The Doctor's Art

Many of us quietly accept the idea that our best self lives somewhere in the past — that youth is the ideal and aging is a slow erosion of who we really are. But what if getting older isn’t about losing our identity, but deepening it? What if the second half of life could be defined not by decline, but by “joyspan”—our capacity for meaning, connection, and contentment as we age? Our guest on this episode is gerontologist and author Kerry Burnight, PhD. As a professor at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine, Dr. Burnight spent 16 years caring for older adults suffering neglect and abuse. She co-founded the nation’s first Elder Abuse Forensic Center, bringing together medicine, adult protective services, and law enforcement to protect vulnerable older adults. Her search for how to help people not just avoid harm, but truly thrive into their later decades led to her work on joyspan, culminating in her New York Times best-selling book Joyspan: The Art and Science of Thriving in Life’s Second Half (2025). Her work has been featured in outlets including The New York Times, The Guardian, BBC News, and Forbes Health. Over the course of our conversation, Dr. Burnight details the experience of working with older adults suffering from neglect and abuse, the importance of team camaraderie for getting through dark moments, and the need to humanize people going through dehumanizing situations. We discuss joyspan as well-being and fulfillment combined with longevity; how focusing on growing, connecting, adapting, and giving can increase joyspan; how the internalized belief that we have less to offer as we age threatens joyspan; and how older adults are uniquely positioned to contribute to society. Dr. Burnight reminds us that joyspan is a health habit, and the best time to start focusing on this health habit is today. In this episode, you’ll hear about: 3:00 - The story behind the first Elder Abuse Forensics Center 11:45 - Dr. Burnight’s advice for frontline workers navigating cases of elder abuse 15:05 - How social connection improves health outcomes 24:00 - Defining joy and how joy can coexist with aging 33:15 - How our personal outlook on aging can impact our aging experience 44:30 - The four elements of joyspan 48:30 - Ways to build meaning into your life If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com. Copyright The Doctor’s Art Podcast 2025

Many of the world’s best physicians find it surprisingly difficult to answer the question: Why are you in medicine? In the long, arduous journey of medical training or within the technocratically-minded healthcare system, one can easily get lost in the life of the mind—and become estranged from the life of the heart. Our guest on this episode is Brewer Eberly, MD, a third-generation family physician and a fellow at Duke Divinity School’s Theology, Medicine, and Culture Initiative. Dr. Eberly grew up listening to physicians in his family discuss their work and was drawn to how life’s biggest questions are present in medicine. Now, his research focuses on the intersections of medicine, aesthetics, and theology — with a special focus on the “nourishment of weary clinicians.” Over the course of our conversation, Dr. Eberly shares how his early interests in art and literature continue to shape his life and work, and how the privilege of accompanying patients in all stages of life motivates his practice. We discuss how family medicine requires practitioners to have something to say about the well-lived life, and how this kind of wisdom is forged in silent contemplation. Finally, Dr. Eberly concludes with a profound and personal reflection on the question: What does it mean to willingly receive the suffering of someone that you cannot fix? In this episode, you’ll learn about: 2:36 - Dr. Eberly’s medical and creative origin stories 10:45 - What makes family medicine unique, and Dr. Eberly’s approach to his work 22:30 - How Dr. Eberly tries to stay connected to the meaning of medicine 29:00 - The “Good Surgeon Project” 37:45 - Dr. Eberly’s view of the limitations of artificial intelligence in medicine 43:30 - Ways of engaging with and being present for the suffering of patients If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com. Copyright The Doctor’s Art Podcast 2025

