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A Moral Drive to Heal the World | Jim Yong Kim, MD, PhD Apr 02, 2024

Show notes

Soon after finishing his first semester of college, Jim Yong Kim, MD, PhD excitedly told his father that he'd dedicate his life to starting a social justice movement. In response, his father sternly reprimanded him, saying that the only career he'd support was one in medicine. Dr. Kim acquiesced, but over the subsequent decades would hold on to this passion for social justice and become one of the most influential individuals working in global health, poverty reduction, and sustainable development.

He co-founded Partners in Health, today a renowned medical humanitarian organization that operates in the poorest areas of developing countries. From there, he served as advisor to the Director-General of the World Health Organization and as Director of its HIV/Aids Department. He would then serve as the 17th President of Dartmouth College, before being selected as President of the World Bank, a position he would hold for seven years.

In this episode, Dr. Kim joins us to discuss his unique training combining medicine with anthropology, the cultural factors that shaped his understanding of international development, how he spearheaded radical efforts to treat millions of HIV and multidrug-resistant tuberculosis patients around the world, the inner mechanisms of the World Bank, the moral philosophy that drives his work, and more.

In this episode, we discuss:

2:32 - Dr Kim’s motivation for pursuing both medicine and anthropology

8:04 - How Dr. Kim paired his clinical training with his passion for social justice

16:46 - How Dr. Kim stayed true to his moral convictions as he faced challenges in managing global crises such as the HIV epidemic in Africa

26:29 - The story of PEPFAR, one of the most ambitious initiatives to address the global HIV/AIDS pandemic pandemic

30:45 - How committing to moral justice can help people think outside of the box to meet the economic needs of a situation

33:36 - The history and goals of the World Bank

38:11 - How Dr. Kim prepared for his role at the World Bank, an organization that operates in many sectors in addition to global health

43:28 - How Dr. Kim maintains a sense of purpose and fulfillment throughout his career

Dr. Jim Yong Kim can be found on Twitter/X at @jim_yong12.

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.

Navigating the Gaps in Patient Stories | Ilana Yurkiewicz, MD Mar 26, 2024

Show notes

It's a cliche to say health care is broken. However, the extent to which it is unnecessarily convoluted, inefficient, and fragmented frustrates even the most experienced clinicians each time they are forced to deal with its consequences. Medical records disappear when a patient switches doctors. Critical details of life-saving treatment plans are buried deep within thousands of pages worth of electronic charts.

In this episode, Stanford oncologist and journalist Ilana Yurkiewicz, MD explores all the ways that modern medicine is riddled with gaps and the incredible strain this puts on providers, patients, and caregivers alike. She is the author of the 2023 book Fragmented: A Doctor's Quest to Piece Together American Health Care. In the first half of our conversation, Dr. Yurkiewicz shares how she connects with patients and helps them through the worst moments of their lives—often taking place after a cancer has been treated. In the second half, we discuss why electronic medical records are failing doctors and patients, how clinicians can strive to retain a sense of autonomy, and how she manages the uncertainty that this broken system frequently imposes upon her.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

2:53 - Dr. Yurkiewicz’s day job as a primary care physician specializing in cancer patients and survivors

5:49 - The benefits that cancer patients and survivors receive in seeing a primary care provider with additional training in oncology

10:34 - What initially drew Dr. Yurkiewicz to oncology

15:00 - Why helping people through times of suffering is meaningful to Dr. Yurkiewicz

18:30 - How Dr. Yurkiewicz became adept at dealing with the diverse emotional psychosocial of cancer survivors

22:45 - What “fragmentation of the healthcare system” means to Dr. Yurkiewicz

24:24 - How patients expect the medical system to work versus how it actually works

34:30 - The challenges physicians face in piecing together a patient’s story through medical charts

39:12 - The consequences of fragmented medical records

46:26 - How electronic medical records can be improved

50:44 - How Dr. Yurkiewicz retains a sense of autonomy amid a fragmented system

58:11 - Dr. Yurkiewicz’s approach to having difficult and high-stakes conversations with patients

Dr. Ilana Yurkiewicz is the author of Fragmented: A Doctor's Quest to Piece Together American Health Care (2023).

