Adam Hochschild

All right, welcome back. “Too many Americans are indifferent to their own history and know too little about it. This ignorance makes the present more baffling than it needs to be.” That from a Washington Post review of today’s book is the perfect start for today’s episode. If you think our current political atmosphere, divisiveness and the daily onslaught of negative news is unprecedented in American history, consider the period between 1917 and 1921. A period many of us have forgotten but a time that included the first world war, widespread suppression of speech and the press, mass imprisonment, horrifying lynchings of black Americans (including black veterans), labor strikes and yes, the Spanish flu pandemic.Our guide through this tumultuous period and today’s guest is journalist, historian and professor, Adam Hochschild. Adam is the author eleven books including his most recent, “American Midnight: The Great War, a Violent Peace, and Democracy’s Forgotten Crisis.”It’s a fantastic book, well researched book that delivers some much-needed context and perspective as all of us try to make sense or our own times. We really enjoyed having Adam with us and hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we did. With that said, let’s get started…

All right, welcome back. “Too many Americans are indifferent to their own history and know too little about it. This ignorance makes the present more baffling than it needs to be.” That from a Washington Post review of today’s book is the perfect start for today’s episode. If you think our current political atmosphere, divisiveness and the daily onslaught of negative news is unprecedented in American history, consider the period between 1917 and 1921. A period many of us have forgotten but a time that included the first world war, widespread suppression of speech and the press, mass imprisonment, horrifying lynchings of black Americans (including black veterans), labor strikes and yes, the Spanish flu pandemic. Our guide through this tumultuous period and today’s guest is journalist, historian and professor, Adam Hochschild. Adam is the author eleven books including his most recent, “American Midnight: The Great War, a Violent Peace, and Democracy’s Forgotten Crisis.” It’s a fantastic book, well researched book that delivers some much-needed context and perspective as all of us try to make sense or our own times. We really enjoyed having Adam with us and hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we did. With that said, let’s get started…

“American Midnight: The Great War, a Violent Peace, & Democracy’s Forgotten Crisis” -Adam Hochschild

It’s the holiday season with New Year’s just a few days away.  What better time to take a fun filled tour through the medicinal history of alcohol? Today’s guest is the perfect guide. Camper English is a journalist, author, and recognized expert in the world of cocktails and spirits. A member of the United States Bartenders' Guild, Camper is also an innovator, having invented something called "directional freezing," a technique to make perfectly clear ice that used in bars around the world.His recent book, “Doctors and Distillers: The Remarkable Medicinal History of Beer, Wine, Spirits, and Cocktails,” is on tap for today’s conversation. We hope you enjoy. With that said, let’s get started…

It’s the holiday season with New Year’s just a few days away.  What better time to take a fun filled tour through the medicinal history of alcohol? Today’s guest is the perfect guide. Camper English is a journalist, author, and recognized expert in the world of cocktails and spirits. A member of the United States Bartenders' Guild, Camper is also an innovator, having invented something called "directional freezing," a technique to make perfectly clear ice that used in bars around the world. His recent book, “Doctors and Distillers: The Remarkable Medicinal History of Beer, Wine, Spirits, and Cocktails,” is on tap for today’s conversation. We hope you enjoy. With that said, let’s get started…

Boozed Based Medicine. The medicinal history of alcohol with Camper English.

Have you ever wondered what its like being a doctor one of the most isolated and restricted countries on earth? We have. It’s a question Keith and I have explored and discussed many times over the years since starting this podcast. But how do you find and connect with someone in country where virtually all citizens are prohibited from contact with the outside world, and heavily surveilled when doing so?Today’s episode is one we were beginning to think we could never do. Finding the right person to interview involved overcoming barriers beyond our control. We even considered the possibility of interviewing a physician defector. Even if we could find such a person, how would we verify their identity, and cross check their stories? How would we really know who we were talking with? So, we tabled the idea, always hoping that one day we could find the right person.Today we have that person, and it turns out we were looking in the wrong places. We should have been looking closer to home.  Dr. Kee Park is a faculty neurosurgeon at Harvard Medical School, Director of the North Korea Program at the Korean American Medical Association, and member of the National Committee on North Korea and the Council of Korean Americans. He’s a world-renowned researcher and expert on global health and humanitarian medical aid.Since 2007, Kee has visited North Korea over 20 times, working alongside North Korean doctors, attending North Korean medical conferences, and even operating on patients in North Korean hospitals. There are few outsiders (especially Americans) that we are aware of with greater firsthand experience and trusted access in North Korea. As we’ll soon see, that trusted access has been hard earned over many years. It’s what enables Kee to continue his mission, helping patients in North Korea and around the world. As all of you will understand, we have no desire to do anything that could jeopardize Kee’s ability to continue his work or endanger his personal safety.  While this is was an eye-opening conversation, it did not include any political discussions or questions regarding the current North Korean regime. This was an amazing episode, and journey into a world most of us know very little about. With that said, let’s get started.

Have you ever wondered what its like being a doctor one of the most isolated and restricted countries on earth? We have. It’s a question Keith and I have explored and discussed many times over the years since starting this podcast. But how do you find and connect with someone in country where virtually all citizens are prohibited from contact with the outside world, and heavily surveilled when doing so? Today’s episode is one we were beginning to think we could never do. Finding the right person to interview involved overcoming barriers beyond our control. We even considered the possibility of interviewing a physician defector. Even if we could find such a person, how would we verify their identity, and cross check their stories? How would we really know who we were talking with? So, we tabled the idea, always hoping that one day we could find the right person. Today we have that person, and it turns out we were looking in the wrong places. We should have been looking closer to home. Dr. Kee Park is a faculty neurosurgeon at Harvard Medical School, Director of the North Korea Program at the Korean American Medical Association, and member of the National Committee on North Korea and the Council of Korean Americans. He’s a world-renowned researcher and expert on global health and humanitarian medical aid. Since 2007, Kee has visited North Korea over 20 times, working alongside North Korean doctors, attending North Korean medical conferences, and even operating on patients in North Korean hospitals. There are few outsiders (especially Americans) that we are aware of with greater firsthand experience and trusted access in North Korea. As we’ll soon see, that trusted access has been hard earned over many years. It’s what enables Kee to continue his mission, helping patients in North Korea and around the world. As all of you will understand, we have no desire to do anything that could jeopardize Kee’s ability to continue his work or endanger his personal safety. While this is was an eye-opening conversation, it did not include any political discussions or questions regarding the current North Korean regime. This was an amazing episode, and journey into a world most of us know very little about. With that said, let’s get started.

Inside the hidden world of North Korean Medicine with Neurosurgeon, Dr. Kee Park.

All right, welcome back. Today we’re exploring the history of surgery; taking a speedy but deliberate journey from prehistoric brain surgery to our modern high tech operating suites. As Rudyard Kipling once pointed out, “If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.” And this episode is all about the stories. Stories about heroes, risk takers and the gruesome reality that preceded all the medical and surgical advances we take for granted today. We’re joined by general surgeon and medical historian, Dr. Ira Rutkow. Ira is the author of eight books including his most recent, Empire of the Scalpel, which we’ll be covering today. This episode was a blast (especially for two guys like us who used to spend a lot of time together in the OR). We hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we did. With that said, let’s get started…

Small Steps & Giant Leaps. History of surgery with Dr. Ira Rutkow.

Robyn Short

All right, welcome back. Today we’re happy to have with us, Robyn Short. Robyn is a business consultant and specialist in conflict resolution and mediation. She is currently president and CEO of the Workplace Peace Institute, a consulting and research firm focusing on these areas. She is also an adjunct professor at Southern Methodist University.  With that said, let’s get started.

From Rwanda to the Boardroom. Conflicts at work with Robyn Short, PhD.