We often confuse happiness with the absence of sadness, or a meaningful life with a productive one. The result might be a life that runs smoothly, but feels strangely flat — as if something essential is missing from the story. What if a truly good life isn’t just happy and meaningful, but also interesting? Our guest today is Shige Oishi, PhD, professor of psychology at the University of Chicago and author of Life in Three Dimensions (2025). Oishi pioneered the idea of psychological richness — the notion that a good life requires a diverse set of interesting, even disorienting experiences. As an expert in social ecology and well-being, his work spans more than 200 scientific articles and has been featured in outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal. Over the course of our conversation, professor Oishi traces his own journey from an undergraduate in booming-economy Tokyo — surrounded by overworked, unhappy adults — to a career in psychology in the United States, where seeing professors live differently opened his eyes to alternative ways of being. We explore how cultures like Japan, the United States, Finland, and Denmark differ in what they chase and expect from life; why small, everyday joys and high-quality relationships matter more than grand achievements; and how “success” and “ambition” can quietly shape our sense of happiness. We then dive into psychological richness as a third dimension of the good life alongside happiness and meaning — one defined by variety, newness, and memorable stories, often colored by both positive and negative emotions. We discuss the risks of chasing only stability and efficiency; the importance of spontaneity; and the surprisingly simple ways we can cultivate psychological richness by staying curious and saying “yes” more often. In this episode, you’ll hear about: 3:00 - Oishi’s path to studying the psychology of wellbeing 8:45 - Rising competitiveness in American culture and how it is affecting lifelong happiness 13:30 - Why Finland and Denmark are regularly rated the happiest countries 15:55 - Whether there is a “correct” way to find meaning and happiness 19:15 - What it means to be “psychologically rich” 28:00 - Balancing positive and negative emotions in a happy, meaningful, and psychologically rich life 41:30 - Developing psychological richness 45:45 - How psychological richness can help address physician burnout If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com. Copyright The Doctor’s Art Podcast 2025

When a religious person is isolated from their community, whether due to hospitalization or military service, they can often rely on a chaplain for spiritual support. But where does a non-religious person turn when facing the same circumstances? And what tools do they have for meaning making? Our guest is Greg Epstein, humanist chaplain at Harvard and MIT and author of the New York Times bestselling book Good Without God. As a humanist chaplain, Greg has spent his career building ethical communities that are united around the idea that human sociality and interdependence are a sufficient foundation for a meaningful life. Greg’s writings have been published widely, including in TIME magazine and The Washington Post, and he is a prominent public speaker in humanist and interfaith communities. In our conversation, Greg explains the role of a humanist chaplain, why a humanist chaplain is not necessarily an oxymoron, and how he guides individuals on their meaning-making journey. We discuss Greg’s candidate for the world’s most powerful word and a humanist’s argument for pursuing the work of healing over wealth. And finally, Greg walks us through the thesis of his most recent book Tech Agnostic – how technology has become a religion of its own, with a particular set of downsides. In this episode, you’ll hear about: 2:30 - Mr Epstein’s personal definitions of ‘chaplain’ and ‘religion’ 8:23 - How Mr. Epstein uses a humanist framework to guide meaning-making 24:35 - Is there an absolute ‘good’? 33:25 - The risks of technology as a religion 45:30 - Advice for medical professionals engaged in the work of healing while operating within a system built for profit Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com. Copyright The Doctor’s Art Podcast 2025

Many medical trainees are driven to medicine by their moral or religious principles — only to find that they are expected to check their principles at the patient’s door. When this happens, physicians and patients may lose the opportunity for deeper, more healing relationships. Our guest on this episode is Dr. Farr Curlin, a hospitalist and palliative care physician at Duke University School of Medicine. Dr. Curlin holds joint appointments in the Trent Center for Bioethics, Humanities & History of Medicine and Duke Divinity School, where he studies the intersection of medicine, ethics, and religion. From a young age, Dr. Curlin was intrigued by the moral dimensions of medicine. As a medical trainee, he began to study how the religious backgrounds of physicians inform their practice. He is the co-author of The Way of Medicine, in which he challenges the modern “provider of services” model and calls for a recovery of medicine’s spiritual foundations as a healing profession. Now, at Duke Divinity School, he spends significant time helping physicians re-center their practice around the question: “What is Good?” Over the course of our conversation, we discuss attitudes toward religion in the medical profession and how many medical professionals worry that being openly religious may make them seem retrograde — or worse. We explore striking the balance between offering physician wisdom while respecting patient autonomy, consider whether the project of medicine makes sense when viewed through the lens of secular humanism, and reflect on how the physician attributes of humility and respect enable physicians to productively bring their full selves to the bedside, all while practicing medicine within a morally pluralistic society. In this episode, you’ll hear about: 2:48 - Dr. Curlin’s path to medicine and what drew him to a career at the intersection of religion and medicine 19:30 - Dr. Curlin’s thoughts on why doctors often feel they cannot be openly religious 35:45 - How Dr. Curlin would change medical training to create a deeper focus on personal commitments and moral conviction 41:15 - Exploring the limitations of artificial agnosticism at the patient’s bedside 51:50 - How fostering a spiritual connection to the work of healing can mitigate burnout Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com. Copyright The Doctor’s Art Podcast 2025