Dr. Yurkiewicz can be found on Instagram at @iyurkiewiczmd.

In this episode, we discuss Danielle Ofri’s 2019 New York Times Op Ed The Business of Healthcare is Built on Exploiting Healthcare Workers.

Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.

The Beauty in This Life | Nick Riggle, PhD Mar 19, 2024

Show notes

We didn’t choose to live this life. In its most difficult moments, it's all too natural to ask the question, “What makes life worth living?”

This question, so central to philosophy since ancient times, is what we explore in this episode with Nick Riggle, a professor of philosophy at University of California, San Diego. Riggle is the author of several books, most recently 2022’s This Beauty: A Philosophy of Being Alive.

Over the course of our conversation, we discuss aesthetics, which is the branch of philosophy concerned with beauty and art; the various ways that we, successfully or otherwise, have attempted to find meaning in life; why finding beauty and building an aesthetic community is so crucial to human well-being; and much more.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

2:29 - Nick’s path from being a pro-skater to becoming a philosophy professor and author

8:41 - How Nick approaches surveying philosophical thought through history

10:22 - The importance that aesthetics and beauty play in Nick’s studies

19:13 - What motivated Nick to write his book This Beauty

21:04 - How Nick conceptualized answering the central question of his book

23:51 - The takeaways that Nick personally found for what makes life worth living

29:15 - What it means to pay attention to the beautiful things in life

32:18 - Are some kinds of beauty and art “better” than others?

34:47 - The value of creating an aesthetic community

39:12 - Living an aesthetic life when your physical or mental state is limited

Nick Riggle is the author of multiple books and publications, including This Beauty: A Philosophy of Being Alive (2022), Aesthetic Life and Why it Matters (2022), and On Being Awesome: A Unified Theory on How Not to Suck (2017).

Nick Riggle can be found on Instagram at @nickriggle.

Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.

Human Flourishing in the Age of Artificial Intelligence | Eric Horvitz, MD, PhD Mar 12, 2024

Show notes

Anyone who has interacted with ChatGPT is likely to agree that it is one of the most powerful and transformative artificial intelligence tools out there. Writes our guest on this episode, Microsoft's Chief Scientific Officer Eric Horvitz, MD, PhD, “ChatGPT left me awestruck. It is a polymath with a remarkable capacity to integrate traditionally disparate concepts and methodologies to weave together ideas that transcend disciplinary boundaries.”

Dr. Horvitz is one of the leading voices in artificial intelligence (AI), serving now on the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology and formerly as President of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence. His research has been foundational to machine learning, AI integration of multisensory streams of information, computational models in imperfect information systems, and applications of AI amidst the complexities of the open world. As it happens, Dr. Horvitz is also a physician by training.

Over the course of our conversation, Dr. Horvitz discusses how studying AI has enabled him to explore the mysteries of human intelligence and why there are some domains of the human experience that AI will never capture. As you will hear, he brings an eloquent optimism to articulating the ways that AI will contribute to human flourishing.

In this episode, we discuss:

3:00 - Dr. Horvitz early trajectory from medical school to a PhD in computer science

7:42 - What Dr. Horvitz’s studies in AI have taught him about natural intelligence

10:00 - A primer of generative AI

21:16 - Dr. Horvitz’s view on the future potentials and dangers that AI will bring to society

29:04 - How the profit motive might shape the utilization of AI in our society

36:48 - The importance of approaching AI development from a human-centered lens

47:29 - What human flourishing could look like in a society steeped in artificial intelligence

Dr. Eric Horvitz is the author of numerous publications on artificial intelligence and its role in society.

Dr. Horvitz can be found on Twitter/X at @erichorvitz.

Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.