Max Friberg

Today we’re diving deep into an industry many of you have likely heard of and perhaps even participated in. It’s a nearly $2-billion-dollar global market, growing 15-20% each year. They are called expert networks and in the words of today’s guest, they are, “brokers of knowledge – all the stuff that is too niche, quirky, timely or contextual for anyone to put it in writing or audio.Traditionally, these expert networks have been the tools of trade for management consultants and analysts in hedge funds, private equity, and investment banking. That’s beginning to change as more and more professionals seek the insights, knowledge, and highly specialized expertise these expert networks offer, all through the medium of conversation. This even includes medical research and academia.Today’s guest is the ideal wise companion as we explore this space. Max Friberg began his career as a McKinsey Consultant, personally conducting hundreds of expert interviews in the course of his work. For Max, these expert interviews were critical in helping his clients tackle highly specific and challenging problems in their business. Today Max is the founder and CEO of Inex One, a platform that enables easy access to many of the world’s top expert networks, all in in one place. We’ll learn more about his company, how expert networks actually work and what can be gained from these highly specialized conversations.  With that said, let’s get started…

Today we’re diving deep into an industry many of you have likely heard of and perhaps even participated in. It’s a nearly $2-billion-dollar global market, growing 15-20% each year. They are called expert networks and in the words of today’s guest, they are, “brokers of knowledge – all the stuff that is too niche, quirky, timely or contextual for anyone to put it in writing or audio. Traditionally, these expert networks have been the tools of trade for management consultants and analysts in hedge funds, private equity, and investment banking. That’s beginning to change as more and more professionals seek the insights, knowledge, and highly specialized expertise these expert networks offer, all through the medium of conversation. This even includes medical research and academia. Today’s guest is the ideal wise companion as we explore this space. Max Friberg began his career as a McKinsey Consultant, personally conducting hundreds of expert interviews in the course of his work. For Max, these expert interviews were critical in helping his clients tackle highly specific and challenging problems in their business. Today Max is the founder and CEO of Inex One, a platform that enables easy access to many of the world’s top expert networks, all in in one place. We’ll learn more about his company, how expert networks actually work and what can be gained from these highly specialized conversations.  With that said, let’s get started…

Expert Network Intelligence with Inex One CEO, Max Friberg

Anil Seth

Today we’re privileged and delighted to have one of the world’s leading researchers in neuroscience, Anil Seth. Anil is Professor of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience at the University of Sussex and Founding Co-Director of the Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science. He has published over 100 scientific papers and book chapters and is the Editor-in-Chief of the journal, Neuroscience of Consciousness. His TED talk on consciousness and controlled hallucination has been viewed over 12 million times and stands as one of TED’s most popular science talks. Today we’ll dig deep into (what Cal Fussman would call) the big questions of neuroscience: Is my reality the same as yours (do we see the same color red)? What does it mean to be you? Why did we evolve to have consciousness? Are different states of consciousness such as we see in comas, sleep, and general anesthesia measurable and clearly definable?  What is consciousness and where in the brain can we find it? Why does a brain adapted to basic, hunter gatherer survival also include the capacity to compose symphonies, write philosophy, debug software code, go to the moon and ponder questions about the nature of its own existence?  Will we ever be able to deconstruct the basic elements of consciousness and reconstruct them in a computer AI?This episode was a lot of fun and will probably be one of my most favorite. With that said, exploring our current understanding of the brain, consciousness, and the fundamental reality of who we are and how we experience the world around us is just not something you can knock out in an hour. That’s why I can’t recommend to you enough to check out Anil’s new book, “Being You.” With that said, let’s get started…

Today we’re privileged and delighted to have one of the world’s leading researchers in neuroscience, Anil Seth. Anil is Professor of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience at the University of Sussex and Founding Co-Director of the Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science. He has published over 100 scientific papers and book chapters and is the Editor-in-Chief of the journal, Neuroscience of Consciousness. His TED talk on consciousness and controlled hallucination has been viewed over 12 million times and stands as one of TED’s most popular science talks. Today we’ll dig deep into (what Cal Fussman would call) the big questions of neuroscience: Is my reality the same as yours (do we see the same color red)? What does it mean to be you? Why did we evolve to have consciousness? Are different states of consciousness such as we see in comas, sleep, and general anesthesia measurable and clearly definable? What is consciousness and where in the brain can we find it? Why does a brain adapted to basic, hunter gatherer survival also include the capacity to compose symphonies, write philosophy, debug software code, go to the moon and ponder questions about the nature of its own existence? Will we ever be able to deconstruct the basic elements of consciousness and reconstruct them in a computer AI? This episode was a lot of fun and will probably be one of my most favorite. With that said, exploring our current understanding of the brain, consciousness, and the fundamental reality of who we are and how we experience the world around us is just not something you can knock out in an hour. That’s why I can’t recommend to you enough to check out Anil’s new book, “Being You.” With that said, let’s get started…

Consciousness & Being a Beast Machine with Neuroscientist, Anil Seth, PhD

Scott Browning

Today we’re exploring a particular challenge in the mental health space, the gulf between academic research and real-world clinical practice. As you’ll learn in the episode, only a surprising few of the published articles in psychology and psychiatry journals are ever read by practicing mental health professionals.Today we’re happy to welcome two guests working to bridge this gap. Dr. Scott Browning is a researcher and professor of psychology at Chestnut Hill College. Dr. Brad van Eeden-Moorefield is a researcher and professor of Family Science and Human Development at Monclair State University.Their new book, coming out next week and published by the American Psychological Association is titled, “Treating Contemporary Families: Toward a More Inclusive Clinical Practice.” This was a great conversation and we really enjoyed having Scott and Brad on the show. With that said, let’s get started…

Today we’re exploring a particular challenge in the mental health space, the gulf between academic research and real-world clinical practice. As you’ll learn in the episode, only a surprising few of the published articles in psychology and psychiatry journals are ever read by practicing mental health professionals. Today we’re happy to welcome two guests working to bridge this gap. Dr. Scott Browning is a researcher and professor of psychology at Chestnut Hill College. Dr. Brad van Eeden-Moorefield is a researcher and professor of Family Science and Human Development at Monclair State University. Their new book, coming out next week and published by the American Psychological Association is titled, “Treating Contemporary Families: Toward a More Inclusive Clinical Practice.” This was a great conversation and we really enjoyed having Scott and Brad on the show. With that said, let’s get started…

Psychology, Science & Practice. Scott Browning, PhD & Brad Van Eeden-Moorefield, PhD

Stanley McChrystal

Today we’re excited and honored to have with us, retired US Army General Stanley McChrystal. A retired four-star general with 34 years of service, Stanley was the commander of all US and coalition forces in Afghanistan from 2009 to 2010. Prior to this, he served as commander of JSOC or the Joint Special Operations Command, overseeing the US military’s most elite units including Delta Force and SEAL Team 6. According to journalist Sean Naylor, in his Book, Relentless Strike, McChrystal was, “the general whose vision and intensity transformed JSOC into a global man-hunting machine.” His tenure included the capture of Sadam Hussein and the killing infamous terrorist, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.Today Stanley is founder and CEO of the McChrystal Group, a strategic consulting firm. He is also a senior fellow at Yale University’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, where he teaches a course on Leadership. His books include, My Share of the Task, Team of Teams, Leadership- Myths and Realities and his newest book that we’ll be discussing today, Risk. A Users Guide. I’m really proud of how this conversation came out. It was a lot of fun and we hope you enjoy. With that said, let’s get started.

Today we’re excited and honored to have with us, retired US Army General Stanley McChrystal. A retired four-star general with 34 years of service, Stanley was the commander of all US and coalition forces in Afghanistan from 2009 to 2010. Prior to this, he served as commander of JSOC or the Joint Special Operations Command, overseeing the US military’s most elite units including Delta Force and SEAL Team 6. According to journalist Sean Naylor, in his Book, Relentless Strike, McChrystal was, “the general whose vision and intensity transformed JSOC into a global man-hunting machine.” His tenure included the capture of Sadam Hussein and the killing infamous terrorist, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Today Stanley is founder and CEO of the McChrystal Group, a strategic consulting firm. He is also a senior fellow at Yale University’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, where he teaches a course on Leadership. His books include, My Share of the Task, Team of Teams, Leadership- Myths and Realities and his newest book that we’ll be discussing today, Risk. A Users Guide. I’m really proud of how this conversation came out. It was a lot of fun and we hope you enjoy. With that said, let’s get started.

