New Season - Dr. Death: The Cowboy

Summary

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Blood Will Tell – Special Clip: “Dr. Death: The Cowboy”

Podcast: Blood Will Tell (Crossover)
Host: Laura Beale (Dr. Death), Audible | Campside
Episode: New Season - Dr. Death: The Cowboy
Date: June 4, 2026

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Episode Overview

This clip presents a tense and emotional excerpt from the new season of Dr. Death: The Cowboy, a true crime investigation into the shocking malpractice of a charismatic neurosurgeon known for his reckless surgeries and self-assured cowboy persona. The story unpacks the devastating consequences for the patients he left in his wake, the struggle to hold him accountable, and the broader danger of misplaced trust in medical professionals. The segment follows a patient’s daughter grappling with the truth about her mother’s botched surgeries and the system that failed to protect them.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Broken Promise of Medical Care

• The series opens with host Laura Beale setting the premise: a neurosurgeon adored by patients ultimately inflicts harm due to negligence and deception.
  • Quote:
    "He wore cowboy boots in the operating room and became sought after by patients. He promised to heal them, to help them. Instead, he left a trail of broken bodies."
    — Laura Beale (00:19)

2. A Daughter’s Ordeal: Discovering the Truth

• The narrative zooms in on Christy, whose mother underwent multiple unsuccessful spinal surgeries with Dr. Schneider.

• A new doctor, Dr. Nowadsky, evaluates her mother and confirms none of the prior surgeries properly healed.

  • Quote:
    "Here's the problem. And then he told them what it meant."
    — Narration (01:20)
    "We just need to fix the fusions that never healed. None of them healed."
    — Dr. Nowadsky (01:25)

• Christy’s shock and horror become palpable as she realizes her mother has been living with a broken back all along.

  • Quote:
    "So my mom was walking around with a broken back all this time? He said, yeah, none of it's healed."
    — Christy (01:37)

3. Fear, Trust, and Medical Authority

• Christy struggles with fear, internalized from Dr. Schneider’s warnings, that any corrective surgery could paralyze her mother.

  • Quote:
    "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 (02:38)

• Dr. Nowadsky offers reassurance—not pressure—and allows the family time to decide.

  • Quote:
    "He wasn't pushy at all. He said, think on it. Get back to me. Let me know what you think."
    — Christy (02:50)

4. Confronting the Past: Seeking Accountability

• Overwhelmed, Christy calls Dr. Schneider’s office demanding answers and accountability, only to be stonewalled.
  • Quote:
    "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 … 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 (03:34)

5. Denial and Threats from Dr. Schneider

• Dr. Schneider responds not directly, but with a letter denying wrongdoing and subtly warning against the new doctor.

  • Quote:
    "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 (04:35)

• Christy’s reaction is sharp and decisive:

  • Quote:
    "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."
    — Christy (05:17)

6. Facing Uncertainty and Fear

• The family moves forward with corrective surgery, but another ominous letter from Dr. Schneider sparks new panic.
  • Quote:
    "I panicked. Completely panicked."
    — Christy (05:53)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “None of the hardware has healed. None of it.” (Dr. Nowadsky, 01:25)
  Shocking confirmation of surgical failure.
• "I told her I wanted to hear it from Schneider, that he lied to us all these years..." (Christy, 03:34)
  A raw confrontation fueled by years of betrayal.
• "I was aghast that your daughter would intimate and accuse myself or my staff of medical error..." (Dr. Schneider's letter, 04:35)
  The doctor's defensive and unsettling response.
• “What an asshole.” (Christy, 05:17)
  Emotional reaction, underscoring the level of personal betrayal.

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:00 – Host Laura Beale introduces the true crime premise and theme of betrayal in medicine.
• 01:10 – Christy and her mother meet Dr. Nowadsky for a second opinion.
• 01:25 – Dr. Nowadsky reveals prior surgeries’ failures.
• 02:24 – Christy questions whether to trust a new doctor.
• 03:19 – Christy, overwhelmed, leaves a furious message for Dr. Schneider.
• 04:35 – Dr. Schneider’s accusatory and warning letter arrives.
• 05:53 – Second, more menacing letter arrives, sparking panic.

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Tone and Language

The segment is told in vivid, emotion-filled detail, mixing first-person accounts (Christy), narrative recap, and the chilling neutrality of institutional responses. The tone emphasizes powerlessness, anger, and the courage it takes to challenge authority.

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Conclusion

This preview from Dr. Death: The Cowboy lays bare the personal devastation wrought by one doctor’s unchecked hubris and foreshadows a season rich in tension, ethical dilemmas, and the pursuit of justice. It powerfully frames a universal question: Who do you trust when your life—or the life of a loved one—is on the line?

Transcript

[A]

Hi, I'm the host of Dr. Death, Laura Beale. In an all new season, I dig into the story of a surgeon who took advantage of a broken system and the fight to bring him to justice. There are people you're told to trust. Lawyers, teachers, especially doctors. But what happens when you put your life in someone's hands and they betray you? Dr. Death the Cowboy is the story of a charming neurosurgeon who rode into western towns 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. Instead, he left a trail of broken bodies. This season is about a doctor who's never truly been held accountable for the patients whose lives he ruined. And a story of greed, betrayal, and a fight for justice that will leave you questioning who to trust. We're about to play a clip from Dr. Death the 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. I would go over the films with 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. Nowadsky 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's 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.

[D]

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, Kristi 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, 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. Nowadsky. 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]

Binge all seasons of Dr. Death the Cowboy ad free right now on Audible. Start your Audible subscription in the Audible app or on Apple Podcasts.