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EMS 20/20

Long Pause Media | FlightBridgeED·250 episodes

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EMS 20/20 is podcast hosted by two experienced Paramedics. Spencer Oliver and Christopher Pfingsten discuss real calls run by real responders and pull out the lessons you won't find in a text book. This podcast is aimed at Paramedic students, seasoned Paramedics looking to refresh, or any one interested in a deeper dive into pre-hospital health care.

Episodes

1 hr 27 min
Jul 15, 2026Episode 252
Special Edition: Zoo SNAFU

Spencer is in the hotseat! And this call is really, really wild. Quick, do you think a heard of elephants can clearly mark an LZ?

1 hr 23 min
Jul 10, 2026Episode 251
The Emperor Needs a New Attitude

Today we hear the tale of Paramedic that has the self awareness of a monarch wearing some new fangled, conditionally visible fabric. Does this bode well for the patient and their partner? Listen and find out!

1 hr 23 min
Jun 24, 2026Episode 250
Special Edition: Bringing Back the Bagel

Chris is in the hotseat as Spencer gives him a call with strong ties to a past episode. Does Chris figure it out in time? Or does he KILL HIS CREW?!?!?!

2 hr 5 min
Jun 17, 2026Episode 249
Kemento

Chris discovers a sound board as Spencer goes through the call... backwards? Start at the end and end at the beginning for the wild ride, complete with dramatic movie quotes.

1 hr 54 min
Jun 10, 2026Episode 248
Special Edition | CSI: Truck Stop

Spencer is in the hot seat and performs quite well! He has the world's most annoying intern, but thankfully a helpful partner and PD as well. How does he do? Listen and find out!

2 hr 17 min
Jun 5, 2026Episode 247
My Heart Will (Not) Go On

Friend of the Show QANTU joins us for a Titanic Sized episode! Will the efforts to pace a patient be the life boat that's needed? Or will this patient be kicked off the floating door and die an icy death?

2 hr 4 min
May 23, 2026Episode 246
Lives Out: An EMS 20/20 Mystery

Dr. Will Heuser join the crew in a an altered LOC mystery! Intubation, a mystery of a history, and a blood pressure that is not cooperating with authorities. Will and the guys will also be at FAST26, get your tickets now! fbefast.com

1 hr 52 min
May 19, 2026Episode 245
Do Not Pass ER

Special Guest GEOFF MURPHY of Master Your Medics fame joins the guys for a trip around the game board as a Canadian crew navigate the harsh realities of the unknown reasons someone could be altered... with a STEMI. Maybe.

1 hr 47 min
May 13, 2026Episode 244
This Call is Baulder's Dash

Chris finds the effects button on the mixer as Spencer relays a call that shows everything that can go wrong when systemic, cultural apathy sets in deep in a system.

1 hr 44 min
May 6, 2026Episode 243
Special Edition: Stroke of (un)Luck

Chris has his worst luck yet, as he finds an altered patient, and angry wife, and absolutely no help. How does he do? Vote on our IG! @ems2020show!

1 hr 33 min
Apr 29, 2026Episode 242
Gravitating Towards Anaphylaxis?

A rapidly swelling tongue and plummeting saturations point a crew into EXACTLY the... wrong? Direction? Can you figure it out before the guys do? Let us know!

2 hr 17 min
Apr 22, 2026Episode 241
SUPER Special Edition: Split the Party!

TODAY IS AWESOME! For the first time ever, neither of us are in the hotseat! Instead, the crew from The RideAlong EMT School Podcast join us in an epic collab event! How does a pair of newly minted EMT's and an experienced Paramedic do against the madness that besets them? And no, we don't go easy on them...

1 hr 47 min
Apr 15, 2026Episode 240
Shake N Bake Boys, I Think We Got a BBQ

The guys welcome Special Guest Dr. Mike Lauria to the show! A crew attends a patient that is perfectly alive, but does NOT stay that way! Can this crew get in sync with what the patient needs, or do they head down a spiral of doom? And can Spencer and Lauria STOP adding movie references?

15 min
Apr 13, 2026
PREVIEW: Stranger Lungs

To the whole STRANGER LUNGS episode, head over ems2020.com and get signed up for the EMS 2020 CE platform!

1 hr 25 min
Apr 8, 2026Episode 239
Special Edition: Reacting to the Lake

Spencer is given a call that has everything from boats to mystery homemade sunscreen... how does he do? Check out our IG at @ems2020show and vote today!

1 hr 46 min
Apr 1, 2026Episode 238
Twisted Tongue Trauma (ish...)

The guys review a call that has blood coming from... somewhere in the mouth. Maybe. Maybe deeper. But there's a lot! Enough to cause some shock? Maaayyyybbeeeee....