Medical trainees spend years mastering what to do when biology fails — countless protocols, procedures, and split-second decisions. By the end, they’re primed to fix what’s broken. But what if the mandate of medicine is simpler — and more human? Our guest on this episode is Dr. Jessica Zitter — a physician, author, and filmmaker who has spent her career at the fault line between intensive care and palliative care. Dr. Zitter was initially drawn to the technical choreography in the ICU: numbers to chase, procedures to perform. Yet, along the way, she began to notice the danger we rarely name — that in our devotion to protocol, we might drift away from the person in front of us. Over the course of our conversation, Dr. Zitter shares personal experiences that have shaped her approach to medicine. We talk about moral injury and how it compounds: when systems push us to act against our values, care gets worse, and the hurt deepens. We talk about how bias slips in when power meets prejudice at the bedside and why chaplains — so often sidelined — can be essential guides back to the human being we’re treating. Her prescription is simple: treat patients as you’d want your own loved ones to be treated. Ask for the story. Reconstruct the person we’ve taken apart into smaller pieces. Dr. Zitter is the author of her memoir Extreme Measures, appears in the Academy Award-nominated short film Extremis, and is the director of several documentaries, including 2025’s The Chaplain & the Doctor. In this episode, you’ll hear about: 2:45 - Dr. Zitter’s path to a career in intensive care medicine 4:52 - A day in the life of an intensivist 17:42 - Dr. Zitter’s unexpected pivot to prioritizing palliative care in her work 26:41 - The inspiration for Dr. Zitter’s film The Chaplain and the Doctor 38:36 - How chaplaincy attends to the soul of the patient and what doctors can learn from this perspective 42:51 - Navigating internalized bias as a doctor 49:42 - Dr. Zitter’s advice for her younger self Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com. Copyright The Doctor’s Art Podcast 2025

Editorial Note: This episode was recorded in December 2024, after the nomination of Robert F Kennedy Jr as Secretary of Health and Human Services had been announced but prior to his confirmation. Some comments by the podcast hosts and our guest will reflect this timing. Elephants rarely get cancer, ants quarantine when sick, and altruistic pigs have a higher pain tolerance. In this episode, we discuss insights from the animal world that shed light on human health and wellness, as well as the power of data driven narratives in effective public health education. Our guest is Dr. David Agus, founding CEO of the Ellison Medical Institute and professor of medicine and engineering at the University of Southern California. As a CBS news contributor and author of three New York Times best selling books on health, Dr. Agus emphasizes the need for experts who are willing to explain rather than tell. Having experienced the politicization of public health during the pandemic, he highlights the importance of data transparency and the urgency for more physician leaders. With technological advances making data collection and analysis ever more accessible, Dr. Agus shares a vision for the future of medicine, where patients bring their own health data to the clinic and physicians act as educators guided by the values of their patients. In this episode, you’ll hear about: 2:30 - Dr. Agus’s journey to medicine and how he found his way to focusing on preventative health and public education 6:50 - Navigating the politicized nature of public health as a public health educator 14:17 - Dr. Agus’s viewpoint on the controversial nominations of RFK Jr. and Dr. Oz 19:51 - How the education of doctor needs to change to adapt to our newly data driven world 24:20 - The current state of nutrition science and how people can make the best choices with the current data available on the topic 32:12 - The potential benefits of making big data in electronic medical records available to physicians 32:48 - The inspiration behind Dr. Agus’s new book, The Book of Animal Secrets, and what the animal kingdom can teach us as humans about living a more fulfilling and healthy life 52:11 - A vision for empowering patients with their personal medical data in the age of AI 54:31 - Dr. Agus’s advice to clinicians on supporting patients with their preventative health Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com. Copyright The Doctor’s Art Podcast 2025

Imagine practicing medicine not within the sterile confines of a hospital, but in the unpredictable world of city streets and shelters, where every patient encounter challenges conventional notions of care, empathy, and human dignity. We explore this reality through the extraordinary journey of Jim O'Connell, MD, whose groundbreaking work with Boston's homeless population has profoundly reshaped health care for society's most marginalized individuals. Dr. O'Connell is the founding president of the Boston Healthcare for the Homeless Program and an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. In this episode, Dr. O’Connell shares stories from his extensive frontline experience, detailing the unique challenges of treating patients facing complex medical and psychiatric conditions exacerbated by unstable living conditions. From addressing devastating public health crises such as AIDS and tuberculosis to establishing consistent mental health care, he provides profound insights into what makes healthcare effective for homeless populations. He also reflects on a formative early experience — being asked by nurses to wash patients feet — that deeply influenced his understanding of empathy and the essence of medical service. Through these reflections, we gain a powerful appreciation for the depth of patience, relational care, and respect required in caring for vulnerable communities. In this episode, you’ll hear about: 2:00 - Dr. O’Connell’s unexpected path to medicine 11:34 - The distinction between a “country doctor” and a doctor who works in an academic setting 13:42 - How Dr. O’Connell began working with homeless populations 20:30 - The difficulties doctors faced in the early years of the HIV/AIDS epidemic 29:14 - Navigating the compounding challenges of access and continuity among the homeless population 37:12 - What has kept Dr. O’Connell dedicated to treating this population for 30+ years 51:24 - Dr. O’Connell’s recommendations to clinicians on how to compassionately serve the homeless Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com. Copyright The Doctor’s Art Podcast 2025

