Hot Mics with Billy Bush

With closing arguments underway in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial, Billy asks Dr. Drew the question now facing the jury: Was Lindsay criminally responsible for killing her three children, or was she experiencing a temporary psychotic episode that left her unable to understand the wrongfulness of what she was doing?
Dr. Drew draws on more than 30 years working in a psychiatric hospital and says the postpartum psychosis cases he encountered were among the most severely psychotic patients he ever treated. He explains the phenomenon of “altruistic filicide,” the critical difference between medical and legal definitions of insanity, and why Lindsay’s reported 18-to-20-minute window of psychosis strikes him as unusual.
The conversation then turns to Lindsay’s treatment.
Dr. Drew examines her complicated medication history, the role of telehealth, the possibility of medication-related symptoms and what he sees as a fundamental problem with American medicine: the disappearance of a primary-care “quarterback” capable of coordinating a patient’s treatment across multiple doctors, hospitals and prescriptions.
Billy and Dr. Drew also debate what justice should look like for Lindsay and whether this case could become a catalyst for a much larger examination of postpartum psychosis, maternal mental health and psychiatric care in America.
Then, the conversation turns to the sudden death of Hayden Panettiere at 36.
Billy, who knew and interviewed Hayden throughout his years in entertainment television, asks Dr. Drew to examine her history through the lens of addiction: postpartum depression, alcohol and substance abuse, treatment and relapse, the loss of custody of her daughter, and her tumultuous relationship with Brian Hickerson.
Dr. Drew explains why medical treatment and relationships can become two enormous relapse risks for someone in recovery and discusses why addiction requires sustained treatment rather than a short-term trip to rehab.
The discussion expands to two other famous men and their very different experiences with sobriety: Charlie Sheen, now eight years sober, and Brad Pitt, who has recently spoken publicly about drinking again. Dr. Drew explains why he considers addiction a progressive disease and why someone who has achieved years of sobriety may still face enormous risk by attempting to drink again.
Finally, Billy asks Dr. Drew what parents should be watching for in their own children — from pornography and social-media addiction to increasingly potent marijuana products and the mental-health consequences he says physicians are seeing.
A candid, provocative conversation about mental illness, addiction, responsibility, recovery and the medical system with one of the most recognizable addiction specialists in America.
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Following the death of Dolly Parton at age 80, Billy sits down for a deeply personal conversation with Dr. John Grossman, the legendary plastic surgeon who worked with Dolly for decades — and, more importantly, became her close friend over a relationship spanning nearly 50 years.
Grossman first met Dolly when she was in her 30s. What began as a doctor-patient relationship developed into a friendship that gave him a rare glimpse of the woman behind one of the most recognizable personalities in entertainment.
And according to Grossman, the Dolly Parton the world fell in love with was exactly who she really was.
He remembers her extraordinary sense of humor, humility, honesty and Southern hospitality. He recalls visiting Dolly at her Beverly Hills home, where she would insist on making him coffee, and describes a woman who never behaved like a celebrity despite becoming one of the biggest stars in the world.
Grossman also shares a remarkable story from 1995. Before discussing their doctor-patient relationship and cosmetic procedures in her book, Dolly made a special appointment with him for one reason: to ask his permission to use his name.
After decades of treating famous patients, Grossman says no other celebrity had ever extended him that courtesy.
The conversation also explores Dolly's fiercely protected privacy, her devotion to her husband of nearly 60 years, Carl Dean, and why Grossman continues to protect the confidential medical information entrusted to him during their decades together.
Billy and Grossman reflect on Dolly's journey from a poor childhood in Tennessee to becoming the best-selling female country artist of all time — and why her death feels like the loss of something much bigger than a music legend.
For Grossman, there simply aren't enough superlatives to describe the woman he knew.
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The Lindsay Clancy trial is nearing closing arguments, but a controversy outside the testimony has suddenly become one of the biggest stories surrounding the courtroom.
Billy Bush addresses the firestorm involving freelance journalist Brittany Romano, who was captured by the courtroom camera smiling and winking during the proceedings. After the brief clip spread online, Romano faced intense criticism and disturbing threats — while Vanity Fair announced it would no longer move forward with a potential essay from her and revoked her credentials.
What many people reacting to the video didn't know: Romano grew up near Lindsay Clancy, knew the Musgrove family and has her own deeply personal connection to mental health.
Billy reads Romano’s powerful response and explains why her experience with public shaming hits particularly close to home.
Then, Kevin Reddington prepares for his final cross-examination as the prosecution calls its last rebuttal witness in the Lindsay Clancy case.
Billy examines what may be one of Reddington’s most important arguments: if memories created during psychosis can be unreliable, can prosecutors rely upon Lindsay’s own recollections and alleged admissions about the deaths of her children?
The prosecution’s Dr. Gregory Sadoff presents a formidable counterargument, challenging Lindsay’s account of the command hallucination she says told her to kill her children and herself. Sadoff points to inconsistencies, timing and the specific actions Lindsay allegedly took as evidence that she remained in control.
