, what his thoughts are.”
  - Christy (C), 03:25

5. Dr. Schneider’s Written Response and Intimidation

• [04:26] Dr. Schneider responds with a defensive and vaguely threatening letter, deflecting responsibility and casting doubt on Dr. Nowadsky:

  “I was aghast that your daughter would intimate and accuse myself or my staff of medical error or ignoring your needs. ... I am very concerned you chose Dr. Nowadsky for your second opinion and would encourage you to be very, very careful before believing or letting this doctor treat you.”
  - Letter from Dr. Schneider, paraphrased by Christy (B), 04:26

  • Christy reacts emotionally:

  “What an asshole. At that point, you think he doesn't want any other surgeon to see what he did to my mom inside her back.”
  - Christy (C), 05:08

6. Persisting Despite Fear

• Christy and her mother choose to proceed with Dr. Nowadsky, dismissing Dr. Schneider’s warnings. However, when a second letter arrives, Christy’s anxiety spikes:

  “I panicked. Completely panicked.”
  - Christy (C), 05:44

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On betrayal and trust in medicine:

  “What happens when you put your life in someone's hands and they betray you?”
  - Narrator (A), 00:00

• On the brutal truth of failed procedures:

  “None of the hardware has healed. None of it.”
  - Dr. Nowadsky (C), 01:16

• On emotional confrontation:

  “I was screaming on the phone, demanding him to get on the phone and talk to me and tell me what he thinks of this.”
  - Christy (C), 03:25

• On intimidation and gaslighting by doctors:

  “I am very concerned you chose Dr. Nowadsky for your second opinion and would encourage you to be very, very careful…”
  - Dr. Schneider, via letter (B), 04:26

• Raw, emotional aftermath:

  “What an asshole.”
  - Christy (C), 05:08

• Fear that lingers even as they move forward:

  “I panicked. Completely panicked.”
  - Christy (C), 05:44

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Important Timestamps

• 00:00: Introduction to the case and themes of medical trust/betrayal.
• 01:01: Scene with Christy, her mother, and Dr. Nowadsky—learning the full extent of earlier surgical failures.
• 02:25: Christy expresses fear, caught between uncertainty and worry for her mother's safety.
• 03:25: Christy’s emotional confrontation with Dr. Schneider’s office.
• 04:26: Dr. Schneider’s defensive and intimidating letter; Christy’s reaction.
• 05:44: Christy’s rising panic following a second, more ominous letter.

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Episode Takeaway

This episode powerfully illustrates the devastation wrought by one doctor's negligence—and the deep doubts and fears that haunt his patients even after he's out of the picture. It challenges listeners to consider how medical systems protect (or fail) the vulnerable, and to question whom we trust with our bodies and lives.

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Listen to the full season of "Dr. Death: The Cowboy" for the full story behind these haunting events.

Transcript

[A]

There are people you are told to trust, like lawyers, teachers, and especially doctors. But what happens when you put your life in someone's hands and they betray you? In an all new season of Dr. Death, host Laura Beale uncovers the story of a surgeon who took advantage of a broken system and the fight to bring him to justice. Dr. Death the Cowboy follows a charming neurosurgeon who rode into Western town selling a Persona of confidence and care. He wore cowboy boots in the operating room and became sought after by patients. He promised to heal them, to help them, but instead he left a trail of broken bodies. This is a story about a doctor who was never truly held accountable for ruining the lives of his patients. It's also a story of a fight for justice that will leave you questioning who to trust. You're about to hear a clip from Dr. Death a Cowboy listen to Dr. Death the Cowboy wherever you get your podcasts. Audible subscribers can binge all episodes of Dr. Death the Cowboy ad free right now. Start your Audible subscription in the Audible app or on Apple podcasts.

[B]

When they were called in, he sat at the edge of the exam table. He was in his 60s, tall and wiry, and he began to lay it out for them.

[C]

I would go over the films with

[B]

them and say, here's the problem. And then he told them what it meant.

[C]

We're going to have to do surgery. We just need to fix the fusions that never healed. None of them healed.

[B]

Christy was speechless, trying to take it all in.

[C]

I said, the first surgery from Dr. Schneider? He said, no, none of the hardware has healed. None of it. And I'm picturing it in my head, all these screws and bolts in my mom's back just floating around. And I asked him, I said, so my mom was walking around with a broken back all this time? He said, yeah, none of it's healed. My mom didn't say anything. She was just listening in shock.

[B]

Dr. Naradsky was clear that there were no magic fixes. The best he could do was to remove the hardware and fuse her spine for a third time.

[C]

My brain was just going in every which direction, like, do we trust this doctor? Does he know what he doing?

[B]

And there was one question in particular that was weighing on her mind. The thought that Dr. Schneider had planted in her head.

[C]

I asked him if this was going to paralyze my mom. I still believed that he was right. Dr. Schneider and anybody that touched her was going to paralyze her. There was nothing to be done.

[B]

Dr. Nowadsky told her that wouldn't happen.

[C]

He wasn't pushy at all. He said, think on it. Get back to me. Let me know what you think.

[B]

Christy walked out of Dr. Nowadsky's office, relieved. Finally, she'd found someone willing to take on one of Dr. Schneider's patients. But as she took her mom and her two toddlers back out of the building and into the parking lot, Christy could feel her emotions rising.

[C]

I got the kids and my mom in the truck and I walked around the parking lot so they wouldn't hear me.

[B]

She pulled out her cell phone and punched in the number for the office of Dr. Schneider.

[C]

I asked to speak to him. He wouldn't take the call. So I told the secretary to give him a message for me. I told her I wanted to hear it from Schneider, that he lied to us all these years, that my mom had a broken back, that she was walking around with hardware that's not even connected to her bones. And I wanted to hear it from him, what his thoughts are. Did he know all these years that my mom's fusion didn't heal? That he put her through so much pain and agony? And I remember a few of the people in the parking lot looking at me because I was screaming on the phone, demanding him to get on the phone and talk to me and tell me what he thinks of this. She just kept saying, he's too busy. He's with patients. He cannot come to the phone, but I'll be sure to tell him.

[B]

A week later, her mom got a letter. It was from Dr. Schneider. He wrote, I was aghast that your daughter would intimate and accuse myself or my staff of medical error or ignoring your needs. He went on with a warning for her. I am very concerned you chose Dr. Nowadsky for your second opinion and would encourage you to be very, very careful before believing or letting this doctor treat you. I would be happy to sit down with you and your family and review these issues. As she scanned through the words, Christy could only think one thing.

[C]

What an asshole. At that point, you think he's like, he doesn't want any other surgeon to see what he did to my mom inside her back.

[B]

So Christy and her mom did not take up Dr. Schneider's offer of a follow up appointment, nor did she pay any attention to his warnings about Dr. Naradsky. Instead, she moved ahead with her mom's surgery. But then, not long later, a second letter arrived in the mail with the warning that made her wonder what and who she was really dealing with.

[C]

I panicked. Completely panicked.

[A]

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