The relationship between physicians and the larger healthcare system is incredibly complex, raising difficult questions about patient care, advocacy, and the role of doctors in shaping public policy. In this episode, we explore these critical issues and the realities faced by healthcare providers today. Our guest is Bruce Scott, MD, an otolaryngologist and 2024 – 2025 President of the American Medical Association (AMA). Motivated by a serious childhood injury and the life changing care he received, Dr. Scott subsequently pursued a career dedicated to surgery and health care advocacy. In this conversation, he shares his experiences as a surgeon, dealing with intricate procedures and urgent decisions, and discusses the importance of physician involvement in healthcare policy amid today's deeply polarized environment. Dr. Scott reflects on his own path to leadership within the AMA and underscores the impact that organized medicine can have on public health, health care access, and physician well-being. He provides insights into how the AMA navigates complex political challenges, addresses physician burnout, and promotes practical solutions to administrative burdens. We also discuss emerging issues such as the responsible integration of artificial intelligence in clinical settings, rebuilding patient trust in medical expertise, and the broader implications of physician burnout and mental health. In this episode, you’ll learn about: 2:48 - The life-changing injury that led Dr. Scott to a career as an a surgeon 14:34 - How Dr. Scott became involved with advocacy at the American Medical Association 21:27 - How the AMA’s work has been altered by the high levels of politicization around medicine 28:27 - The challenges that physicians struggle with today 32:47 - How the AMA works to maintain the public’s trust in doctors and the medical establishment 37:33 - The AMA’s plan for navigating AI integration in a way that benefits doctors, not healthcare and insurance companies 42:33 - How the AMA approaches the epidemic of physician burnout 49:14 - Dr. Scott‘s recommendations for how to get involved in policy and advocacy. Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com. Copyright The Doctor’s Art Podcast 2025

George Mark Children's House is a pediatric palliative care center in California that provides respite and hospice for children with serious illnesses and their families. In March 2025, we heard the personal story of the House’s director. In this episode, we have been invited on site to speak with someone whose life has been touched by the House. Our guests are Kaitlyn, a young woman living with epilepsy, her mother Liz, and Kyle, a child life specialist. Kaitlyn has lived with seizures since she was two years old. Over the years, the condition has shaped nearly every aspect of her life, from her time in and out of hospitals to the way she relates to friends, school, and her own identity. In this conversation, she talks about what it feels like to have a seizure, what she's learned from years of living with uncertainty, and how art, humor, and relationships have helped her make sense of it all. Liz, her mother, shares what it was like to first notice something was wrong, how hard it was to find her footing in a world of medical jargon and evolving diagnoses, and what long term caregiving has taught her about patience, advocacy, and perspective. This is not a story about overcoming illness or finding easy silver linings. It's a story about making room for a full life with joy, difficulty, grief, and connection, often all at once. And it's about the role of a place like George Mark, which offers families something rare — not just health care, but space to feel human in the midst of it all. In this episode, you’ll hear about: 3:20 - Kaitlyn’s epilepsy experience, through both her and her mother’s eyes 14:00 - How Kaitlyn developed a positive outlook on epilepsy 16:30 - How Kaitlyn’s family found George Mark Children’s House 23:30 - The role of a child life specialist 28:15 - Supporting a child through the physical, emotional and spiritual challenges of their illness 29:56 - How epilepsy has shaped Kaitlyn’s views on life’s priorities and challenges, and how it has shaped her mother’s view of parenting 40:00 - Kyle’s perspectives on helping children and families through some of life’s toughest experiences 43:08 - The qualities that Kaitlyn feels a doctor should have to best connect with their patients Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com. Copyright The Doctor’s Art Podcast 2025