The Making of a Heart Surgeon | Craig Smith, MD Mar 05, 2024

Show notes

If you were to rank all the medical specialties by the arduousness of the training required, the technical complexity and high stress of the interventions involved, and the harshness of the working hours, cardiothoracic surgery would be near or at the top of anyone's list.

In this episode, cardiac surgeon and Chair of the Department of Surgery at Columbia University Medical Center Craig Smith, MD takes us into the heart and mind of a physician who regularly cracks open a person's chest to manipulate some of their most anatomically intricate parts in order to save their lives. He is the author of the 2023 memoir Nobility in Small Things: A Surgeon's Path, and famously performed the quadruple bypass surgery that saved former US president Bill Clinton's life in 2004.

Over the course of our conversation, Dr. Smith discusses the joys of exploring the human body, what motivates him to get up at 4 a.m. every day with the same burning passion for his work, why his family is one of the most important elements of work life balance, how he deals with mistakes and adverse events in the operating room, and more.

In this episode, you will hear about:

2:23 - Dr. Smith’s initial path to medicine

4:43 - What drew Dr. Smith to the field of cardiothoracic surgery and how he handles the high-stakes nature of the work.

15:47 - What happens when a surgery goes not go according to plan

18:54 - Dr. Smith’s approach to comforting and connecting with patients prior to surgery

22:24 - Dr. Smith’s experience performing surgery while struggling through what he later learned was a very early case of COVID-19 in early 2020

29:03 - How Dr. Smith views work-life balance

34:17 - The role of spirituality and religion in Dr. Smith’s work

35:51 - How Dr. Smith has retained his sense of purpose and calling throughout his career

45:28 – A patient story that encapsulates why performing surgery is so meaningful for Dr. Smith

Dr. Craig Smith is the author of Nobility in Small Things: A Surgeon’s Path (2023).

Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.

Taking Control of Your Cancer Journey | Kathy Guisti Feb 27, 2024

Show notes

When Kathy Giusti was told she had multiple myeloma one fateful day in 1996, she was 37 and in the midst of a successful rising career. She was the mother of a one-year-old baby with plans to have a second child. The disease had few treatments and she was given three years to live. Instead of sitting back, however, Kathy took action to create her own hope. That meant not only conducting research on treatments where there was none, but doing it with unprecedented speed and precision.

She founded the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation and became its first CEO. In the two decades since, the foundation has spearheaded a clinical network that has conducted nearly 100 trials and launched more than 150 new drugs, drastically increasing the life expectancy of patients from 3 to 10 years. For her work, she has been included among Fortune Magazine's list of the World's 50 Greatest Leaders and TIME Magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the world. Kathy is also the author of the 2024 book Fatal to Fearless, which helps cancer patients understand and navigate their own care.

Over the course of our conversation, Kathy describes her life before and after her diagnosis of multiple myeloma, how and why she took initiative to create new treatments for her own disease, what happened after she received a new diagnosis of breast cancer in 2022, and how all patients can better make the healthcare system work for them.
In this episode, we discuss:

3:00 - Kathy’s life before she was diagnosed with cancer

4:56 - What is multiple myeloma?

8:58 - Kathy’s reaction upon learning her diagnosis, both intellectually and emotionally

18:36 - How Kathy navigated the experience of concurrently going through IVF and cancer treatment

22:30 - The sources of support that Kathy leaned on throughout her cancer journey

24:40 - How Kathy and her sister started the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation

34:53 - How the treatment landscape for multiple myeloma has changed since Kathy was diagnosed in 1996

41:00 - A glossary of medical terms that have been discussed in this episode

44:33 - The current status of Kathy’s multiple myeloma

50:39 - Kathy’s key advice for both cancer patients and health care professionals for navigating cancer treatment
Kathy Guisti is the author of From Fatal of Fearless: 12 Steps to Beating Cancer in a Broken Medical System (2024).
In this episode we discuss the book When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi, and the essay The Median is Not the Message by Jay Gould, PhD, and our past episode The Physician Who Cured Himself (with Dr. David Fajgenbaum).
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.

