Social Medicine On Air

Curious about the hosts of the show? First, listen to Howard Waitzkin's episode from last week, then catch him here turning the tables on the hosts. We discuss our backgrounds, imposter syndrome, our paths to medicine, class, priviledge, accompaniment, spirituality, liberation theology, and the roots of social medicine in South America.  Resources relating to this episode: Howard Waitzkin, “I...

Howard Waitzkin speaks with us today about reimagining life and medicine after capitalism. A humble giant in the field of social medicine, Howard helps to unpack how capitalism is destructive for the earth, for healthcare systems, and for social life. How can individuals and communities work towards non-violent, "rinky-dink" action against the systems which are destroying us?  Howard Waitzkin...

Today we hear from Leena Yumeen and Maria Pennella, and discuss the importance of accountability in global health funding. They explain the importance of advocacy in influencing these systems and, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of not backsliding on the fight against global killers like tuberculosis. Leena Yumeen is an Advocacy Fellow with the Fund for Global Health, an organization...

Tanvi Avasthi (@tanvicious) speaks with us today about narrative therapy, loss and trauma, and the power of asking "what do you want?" to recenter our patients as protagonists of their own lives. She explains how we can avoid pathologizing our patients and ourselves, and how we can resist the forces of white supremacy and capitalism which are attempting to destroy us and make us hate ourselves. Sh...

Harleen Marwah (@ThereGoesHarMar) dives into the conversation on the links between health, healing, and the climate crisis - and how people in healthcare can work for a healthier world. Recorded in the midst of the record-setting 2020 California fires, we discuss the health effects of a climate in crisis, climate grief, connecting clinical work with a larger ecological consciousness, and how she h...

Sasheenie Moodley (@SasheenieM) discusses the complexities of teenage motherhood, HIV, family dynamics, and navigating poverty in the townships of her native South Africa. She explains dynamics of familial expectation and young mothers being "hidden away," how one reveals HIV or pregnancy status, dreams of future success, and her experience doing research as an insider-outsider. Sasheenie Moodley...

Tim Lahey (@TimLaheyMD) joins us today to discuss medical ethics during a pandemic and states of emergency, and questions of allocation, ventilator scarcity, and systemic injustice. We also talk about medical education, justice, power and privilege, collaboration towards institutional change, vocation, and the temptations of pride and righteous anger in this work.  This special episode also f...

Andrew Goldstein discusses his experience of activism and medicine. We discuss how he first stepped into activism, the challenges of non-profit work, how healthcare workers can get involved in organizing, leader-full movements, the temptations of professional "success," and the dangers of waiting until the "right moment" to begin this work. Andrew Goldstein MD, MPH (@AndrewMakeTweet) is an assista...

Laura Mkumba discusses the colonial history of the field of global health and the necessity of decolonizing global health. We consider how proximity to whiteness, maternal-fetal outcomes, global health work and education, privilege, and our thoughts all reflect histories of coloniality.   Laura Mkumba (@laura_mkumba) is a native of Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania by way of Atlanta, GA. She received h...

Ruth Staus discusses the necessity of the social sciences in the medical field, the "scientific" foundations of race, teaching, trauma, and her clinical work with her unhoused patients.    Dr. Ruth Staus DNP, APRN, ANP-BC is a professor of nursing, global health and social medicine who has been practicing community-based primary care as a nurse practitioner for 25 years. Her scholarly wo...

Hugo Flores teaches us about the moral imperatives of providing healthcare. By tackling the persistent myths and mistakes of global health work, he shows how folks from diverse backgrounds can come together to fight for health systems "good enough for your grandmother."  Hugo Flores MD is a physician who founded and leads Compañeros En Salud, a Partners In Health sister organization in the Si...

Michael Westerhaus ( @socmedmjw ) teaches the history of social medicine and what social medicine means. He explains the difference between social medicine and public health, the value of storytelling and social position in medicine, the relationship between inequality and health, and addresses if it is right for healthcare practitioners to "get political."   Michael Westerhaus MD is a primar...

Michelle Morse ( @michellemorse ) discusses race and antiracism in medicine. Beginning with Camara Jones' metaphor of the Gardener's Tale, she helps to imagine how medicine can work for the good of all and how medicine can move past its entanglements with racist ways of thinking and acting. Michelle Morse MD MPH is a physician, organizer, and social medicine leader who has cofounded EqualHealth, t...

Tinashe Goronga ( @tisaneg ) discusses the impact of neoliberal policies on health outcomes. After describing what neoliberalism is and how it works, he connects how his patients' lives in Zimbabwe are influenced by these international and national systems. Tinashe Goronga MD MPH is a physician from Zimbabwe who most recently served as General Medical Officer at the Binga District Hospital, in add...

Welcome to Social Medicine On Air, a podcast where we explore the field of social medicine with healthcare practitioners, activists, and researchers. Social medicine hopes to work for a world of justice and health - especially for the most marginalized - and connects clinical care to the deep causes of health and illness. Through our conversational interviews, we hope to create a warm and welcomin...