Searching for Medicine’s Soul

Oct 10 2024 47 ep. 53 mins 15
Searching for Medicine’s Soul Podcast artwork

Hosted by Dr. Aaron Rothstein and featuring expert guests, Searching for Medicine’s Soul explores medicine’s purpose: Why do physicians do what they do? How does the practice of medicine relate to scientific progress and human flourishing? The result is an in-depth analysis of the history and aim of medicine, and its collision with a thrilling and sometimes tragic age of discovery.

  Society & Culture  Science
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Carl Elliott on Whistleblowers

Oct 10 2024 59 mins  
In this episode, Aaron is joined by Dr. Carl Elliott, author and philosophy professor at the University of Minnesota. They discuss how medical education can corrupt character, Dr. Elliott’s experience as a whistleblower, and his latest book, The Occasional Human Sacrifice: Medical Experimentation and the Price of Saying No, which explores the history of medical experimentation.

Charlotte Bismuth on Prosecuting the Opioid Crisis

Oct 03 2024 57 mins  
On this episode, Aaron is joined by Charlotte Bismuth, author of Killer in a White Coat: The True Story of New York's Deadliest Pill Pusher and the Team That Brought Him to Justice. Bismuth discusses the profit motive behind the opioid crisis and her decision to prosecute Dr. Stan Li, whose criminal medical practice in New York led to 16 overdoses from prescription drugs.

Dasha Kiper on Supporting Dementia Caregivers

Apr 25 2024 40 mins  
On this episode, Aaron is joined by Dasha Kiper, author of Travelers to Unimaginable Lands: Stories of Dementia, the Caregiver, and the Human Brain and a clinical trainer at Renewal Memory Partners. Aaron and Dasha discuss the impact dementia has on caregivers. Through cultural pressures, family dynamics, and a lack of support, caregivers have become what Dasha calls “invisible v

Marc-David Munk on Emergency Medicine in Africa

Mar 28 2024 43 mins  
Episode description: On this episode, Aaron is joined by Dr. Marc-David Munk, author of Urgent Calls from Distant Places: An Emergency Doctor’s Notes about Life and Death on the Frontiers of East Africa. Dr. Munk discusses his travels to the Middle East and Africa, Christianity’s role as a trusted institution in places where government has failed, and how to bring the focus bac

Doron Gothelf on Traumatized Israeli Children After October 7th

Mar 14 2024 61 mins  
On this episode, Aaron is joined by Doron Gothelf, a professor of child psychiatry at Tel Aviv University and an integral member of the medical team involved in treating Israeli children hostages who have been released. Aaron and Doron discuss childhood trauma, how traumatic events affect the young, and Doron’s work with the victims of Hamas’ violence.

Lewis Grossman on Drug Regulation

Jan 04 2024 56 mins  
On this episode, Aaron is joined by Lewis Grossman, professor of law at American University and author of the book Choose Your Medicine, to discuss the history of drug regulation and medical freedom.

Jim O’Connell on Medicine for the Homeless

Dec 14 2023 69 mins  
On this episode, Aaron talks with Dr. James O’Connell, author of Stories from the Shadows: Reflections of a Street Doctor. Dr. O'Connell discusses his work providing medical care for the homeless in Boston, his experience working as a doctor for the homeless during the AIDS crisis, and the perverse incentives of the medical profession.

Dr. Samuel Shem on Our Hospital

Nov 16 2023 33 mins  
In this episode, Aaron is joined by psychiatrist and novelist Samuel Shem, who wrote the satirical novel House of God. Aaron and Samuel discuss Samuel’s latest and final novel in the House of God series, Our Hospital. The book serves as a reflection of the truth of medicine during COVID in which hospitals are driven by profit over humanity.

Drs. Worsham and Jena on Natural Experiments and Doctors’ Biases

Oct 12 2023 55 mins  
In this episode, Aaron is joined by Drs. Christopher Worsham and Anupam B. Jena, professors at Harvard Medical School and authors of Random Acts of Medicine: The Hidden Forces That Sway Doctors, Impact Patients, and Shape Our Health. The three discuss natural experiments and the biases and outside forces that impact doctors and health policy.

Ronald Dworkin on Educating Doctors in the Liberal Arts

Sep 28 2023 51 mins  
In this episode of Searching for Medicine’s Soul, Aaron was joined by Dr. Ronald Dworkin, a 30-year practicing anesthesiologist, professor of political philosophy at George Washington University, and author of Medical Catastrophe: Confessions of an Anesthesiologist. Aaron and Ronald discuss the importance of medical physicians having a liberal arts education and the consequences