The Doctor's Art

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 neuroarts7:46 - 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.If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.Copyright The Doctor’s Art Podcast 2024

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 physician7:20 - 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 medicine26:12 - What Dr. Gladys believes has been lost amidst all of the advances that medicine has made30:09 - How spirituality has affected Dr. Gladys’ approach to medicine 31:41 - Concrete ways that doctors can incorporate holistic sensibilities into their practicesDr. 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.If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.Copyright The Doctor’s Art Podcast 2024

Ben Taub Hospital, located in the heart of Houston, Texas, is the city's largest hospital for those who cannot afford medical care. Texas, in turn, is the US state with the country's largest uninsured population. Amid chaotic emergency rooms and busy hospital wards serving the most financially and medically vulnerable people, Ricardo Nuila, MD finds meaning and beauty through stories he hears from his patients. In addition to his duties as a hospitalist at Ben Taub Hospital, Dr. Nuila is an associate professor of medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, where he directs the Humanities Expression and Arts Lab, as well as an author whose writings have appeared in the Atlantic, the New Yorker, the New York Times Sunday Review, and more. His 2023 book, The People's Hospital: Hope and Peril in American Medicine, explores the ups and downs of American medicine through the lens of patients he has encountered at Ben Taub. Over the course of our conversation, we discuss what it's like to practice in a safety net hospital, the power of narrative medicine in connecting with patients, and how clinicians can hold onto their strength of character, even when working in a system that often feels broken and indifferent to human suffering.In this episode, we discuss: 2:25 - How Dr. Nuila became drawn to both medicine and creative writing  6:07 - The characteristics that define different types of hospitals 12:06 - A patient story that exemplifies the experience of being a doctor at a public safety net hospital 20:33 - How Dr. Nuila finds deeper meaning in providing care, even when faced with systemic circumstances that a doctor can’t fix25:34 - Dr. Nuila’s advice for how to get through the moments when you feel like you are “at war” with gaps in the system 42:32 - How narrative medicine and storytelling can make more effective clinicians 45:45 - Dr. Nuila’s advice on how to make a career in medicine meaningful Dr. Ricardo Nuila can be found on Twitter/X at @Riconuila.Dr. Nuila is the author of The People’s Hospital (2023).Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.Copyright The Doctor’s Art Podcast 2024

As an English professor at Yale University, essayist and literary critic William Deresiewicz observed a trend across American higher education that troubled him deeply. Instead of learning to think independently, critically, creatively, and courageously, students were increasingly subscribing to a mode of careerism, credentialism, and conformism that focused on climbing the academic or professional ladder. So what is the value of higher education? As Deresiewicz writes in his 2014 book Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American Elite and the Way to a Meaningful Life, colleges, first and foremost, are supposed to teach you to think, to help you develop a habit of skepticism and the capacity to put it into practice. More than that, college is where you build a soul — your moral, intellectual, sensual, emotional self, through exposure to books, ideas, works of art, and pressures of the minds around you that are looking for their own answers to the big questions. Questions of love, family, God, mortality, time, truth, dignity, and the human experience. Over the course of our conversation, we discuss the search for a meaningful life, the worth of a liberal education, the role of mentorship, the relationship between solitude and leadership, what it means to cultivate moral imagination, and more.In this episode, we discuss: 3:00 - Deresiewicz’ approach to teaching during his years as a college professor6:25 - The reason why parents are not ideally positioned to guide their children through questions of what they want to do with their lives 8:02 - What Deresiewicz believes is the purpose of higher education 10:50 - What it means to “shape the soul” of students 17:12 - What we miss when we take a scientistic view of the world 20:45 - The challenge of establishing normative values in society, and why a “moral education” should be prioritized instead28:25 - The search for individualism among students today30:55 - What true leadership looks like and why people in powerful positions in our society do not often exhibit these traits40:28 - What does it mean to have a sense of purpose?43:00 - How young people can work to develop their sense of a calling or purposeWilliam Deresiewicz is the author of four books, including A Jane Austen Education (2011), Excellent Sheep (2014), The Death of the Artist (2020), and The End of Solitude (2022), as well as multiple essays, including Solitude and Leadership (2010) and The Disadvantages of an Elite Education (2008). William Deresiewicz can be found on Twitter/X at @Wderesiewicz.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. 

