Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchDoes Death Have to Be a Death Sentence? (Update)
Episode 69
Palliative physician B.J. Miller asks: Is there a better way to think about dying? And can death be beautiful?
SOURCES:B.J. Miller, palliative-care physician and President at Mettle Health.
RESOURCES…
Published on 2 months, 4 weeks ago
158. Why Did Rome Fall — and Are We Next?
Episode 158
Historian Tom Holland narrowly escaped a career writing vampire novels to become the co-host of the wildly popular podcast The Rest Is History. At Steve’s request, he compares President Trump and Jul…
Published on 3 months ago
157. The Deadliest Disease in Human History
Episode 157
John Green returns to the show to talk about tuberculosis — a disease that kills more than a million people a year. Steve has an idea for a new way to get treatment to those in need.
SOURCES: John Gr…
Published on 3 months, 2 weeks ago
Abraham Verghese Thinks Medicine Can Do Better (Update)
Episode 116
Abraham Verghese is a physician and a best-selling author — in that order, he says. He explains the difference between curing and healing, and tells Steve why doctors should spend more time with pati…
Published on 3 months, 3 weeks ago
156. A Solution to America’s Gun Problem
Episode 156
Jens Ludwig has an idea for how to fix America’s gun violence problem — and it starts by rejecting conventional wisdom from both sides of the political aisle.
SOURCES:Jens Ludwig, professor of econo…
Published on 4 months ago
155. Helping People Die
Episode 155
Ellen Wiebe is a physician who helps seriously ill patients end their lives in Canada, where assisted suicide is legal. Is death a human right?
SOURCES: Ellen Wiebe, clinical professor of medicine at…
Published on 4 months, 2 weeks ago
Yul Kwon: “Don't Try to Change Yourself All at Once.” (Update)
Episode 13
He has been a lawyer, an instructor at the F.B.I. Academy, the owner of a frozen-yogurt chain, and a winner of the TV show Survivor. Today, Kwon works at Google, but things haven’t always come easily…
Published on 4 months, 3 weeks ago
154. Can Robots Get a Grip?
Episode 154
Ken Goldberg is at the forefront of robotics — which means he tries to teach machines to do things humans find trivial.
SOURCES:Ken Goldberg, professor of industrial engineering and operations resear…
Published on 5 months ago
153. We’re Not Getting Sicker — We’re Overdiagnosed
Episode 153
Suzanne O'Sullivan is a neurologist who sees many patients with psychosomatic disorders. Their symptoms may be psychological in origin, but their pain is real and physical — and the way we practice m…
Published on 5 months, 2 weeks ago
Reading Dostoevsky Behind Bars (Update)
Episode 112
Reginald Dwayne Betts spent more than eight years in prison. Today he's a Yale Law graduate, a MacArthur Fellow, and a poet. His nonprofit works to build libraries in prisons so that more incarcerate…
Published on 5 months, 3 weeks ago