1 hr 13 min
Mar 25, 2026Episode 237
Special Edition: Chris Sucks at Electrolytes

Chris gets a call that he... isn't the most proud of. But Spencer feels he did OK+ ! What do you think? Vote now on Instagram!

2 hr 6 min
Mar 18, 2026Episode 236
Philip Gets Fried

A pediatric airway/neuro/ewww call! Can Chris and Spencer get this figured out? An error occurs... does the agency step up and future proof themselves? Or do they fall to the old ways of the past?

1 hr 13 min
Mar 11, 2026Episode 234
Special Edition: The Bottom Drops Out

Spencer is in the hotseat and for the life of him (or his pretend patient) him simply cannot get a good role. Did he do a good job, or will you score him lower than the dice did?

1 hr 22 min
Mar 4, 2026Episode 233
The Last POLST Bender

The guys handle a code that gets maybe too handled? Or not handled enough? When does a POLST form count? Listen and find out!

1 hr 8 min
Feb 25, 2026Episode 232
Special Edition: Signs Point to Fracture

Spencer causes Chris to bounce off the walls by giving him a pediatric trauma patient with a clueless dad! How does he manage? Vote now!

1 hr 43 min
Feb 20, 2026Episode 231
In The Wake of Stabby McStabberface

The guys take a stab (lol) at a very chaotic scene that involves AT LEAST one stabbing... and little to know scene safety. Just how bad can a stand by go? Listen and find out?

1 hr 7 min
Feb 11, 2026Episode 230
Special Edition: I Have Better Things To Do

Chris gives Spencer the greatest challenge of all: a distracted Supervisor as a partner. Can Spencer redirect a partner who clearly has more important things to do? Or will he lose his famous cool?

2 hr
Feb 4, 2026Episode 229
Red Dead Redemption Too?

In a gunslinging adventure, the bullets may not be the biggest problem that comes from today's episode. Did we give up before we even got started? Listen and find out!

1 hr 21 min
Jan 28, 2026Episode 228
Special Edition: Fierce Resistance, Betrayal

Chris is given a scenario with a stubborn patient and… a stubborn ambulance Paramedic? Spencer puts Chris on the fire engine this time around, let’s see if he burns! Vote!

1 hr 42 min
Jan 21, 2026Episode 227
When Things Get Skrewy

How do you convince an unaltered but still kind of altered patient to go to the hospital? Especially when they claim they are being tormented by random people who are stealing their sandwich fixings? Listen and find out!

1 hr 32 min
Jan 14, 2026Episode 226
Special Edition: Branching Diagnosis

In a traumatic twist, Spencer finds himself planning to extricate a patient from... a tree? Does he make the right call? Can he remove this patient from a STICKy situation? Vote now on Instagram!

1 hr 49 min
Jan 7, 2026Episode 225
Control Bleeding and Emotions

The guys put themselves in the shoes of a crew that enters a chaotic and potentially dangerous scene. So come on down and meet some friends of mine as Special Guest Dave Horowitz, author of Medic - A Diary, joins the guys in this harrowing tale.

1 hr 35 min
Dec 31, 2025Episode 224
Special Edition: Sepsis on Shaky Ground

Chris digs deep on a patient assessment and also on the structural integrity of the building he's in. Will he do a commendable job, or will his plans... fall through?

1 hr 32 min
Dec 17, 2025Episode 223
Code Alone

Holy wow is this episode... wild. Every calamity that can occur, will occur, especially if you are unprepared. It's almost as though being unprepared invites a swinging paint can to the face. How does today's crew handle a heat related call? Or is it an MI... or is it respiratory?

1 hr 22 min
Dec 10, 2025Episode 222
Special Edition: Drowning Fool

Can Spencer manage some absolutely wrecked lungs? Or will he drown in the salty sea? Vote and let us know what you think! @ems2020show on Instagram!

1 hr 56 min
Dec 3, 2025Episode 221
The Toxicity of This Lady

Dr. Ryan Feldman from The Poison Lab joins us again to talk about a patient that took... all of it. Like all of it. All gone. Can she be saved?

1 hr 7 min
Nov 26, 2025Episode 220
Special Edition: Pregnant Pause

Chris is in the hotseat as Spencer gives him a chest pain call... that is interrupted by an MVA... that is interrupted by a pregnancy call... that is interrupted by a seizure call...

1 hr 30 min
Nov 19, 2025Episode 219
L.A.S.T. Call

The guys fumble through an interesting call with many odd findings... including a high-end hotel that is well prepared for the arrival of EMS. Can this all BLS crew come to the right conclusion?