One Hundred Voices Later — A Retrospective Feb 20, 2024

Show notes

In the 100th episode of The Doctor's Art, we reflect on the lessons and insights we have heard from guests over the past two years. We first share the story of how The Doctor’s Art podcast came to be, then we discuss some of the most meaningful and impactful episodes for us and how the show has changed the way we practice medicine and approach life. Finally, we share exciting new directions in which we hope to take the program.

In this episode, we discuss:

1:45 - How The Doctor’s Art podcast came to be

9:20 - Reflections on the growth and evolution of the podcast

16:05 - The deep meaning that Tyler found in recording Episode 19 (Art, Drama and a Terminal Illness, with Ellen Dunphy), which featured a terminally ill patient under his care shortly before her passing

22:35 - How Episode 41 (Love and Mercy in the ICU, with Wes Ely) set Henry up for success as he began his career as a physician

30:22 - The insights on suffering in Episode 52 (A Space for Mystery, with Elisha Waldman) that have influenced Tyler’s personal and professional lives

33:25 - How Episode 65 (Everyday Wonder in Medicine and Beyond, with Dacher Keltner) helped Henry find awe in everyday moments while working in the hospital

36:07 - The single sentence in Episode 73 (The Physician Who Cured Himself, with David Fajgenbaum) that has stayed with Henry and reminds him to cherish how our bodies work

39:10 - The two episodes that challenged the way Tyler perceives the world (Episode 86: Reflections at the End of Sight, with Andrew Leland and Episode 91: Inside a Suicidal Mind, with Clancy Martin)

41:24 - How Dacher Keltner’s explanation of awe points to the kinds of experiences and activities we can value and why some are more transformative than others

44:01 - The unexpected effect that Episode 21 (Pain, Pleasure, and Finding the Balance, with Anna Lembke) had on Tyler’s perception of addiction within our modern lives

51:37 - What’s next for The Doctor’s Art podcast

We would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for listening to this show. We would also like to thank our guests for their generosity in sharing their time with us.

Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.

Complexity and a Theory of Life | Neil Theise, MD Feb 13, 2024

Show notes

At the mention of human consciousness and the supposed interconnectivity of all things, your mind probably conjures up the countless books on meditation, alternative medicine, and mysticism that permeate self-help sections of bookstores. But complexity theory attempts to apply rigorous scientific analyses to universal questions of consciousness and being. At its heart, complexity theory seeks to understand how complex behaviors and patterns emerge from simple rules and interactions within a system. This theory, which draws from mathematics, computer science, and physics, challenges our traditional reductionist approaches to biology and reveals how life self-organizes from the substance of our universe, from interactions within the quantum foam to the formation of atoms and molecules, cells, human beings, social structures, ecosystems, and beyond.

Here to tell us more about it is Neil Theise, MD, a pathologist and complexity theorist who in 2023 wrote the book Notes on Complexity: A Scientific Theory of Connection, Consciousness and Being. Dr. Theise is Co-Director of Gastrointestinal and Liver Pathology at NYU's Grossman School of Medicine and is a pioneer of adult stem cell plasticity and the anatomy of the human interstitium.

In the first half of our conversation, Dr. Theise discusses his journey to pathology by way of Jewish studies and computer science during college, what it's like to decipher diseases through his biopsy samples, and the significance of being the doctor that other doctors turn to for guidance on treatments. In the second half of our conversation, Dr. Theise gives us a primer of complexity theory and how it seeks to explain the beauty and mysteries of life.

In this episode, we discuss:

4:01 - What a pathologist does and why Dr. Theise finds the work fulfilling

8:15 - Dr. Theise’s path to becoming a pathologist

15:22 - The unique role of pathologists in learning life-changing information about patients

20:42 - What it’s like to be the doctor that other doctors turn to for diagnostic puzzles

24:43 - A primer to complexity theory

37:03 - The difference between chaos theory and complexity theory

40:35 - How Dr. Theise came to study complexity theory and how it relates to our understanding of the body

54:38 - Why Dr. Theise believes that people should bring metaphysics back into their lives

Dr. Neil Theise can be found on Instagram at @neiltheise.