The Business of Risk with Gen. Stanley McChrystal

Colin's brief reflection and personal story from September 11th.

Weeks, Years and a Royal Tribute. Brief thoughts on the 20th anniversary of September 11th.

Welcome to PeerSpectrum, where we dive deep with uncommon conversations in and around medicine. Expand your practice by exploring the world and ideas beyond it and get ready to make your downtime count. Get ready for PeerSpectrum with Dr. Keith Mankin and Colin Miller.

I highly recommend PeerSpectrum. Informative, interesting, well produced. I look forward to more!

Excellent Podcasts!

Many things I admired about Dr Suzanne Watson:
She tragically lost her husband &amp; had to move forward w/ raising 4 children, starting her ministry in the Episcopal church while facing financial challenges. She pursued her dream of a medical career despite the obstacles in her life. I admire what she&#39;s done to reduce the stigma of mental illness w/ education &amp; good resources. Suzanne has taken a personal tragedy &amp; turned it into something that can help her patients &amp; others. This was an excellent podcast w/ Keith Menkin &amp; Colin Miller. Hope Dr Watson will agree to another podcast in the future. We have so much to learn from her, which can guide us in how to help others too!

Lean toward risk: conversation with 54 year old medical student, Suzanne Watson

PeerSpectrum | Journeys in Medicine

It's no mystery to most of you that poor health behaviors such as smoking, substance abuse, poor nutrition, lack of exercise and patient non-compliance account for a substantial portion of the disease burden, not to mention costs, in the US. Some recent estimates by the CDC and other researchers suggest behaviors account for 40-50% of increased risk associated with deaths before age 75. The problems are clear. What to do about them isn't. There's no “will power” medication to prescribe, and most public health efforts thus far have barely made a dent. But what if old fashioned will power really isn't the issue? What if something researchers call “introspection illusion,” is causing us to overestimate our own will power, and underestimate the capacities of others?Today's guest is psychologist and behavioral scientist, Wendy Wood. She is currently a professor of psychology and business at the University of Southern California, and a visiting professor at the INSEAD Business School in Paris. Wendy has spent much of her career studying what she considers the very building blocks of behavioral change, something we all know as habits. Angela Duckworth describes her as “the world's foremost expert in the field.” And according to Adam Grant, she is “widely recognized as the authority on the science of habits,” We'll explore her research and recent book, “Good Habits, Bad Habits.” Our conversation also touches on what's commonly called, the replication and reproducibility crisis. Wendy has a unique lens on this issue, having served as one of fifteen distinguished scientists chosen by the American Academy of Sciences to study the problem.This was a fun episode with a lot of ground covered. With that said, let's get started...

It's no mystery to most of you that poor health behaviors such as smoking, substance abuse, poor nutrition, lack of exercise and patient non-compliance account for a substantial portion of the disease burden, not to mention costs, in the US. Some recent estimates by the CDC and other researchers suggest behaviors account for 40-50% of increased risk associated with deaths before age 75. The problems are clear. What to do about them isn't. There's no “will power” medication to prescribe, and most public health efforts thus far have barely made a dent. But what if old fashioned will power really isn't the issue? What if something researchers call “introspection illusion,” is causing us to overestimate our own will power, and underestimate the capacities of others? Today's guest is psychologist and behavioral scientist, Wendy Wood. She is currently a professor of psychology and business at the University of Southern California, and a visiting professor at the INSEAD Business School in Paris. Wendy has spent much of her career studying what she considers the very building blocks of behavioral change, something we all know as habits. Angela Duckworth describes her as “the world's foremost expert in the field.” And according to Adam Grant, she is “widely recognized as the authority on the science of habits,” We'll explore her research and recent book, “Good Habits, Bad Habits.” Our conversation also touches on what's commonly called, the replication and reproducibility crisis. Wendy has a unique lens on this issue, having served as one of fifteen distinguished scientists chosen by the American Academy of Sciences to study the problem. This was a fun episode with a lot of ground covered. With that said, let's get started...

Harnessing the habitual mind. Psychologist & behavioral scientist, Wendy Wood, PhD

Robert Adams

Today we’ve got a pretty awesome guest for you. What was once a secret, and very much unknown group of elite US military soldiers, has now become a virtual household name inspiring countless books, news stories and even movies.While all of you have certainly heard of Navy SEAL’s, very few of you have likely met one. They’re a small, select and rare group. Even rarer are the handful of Navy Seals who have gone on become physicians. Today’s guest is one of these few.To become a SEAL requires one to pass one of (if not the) most difficult, grueling and selective training processes in the world. This includes a crucible called Hell Week where recruits face six torturous days of physical tests, no sleep, freezing cold water, hazardous elements and (for those who make it through) watching each day as most of your fellow classmates ultimately quit the process. The stresses and physiological impacts to the human body are very real, leaving many graduates presenting with the same signs and symptoms seen in POWs, or even victims of torture. It’s what we’re going to talk about today and who better to explore it with us than physician who went through it himself.Today Dr. Robert Adams is family physician with the UNC health system. He entered medical school after serving as an elite Navy SEAL for 12 years. His recently published book, “Six Days of the Impossible,” is the first ever exploration of this process from a medical perspective. It’s an unbelievably fascinating story for part I of our conversation with Bob. Part II is the result of our regrets for all the questions and topics we didn’t get to in that first conversation. So we asked Bob to come back for another round. After this episode we’ll continue the journey in part II with Bob’s time as a command surgeon for the Army’s elite Delta Force, and his experiences as army physician in post invasion Iraq. Get ready for an exciting ride. With that said, let’s get started…

Today we’ve got a pretty awesome guest for you. What was once a secret, and very much unknown group of elite US military soldiers, has now become a virtual household name inspiring countless books, news stories and even movies. While all of you have certainly heard of Navy SEAL’s, very few of you have likely met one. They’re a small, select and rare group. Even rarer are the handful of Navy Seals who have gone on become physicians. Today’s guest is one of these few. To become a SEAL requires one to pass one of (if not the) most difficult, grueling and selective training processes in the world. This includes a crucible called Hell Week where recruits face six torturous days of physical tests, no sleep, freezing cold water, hazardous elements and (for those who make it through) watching each day as most of your fellow classmates ultimately quit the process. The stresses and physiological impacts to the human body are very real, leaving many graduates presenting with the same signs and symptoms seen in POWs, or even victims of torture. It’s what we’re going to talk about today and who better to explore it with us than physician who went through it himself. Today Dr. Robert Adams is family physician with the UNC health system. He entered medical school after serving as an elite Navy SEAL for 12 years. His recently published book, “Six Days of the Impossible,” is the first ever exploration of this process from a medical perspective. It’s an unbelievably fascinating story for part I of our conversation with Bob. Part II is the result of our regrets for all the questions and topics we didn’t get to in that first conversation. So we asked Bob to come back for another round. After this episode we’ll continue the journey in part II with Bob’s time as a command surgeon for the Army’s elite Delta Force, and his experiences as army physician in post invasion Iraq. Get ready for an exciting ride. With that said, let’s get started…

The Toughest Doctor We’ve Ever Met. Former Navy SEAL, Dr. Robert Adams: Part I

David Sinclair

Today we're heading to the front-lines of research testing and challenging one of the most basic truths of the human experience...we all get older and we all eventually die. Today's guest doesn't buy this. In fact, he actually views aging as a diagnosable disease, a disease that can be managed today, and one day fully treated.Now, before you start rolling your eyes, let's meet today' guest. David Sinclair is a professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School and co-director of the Paul Glenn Center Biological Mechanisms of Aging. He is widely considered one the world's foremost experts on longevity research. A co-founder of the journal Aging and several biotech companies, he also holds 35 patents. A recipient of more than 25 awards and honors, including being knighted in the Order of Australia, and Time Magazine's top 100 most influential people. Besides his peer-reviewed research, his work is featured in five books, two documentary movies, 60 Minutes, Morgan Freeman’s, “Through the Wormhole,” and other media.David's newest book, “Lifespan, Why We Age and Why We Don't Have To,” is to quote the blurb on the cover, “an elegant and exciting book that deserves to be read broadly and deeply." That comes from Siddhartha Mukherjee, the famous Columbia University oncologist, and winner of the Pulitzer prize. Not bad!It was a rare treat to have David with us today. Our conversation is also a great reminder that these really are incredible and exciting times we're living in. With that said, let's get started.