With testimony ending and closing arguments next, the central question remains: Was Lindsay Clancy criminally responsible, or was she suffering from postpartum psychosis?
Also today, new developments surrounding Hayden Panettiere and Brian Hickerson. Hayden’s representative responds publicly to speculation surrounding her death as Hot Mics continues pursuing questions about activity reported at Hayden’s Los Angeles residence after she died. Harry updates Billy on his attempts to get information to law enforcement and the public-records requests seeking additional records involving Hayden and Hickerson.
And Billy remembers Dolly Parton, reflecting on her music, career, marriage and extraordinary impact on American culture.
Hot Mics with Billy Bush — covering the trials, crime, entertainment and culture stories driving the conversation.
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The Lindsay Clancy murder trial is nearing its conclusion, and defense attorney Kevin Reddington is turning up the heat on the prosecution’s final expert witnesses.
On today’s Hot Mics with Billy Bush, Billy breaks down Reddington’s explosive cross-examination of forensic psychologist Dr. Kirk Heilbrun, who testified about Lindsay’s alleged command hallucination, intrusive thoughts and the prosecution’s theory that she decided to take her children with her when she attempted suicide.
Then the testimony veered into dangerous territory.
After discussion of Lindsay’s Catholic faith, suicide as a “mortal sin” and whether she believed she and her children would be reunited in heaven, Reddington accused prosecutors of misconduct and moved for a mistrial. The judge denied the motion, but Billy examines whether the Commonwealth has created yet another serious problem for its case as closing arguments approach.
Billy also speaks with Renee Kimball, organizer of “Lindsay’s Army of Love,” after hundreds of women dressed in pink gathered outside the Plymouth County Courthouse. Kimball explains why the movement says its mission isn’t to excuse the deaths of Lindsay’s three children, but to raise awareness about postpartum psychosis, maternal mental health and what supporters believe were systemic failures in Lindsay’s treatment.
Then, a major update in our reporting on Hayden Panettiere.
Following our exclusive interview with Hayden’s longtime neighbor Mia Terrazas, Hot Mics producer Harry Jacobs contacted the LAPD about unusual activity Mia reported at Hayden’s Los Angeles residence following her death — including an unfamiliar vehicle repeatedly appearing in Hayden’s parking space, someone apparently inside the apartment and Hayden’s Ring camera appearing damaged and covered with black electrical tape.
Harry explains his conversation with LAPD, the information and photographs provided to police, and new questions surrounding packages addressed to Brian Hickerson continuing to arrive at Hayden’s residence. Mia has also contacted the building’s HOA president seeking information about who currently has authorized access to Hayden’s unit.
There is no evidence at this point establishing who was inside Hayden’s apartment, who interfered with the Ring camera or whether any of the activity is connected to her death.
Billy also reacts to new comments from Hayden’s mother, Lesley Vogel, about watching her daughter return to her relationship with Hickerson and the painful boundaries she ultimately felt forced to establish.
Plus: the bizarre prostitution-sting arrest involving San Francisco 49ers owner Jed York — an undercover ad, a $140 proposed encounter and an arrest that produced one extremely expensive mugshot.
Hot Mics with Billy Bush — breaking down the trials, crime, entertainment and culture stories everyone is talking about.
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The Lindsay Clancy murder trial is nearing its conclusion — and the battle over her state of mind has never been more intense.
On today’s Hot Mics with Billy Bush, Billy breaks down the explosive cross-examination of prosecution forensic psychiatrist Dr. Avram Mack by Lindsay’s defense attorney, Kevin Reddington.
Reddington challenges Mack over his experience treating women with postpartum mental illness, his evaluation of Lindsay years after the deaths of her children, and his conclusion that Lindsay suffered from major depressive disorder — not psychosis — and understood that what she was doing was wrong.
Billy plays the highlights from an increasingly contentious confrontation between Reddington and Mack and explains why he believes the testimony may have done more damage than good to the Commonwealth’s case.
But the larger question goes far beyond one expert witness:
What happens when a mother repeatedly asks for help — and the mental-health system fails to recognize what is happening to her?
Before the deaths of her three children, Lindsay experienced debilitating insomnia and intrusive thoughts. She visited emergency rooms, attended a day program, called a suicide hotline, entered a residential treatment program and repeatedly sought psychiatric help. Over the course of her treatment, she received numerous prescriptions involving 13 different medications.
Yet no one diagnosed her with postpartum psychosis.
As closing arguments approach, Billy examines the difficult question at the center of the trial: Should Lindsay Clancy be treated as an ordinary murderer, or was she suffering from a catastrophic mental illness that left her incapable of criminal responsibility?
Billy also revisits his memorable 2005 interview with Tom Cruise over psychiatry and psychotropic medication, including Cruise’s controversial criticism of Brooke Shields after she publicly discussed using Paxil to treat postpartum depression.
Finally, Billy delivers his own closing argument in the Lindsay Clancy case — and explains why he believes this tragedy represents not only the deaths of three children, but a profound failure of America’s mental-health system.

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