1 hr 42 min
Nov 12, 2025Episode 218
Special Edition: The Shootout

Today Chris takes aim at Spencer with a call that is all about scene management and lotsa blood! Does Spencer hit the bullseye? Vote on our Instagram!

1 hr 46 min
Nov 5, 2025Episode 217
Freedom From Incompetence!

The guys follow a crew that is mired with questionable choices and potentially a lack in leadership? Should this call have ever been ran? Will the mighty bald eagle weep for this patient? Listen and find out!

1 hr 39 min
Oct 29, 2025Episode 216
Special Edition: Did They Slip or Knot?

On today's special edition, Chris is put in the hotseat by Spencer on an altered LOC patient with a significant language barrier. Can Chris translate this difficult call into a success? Vote now on Instagram!

1 hr 44 min
Oct 23, 2025Episode 215
Trouble In The PlayPlace

Special guest Patrick Pianezza, the writer of CODE 3 (streaming now on Apple and Amazon) joins the guys on a pediatric case with ever so helpful 'nurse' bystander. Do the guys sort things out and figure out what's what (and importantly, whose who)? Listen and find out!

1 hr 33 min
Oct 15, 2025Episode 214
Slay Thy Assumptions!

Spencer brings a call riddled with stumbles from both the patient and a seasoned Paramedic. Does this field training need some training of their own? Listen and find out!

1 hr 19 min
Oct 8, 2025Episode 213
Special Edition: Heated Reaction

Spencer finds himself in the hot seat on a hot day in a hot field with unresponsive patient. What could be the problem? Or problems? Does Chris make things harder? Of course he does. VOTE now!

1 hr 36 min
Oct 1, 2025Episode 212
Altered Addison's

A crew runs a call with an altered patient. Could it be a rare endocrine disorder? Hypotension? Hypoglycemia? Bad cyberware? Find out on this week's episode!

1 hr 33 min
Sep 24, 2025Episode 211
Special Edition: Unhappy Meal

Chris is in the hotseat as he does a call hungry, making each roll harder and each success a little more out of reach. Are his efforts a super sized success, or does his clinical skill belong on the dollar menu? Vote now!

1 hr 34 min
Sep 17, 2025Episode 210
Hot Pursuit, Hotter Patient with RAINN WILSON

RAINN WILSON joins Chris and Spencer (no, really) as they discuss a methamphetamine marathon runner who gets brought up to medium rare. Can an EMT push against the tide to get the right thing done? Can Chris expand his vocabulary? Check out CODE 3 starring RAINN WILSON in select theaters NOW!

1 hr 26 min
Sep 10, 2025Episode 209
Special Edition: Damnit Jerry!

Spencer is in the hot seat, but this time he has the help of Jerry the helpful RN at the local nursing facility / rehab / pit of despair! How does he do? Visit our Instagram to find out!

1 hr 21 min
Sep 3, 2025Episode 208
Ding Dong, The Patient's... Dead?

When a code 99 comes in for a frequent flyer, a crew finds themself in a classic case of "there's more than meets the eye". Do they follow the yellow brick road to get their questions answered? Click your rube red slippers three times and be transported away to a land of not quite death but maybe some destruction.

1 hr 41 min
Aug 20, 2025Episode 207
Special Edition: It Can't Be THAT Simple... Can It?

Chris is in the hotseat and immediately starts over thinking a call involving a possible stroke... or UTI... or hypoglycemia... or alcohol? Check out @ems2020show in Instagram and vote on his performance!

1 hr 35 min
Aug 13, 2025Episode 206
Paralyzing Yourself to Refuse

What does Carhart pants, Fireball Whiskey, weed, and an allergy to authority have in common? They're all in this episode! Follow the Paramedic of Darkness into the fray as we sort out and angry MVA patient that has more issues than they realize.

1 hr 44 min
Aug 6, 2025Episode 205
Special Edition: Oops! All Trauma!

Spencer is in the hotseat trying to fix all the problems with a severe trauma patient. Also, Chris cannot count. Vote on Instagram now!

1 hr 44 min
Jul 30, 2025Episode 204
Self Inflicted Surgery

Hands down, this is the weirdest episode. So many twists and turns. Chris rants about TXA again (start the emails), Spencer gets weird about barnyard animals, and a goat is suspect for attempted murder. Maybe.

1 hr 29 min
Jul 23, 2025Episode 203
Special Edition: Face the Pain

Chris is in the hot seat! Spencer pulls out a rare but immediately life threatening disorder that threatens to crush Chris under the weight of airway management. Does Chris prevail? VOTE NOW ON INSTAGRAM! @ems2020show