If you were asked to build a medical school from scratch, how would you do it? It's not a chance most of us get — but that was exactly the task given to our guest on this episode, Sharmila Makhija, MD, MBA. Dr. Makhija is a gynecologic oncologist by training, a clinician who has spent her career working with patients through some of life's most vulnerable and uncertain moments. She has also served as chair of obstetrics and gynecology at Montefiore Health System in New York, and before that, at Emory University. Most recently, and most notably, she is Founding Dean of the new Alice Walton School of Medicine in Bentonville, Arkansas. Here, she has taken on the ambitious and deeply human task of creating a medical school that doesn't just teach medicine, but reimagines its purpose. Over the course of our conversation, Dr. Makhija shares how her parents were instrumental to helping her find meaning in medicine, how she accompanies patients through serious illnesses, and the quiet but transformative power of presence. We then hear how she got the opportunity to create a new medical school — so new, in fact, that they are matriculating their first class in July 2025 — and her vision for preparing future doctors to face the technological, societal and professional uncertainties of medicine in the coming decades. In this episode, you’ll hear about: 2:45 - What drew Dr. Makhija to a career in medicine, and specifically to her clinical focus in gynecological oncology 11:10 - How Dr. Makhija learned how to support patients through some of the hardest moments of their lives, and her advice on guiding patients through a poor prognosis 25:22 - Dr. Makhija’s to becoming Founding Dean of the Alice Walton School of Medicine 32:00 - The school’s approach to creating a new medical curriculum 45:51 - Experiences that have surprised Dr. Makhija on her leadership journey 48:38 - How Dr. Makhija plans to equip her students to face the rapid changes that are transforming the medical field Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com. Copyright The Doctor’s Art Podcast 2025

What happens to the practice of medicine when machines begin to reason, summarize and even empathize — at least in the linguistic sense — better than humans do? In this episode, we meet with Michael Howell, MD, MPH, Chief Clinical Officer at Google, to explore the seismic shifts underway in healthcare as artificial intelligence becomes more deeply embedded in clinical workflows. Dr. Howell, a pulmonary and critical care physician, has spent his career at the crossroads of clinical excellence and systems innovation. Before joining Google, he served as chief quality officer at University of Chicago Medicine. At Google, he leads the development and implementation of AI technologies intended to support scalable, safe and equitable medical care. Over the course of our conversation, we examine what AI is and isn't. We delve into how large language models are reshaping the cognitive labor of clinicians, the implications of machines that may someday outperform humans in diagnosis, and whether there is something inherently human about healing that algorithms will never capture. Along the way, we discuss not only the promises of AI, but also its hidden dangers, ethical landmines, and the enduring question — in a future defined by ever smarter machines. What does it mean to be a good doctor? In this episode, you’ll hear about: 2:43 - Dr. Howell’s path to medicine and eventually to becoming Chief Clinical Officer at Google 6:45 - Why examining the differences between theory and implementation of technology matters 17:35 - The evolution of AI and its clinical capabilities 26:05 - The definition of “thinking” in the age of AI 36:11 - How AI could change the landscape of healthcare on a global scale 50:26 - The ethics of using — and not using — AI in medicine 54:36 - The role of a doctor in 20 years Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com. Copyright The Doctor’s Art Podcast 2024

If you could be plugged into a machine that simulated the perfect experience — limitless joy, deep connection, a sense of purpose — yet you knew it wasn't real, would you choose to stay plugged in? This isn't just a philosophical exercise. As our lives become increasingly digitized, our relationships filtered through screens, our emotions managed by algorithms, our attention parceled out to feeds and notifications, we are confronted with a deeper question: what does it mean to have an authentic experience anymore? Our guest on this episode is Christine Rosen, a writer and cultural critic whose book The Extinction of Experience (2024) explores how the virtualization of our world is transforming not just our habits, but our inner lives. Drawing from philosophy, neuroscience, and her own reflections, Rosen examines what we lose when direct embodied experience gives way to digital mediation, whether that's our connection to the natural world, our relationships, or even our own sense of self. The repercussions for medicine are profound. In an era where care is often delivered through screens, where patients track their bodies through apps and data, and where wellness is increasingly conflated with optimization, how do we preserve what is human in the doctor-patient relationship, and how do patients navigate their own sense of health and wholeness in a world that so often substitutes simulation for substance? This is a conversation that cuts deep into one of the most pressing cultural currents of our time and its implications for how we connect, how we heal, and how we find meaning in being alive. In this episode, you’ll hear about: 3:00 - How Rosen came to focus her career on the history of technology 5:51 - Why we should think proactively about the effects of technological advances on our behavior and society 11:40 - How modern technology has encouraged impatience and disconnect with other humans 27:06 - Why we should stop seeing technology as a means to “solve” or “overcome” human behavior 37:23 - The epidemic of loneliness that exists despite unprecedented levels of technological interconnectivity 45:37 - The moral challenges in our society’s attempt to end boredom, discomfort, and suffering 54:28 - How to think and act critically about the relentless march of technology 57:17 - What we can do to make our lives flourish Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com. Copyright The Doctor’s Art Podcast 2025

