White Coat, Black Art

At 28 years old, Dr. Soania Mathur was building her medical practice and expecting her first child. Then, she was diagnosed with Young-Onset Parkinson’s Disease. She tried to ignore her diagnosis for a decade, but as the symptoms progressed, she had to close her practice. Now, the self-described "Unshakeable MD" uses her experience as both a patient and a doctor to advocate for especially young people living with Parkinson's, as up to 10% of patients are under 40.

How far would you go to test your body in extreme heat? Ironworker apprentice Britnee Miazek travels hundreds of kilometres to Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario for a gruelling experiment to see how her body deals with high temperatures. She wants to find out why she stopped getting her period while working in sweltering conditions on a coke oven. Researchers are hoping to find answers for Britnee, and understand more about the long-term health effects of working in an increasingly hot environment.This episode is part of a CBC collaboration called "Overheated" where White Coat, Black Art, What on Earth, and Quirks and Quarks explore how heat is affecting our health, our cities and our ecosystems.

When Kalpit Sharma started smoking high-THC weed several times a day, he thought he was just “living his life” as a university student. But then, he started hearing voices. Researcher Dr. Daniel Myran shares the science behind stories like Kalpit’s – and why young men are particularly at risk for concerning mental health outcomes.

We're replaying this episode in honour of National Indigenous History Month. Former senator and chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Murray Sinclair spent the last months of his life at St. Boniface Hospital in Winnipeg. He found comfort in the music of Quinton Poitras, a Métis musician with Artists in Healthcare Manitoba who played his favourite songs. Niigaan Sinclair says that even though his father was in a lot of pain, the music helped him feel joy in the moment.

Dr. Theresa Tam steps down this week after eight years as Canada’s chief public health officer. Best known for leading the COVID-19 public health response, Tam tells Dr. Brian Goldman in a sit-down interview that Canada urgently needs a national vaccine registry to better manage outbreaks like measles, and must do more to support science and fight misinformation.

Cardiologist, scientist and bestselling author Dr. Eric Topol's new book "Super Agers" distills decades of research on how to make us healthier for longer. Topol says that humanity is on the cusp of developing treatments to help tame cancer, dementia and other chronic diseases… just as political forces in the U.S. are shutting down that research.

Alberta is dealing with almost 800 cases of measles, the most in nearly forty years. Dr. Mark Joffe is an infectious disease physician who recently served as Alberta's chief medical officer of health (CMOH). He says there’s a huge need to get the message out that the vaccine is safe and will protect people. Dr. James Talbot, an adjunct professor at the University of Alberta and a former CMOH for Alberta, is concerned provincial leaders aren't taking this measles outbreak urgently enough.

After 25+ years as a family physician, Dr. Fan-Wah Mang closed her practice because she burned out. Now, she’s at Humber River Hospital in Toronto, teaching the next generation of family doctors how to avoid the pitfalls that made her leave. Two of the residents know what they’ll need to be a family physician long term, and it may surprise you.

Thousands of Canadians are in line for a joint replacement surgery. Tracey Knowlton is one of them, waiting over 84 weeks for a knee replacement. Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Stephen Kwan says long waits are an ongoing, system-wide problem. Health-care policy experts like Tom McIntosh say we know how to make it better and faster for patients, but provincial health leaders need to step up.

A crowd lines up every weekday at a unique walk-in dermatology clinic in Toronto. People have conditions ranging from severe rashes to potentially cancerous moles, and can’t wait months for an appointment with a skin doctor. Dr. Davindra Singh, who runs the clinic, calls it a dermatology crisis.