What happens to the mortality rates of cardiac arrest patients on days when there is a marathon happening in the city? What happens to surgical complication rates when it's the surgeon's birthday? Why do patients of younger doctors seem to have better health outcomes? These and other quirky questions are what preoccupy health economist, Anupam Jena, MD, PhD. Dr. Jena is a professor of health care policy at Harvard Medical School, professor of medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, host of the popular Freakonomics, MD podcast, and, together with Dr. Christopher Worsham, co-author of the 2023 book Random Acts of Medicine. Over the course of our conversation, we discuss the often-unintuitive role that random chance plays in our health outcomes, the hidden drivers of medical decision-making, misconceptions about physician burnout, and more. As we'll see, through tackling what can be amusing questions about why physicians and patients behave the way they do, Dr. Jena encourages us to reconsider our own ways of thinking and imagine how we can do better and be better.In this episode, we discuss: 2:18 - The path that took Dr. Jena to the intersection of medicine and economics8:54 - How Dr. Jena discovers topics for research12:12 - Unexpected and important findings that Dr. Jena has learned over the course of his work19:18 - Dr. Jena’s focus on “natural experiments”22:02 - Thinking about physician burnout from an economist’s perspective36:42 - The mission Dr Jena had when he set out to write Random Acts of Medicine44:08 - Dr. Jena’s advice for medical trainees on how to understand the hidden forces of the medical systemDr. Anupam Jena can be found on Twitter/X at @AnupamBJena.Dr. Jena is the co-author of Random Acts of Medicine (2023) and the host of Freakonomics, MD. Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.Copyright The Doctor’s Art Podcast 2024

From ancient myths to science fiction, humans have long been fascinated by the idea of transcending the limits of our natural lifespan. But what does modern medicine say about the practical, actual possibilities of extending human life? Joining us to explore this tantalizing question is Tony Wyss-Coray, PhD, a neuroscientist and director of the Phil and Penny Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience at Stanford University. While his research focuses on age-related cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease, his work has involved identifying the “biological age” of various organs and its implications on various diseases, and treating old animals with the blood of young animals to halt, and even reverse, aging of the body. Over the course of our conversation, we not only discuss the mysterious mechanisms underlying neurodegeneration, but also venture beyond the lab to explore the philosophical and ethical dimensions of life extension. We ask: how does our understanding of aging affect our perception of self and identity? Is aging a disease to be treated? What are our social and moral obligations when it comes to prolonging life or enhancing brain function? Is immortality even desirable?In this episode, we discuss: 2:30 - How Dr. Wyss-Coray became drawn to neuroscience 4:45 - Defining neurodegeneration and aging 9:26 - The studies that led Dr. Wyss-Coray and his team to finding the gap between biological age and chronological age21:06 - Is reversing the aging of an organism’s body a realistic goal? 28:31 - The possibilities and limits of treating neurodegenerative conditions 33:49 - Dr. Wyss-Coray’s groundbreaking work in treating old animals with the blood of young animals to reverse aging38:51 - The philosophical and moral implications of life extension48:57 - Dr. Wyss-Coray insight into the “secrets” behind some people’s longevity Dr. Tony Wyss-Coray can be found on Twitter/X at @wysscoray.Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.Copyright The Doctor’s Art Podcast 2023

Medical anthropology provides a lens through which we can view the intricate tapestry of human health, woven with the threads of cultural beliefs, social structures, and biological realities. Few have played a more significant role in creating this discipline than psychiatrist Arthur Kleinman, MD, whose early, extensive field work in Taiwan and China have shaped how we think about cross-cultural healthcare systems and their impacts on human suffering. Many of his books, including The Illness Narratives and Patients and Healers in the Context of Culture, have become seminal texts in medical anthropology. Dr. Kleiman is also a moral philosopher whose writings have explored the frailty of our existence and how uncertainty and crises sharpen our moral identities. Over the course of our conversation, we discuss Dr. Kleinman's bold explorations of human wellness across cultures, the search for meaning amid pain and suffering, the struggle to lead a moral life, and medical anthropology as a clarion call for a more nuanced and empathetic approach to health and healing.In this episode, we discuss: 2:26 - Dr. Kleinman’s path to medicine 7:00 - How anthropology and psychiatry became central to Dr. Kleinman’s work  11:23 - The four core questions that define Dr. Kleinman’s decades of study 16:09 - How cultural definitions of a healthcare system greatly impact its effectiveness and reach22:12 - Finding meaning in experiences of pain and sorrow  33:56 - An anthropological view of human existence, morality, and ethics 46:00 - The basis for Dr. Kleinman’s book The Soul of Care 47:51 - How Dr. Kleinman’s search for meaning shapes his approach to medicine50:35 - The delineation between “morality” and “Morality”57:40 - Connecting to our shared humanity by “doing” careDr. Kleinman has authored seven books, including his most recent, The Soul of Care.In this episode, We share excerpts from: Dr. Kleinman’s book What Really Matters, Morten Lauridsen’s choral piece O Nata Lux, and Bryan Stevenson’s book Just Mercy. Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.Copyright The Doctor’s Art Podcast 2023