There is something uniquely haunting about many neurological diseases. These conditions often don't only affect the body — they reshape the very foundation of who we are, our memories, our personalities, our language. When the brain begins to fail, the boundary between illness and identity start to blur; the person we know begins to fade even before their life has ended. In this episode, we are joined by John Rhee, MD, MPH, a neuro-oncologist and palliative care physician at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, whose work sits at the intersection of science, suffering, and the soul. He cares for patients with brain tumors and neurodegenerative diseases, conditions that challenge our deepest assumptions about selfhood, dignity, and what it means to live a meaningful life. Dr. Rhee is also the co-founder and executive director of The Hippocratic Society, a community of clinicians that aims to cultivate virtues that characterize good medical practitioners and ideals that make medicine a sacred profession. Over the course of our conversation, we talk about suffering — not just physical pain, but the existential kind. We explore how the brain anchors our identity, how its decline confronts us with profound questions, how medical education can improve by training doctors to be more reflective in their work, why an element of spirituality remains critical to medicine, what it means to accompany someone through decline, and more. In this episode, you’ll hear about: 3:00 - Dr. Rhee‘s path to medicine 6:30 - The general scope of focus for a neuro-oncologist 16:07 - Understanding the brain from both medical and existential perspectives 26:36 - The mission of The Hippocratic Society 40:45 - Why “virtue” is central to the focus of The Hippocratic Society 49:34 - How to get involved with The Hippocratic Society Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com. Copyright The Doctor’s Art Podcast 2025

Neurosurgery is known as one of the most precise and demanding specialties in medicine. It requires absolute technical mastery in a surgical field where a millimeter’s difference can be the deciding factor between lifelong disability or a life restored. But what happens when a surgeon trained to be objective and detached experiences deep personal loss? How does it reshape the way they practice medicine? In this episode, we are joined by Joseph “Jody” Stern, MD, a neurosurgeon and the author of Grief Connects Us: A Neurosurgeon's Lessons on Love, Loss, and Compassion (2021). His book is an honest, deep, personal reflection on how losing his sister shattered the emotional armor he had built as a surgeon — and in doing so, made him a better doctor. Over the course of this conversation, Dr. Stern discusses the complexity of neurosurgery and what it teaches about the fragility of life; why the way we talk to patients and families matters just as much as the procedures we perform; how his own grief changed the way he approaches medicine; and the pressure in medicine to stay emotionally detached and why that might actually be harming both doctors and patients. This is a conversation that extends beyond grief. It's about how we, as doctors, patients, and people, can show up for each other in ways that truly matter. In this episode, you’ll hear about: 2:37 - How Dr. Stern became drawn to neurosurgery and what has kept him in the field 6:00 - Dr. Stern’s quest to integrate palliative care into neurosurgery 10:06 - Why medical training often makes it hard for trainees to remember their humanistic calling 15:54 - The importance of shifting medical training to focus to more on patient-centered care 23:41 - Rethinking medicine to better honor the humanity of the patient 31:41 - Developing “emotional agility” as a physician 37:09 - The personal and professional insights that Dr. Stern experienced when he helped his sister through her battle with leukemia 47:47 - How to overcome compassion fatigue 54:15 - Dr. Stern’s advice for new clinicians Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com. Copyright The Doctor’s Art Podcast 2025