Today we're heading to the front-lines of research testing and challenging one of the most basic truths of the human experience...we all get older and we all eventually die. Today's guest doesn't buy this. In fact, he actually views aging as a diagnosable disease, a disease that can be managed today, and one day fully treated. Now, before you start rolling your eyes, let's meet today' guest. David Sinclair is a professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School and co-director of the Paul Glenn Center Biological Mechanisms of Aging. He is widely considered one the world's foremost experts on longevity research. A co-founder of the journal Aging and several biotech companies, he also holds 35 patents. A recipient of more than 25 awards and honors, including being knighted in the Order of Australia, and Time Magazine's top 100 most influential people. Besides his peer-reviewed research, his work is featured in five books, two documentary movies, 60 Minutes, Morgan Freeman’s, “Through the Wormhole,” and other media. David's newest book, “Lifespan, Why We Age and Why We Don't Have To,” is to quote the blurb on the cover, “an elegant and exciting book that deserves to be read broadly and deeply." That comes from Siddhartha Mukherjee, the famous Columbia University oncologist, and winner of the Pulitzer prize. Not bad! It was a rare treat to have David with us today. Our conversation is also a great reminder that these really are incredible and exciting times we're living in. With that said, let's get started.

Crossing Medicine's Last Perimeter. Aging & Longevity with Harvard Geneticist, David Sinclair, PhD.

Andrew Peacock

Today’s episode is not about Covid-19. Instead we’re going to give all of you a break and take you as far away from this as we possibly (and virtually) can. For that, we’re heading to Queensland, Australia to meet Dr. Andrew Peacock, an emergency physician, award winning photographer, accomplished climber and expedition guide for Lindblad expeditions, a travel company contracted with National Geographic. This conversation takes us everywhere from Antarctica to Nepal, aboard a Russian ice breaker ship, technical climbing in New Zealand, and even a private audience with the Dali Lama.  We’ll learn how a lucky break in Antarctica sparked a side career for Andrew in photography. Best of all, we’ll uncover how a busy emergency medical physician has made this life possible, while literally setting the standard for work life balance.This was simply an incredible episode. We had a blast doing it. With that said, let’s get started.

Today’s episode is not about Covid-19. Instead we’re going to give all of you a break and take you as far away from this as we possibly (and virtually) can. For that, we’re heading to Queensland, Australia to meet Dr. Andrew Peacock, an emergency physician, award winning photographer, accomplished climber and expedition guide for Lindblad expeditions, a travel company contracted with National Geographic. This conversation takes us everywhere from Antarctica to Nepal, aboard a Russian ice breaker ship, technical climbing in New Zealand, and even a private audience with the Dali Lama. We’ll learn how a lucky break in Antarctica sparked a side career for Andrew in photography. Best of all, we’ll uncover how a busy emergency medical physician has made this life possible, while literally setting the standard for work life balance. This was simply an incredible episode. We had a blast doing it. With that said, let’s get started.

Mountaineering, photography and the Dalai Lama. Emergency and expedition doctor, Andrew Peacock, MD.

Christopher Robertson

In January of 2018, Warren Buffett, Jeff Bezos and Jamie Dimon announced the creation of a new, co-venture, to tackle the rising costs of healthcare for their company’s employees. They immediately picked famous writer and surgeon, Atul Gawande to lead it. Short on details but big on promise, just the simple announcement of this venture sent shock waves through the media and the markets. Billions of dollars in stock value for insurance companies and other health sector players vanished over night. Two years later, we have a name for this venture (Haven Health) but little else. What they’re up to, and what they’re planning, is still a big mystery. Whatever ultimately happens here, it will matter, simply because names like Amazon and Warren Buffet are behind it. The question is, how much will it matter for the rest of us? How much can anyone (even powerful billionaires) really change the American healthcare system? Today’s guest is Christopher Robertson, Associate Dean for Research and Innovation and Professor of Law at the University of Arizona. His background and research interests overlap many academic disciplines, including bioethics, health law, incentives, behavioral economics and more. His CV includes a PhD in philosophy and a law degree from Harvard. Unfortunately, Chris doesn’t have behind the scenes access to Haven Health (we know, we asked him). But, he does have a new book exploring some unique ideas and research that should certainly be on their radar, and yours. The book, “Exposed: Why Our Health Insurance is Incomplete and What can be Done About,” also includes a historical overview of our modern American health system, a history often forgotten and overlooked in today's political debates. This was great conversation and we really enjoyed having Christopher on. With that said, let’s get started…

In January of 2018, Warren Buffett, Jeff Bezos and Jamie Dimon announced the creation of a new, co-venture, to tackle the rising costs of healthcare for their company’s employees. They immediately picked famous writer and surgeon, Atul Gawande to lead it. Short on details but big on promise, just the simple announcement of this venture sent shock waves through the media and the markets. Billions of dollars in stock value for insurance companies and other health sector players vanished over night. Two years later, we have a name for this venture (Haven Health) but little else. What they’re up to, and what they’re planning, is still a big mystery. Whatever ultimately happens here, it will matter, simply because names like Amazon and Warren Buffet are behind it. The question is, how much will it matter for the rest of us? How much can anyone (even powerful billionaires) really change the American healthcare system? Today’s guest is Christopher Robertson, Associate Dean for Research and Innovation and Professor of Law at the University of Arizona. His background and research interests overlap many academic disciplines, including bioethics, health law, incentives, behavioral economics and more. His CV includes a PhD in philosophy and a law degree from Harvard. Unfortunately, Chris doesn’t have behind the scenes access to Haven Health (we know, we asked him). But, he does have a new book exploring some unique ideas and research that should certainly be on their radar, and yours. The book, “Exposed: Why Our Health Insurance is Incomplete and What can be Done About,” also includes a historical overview of our modern American health system, a history often forgotten and overlooked in today's political debates. This was great conversation and we really enjoyed having Christopher on. With that said, let’s get started…

Overexposure. Law Professor and Health Economics Researcher, Christopher Robertson, PhD, JD

William Gordon

All right, welcome back. Imagine a world where patients can access their medical records anytime, anywhere with immutable security. Imagine every instance along a patient's continuum of care recorded and easily searchable. Imagine the opportunity to meta search millions of health records and data points, and even outcomes, without compromising an individual patient's personal identity. Imagine patients using these resources to evaluate and choose their hospitals, and even you.Folks, this isn't science fiction or wishful thinking. It's a technology called block-chain and if you've heard of bitcoin, you've heard of block-chain.Today we have Dr. William Gordon with us to unpack this technology and help us separate the hype from the real (and very exciting) promise. While in Medical School at Cornell, Will also had a side gig as a software developer. Will became involved with several technology start ups, including serving as director of clinical products at one after residency. Today Will is a clinical informatics fellow at Partners Healthcare while also serving as a hospitalist at Mass General, and clinical instructor with Harvard Medical College. His research and recent papers focus on Blockchain and the unique promise it holds for medicine. Obviously, with his background, Will is uniquely qualified to help us explore this exciting new technology. With that said let's get started...

All right, welcome back. Imagine a world where patients can access their medical records anytime, anywhere with immutable security. Imagine every instance along a patient's continuum of care recorded and easily searchable. Imagine the opportunity to meta search millions of health records and data points, and even outcomes, without compromising an individual patient's personal identity. Imagine patients using these resources to evaluate and choose their hospitals, and even you. Folks, this isn't science fiction or wishful thinking. It's a technology called block-chain and if you've heard of bitcoin, you've heard of block-chain. Today we have Dr. William Gordon with us to unpack this technology and help us separate the hype from the real (and very exciting) promise. While in Medical School at Cornell, Will also had a side gig as a software developer. Will became involved with several technology start ups, including serving as director of clinical products at one after residency. Today Will is a clinical informatics fellow at Partners Healthcare while also serving as a hospitalist at Mass General, and clinical instructor with Harvard Medical College. His research and recent papers focus on Blockchain and the unique promise it holds for medicine. Obviously, with his background, Will is uniquely qualified to help us explore this exciting new technology. With that said let's get started...