Since childhood, Clancy Martin has been preoccupied with, and even addicted to, the idea of suicide. A survivor of more than ten suicide attempts. Clancy has spent his life wrestling with questions like: where do these impulses come from? Why am I haunted by them? Why do I feel so much guilt? Can I be helped?Clancy is a professor of philosophy at the University of Missouri — Kansas City, where he teaches existentialism, moral psychology, philosophy of the mind, and ethics. He is a Guggenheim Fellow and the author of more than ten books, most recently 2023’s How Not to Kill Yourself: A Portrait of the Suicidal Mind, in which he chronicles his struggles with suffering, substance use, and an obsession with self-destruction. At the same time, the book is a prescription of hope and an eloquent reminder of the interconnectedness of our lives. These are the issues we grapple with in this episode. Content warning: Due to the sensitive nature of the topic of suicide, this episode might be distressing for some listeners. If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, in the United States, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by texting or calling 988, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For our international listeners, please refer to local resources in your country for support. In this episode, we discuss: 3:53 - The importance of “speaking honorably” about suicide and removing the taboo surrounding the topic9:23 - Applying the biopsychosocial model of illness to suicide 13:29 - Clancy’s lifelong experience with suicidal ideation 22:58 - Moving past our tendency to see suicidal ideation as a personal sin or failure. 27:07 - Understanding the different reasons why a person would consider suicide 35:54 - In Clancy’s view, what lies on the other side when one moves beyond a suicidal mindset 44:42 - Clancy’s advice for how to cope if you are currently vulnerable to suicidal thoughts Clancy Martin is the author of How Not to Kill Yourself: A Portrait of the Suicidal Mind (2023).In this episode, We discuss Clancy’s 2018 essay, I’m Still Here. Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.Copyright The Doctor’s Art Podcast 2023

In recent years, loneliness has transformed from a private, personal experience into a full blown public health crisis. Studies have repeatedly shown that loneliness and social isolation increase the risk of premature death, dementia, and all sorts of mental illnesses. In this episode, Jeremy Noble, MD shares how he is combating our national crisis of loneliness by fostering connection through art and storytelling. Dr. Noble is the founder of the Foundation for Arts and Healing, a lecturer at Harvard Medical School, and the author of the 2023 book Project UnLonely: Healing Our Crisis of Disconnection. Over the course of our conversation, we discuss Dr. Noble's unique path to arts and medicine, the three types of loneliness—social, emotional, and existential, what meaningful social connection looks like, and the healing power of creativity.In this episode, we discuss: 2:08 - Dr. Nobel’s journey to becoming a “public health practitioner” and the personal meaning that the has found in his work5:44 - The issues that Dr. Nobel is most interested in addressing within public health7:03 - How Dr. Nobel found his way to the arts and humanities14:21 - The benefits available at the intersection of the arts and medicine16:09 - The mission of the Foundation for Art and Healing and Project UnLonely22:26 - The definition of “loneliness” and the importance of loneliness literacy 24:19 - The “pyramid of vulnerability” for loneliness 27:10 - Evolutionary reasons for loneliness and how those are exacerbated today34:19 - The three types of loneliness38:20 - How we can cultivate a culture of connection in a society that has grown to distrust people and institutions 42:24 - What public health agencies should do to better prepare our society to reckon with loneliness 44:11 - The importance of addressing the loneliness inherent in medical trainingDr. Nobel is the author of Project UnLonely: Healing Our Crisis of Disconnection(2023).Learn more about Project UnLonely and The Foundation for Art & Healing: www.artandhealing.org.Dr. Nobel can be found on Twitter/X @JeremyNobel1.Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.Copyright The Doctor’s Art Podcast 2023

When Jesse Ehrenfeld, MD attended his first meeting at the American Medical Association (AMA) as a first year medical student, he was struck by the collaborative spirit he witnessed among physicians of all specialties from across the United States. But he was also filled with insecurity over whether he, as a gay man, would ever be truly accepted for who he was. 22 years later, Dr. Ehrenfeld is now the first openly gay president of the AMA. An anesthesiologist by training, he is also a senior associate dean and tenured professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin. In this episode, Dr. Ehrenfeld shares his journey in medicine — from how he has channeled his experiences with discrimination, to becoming a leading advocate of health equity especially for LGBTQ individuals, to his time as a combat veteran in the Navy, to now leading one of the most influential medical organizations in America. Our conversation also ranges in topic from the future of medical education, to physician burnout, to the promises of digital health, and more.In this episode, we discuss: 2:18 - Dr. Ehrenfeld’s path to becoming an anesthesiologist5:03 - How health equity came to the forefront of Dr. Ehrenfeld’s work and how it has taken center stage in his leadership at the AMA 11:57 - The role that the house of delegates plays within the AMA 13:37 - How Dr. Ehrenfeld represents the democratically determined positions of the AMA 17:03 - Dr. Ehrenfeld’s mission for his year as President of the AMA 19:26 - How the AMA invests its resources on tackling systemic issues that affect health24:42 - Dr. Ehrenfeld’s perspectives on physician burnout32:02 - How medical training needs to change in order to prepare for the dawning of AI 38:38 - Engaging with the politics of healthcare 41:45 - How the AMA is working to ensure that doctors can affect the future of medicine through programs including Health 2047 and the Physician Innovation Network45:27 - Why Dr. Ehrenfeld believes that medicine is still a worthwhile calling For more about the AMA, visit https://www.ama-assn.org/.Follow Dr. Ehrenfeld on Twitter @DoctorJesseMD.Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.Copyright The Doctor’s Art Podcast 2023