The Nocturnists

Social worker Emmeline Sun has to betray the trust of a client in order to care for him. Illustrations by  Lindsay Mound . Original theme music by  Yosef Munro . Other music comes from Blue Dot Sessions. This season of The Nocturnists was made possible by the California Medical Association. Learn more at  cmadocs.org . Learn more and support us at  thenocturnists.com . Thank you! This is a public...

On Jeremy Topin's first call night in the ICU, his checklist was not enough. Illustrations by  Lindsay Mound . Original theme music by  Yosef Munro . Other music comes from Blue Dot Sessions. This episode was made possible by Vocera Communication’s Experience Innovation Network , an organization that has investigated the impact of stress, divided attention, and cognitive load on clinicians, and pu...

Hospitalist Abhi Kole tells a story about the ethics—and the art—of blocking patients. Illustrations by  Lindsay Mound . Original theme music by  Yosef Munro . Other music comes from Blue Dot Sessions. This episode was made possible by Vocera Communication’s Experience Innovation Network , an organization that has investigated the impact of stress, divided attention, and cognitive load on clinicia...

Internal medicine resident Elie Adler tells a story about loving someone with a chronic illness, how that relationship changed when she became a doctor, and how being a doctor affects her relationship. Illustrations by  Lindsay Mound . Original theme music by  Yosef Munro . Other music comes from Blue Dot Sessions. This season of The Nocturnists was made possible by the California Medical Associat...

Otolaryngologist Tina Munjal tells a story about learning to be comfortable outside of her comfort zone. Illustrations by Lindsay Mound . Original theme music by  Yosef Munro . Other music comes from Blue Dot Sessions. This season of The Nocturnists was made possible by the California Medical Association. Learn more at  cmadocs.org . Learn more and support us at  thenocturnists.com . Thank you! Th...

Pediatric hospitalist Monica Stemmle tells a story about her imperfect strategies for coping with feelings on the job. Warning: this story depicts sick and injured children. Illustrations by  Lindsay Mound . Original theme music by  Yosef Munro . Other music comes from Blue Dot Sessions. This season of The Nocturnists was made possible by the California Medical Association. Learn more at  cmadocs....

Season 3 of The Nocturnists, hosted by physician Emily Silverman, will be coming soon to your feed. This season of The Nocturnists was made possible by the California Medical Association. Learn more at cmadocs.org . Illustrations by  Lindsay Mound . Original theme music by  Yosef Munro . Learn more and support us at  thenocturnists.com . Thank you! This is a public episode. If you would like to di...

In this live podcast taping, Emily speaks with UCSF geriatrician and author Louise Aronson about her New York Times best-selling book, Elderhood: Redefining Aging, Transforming Medicine, Reimagining Life . Louise opens the episode with a reading from her book. Emily follows with questions about the inspiration behind Elderhood , biases in medicine that impact geriatric care, and ways to reframe ou...

Emily sits down with palliative care doctor BJ Miller and IDEO's Global Editorial Director, Shoshana Berger, to talk about their new book, A Beginner's Guide to the End: Practical Advice for Living Life and Facing Death . First, BJ and Shoshana read excerpts from the book about their individual stories. The readings are followed by a conversation with Emily about the inspirations behind their new...

Emily sits down with physician Matt McCarthy, an infectious disease specialist at New York Presbyterian Hospital who researches drug-resistant microbes, to talk about his latest book, Superbugs . Find show notes, transcript, and more at  thenocturnists.com . This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thenocturnists.subs...

Here we share a tapestry of voices that we stitched together from the 38 audio submissions we received for our first storytelling contest on the theme of "Learning." The entries came from 28 institutions, 14 states, and 3 countries. We plan to announce the contest winner before the end of the month. Thank you to all who submitted! Music comes from Blue Dot Sessions. Learn more and support us at  t...

Emily sits down with internist and thought leader Dr. Lucy Kalanithi to discuss her late husband's book When Breath Becomes Air and topics such as illness and identity, prognosis and uncertainty, love and suffering, and the importance of community. Find show notes, transcript, and more at thenocturnists.com . This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get...

