Big Questions with Cal Fussman

Cal takes a moment to honor those impacted by the attack on the World Trade Center that killed more than 3,000 people in 2001. He replays his conversation with Michael Wright, who was working on the 81 st floor on the morning the planes struck. When Michael made it down to the street, one of the twin towers collapsed on his head. Cal replays Michael's vivid description in this episode for two reas...

Many people have avoided going to the doctor during the time of Covid . . . unless they had Covid. This may have resulted in missing an early detection of cancer. So this podcast is a reminder to all those who've delayed checkups to make an appointment. Cal gets an exam, and now has peace of mind. He also puts the podcast to a checkup. Marketing guru Jason Harris, the CEO of the creative agency Me...

Cal has spent his life writing stories and telling them on stage. Big Questions started after he told stories for three straight hours on Tim Ferriss's podcast. But Cal finds a new power in storytelling through Harvard's Annie Brewster, a physician who used her own story to help heal herself after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis roughly twenty years ago. Annie went on to start a non-profit...

Until this week, Cal never knew that more than ten percent of the people who signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776 were physicians. Doctors are now found in tech roles that can bring exponential improvements to the masses. Amazon's Adam Glasofer is a great example.

Johnny Crowder is motivation to all when it comes to changing the way you think about your health. He's actually rewired his brain to get the best possible behavior from himself. His life is an extreme example of overcoming mental health problems. But the work he's put in to understand the human brain can be used by anybody who needs to overcome ANY problem.

For a couple of years now, Cal has been asking questions to get to the root of why we're all so disappointed with aspects of healthcare. This week, he speaks with a man whose created a game-changing solution which puts people back in control of their care with high-quality experiences at lower prices. It's called Transcarent. Listen up . . .  

Matt Hollingsworth, the CEO of Carta Healthcare, has had a sense of the way healthcare can Impact a family's financial health since . . . well, perhaps since he was in the womb and his mother was diagnosed with cancer. She refused chemotherapy to protect him. Matt's life has been deeply influenced by his family's battles with cancer. It's common knowledge that one of every two Americans has medica...

Cal is introduced to a man who's orchestrated 4,000 college scholarships to students from low-income areas and who plans to extend 30,000 scholarships through an organization called Hope Chicago. This gets Cal to thinking about helping one child to become a doctor at a time when one in five healthcare workers has left the field during Covid. Pete makes that scholarship happen for Cal and Big Quest...

Cal finds himself looking down different highways and byways in the wide arc of healthcare and begins to wonder about the ways to make the biggest impact. Then he awakens one night at 3 a.m. with an urge to relisten to the first podcast he did on the subject. It was with Navy surgeon and dermatologist Reagan Anderson before COVID. It resonates now more than ever.

Cal looks for a way to bring people together during the acrimony following the Supreme Court decision reversing Roe vs. Wade and setting the stage for the prohibition of   abortion in certain states. So he made an unusual decision to publish an episode that he was planning for September – during Prostate Cancer Awareness month. The idea behind it is for people of different sexes and opinions to sh...

On average, every American eats 100 bowls of cereal a year. Most are filled with highly-sugared, highly-processed carbohydrates fronted by wonderful animations of characters that lure kids in to thinking they're breakfast pals. Cal used to be one of those kids, and he loved those sweet, crunchy cereals. Now, Cal wonders how much healthier America would be if it were eating cereals that taste great...

Cal meets two guys who've created an App that does not let you forget anything -- and creates a memory archive. That made Cal feel sharper and healthier in an instant. Not only is the Twos App free. But the founders gave Cal a two-dollar bill as a promotional gesture just to try it out. Cal did, and has been using the Twos App ever since. Founders Parker Klein and Joe Steilberg got so excited to c...

Cal has become fascinated with how people are reinventing soda and breakfast cereal to make them healthier. When he hears how Neuro mints bring calm and clarity and Neuro chewing gum brings focus and energy, he reaches out for a taste and finds a story that you're going to want to pass on to anyone you know having a difficult time. Just listen to how Neuro co-founder Ryan Chen came through a 35-fo...

