S5 Episode 15: Deep Sleep – Bound by the Cloak
Step inside one of the most disturbing chapters in modern psychiatry. In this episode, author and journalist Jon Stock joins us to discuss his book The Sleep Room: A Sadistic Psychiatrist and the Women Who Survived Him, an investigation into the shocking experiments of Dr. William Sargant in 1960s London.
Sargant’s so-called treatments—prolonged drug-induced sleep, electroconvulsive therapy, and other invasive procedures—left deep scars on the women subjected to them, many without their consent.
We also hear from Mary, a survivor of the Sleep Room, who shares her firsthand experience of life inside those locked hospital wards. Her story brings a haunting, personal dimension to Stock’s reporting, shedding light on the lasting impact of medical abuse and the courage it takes to speak out.
Photo by Hilary Stock