Dr. Neil Theise is the author of Notes on Complexity: A Scientific Theory of Connection, Consciousness, and Being(2023).

Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.

Your Brain on Art | Susan Magsamen, PhD and Ivy Ross Feb 06, 2024

Show notes

There is an increasing body of scientific evidence demonstrating a phenomenon humans across cultures have long known intuitively: we are biologically wired for art. Engaging in the arts transforms our neural circuitry in deep ways that we are only beginning to uncover, and studies are showing how the arts can help us live longer, stave off cognitive decline, reduce our stress hormones, nurture the development of young minds, reduce the impacts of PTSD, and more.

Joining us in this episode are two individuals at the forefront of the movement to translate this groundbreaking research to medicine, public health, education, the workplace, and other real world applications. Susan Magsamen is the director of the International Arts and Mind Lab at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where her research focuses on how our brains respond to artistic experiences. Ivy Ross is an acclaimed jewelry designer and Vice President of hardware design at Google. Together, they coauthored the 2023 New York Times best seller Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us.

Over the course of our conversation, Susan and Ivy discuss the emerging field of neuroaesthetics, how the arts can make us healthier, smarter and happier, and how we can incorporate more art into our everyday lives.

In this episode, we discuss:

2:40 - How Susan and Ivy’s paths led them to neuroarts

7:46 - What does it mean to be in a “flow state”?

15:12 - An introduction to neuroaesthetics and neuroarts

18:33 - Surprising impacts the arts have on health

25:58 - The health benefits of creating art in community

29:51 - What “aesthetics” means in the context of Susan and Ivy’s studies

33:53 - The science behind how the arts support healing

39:45 - Practical tips for someone who wants to begin engaging with art

46:32 - Dispelling the myth of “high art vs low art”

Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross are the co-authors of Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us (2023).

Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross can be found on Instagram at @yourbrainonartbook.

Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.

Reflections on Happiness from 80 Years in Medicine | Gladys McGarey, MD Jan 30, 2024

Show notes

Born in India in 1920, Gladys McGarey, MD has a life story marked with various pivotal moments of the 20th century. She witnessed Gandhi's Salt March in her final childhood days in India, arrived in the US amid the Great Depression, began medical school four months before the US joined World War II, and became a physician at a time when few women were accepted in the profession. She would later co-found the Academy of Integrative Health and Medicine and the American Board of Integrative Medicine. At over 100 years old, Dr Gladys, as she likes to be called, is still practicing medicine. In 2023, she published The Well-Lived Life A 102-Year-Old Doctor’s Six Secrets to Health and Happiness At Every Age, in which she details her approach to a happy life by focusing on finding love and purpose.

In this episode, Dr Gladys joins us to discuss her remarkable journey in medicine, what holistic medicine means to her, her own experiences with cancer, the healing power of love and human connection, and more.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

2:08 - Dr. Gladys’ early years and her path to becoming a physician

7:20 - The discrimination that Dr. Gladys endured as a female physician

11:02 - What Dr. Gladys’ medical practice looked like when she began her career

12:23 - Dr. Gladys’s definition of holistic medicine and how it became a part of her practice

18:22 - Dr. Gladys’s case for why love is essential when providing healing for a patient

23:27 - How Dr. Gladys’ own experience as a cancer patient demonstrates her approach to holistic medicine

26:12 - What Dr. Gladys believes has been lost amidst all of the advances that medicine has made

30:09 - How spirituality has affected Dr. Gladys’ approach to medicine

31:41 - Concrete ways that doctors can incorporate holistic sensibilities into their practices

Dr. Gladys can be found on Instagram at @begladmd.

Dr. Gladys MacGarey is the author of A Well Lived Life: A 102-Year Old Doctor’s Six Secrets to Health and Happiness at Any Age (2023).

Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.

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