In medicine, we are trained to fight for life — to extend it, preserve it and restore it. But sometimes the goal shifts from curing to comforting. That, in brief, is the essence of palliative care. It compels us to ask what it means to truly care for a person at the end of life, not as a failure of medicine but as a profound act of love. In this episode, we enter a space where time slows down, where every moment is cherished, and where medicine is tantamount to presence, dignity, and grace. George Mark Children's House in California is the first freestanding pediatric palliative care center in the United States, a place where children with serious, life-limiting conditions can spend their time in a home-like setting and live fully, where families find respite, and where end-of-life care is infused with humanity and meaning. It's a place that helps families navigate one of the hardest journeys imaginable, offering not just medical support, but also emotional and spiritual care. Joining us is Shekinah Eliassen, CEO of George Mark Children's House, who has dedicated her life to reimagining how we care for children with complex and terminal illnesses. She opens up about how the loss of her first son drives her work to this day. We'll explore the essence of pediatric palliative care, the misconceptions, the difficult conversations, the small joys, and the profound impact of honoring life, no matter how brief. This is a conversation about medicine at its most intimate and compassionate. In this episode, you’ll hear about: 2:53 - The family tragedy that introduced Eliassen to George Mark Children’s House 15:08 - Eliassen’s personal experience with pediatric palliative care and how her understanding has evolved 19:26 - How palliative care differs from physician aid in dying 23:21 - George Mark Children’s House’s approach to pediatric palliative care 28:09 - The importance of “savouring the moment” 37:04 - Limiting factors that currently prevent pediatric palliative care from expanding 41:44 - The role that spirituality and religion play at George Mark Children’s House 48:17 - Eliassen’s advice to her past self on how to prepare for the life-changing experience of child loss Shekinah Eliassen can be found on Instagram at @shekinahceliassen. Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com. Copyright The Doctor’s Art Podcast 2025

Medicine is often framed as a meritocracy, where intelligence, hard work, and dedication dictate success. Yet, institutions of medicine are shaped by histories of exclusion, bias, and systemic inequities. And for clinicians coming from marginalized backgrounds, the journey is not just about learning the science. It's also about learning an entirely different set of rules — rules that are unspoken and unwritten, but deeply felt. For Damon Tweedy, MD, this struggle was deeply personal. Raised in a working class, all-black neighborhood, medicine once felt worlds away. Earning a spot at Duke Medical School was a milestone, but it came with new challenges. The paradox of being both visible and invisible; of constantly proving — sometimes subtly, sometimes forcefully — that he belonged. Dr. Tweedy talks about the paradox of striving to be “twice as good,” while still being mistaken for the janitor, turning down an invitation to play golf with faculty because he simply did not know the game, and realizing that for some of his classmates, medicine was not a leap into the unknown, but simply an inheritance. Beyond race, this episode is also about identity, resilience, and what happens when personal history collides with professional expectation. It's about how trust in medicine is built or broken not just for doctors, but for patients. Dr. Tweedy shares how his own experiences have shaped the way he interacts with patients, why he approaches conversations with more humility, and why sometimes the most important thing a doctor can do is simply acknowledge the weight that a patient carries into the exam room. Ultimately, this episode is about the search for authenticity in a system that often demands conformity. In this episode, you’ll hear about: 3:24 - Dr. Tweedy’s path to medicine and his experience as a black first-generation college student 14:08 - How Dr. Tweedy navigates experiences of being discriminated against as a black physician 24:58 - Dr. Tweedy’s approach to navigating discriminatory experiences between patients and trainees 29:56 - Dr. Tweedy’s path to becoming a public voice regarding race and medicine 32:07 - The current approach to teaching race and medicine in medical school, and Dr. Tweedy’s thoughts on how it can be improved. 43:42 - Effectively serving patients of different racial backgrounds without falling into profiling or prejudice 48:49 - Dr. Tweedy’s advice for new medical students Dr. Damon Tweedy is the author of Black Man in a White Coat (2016) and Facing the Unseen (2024). Dr. Tweedy can be found on Twitter/X at @damontweedymd. Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com. Copyright The Doctor’s Art Podcast 2025