After hearing a mentor make an inappropriate joke, medical student Jenny Tiskus grapples with humor’s place in the world of medicine. Illustrations by  Lindsay Mound . Original theme music by  Yosef Munro . Other music comes from Blue Dot Sessions. Learn more and support us at  thenocturnists.com . Thank you! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get...

Physician Maureen Miller describes how perusing a dusty box of autopsy reports from 1897 helped her embrace her new professional future as a pathologist. Learn more about Maureen's work here . She also recommends reading The Misfit , featuring one of her favorite writers David Milch. For reference, the Conan and Colbert interviews are here and here . Illustrations by Lindsay Mound . Original theme...

Psychiatrist Matthew Hirschtritt turns to lessons from his Jewish upbringing when caring for a patient with severe refractory depression. Illustrations by  Lindsay Mound . Original theme music by  Yosef Munro . Other music comes from Blue Dot Sessions. Learn more and support us at  thenocturnists.com . Thank you! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or...

Hospitalist Archna Eniasivam describes the time she made a diagnostic error with one of her favorite patients. Illustrations by  Lindsay Mound . Original theme music by  Yosef Munro . Other music comes from Blue Dot Sessions. Learn more and support us at  thenocturnists.com . Thank you! For more content, we recommend some of our favorite medical podcasts: The Curbsiders , The Clinical Problem Solv...

Family medicine physician Catherine Forest listens to her one of her classical music idols serenade a dying loved one in the hospital. According to the internet, the most relaxing song in the world is Weightless by Marconi Union. To learn more about music and the brain, check out the book Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain by Oliver Sacks. For more of Catherine's work, check out this essay...

82-year-old retired trauma surgeon Bill Meffert, who cared for wounded soldiers in Vietnam, reflects on that bloody experience and the words of a priest who worked beside him.  You can read more about Bill and his novel, A Long Way From Home , on his website . To learn more about the Vietnam War, Bill recommends reading the book Dispatches , by Michael Herr. Illustrations by  Lindsay Mound . Origi...

When caring for a young woman with a new brain cancer diagnosis, medicine resident Colleen Farrell comes to grips with her own mortality. Books referenced include   Noonday Demon by Andrew Solomon. You can find the poem "Intensive Care" by Jane O. Wayne here .  Illustrations by  Lindsay Mound . Original theme music by  Yosef Munro . Other music comes from Blue Dot Sessions. Learn more and support...

Hospitalist Peter Barish recounts an intense, intimate moment with a patient. Learn more about Ladybird here . Illustrations by  Lindsay Mound . Original theme music by  Yosef Munro . Other music comes from Blue Dot Sessions. Learn more and support us at  thenocturnists.com . Thank you! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episod...

Michele DiTomas, a hospice physician who cares for incarcerated men, races against the clock and slashes through bureaucratic tape to help a dying man go home. Learn more about the U.S. criminal justice system at the ACLU . Illustrations by Lindsay Mound . Original theme music by Yosef Munro . Other music comes from Blue Dot Sessions. Learn more and support us at  thenocturnists.com . Thank you! T...

Emergency medicine physician Joe Sills panics when the patient he has just pronounced dead regains a pulse. The article mentioned in our conversation, "What Does It Mean to Die?" can be found in The New Yorker . Illustrations by Lindsay Mound . Original theme music by Yosef Munro . Other music comes from Blue Dot Sessions. Learn more and support us at  thenocturnists.com . Thank you! For more abou...

Season 2 of The Nocturnists, hosted by physician Emily Silverman, launches on Tuesday, March 26th. Illustrations by Lindsay Mound . Original theme music by Yosef Munro . Learn more and support us at  thenocturnists.com . Thank you! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thenocturnists.substack.com

Cardiologist Dhruv Kazi recounts the heart-stopping tale of an emergency medical encounter in North Korea. Illustrations by  Stephanie Muscat . Learn more and support us at  thenocturnists.com . Thank you! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thenocturnists.substack.com

Hospital administrator Galen Laserson recounts the time she got an unexpected call in the middle of the night, which prompted her to learn all about the hospital's underbelly and the logistics of death. Illustrations by  Stephanie Muscat . This week, you also have the opportunity to listen to Galen's story on Snap Judgment from WNYC. Also catch Emily on The Short Coat Podcast  and House of Pod fro...