Cal catches up with a friend he met while speaking at an event at Kaiser Permanente just before COVID. Eddie Garcia had had a heart attack. His heart was in trouble, and Eddie was waiting for a transplant. Eddie did receive a new heart and a second chance at life during COVID. What Cal didn't know was that Eddie had been wanting to write a letter of thanks to the family of the donor – but was grip...

Cal reached out to the Chief Medical Officer to the President to find out what Dr. Anthony Fauci learned since the start of the COVID pandemic. Cal's surprised by Dr. Fauci's answer, though maybe he shouldn't have been.

Cal had no idea that as we age there is a risk that receiving CPR could give you brain damage. Knowing that, would you want to be resuscitated? There are many medical situations that can leave you unable to communicate. Have you left behind decisions on how you'd like to be treated? Or who you'd like to be making decisions on your behalf? Dr. Tatiana Fofanova of Koda Health takes Cal through the i...

Millions of people are impacted by IBS. But few talk about their troubles on the toilet – whether they be about constipation, diarrhea, bloating or excess gas. Most suffer in silence. The conversation you're about to hear is a game changer. Because IBS picked on the wrong guy when it came after a data scientist at Uber – Asaf Kraus. Asaf used artificial intelligence and photos to track down the fo...

Cal comes across an interesting situation when an 18-year-old college freshman develops back pain after donating blood. A campus doctor fears it could be a deadly pulmonary embolism and directs Ashton Marshall to the local Emergency Room . This could lead to many tests and high bills. Ashton's father, the author of Never Pay The First Bill, offers his son a strategy to keep the charges reasonable....

Cal reads a story on ESPN.com that makes him cackle, and he reaches out to the writer to thank him for bringing laughter into his day. The conversation that ensues brings forth an amazing story about the loss of Ryan's toes and the surreal journey it takes him on. Pass this podcast on to anyone feeling down or miserable. They'll likely have a very different mindset after they're done: Gratitude.

Cal sees a newsmagazine with a headline that reads: THE BAD GUYS, ON YOUR PHONE, IN YOUR COMPUTER, FILLING YOUR EMAIL, MINING YOUR INFO, TRICKING YOUR LOVED ONES, IMPERSONATING YOU AND PLOTTING THEIR NEXT STEAL. He notices that The Tindler Swinder is one of Netflix's top-rated documentaries. And he observes how getting scammed affects the daily life and mental health of a friend. He gets an inside...

Cal talks with the best-selling author and one of America's most sought after keynote speakers about the first steps that can send you on your way. Josh has founded, built and sold five companies for a combined exit value of more than $200 million. He knows of what he speaks. The innovation exercise he plays out with Cal on reshaping healthcare in this episode can be tailored to anybody's needs. J...

Simply listening to the story of how Elliott and three buddies who were just out of college andfeeling lost during The Great Recession went on to create a company called Summit that connected thousands of innovators in the Tech space at conferences that filled hotels and cruises and led to their purchase of a majestic mountain in Utah, and along the way curated the wisdom of Jeff Bezos, Ted Turner...

Cal gets furious when he reads about predatory medical billing in The Price We Pay, What Broke American Health Care and How To Fix It. So he reaches out to the author – a surgeon at the Johns Hopkins hospital and television commentator -- for tips on how a patient should respond when she or he is the victim of outlandish charges. A conversation for everyone who needs healthcare – which means every...

What if you didn't have to drive around packed parking lots looking for a space at hospitals because you were dropped off by a vehicle dispatched by Uber Health? And what if the cost of that trip was seamlessly woven into your insurance plan or through your healthcare provider? Well, your car may be waiting. Uber Health's Caitlin Donovan has a Big Answer for Big Questions.

One day Joe's 14-year-old son Andrew was winning a state soccer tournament. Couple of days later, doctors told Joe that his son had cancer and less than a day to live. That's the beginning of an amazing story. The story of the B+ Foundation – the largest provider of financial assistance to families of kids with cancer in the United States. If you'd like to be uplifted in these unsettling times, li...