First Bitcoin, Next Medicine. Blockchain with Harvard Physician & Technologist, Dr. William Gordon

Cindy Wu

Denny Luan

How do you feel about funding scientific research, particularly medical research? How efficient, effective and fair is the grant system in deploying billions of taxpayer dollars? Are funds targeted towards diseases proportional to their occurrence in patient populations? Are the influences of disease specific non-profit groups helpful or hurtful? Are the interests and activities of biomedical companies aligned with the needs of you, and your patients?Well, if you think there's room for some serious improvement, today's episode is for you.Cindy Wu was a young undergraduate student at the University of Washington, working on a way to modify an enzyme treatment for anthrax, using a videogame. (which, by the way, is a heck of a lot more than I was doing in college) Eager to find funding for her idea, Cindy approached her professor. “Cindy, [he responded] the system doesn’t fund people like you...It only funds tenured professors.” Although he ended up helping her by sharing money from one of his own research grants, Cindy had taken her first glance at the huge world of underfunded, and undiscovered science.Cindy wanted to do something, but she needed help. She discussed the problem with her friend, Denny Luan, a fellow student with a software background. The amazing solution they came up with was pitched to silicon valley investors in 2013, at Y Combinator. That three minute pitch brought in 1.2 million dollars in initial startup funds, and Experiment.com, a unique crowd funding platform for scientific research was born.Like early stage investing, it's easy to see this space as early stage research. Bill Gates has described Experiment as a, "solution [that] helps close the gap for potential and promising, but unfunded projects." Most research in gap can be funded by as little as 5 to 10 thousand dollars!We know what you're thinking. 5-10 grand? Maybe for a university science fair, but certainly not for legitimate medical research. As we're seeing though, technologies such as CRISPR gene editing, 3D printing and artificial intelligence are already lowering the costs and barriers to researchers in ways that would have been unimaginable just a few years ago. This will only continue, and companies like Experiment are leading the way into this undiscovered country. With that said, we're happy to bring you the founders of Experiment, Cindy Wu and Denny Luan....

How do you feel about funding scientific research, particularly medical research? How efficient, effective and fair is the grant system in deploying billions of taxpayer dollars? Are funds targeted towards diseases proportional to their occurrence in patient populations? Are the influences of disease specific non-profit groups helpful or hurtful? Are the interests and activities of biomedical companies aligned with the needs of you, and your patients? Well, if you think there's room for some serious improvement, today's episode is for you. Cindy Wu was a young undergraduate student at the University of Washington, working on a way to modify an enzyme treatment for anthrax, using a videogame. (which, by the way, is a heck of a lot more than I was doing in college) Eager to find funding for her idea, Cindy approached her professor. “Cindy, [he responded] the system doesn’t fund people like you...It only funds tenured professors.” Although he ended up helping her by sharing money from one of his own research grants, Cindy had taken her first glance at the huge world of underfunded, and undiscovered science. Cindy wanted to do something, but she needed help. She discussed the problem with her friend, Denny Luan, a fellow student with a software background. The amazing solution they came up with was pitched to silicon valley investors in 2013, at Y Combinator. That three minute pitch brought in 1.2 million dollars in initial startup funds, and <a href="http://Experiment.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Experiment.com</a>, a unique crowd funding platform for scientific research was born. Like early stage investing, it's easy to see this space as early stage research. Bill Gates has described Experiment as a, "solution [that] helps close the gap for potential and promising, but unfunded projects." Most research in gap can be funded by as little as 5 to 10 thousand dollars! We know what you're thinking. 5-10 grand? Maybe for a university science fair, but certainly not for legitimate medical research. As we're seeing though, technologies such as CRISPR gene editing, 3D printing and artificial intelligence are already lowering the costs and barriers to researchers in ways that would have been unimaginable just a few years ago. This will only continue, and companies like Experiment are leading the way into this undiscovered country. With that said, we're happy to bring you the founders of Experiment, Cindy Wu and Denny Luan....

Undiscovered Country: Research Funding 2.0 with Cindy Wu & Denny Luan, founders of Experiment

Brad Huerta

We've all heard the bad news about rural hospitals in the U.S. 60 million of our fellow citizens rely on these small hospitals, often known by their designation as critical access facilities. According to a recent analysis conducted by the consulting firm, Navigant, 21% of rural hospitals today are at a severe risk of closure. That includes 430 hospitals across 43 states, representing 21,000 staffed beds, 150,000 employees and $21 billion in revenue. When one of these hospitals closes (and 95 have so far since 2010) critical access to care isn't the only casualty. These hospitals are often largest employers and drivers of economic activity in their communities. The ripple effects are felt wide and deep every time a hospital shuts its doors.OK, that's the bad news. How about some good news? Today we're making the trip to a remote town in Idaho, known as Arco. With a population of only 900, Arco is small. You won't find many restaurants, you won't even find a Walmart but you will find a hospital. A small 14 bed hospital called Lost Rivers (by the way, what a cool name for a hospital, right). Its existence and survival in the face of overwhelming odds is the story of today's episode. When our guest, CEO Brad Huerta, took over in 2013, he wasn't there to save Lost Rivers, he was there to shut it down. With over three million dollars in debt, pending bankruptcy, and only seven thousand dollars of cash in the bank, the situation was beyond grim. Today this same hospital is cash positive, free of every dime of debt, running six years with a yearly profit, and getting ready to open a new surgery center. How is this possible and what happened after Brad arrived? Well, it's one heck of a ride and one hell of a story. So buckle in and get ready. With that said, let's get started.

We've all heard the bad news about rural hospitals in the U.S. 60 million of our fellow citizens rely on these small hospitals, often known by their designation as critical access facilities. According to a recent analysis conducted by the consulting firm, Navigant, 21% of rural hospitals today are at a severe risk of closure. That includes 430 hospitals across 43 states, representing 21,000 staffed beds, 150,000 employees and $21 billion in revenue. When one of these hospitals closes (and 95 have so far since 2010) critical access to care isn't the only casualty. These hospitals are often largest employers and drivers of economic activity in their communities. The ripple effects are felt wide and deep every time a hospital shuts its doors. OK, that's the bad news. How about some good news? Today we're making the trip to a remote town in Idaho, known as Arco. With a population of only 900, Arco is small. You won't find many restaurants, you won't even find a Walmart but you will find a hospital. A small 14 bed hospital called Lost Rivers (by the way, what a cool name for a hospital, right). Its existence and survival in the face of overwhelming odds is the story of today's episode. When our guest, CEO Brad Huerta, took over in 2013, he wasn't there to save Lost Rivers, he was there to shut it down. With over three million dollars in debt, pending bankruptcy, and only seven thousand dollars of cash in the bank, the situation was beyond grim. Today this same hospital is cash positive, free of every dime of debt, running six years with a yearly profit, and getting ready to open a new surgery center. How is this possible and what happened after Brad arrived? Well, it's one heck of a ride and one hell of a story. So buckle in and get ready. With that said, let's get started.

True Grit at Lost Rivers. Saving a hospital from the brink with CEO, Brad Huerta.

Susan Culican

Welcome back. During our last episode we had an incredible conversation with the founders of Experiment.com, a very novel and exciting platform for crowd funding scientific research. If you missed this episode, definitely check it out. Keith and I came away so impressed with their venture, we decided to take a deeper look at some of the current research. One experiment really jumped out, so we invited the lead researcher to join us. That researcher is today's guest, Dr. Susan Culican, professor of Ophthalmology and residency directory at the Washington University School of Medicine, and the St. Louis Children's Hospital.We covered a lot of ground in this episode: alternatives to traditional grant funding, resident education and best of all... Susan's current research that ...get ready... actually challenges the long held assumption that only surgeons have the expertise to reliably assess surgical skill. Her experiment seeks to prove that non-clinicians (i.e. the public) while viewing surgical videos can assess surgical skill just as accurately as highly skilled attendings. Not a chance, you say! Well, see how you feel at the end of this episode. You might just change your mind. With that said, let's get started.

