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Dr Ashely Alker 2-23-2026

February 23, 2026·10 min·1 clip

Emergency doctor Ashley Alker reveals 99 diseases you don't have to die from, using dark humor to make prevention captivating.

Host Mike Palm introduces Dr. Ashley Alker, an emergency medicine doctor and self-described 'death escapologist,' as a guest on The Morning Information Center. Dr. Alker's debut book, '99 Ways to Die and How to Avoid Them,' aims to provide a humorous yet informative guide to preventing deaths from 99 diseases. She explains that the book is written in short, captivating chapters to make nonfiction approachable for the general public, with the goal of saving lives through education. Dr. Alker discusses her personal use of dark humor to cope with death, stemming from losing her mother at a young age and her professional experiences. The book covers a wide range of topics, including infections, vaccine-preventable diseases, drugs, brain and heart diseases, sex, poisons, and foods that can be lethal. In the interview, Dr. Alker delves into the 'science of stupidity,' criticizing health influencers who misuse correlation to spread misinformation, such as false claims about vaccines. She contrasts correlation with causation, using the example of ice cream sales and shark attacks to illustrate flawed reasoning. Dr. Alker also addresses risk psychology, noting how people often underestimate everyday dangers while overestimating bizarre risks, like a climber scaling a tower in Japan. She emphasizes the importance of informed decision-making, such as avoiding brain-eating amoebas in hot springs by not submerging one's head. When asked about surprising causes of death, Dr. Alker highlights untreated strep throat, which can lead to scarlet fever or rheumatic fever, and water intoxication, which can cause brain swelling and seizures, citing cases like Brooke Shields and possibly Bruce Lee. She advises drinking water with electrolytes and getting strep throat treated. Dr. Alker reveals her side work as a technical consultant and medical screenwriter for TV shows on platforms like Netflix and HBO, where she helps ensure medical accuracy. She believes passive public health education through storytelling in media is effective, which influenced her book's fast-paced, story-based style. The episode concludes with Dr. Alker promoting her book as a darkly funny survival guide for those seeking to understand and avoid medical risks.

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