Physicians are trained to diagnose and treat disease, but they're not always taught how to lead. Yet in an era of increasing administrative burdens, evolving healthcare policies, and growing physician burnout, leadership skills have never been more essential. How can physicians reclaim their voices in healthcare decision making? What makes an effective physician leader in today's complex landscape? Here to answer these questions is Peter Angood, MD, President and CEO of the American Association for Physician Leadership, an organization dedicated to empowering physicians with the tools and strategies to lead successfully. With years of experience as a trauma surgeon and a leader of patient safety at organizations ranging from The Joint Commission to the World Health Organization, Dr. Angood has thought deeply about expanding the role of physicians beyond the bedside. Over the course of our conversation. Dr. Angood first takes us into the mind of a trauma surgeon dealing with split-second life-or-death decisions, then discusses the evolving role of physician leadership, trends that concern and excite him about modern healthcare, and concrete skills all clinicians can develop to lead meaningful changes. In this episode, you’ll hear about: 2:23 - How Dr. Angood became drawn to a career in medicine 5:58 - The day-to-day experience of a trauma surgeon 18:39 - How Dr. Angood expanded his role beyond the operating room 21:44 - The role of the Joint Commission 23:02 - Finding the balance between patient safety, teamwork, and physician autonomy 31:37 - Dr. Angood’s leadership philosophy 41:40 - Why all physicians should be seen as leaders 43:45 - Dr. Angood’s advice for how to be successful in a leadership role 53:57 - Dr. Angood’s advice for new clinicians Dr. Angood is the author of Inspiring Growth and Leadership in Medical Careers: Transform Healthcare as a Physician Leader (2024) and All Physicians are Leaders: Reflections on Inspiring Change Together for Better Healthcare (2020). Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com. Copyright The Doctor’s Art Podcast 2025

The American diet is the leading cause of death among Americans. Accumulating medical evidence now shows that poor diet not only contributes to heart disease, diabetes, and stroke, but also to cancer, Alzheimer's disease, liver disease, and much more. Despite its direct and indirect roles in causing half or more of all deaths, food is not something doctors learn about in their training, nor is it something that's emphasized enough to patients by the medical establishment. Our guest on this episode is Michael Greger, MD, a specialist in lifestyle medicine and one of the most trusted voices in evidence based nutrition and public health. He is the internationally best selling author of How Not to Die (2015), How Not to Diet (2019), and How Not to Age (2023). Over the course of our conversation, Dr. Greger shares his approach to healthy living, focusing on the surprising power of whole-food, largely plant-based diets in transforming our bodies at a molecular level. He discusses strategies for helping patients and ourselves achieve behavioral change and explores how our brains and palates are rewired by processed foods, how we can reverse this, the ethics of patient counseling around lifestyle interventions, why there is such a mismatch between nutrition beliefs and behaviors among physicians, and his most high-yield recommendations for starting your journey to eating well. In this episode, you’ll hear about: 2:45 - How Dr. Greger’s grandmother’s miraculous recovery due to diet change inspired him to build a career in nutrition science 6:58 - The disconnect that exists between the American medical system and the science of nutrition 13:57 - Why nutrition education is lacking in American medical training 21:31 - Issues with compliance among patients trying to adopt a lifestyle of healthy eating 28:00 - Supporting patients who are not interested in preventative healthcare measures 35:15 - Navigating the confusing and often conflicting landscape of nutritional studies 43:20 - Whether there is a universal dietary recommendation 46:49 - Simple ways to improve your diet, starting today Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com. Copyright The Doctor’s Art Podcast 2024

In recent years, it has become evident that loneliness is one of the most pressing public health challenges of our time — so much so that the US Surgeon General has labeled it an epidemic with far reaching consequences. The pain of isolation doesn't merely gnaw at our sense of belonging: it undermines our physical wellbeing, erodes our mental health, and places an invisible strain on communities. In this climate of ever widening personal and cultural divides, the collective call for deeper human bonds feels both urgent and universal. Our guest on this episode is Julia Hotz, a journalist and passionate advocate for social prescribing, the practice of directing people to community activities and social support networks as part of their health care. She is the author of the book The Connection Cure: The Prescriptive Power of Movement, Nature, Art, Service and Belonging (2024), in which she argues that whether it's group classes, volunteer opportunities, or simply forging new friendships, true well-being is as much about our social fabric as it is about physical health. Over the course of our conversation, we discuss the psychology of isolation and loneliness, the tangible health effects of loneliness, the historical societal forces that drive humans increasingly apart, the role of social media in connecting and separating us, and how patients and physicians alike can take proactive and creative steps in making human connection an integral part of living well. In this episode, you’ll hear about: 2:50 - What social prescribing is and how it became Hotz’ focus as a journalist 5:32 - How loneliness became a crisis in the era of social media 18:46 - The ways in which social prescribing can change the conversation between doctors and patients 28:24 - The impact that our relationships and environments have on our physiological wellbeing 38:29 - How doctors and health care systems can leverage the power of social prescribing 45:00 - How social prescribing is beginning to find its place in the American healthcare system 56:03 - How social prescribing can bring a stronger sense of meaning into the lives of both patients and doctors To learn more about how you can get involved in the social prescribing movement, Julia recommends visiting Social Prescribing USA and socialprescribing.co. Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com. Copyright The Doctor’s Art Podcast 2024