Welcome back. During our last episode we had an incredible conversation with the founders of <a href="http://Experiment.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Experiment.com</a>, a very novel and exciting platform for crowd funding scientific research. If you missed this episode, definitely check it out. Keith and I came away so impressed with their venture, we decided to take a deeper look at some of the current research. One experiment really jumped out, so we invited the lead researcher to join us. That researcher is today's guest, Dr. Susan Culican, professor of Ophthalmology and residency directory at the Washington University School of Medicine, and the St. Louis Children's Hospital. We covered a lot of ground in this episode: alternatives to traditional grant funding, resident education and best of all... Susan's current research that ...get ready... actually challenges the long held assumption that only surgeons have the expertise to reliably assess surgical skill. Her experiment seeks to prove that non-clinicians (i.e. the public) while viewing surgical videos can assess surgical skill just as accurately as highly skilled attendings. Not a chance, you say! Well, see how you feel at the end of this episode. You might just change your mind. With that said, let's get started.

Forget Peer Review: Dr. Susan Culican looks to the crowd for untrained eyes & unconventional funding

This was a brief conversation between Colin and Keith regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. It was recorded on March, 24th 2020. For all of you on medicine's front lines, we're thinking about you every day, and we're deeply grateful for all you are doing, for all of us. Stay safe and take care.

Thank you from Colin and Keith. Brief thoughts on COVID-19.

Laurence Jacobs

All right, welcome back. If you're still around in the year 2061, two things will be true. You'll enjoy seeing the next passing of Halley's Comet, and your life insurance company will enjoy having collected four more decades of your life insurance premiums, without a payout. Standing there that day you and your insurance company can be grateful for the work of one man, the exact same man that comet is named for. The English astronomer, mathematician and physicist, Edmond Halley. Why you ask? Well, not only did Halley develop the calculations to predict the comet's periodicity, he is also developed the early mathematical tools for predicting human longevity, known very well to your insurance company as actuarial science. Today's guest, like Halley is also a physicist, a theoretical physicist to be exact. And like Halley he sees no need to limit his research interests to one academic domain. Laurence Jacobs began is career at MIT pursuing some of the broader mysteries of our universe. Today he's pursuing another ambitious project, quantifying all of the measures, signs, risk models, data sets, bio-wearable monitoring outputs, health history, genomics and more into (perhaps) one single accessible number. Something you may have heard called a health score. Something that promises to refine our ability to predict longevity, and even improve it. This was an amazing conversation and not a short one. The potential benefits of developing these tools are huge, but so are the challenges and dizzying complexities. Many of the answers will likely come from surprising and unexpected places. To quote one of our past guests, Dr. Robert Gale, the American physician at Chernobyl, “Progress is often made by those who investigate the boundaries of several areas, instead of having laser-like focus on a single discipline. That’s where many of the answers in science reside.” That's exactly where we find Laurence Jacobs today, in Zurich Switzerland where he continues to develop the main concepts and the risk models that underlie the Dacadoo Health Score  and the remote disease monitoring and management system, remsmed / EMMA Care. With that said, let's get started..

All right, welcome back. If you're still around in the year 2061, two things will be true. You'll enjoy seeing the next passing of Halley's Comet, and your life insurance company will enjoy having collected four more decades of your life insurance premiums, without a payout. Standing there that day you and your insurance company can be grateful for the work of one man, the exact same man that comet is named for. The English astronomer, mathematician and physicist, Edmond Halley. Why you ask? Well, not only did Halley develop the calculations to predict the comet's periodicity, he is also developed the early mathematical tools for predicting human longevity, known very well to your insurance company as actuarial science. Today's guest, like Halley is also a physicist, a theoretical physicist to be exact. And like Halley he sees no need to limit his research interests to one academic domain. Laurence Jacobs began is career at MIT pursuing some of the broader mysteries of our universe. Today he's pursuing another ambitious project, quantifying all of the measures, signs, risk models, data sets, bio-wearable monitoring outputs, health history, genomics and more into (perhaps) one single accessible number. Something you may have heard called a health score. Something that promises to refine our ability to predict longevity, and even improve it. This was an amazing conversation and not a short one. The potential benefits of developing these tools are huge, but so are the challenges and dizzying complexities. Many of the answers will likely come from surprising and unexpected places. To quote one of our past guests, Dr. Robert Gale, the American physician at Chernobyl, “Progress is often made by those who investigate the boundaries of several areas, instead of having laser-like focus on a single discipline. That’s where many of the answers in science reside.” That's exactly where we find Laurence Jacobs today, in Zurich Switzerland where he continues to develop the main concepts and the risk models that underlie the Dacadoo Health Score and the remote disease monitoring and management system, remsmed / EMMA Care. With that said, let's get started..

Keeping score. Seeking a grand equation for health with theoretical physicist, Laurence Jacobs, PhD.

Lloyd Minor

Today we have Dr. Lloyd Minor with us on the show. He's an ENT surgeon, scientist, innovator and currently dean of the Stanford University School of Medicine. We covered his early career path, a surgical treatment he actually developed and his new book, “Discovering Precision Health,” released just this month in March, 2020.As the leader of one of the nation's top medical schools, located right in the heart of Silicon Valley, Dr. Minor has a unique lens on medicine's innovation pipeline. His new book and our conversation offer a glimpse into this world. With that said, let's get started...

Today we have Dr. Lloyd Minor with us on the show. He's an ENT surgeon, scientist, innovator and currently dean of the Stanford University School of Medicine. We covered his early career path, a surgical treatment he actually developed and his new book, “Discovering Precision Health,” released just this month in March, 2020. As the leader of one of the nation's top medical schools, located right in the heart of Silicon Valley, Dr. Minor has a unique lens on medicine's innovation pipeline. His new book and our conversation offer a glimpse into this world. With that said, let's get started...

Accelerating Bench to Bedside. Stanford University School of Medicine Dean, Dr. Lloyd Minor.

Jeffrey Keller

All right welcome back. Here's a quick trivia question, which group of US patients are constitutionally guaranteed access to free medical care? And no this is not a trick question. The answer...prisoners.Today we're jumping into an area of medicine few, if any of us, know much about. Let's be honest, how many of you out there have even seen the inside of a prison of jail? Not many, we guess. Criminal records and professional medical licensing don't mix well.For those of you who've been with us for awhile, you know this isn't a political program. I say this because I'm going to read a few stats here. Don't worry, we're not gearing up for a policy discussion on prison reform. It is an important issue, but outside the scope of our conversation today.As of 2016, there were 2.1 million people incarcerated in the US. That makes us the world leader both in the total number incarcerated and a per-capita incarceration rate (655 per 100,000). That rate beats everyone, even places like China, North Korea, Russia, Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia. As of 2015, the US population represented only 4.4% of the global population, while we held a whopping 21% of the global prison population.We're reading these stats to show just how big US prison medicine is. That's over two million people who are constitutionally guaranteed free medical care. Just imagine how many doctors, nurses and other medical professionals it takes to deliver that amount of care. Today's guest is one of them.[Read more…]Dr. Jeffery Keller is emergency medicine physician. After 23 years working in a busy trauma center, Keller got a call from the local jail. They needed help. Working in prison didn't sound very appealing, so he politely declined. Six months later they called again. This time he reluctantly agreed, but only temporarily. Then a funny thing happened, Keller actually started to enjoy his work seeing and treating inmates. So began a new path in Keller's career. A path through a largely unknown area of medicine that we're going to explore today. With that said, let's get started.

