We think we know famous lives.

We know the performances, the achievements, the headlines. We know how their stories ended - or so we think.

Behind the Diagnosis: Famous Lives, Untold reveals the medical stories hidden beneath the public personas of people the world thought it understood.

Each episode tells the story of a well-known life without revealing the name, focusing instead on the illness, injury, misdiagnosis, or medical turning point that quietly shaped their path. Along the way, we explore how medicine - sometimes its breakthroughs, sometimes its blind spots - intersected with fame, timing, and the human body.

These are not gossip stories.

They are not autopsies of celebrity.

They are deeply human narratives about vulnerability, missed warning signs, medical change, and the moments when a diagnosis altered everything - for one person, and sometimes for medicine itself.

The name always comes at the end.

Because it's not just about who they were.

It's about what their body was trying to tell us.

Behind the Diagnosis: Famous Lives, Untold

The life you knew - until the diagnosis.

Hosted by Zoey Michaels, author and podcaster of The Molten Truth

Behind the Diagnosis: Famous Lives, Untold tells the medical stories hidden beneath the public lives of people the world thought it knew. Each episode withholds the name until the end, focusing instead on the diagnosis that changed everything. The life you knew - until the diagnosis.

This series is inspired by the storytelling tradition popularized by Paul Harvey, whose respect for listeners and belief in the power of patience shaped Generations of radio.

Behind the Diagnosis is an independent production, created in admiration of that legacy and grounded in documented medical history and publicly available sources.

We think we know famous lives.

We know the performances, the achievements, the headlines. We know how their stories ended - or so we think.

Behind the Diagnosis: Famous Lives, Untold reveals the medical stories hidden beneath the public personas of people the world thought it understood.

Each episode tells the story of a well-known life without revealing the name, focusing instead on the illness, injury, misdiagnosis, or medical turning point that quietly shaped their path. Along the way, we explore how medicine - sometimes its breakthroughs, sometimes its blind spots - intersected with fame, timing, and the human body.

These are not gossip stories. They are not autopsies of celebrity.

They are deeply human narratives about vulnerability, missed warning signs, medical change, and the moments when a diagnosis altered everything - for one person, and sometimes for medicine itself.

The name always comes at the end.

Because it's not just about who they were.

It's about what their body was trying to tell us.

Behind the Diagnosis: Famous Lives Untold

The life you knew - until the diagnosis.

The conversation explores the theme of joy, with a focus on family, dogs, and the joy of creating stories. It also delves into the desire to write full-time.

Takeaways

• Joy in family and dogs
• Creating stories brings joy
• Desire to write full-time

Chapters

• 00:00 The Joy of Creation

Holly initially wrote the story as a nonfiction narrative, but later decided to write it from the perspective of her dog. She created a protagonist named Renly and included perspectives from other dogs in the book. The birthing of the book was unexpected for her.

Takeaways

• Narrative perspective shift
• Unexpected journey

Chapters

• 00:00 Narrative Perspective Shift

The conversation explores the resurgence of analog activities and the potential comeback of postcards and letter writing, especially among younger generations. The discussion highlights the appeal of postcards as a short and sweet form of communication, as well as the shift towards hobbies that involve hands-on activities like knitting.

Takeaways

• Analog resurgence
• Postcards and letter writing

Chapters

• 00:00 Analog Resurgence and Postcards

The conversation covers the resurgence of knitting as a hobby during COVID and the younger generation's embrace of hobbies like knitting, embroidery, and crochet. Holly shares her interest in creating a knitting podcast and discusses the historical perception of knitting as an older person's hobby.

Takeaways

• Knitting experienced a resurgence during COVID.
• Younger generations are embracing hobbies like knitting, embroidery, and crochet.

Chapters

• 00:00 Embracing Hobbies in the Younger Generation

The conversation delves into the emotional connection with pets and the use of poetry to understand and express their experiences. Holly shares a poignant moment with her pet and how it inspired her to write poetry from the pet's perspective, seeking to understand and improve its life.

Takeaways

• Understanding pets through poetry
• The emotional connection with pets

Chapters

• 00:00 The Voice of the Pet