In This Body with Meghan Rothenberger, MD

This week, I’m joined by Dr. Meghan Rothenberger, an infectious disease doctor whose story we first heard live on stage at Intersections, a live storytelling event produced by the Center for the Art of Medicine in Minneapolis in 2024 through our program, The Nocturnists Satellites.

Meghan grew up feeling uncertain and disconnected from her body. As a teenager, she struggled with an eating disorder, trying to make sense of the changes of adolescence and the cultural messages around her. Years later, as a medical student studying anatomy, she began to see the body not as something to control, but as something wondrous and worthy of care. In this conversation, Meghan talks with me about growing up, navigating an eating disorder, and finding healing through science, pregnancy, and the everyday miracle of being alive. Together, they explore how understanding the body can open the door to compassion, connection, and belonging within oneself.

Enjoy,Emily and The Nocturnists Team

Favorite moments from this week’s episode

The Poem That Stayed“The boy on the ski lift yelled, ‘Roses are red, violets are black—why is your chest as flat as your back?’ I laughed like it didn’t matter, but it did. That poem took root. It became a script I recited to myself for years—that my body was a problem to solve.”

Control and Disappearing“When I started restricting food, it didn’t feel like punishment—it felt like control. I was good at disappearing. Praise poured in. I didn’t know then that disappearing was the thing I’d have to unlearn for the rest of my life.”

The Body as Miracle“In anatomy lab, I looked down at this incredible architecture—nerves like threads of gold, arteries like rivers. I realized my body was doing all of this too. The sheer precision of it was awe-inspiring. It was the first time I thought: maybe my body isn’t ugly—it’s miraculous.”

Motherhood as Reclamation“Pregnancy forced me to surrender control. My body was suddenly huge and capable and unapologetic. It was the first time I felt powerful in it, not despite it. I thought, this is what it means to inhabit a body instead of fight it.”

The Miracle of Normal“Every day, I open a lab result and look straight at the red numbers—the ones that are off. But what about the ones in range? The ones that mean thousands of things went right today? We overlook the miracle of normal all the time.”

Call for stories: Trust in Medicine series

We’re excited to announce our new podcast series, Trust in Medicine.This series explores how trust in healthcare is being built, broken, and reimagined in a rapidly changing world—where shifting guidelines, systemic inequities, and new digital voices all shape how patients and clinicians experience medicine today. Submissions close Oct 31 at 11:59pm Pacific.

Upcoming Satellites Live Storytelling Events

Lost and Found: A Night of Physician StorytellingSunday, Nov 9 | The Box Riverside, Riverside CA | Free

Hosted by the Riverside–San Bernardino Chapter of the California Academy of Family Physicians, this Nocturnists Satellites event brings together five local physicians to share stories of loss, discovery, and what it means to find one’s way in medicine.Free admission — RSVP required.

A Night of StorytellingWed Nov 12 | UCSF Institute of Global Health Sciences, San Francisco CA | FreeAs part of the UCSF Institute for Global Health Sciences’ 25th anniversary celebration, IGHS is hosting a special evening of live storytelling. Five members of the IGHS community will share personal narratives of challenge, connection, and humor, inviting us to reflect on the past and envision a more compassionate and inclusive future for global health. Free admission — RSVP required.

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