All right welcome back. Here's a quick trivia question, which group of US patients are constitutionally guaranteed access to free medical care? And no this is not a trick question. The answer...prisoners. Today we're jumping into an area of medicine few, if any of us, know much about. Let's be honest, how many of you out there have even seen the inside of a prison of jail? Not many, we guess. Criminal records and professional medical licensing don't mix well. For those of you who've been with us for awhile, you know this isn't a political program. I say this because I'm going to read a few stats here. Don't worry, we're not gearing up for a policy discussion on prison reform. It is an important issue, but outside the scope of our conversation today. As of 2016, there were 2.1 million people incarcerated in the US. That makes us the world leader both in the total number incarcerated and a per-capita incarceration rate (655 per 100,000). That rate beats everyone, even places like China, North Korea, Russia, Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia. As of 2015, the US population represented only 4.4% of the global population, while we held a whopping 21% of the global prison population. We're reading these stats to show just how big US prison medicine is. That's over two million people who are constitutionally guaranteed free medical care. Just imagine how many doctors, nurses and other medical professionals it takes to deliver that amount of care. Today's guest is one of them. [Read more…] Dr. Jeffery Keller is emergency medicine physician. After 23 years working in a busy trauma center, Keller got a call from the local jail. They needed help. Working in prison didn't sound very appealing, so he politely declined. Six months later they called again. This time he reluctantly agreed, but only temporarily. Then a funny thing happened, Keller actually started to enjoy his work seeing and treating inmates. So began a new path in Keller's career. A path through a largely unknown area of medicine that we're going to explore today. With that said, let's get started.

Lockdown. Inside Prison Medicine with ER Physician, Dr. Jeffrey Keller.

Nullius in verba. Understanding uncertainty with statistician, Sir David Speigelhalter, PhD by Keith Mankin, MD &amp; Colin Miller

Nullius in verba. Understanding uncertainty with statistician, Sir David Speigelhalter, PhD

Jonathan Gruber

All right welcome back. If you could pick the ideal patient population, armed with the best knowledge, fluent in medical jargon, generally healthy and willing to comply with recommended treatments, who would you pick? How about doctors? Doctors may not be perfect patients but at least they should outperform similar non-clinicians, right? Surprisingly, little to no research has actually been done comparing the care, compliance and outcomes of doctors to comparable groups of non- physicians. For reasons we'll soon see, this is actually a difficult question to tackle, but it's a very important question with broader implications. Today's guest is MIT economist, Jonathan Gruber. He recently co-authored a study using a unique data source to examine just how good doctors and their family members are when they find themselves in the patient seat. Spoiler alert, obviously if the results aren't surprising, we probably would not be here talking about it. That's for the first part of this episode. In the second, we'll explore some of Jonathan's other work. Besides his 160 researcher papers, seven books, numerous awards and prestigious appointments, there's also something else Jonathan is known for. He was one of key advisors (come have even called architects) of Romney-care and Obamacare. Perhaps you've forgotten so let's see if this jogs your memory: www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLOV4oUXawg So if you've been listening to us long enough, you know PeerSpectrum, unlike CNN, is not your home for politics. There are plenty of other places to go for that. Not that Keith and I don't have our opinions, we just recognize our limitations. We aren't journalists and we don't pretend to be. We'll leave the politics to them. Did we bring up Gruber's history and talk about it? You bet. There was no way we could skip it completely. In his own words, Gruber became a virtual proxy for the intense debates taking place during the lead up the passage of the ACA. Whatever you think about Obamacare, or Gruber personally, he's important figure and someone worth talking with. With that said, let's get started.

All right welcome back. If you could pick the ideal patient population, armed with the best knowledge, fluent in medical jargon, generally healthy and willing to comply with recommended treatments, who would you pick? How about doctors? Doctors may not be perfect patients but at least they should outperform similar non-clinicians, right? Surprisingly, little to no research has actually been done comparing the care, compliance and outcomes of doctors to comparable groups of non- physicians. For reasons we'll soon see, this is actually a difficult question to tackle, but it's a very important question with broader implications. Today's guest is MIT economist, Jonathan Gruber. He recently co-authored a study using a unique data source to examine just how good doctors and their family members are when they find themselves in the patient seat. Spoiler alert, obviously if the results aren't surprising, we probably would not be here talking about it. That's for the first part of this episode. In the second, we'll explore some of Jonathan's other work. Besides his 160 researcher papers, seven books, numerous awards and prestigious appointments, there's also something else Jonathan is known for. He was one of key advisors (come have even called architects) of Romney-care and Obamacare. Perhaps you've forgotten so let's see if this jogs your memory: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLOV4oUXawg" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLOV4oUXawg</a> So if you've been listening to us long enough, you know PeerSpectrum, unlike CNN, is not your home for politics. There are plenty of other places to go for that. Not that Keith and I don't have our opinions, we just recognize our limitations. We aren't journalists and we don't pretend to be. We'll leave the politics to them. Did we bring up Gruber's history and talk about it? You bet. There was no way we could skip it completely. In his own words, Gruber became a virtual proxy for the intense debates taking place during the lead up the passage of the ACA. Whatever you think about Obamacare, or Gruber personally, he's important figure and someone worth talking with. With that said, let's get started.

Trading Places. Do Doctors Make Better Patients? MIT Economist, Jonathan Gruber, PhD.

Ellen Kurtzman

Today we're exploring the future of PA's and NP's. Many of you listening work very closely with them, and in-fact many of you listening are PA's and NP's. As the roles, responsibilities and autonomy of PA's and NP's continue to grow, an interesting question comes up. Can we actually compare the effectiveness of PA's and NP's to doctors?To help us tackle this question is today's guest, Dr. Ellen Kurtzman. Ellen is a professor of nursing at George Washington University and she has made nurses, nurse practitioners and physician assistants a major focus of her research. She's held several senior leadership roles in organizations such as the American Health Care Association, American Red Cross, and The Partnership for Behavioral Healthcare. She is also a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing.Ellen's recently published research compares the practice patterns and quality of care of NP's/PA's vs. family physicians, in a very specific setting. As you'll see, this paper is just the beginning of some really interesting forthcoming research and debate related to our question.With that said, let's get started...

Today we're exploring the future of PA's and NP's. Many of you listening work very closely with them, and in-fact many of you listening are PA's and NP's. As the roles, responsibilities and autonomy of PA's and NP's continue to grow, an interesting question comes up. Can we actually compare the effectiveness of PA's and NP's to doctors? To help us tackle this question is today's guest, Dr. Ellen Kurtzman. Ellen is a professor of nursing at George Washington University and she has made nurses, nurse practitioners and physician assistants a major focus of her research. She's held several senior leadership roles in organizations such as the American Health Care Association, American Red Cross, and The Partnership for Behavioral Healthcare. She is also a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. Ellen's recently published research compares the practice patterns and quality of care of NP's/PA's vs. family physicians, in a very specific setting. As you'll see, this paper is just the beginning of some really interesting forthcoming research and debate related to our question. With that said, let's get started...

Extending Medicine's Reach. The Future of PA's and NP's with Ellen Kurtzman, PhD.

Alan Levinovitz

Name: Alan Levinovitz, PhDLocation: James Madison University: Harrisburg, VASpecialty: Professor of Religion and Philosophy“Although scientific training can inoculate against the power of nutritional myths, by no means does it guarantee immunity.”-Alan Levinovitz, “The Gluten Lie”All right, welcome back. Do a quick search on Amazon for books about gluten and over three thousand results show up. Everything from cooks books, diet guides and even childrens' books show up. If you're a listener to this podcast, and you don't have celiac disease, these are not the books likely found in your home library.Happily there's one book, on the first page of results, that you should own though. Called “The Gluten Lie”, it's well researched, backed up with peer-reviewed data and it's about much more than just Gluten. Who wrote this book you ask? An MD out there who was fed up with latest irrational diet craze. No, this book was written by our guest today, Alan Levinovitz, a professor of Religion and Philosophy at James Madison University. As we'll soon explore with Alan, many of these diet crazes, pseudo science myths and other crazy beliefs are nothing new. They've popped up again and again throughout history, and if we don't learn from history, well, you can guess what happens.This was a unique conversation and probably one of the funnest yet. Alan is fighting the good fight, writing for The Atlantic, Time, Fortune and NPR just to name a few. He's also a great guy to talk with and the kind of professor you wish you had had in college. With that said, let's get started....

