D is for Digitalis

The Monday Night Revue · Jun 8, 2026 · 20m

In this episode, I explore the dark and fascinating history of digitalis, the powerful toxin derived from the foxglove plant. For centuries, foxglove has been admired for its beauty, growing wild across the British countryside and in cottage gardens, but hidden within its distinctive purple flowers is a substance capable of disrupting the human heart and causing death.From its discovery as a revolutionary heart medication to its reputation as the perfect murder weapon, digitalis occupies a unique place in both medical history and true crime. I examine how the poison works, why it became so…