Name: Alan Levinovitz, PhD Location: James Madison University: Harrisburg, VA Specialty: Professor of Religion and Philosophy “Although scientific training can inoculate against the power of nutritional myths, by no means does it guarantee immunity.” -Alan Levinovitz, “The Gluten Lie” All right, welcome back. Do a quick search on Amazon for books about gluten and over three thousand results show up. Everything from cooks books, diet guides and even childrens' books show up. If you're a listener to this podcast, and you don't have celiac disease, these are not the books likely found in your home library. Happily there's one book, on the first page of results, that you should own though. Called “The Gluten Lie”, it's well researched, backed up with peer-reviewed data and it's about much more than just Gluten. Who wrote this book you ask? An MD out there who was fed up with latest irrational diet craze. No, this book was written by our guest today, Alan Levinovitz, a professor of Religion and Philosophy at James Madison University. As we'll soon explore with Alan, many of these diet crazes, pseudo science myths and other crazy beliefs are nothing new. They've popped up again and again throughout history, and if we don't learn from history, well, you can guess what happens. This was a unique conversation and probably one of the funnest yet. Alan is fighting the good fight, writing for The Atlantic, Time, Fortune and NPR just to name a few. He's also a great guy to talk with and the kind of professor you wish you had had in college. With that said, let's get started....

The Fascinating History of Bad Medicine and Dangerous Belief Systems: Alan Levinovitz, PhD

Robert Gale

As you heard last time, Dr. Gale (a bone marrow transplant specialist from UCLA) rose to international prominence after being the first American physician invited by the Soviet Union to treat patients suffering acute radiation trauma, only days after the horrific incident at Chernobyl.Our journey continues as Dr. Gale is flown in by helicopter to personally survey the Chernobyl nuclear power-plant. This only weeks after the meltdown of reactor number four. We'll see what it was like walking through the eerily empty streets of Pripyat. This was literally one of the most dangerous and heavily restricted areas on the planet. For an outsider, especially an American, to be personally inspecting this area, actually treating patients, all during the height of the cold war, was simply unthinkable... until it actually happened.For those of you who enjoyed the recent hit HBO series on Chernobyl, we'll spend a little more time there. Then we'll move on to subsequent nuclear incidents such as Tokiamura and Fukushima, and Dr. Gale's first hand experience with those. We'll discuss his lessons learned and his thoughts on the future of nuclear energy. We'll also see what he's up to today.It's an incredible part II for this rare series. With that said, let's get started.

As you heard last time, Dr. Gale (a bone marrow transplant specialist from UCLA) rose to international prominence after being the first American physician invited by the Soviet Union to treat patients suffering acute radiation trauma, only days after the horrific incident at Chernobyl. Our journey continues as Dr. Gale is flown in by helicopter to personally survey the Chernobyl nuclear power-plant. This only weeks after the meltdown of reactor number four. We'll see what it was like walking through the eerily empty streets of Pripyat. This was literally one of the most dangerous and heavily restricted areas on the planet. For an outsider, especially an American, to be personally inspecting this area, actually treating patients, all during the height of the cold war, was simply unthinkable... until it actually happened. For those of you who enjoyed the recent hit HBO series on Chernobyl, we'll spend a little more time there. Then we'll move on to subsequent nuclear incidents such as Tokiamura and Fukushima, and Dr. Gale's first hand experience with those. We'll discuss his lessons learned and his thoughts on the future of nuclear energy. We'll also see what he's up to today. It's an incredible part II for this rare series. With that said, let's get started.

The American Doctor at Chernobyl, Part II: Dr. Robert Gale

Thirty three years after the worst nuclear disaster in human history, the name Chernobyl rings ominously, and continues to inspire fear, outrage, debate and grim curiously. It's a captivating story now being re-told dramatically, though not completely accurately, through HBO's new and very popular mini-series.We've had some pretty unique people on this program but perhaps today's guest is more unique than most. Dr. Robert Gale is an academic physician who's spent his career researching and treating patients with Leukemia and other bone marrow disorders. He's published over 800 research articles and books, he's an international expert on nuclear disaster response, and get this...he's even written for, and appeared in several Hollywood movies. Oh, he's also the shared recipient of an Emmy award for his work in a, "60 Minutes" piece.As you heard in the opening news clip, Dr. Gale rose to international prominence after being the first American physician invited by the Soviet Union to treat patients suffering from acute radiation trauma after Chernobyl. It's where our journey begins on this special two part episode. With that said, let's get started.

Thirty three years after the worst nuclear disaster in human history, the name Chernobyl rings ominously, and continues to inspire fear, outrage, debate and grim curiously. It's a captivating story now being re-told dramatically, though not completely accurately, through HBO's new and very popular mini-series. We've had some pretty unique people on this program but perhaps today's guest is more unique than most. Dr. Robert Gale is an academic physician who's spent his career researching and treating patients with Leukemia and other bone marrow disorders. He's published over 800 research articles and books, he's an international expert on nuclear disaster response, and get this...he's even written for, and appeared in several Hollywood movies. Oh, he's also the shared recipient of an Emmy award for his work in a, "60 Minutes" piece. As you heard in the opening news clip, Dr. Gale rose to international prominence after being the first American physician invited by the Soviet Union to treat patients suffering from acute radiation trauma after Chernobyl. It's where our journey begins on this special two part episode. With that said, let's get started.

The American Doctor at Chernobyl, Part I: Dr. Robert Gale

Devi Shetty

Today's guest is Dr. Devi Shetty, a cardiac surgeon, entrepreneur and one of the most famous physicians in India. What's he famous for? Well, he performed the very first neonatal heart surgery in India, and actually served as Mother Teresa's personal physician after operating on her following a heart attack. Obviously, we weren't missing the opportunity to explore these unusual stories, but they are far from the main focus of our conversation. Dr. Shetty is best known for the unique and innovative health system he created. A system so revolutionary, the Wall Street Journal has nicknamed him the "Henry Ford of Medicine."We'll uncover what it takes to perform an advanced cardiac procedure, with western trained doctors, state of the art equipment, comparably lower complication rates than most US hospitals, for only $2,000 with a profit. The same procedure that would cost over $100,000 in the US with higher complication rates and additional OR time.Make no mistake, their model isn't simply about cheaper overseas labor and this isn't a story about medical tourism.We'll see how Naryana Health functions as a working laboratory for testing and implementing new techniques, technologies, models, and training allowing them to be more agile, efficient and safer than any hospital you have likely yet encountered. We'll see how Naryana Health has become a profitable publicly traded company while adhering to a policy of never refusing care to a patient regardless of their ability to pay. Yes, you heard that right! A profitable private hospital system that also provides free medical care.An hour just wasn't enough here. It was incredible conversation that only just scratches the surface of what's going on. It's also a forward look at what's coming whether we like it or not. With that said let's get started.

Today's guest is Dr. Devi Shetty, a cardiac surgeon, entrepreneur and one of the most famous physicians in India. What's he famous for? Well, he performed the very first neonatal heart surgery in India, and actually served as Mother Teresa's personal physician after operating on her following a heart attack. Obviously, we weren't missing the opportunity to explore these unusual stories, but they are far from the main focus of our conversation. Dr. Shetty is best known for the unique and innovative health system he created. A system so revolutionary, the Wall Street Journal has nicknamed him the "Henry Ford of Medicine." We'll uncover what it takes to perform an advanced cardiac procedure, with western trained doctors, state of the art equipment, comparably lower complication rates than most US hospitals, for only $2,000 with a profit. The same procedure that would cost over $100,000 in the US with higher complication rates and additional OR time. Make no mistake, their model isn't simply about cheaper overseas labor and this isn't a story about medical tourism. We'll see how Naryana Health functions as a working laboratory for testing and implementing new techniques, technologies, models, and training allowing them to be more agile, efficient and safer than any hospital you have likely yet encountered. We'll see how Naryana Health has become a profitable publicly traded company while adhering to a policy of never refusing care to a patient regardless of their ability to pay. Yes, you heard that right! A profitable private hospital system that also provides free medical care. An hour just wasn't enough here. It was incredible conversation that only just scratches the surface of what's going on. It's also a forward look at what's coming whether we like it or not. With that said let's get started.

Treating Mother Teresa & Model-T Medicine: Cardiac Surgeon, Dr. Devi Shetty

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Best Episodes on Physical Health & Your Body

The best podcasts about ourselves as well as the world through the lense of Science. Specific topics include things about our brain, emotions to biology, physics and more!