Are we living in The Gilded Age of medicine? So many of the challenges we face in healthcare today are rooted in the motivations of the people holding the purse strings, and unfortunately for us (and our patients) those motivations aren't always aligned with the Hippocratic Oath. Wendy and Matt dig into the history of corporate greed in this country, and how that history may be repeating itself.

Few medical dramas have resonated as deeply with physicians as HBO's The Pitt. Emergency physician Dr. Jacob Lentz, a medical consultant on the series, takes us behind the scenes of the critically acclaimed show and explains how - and why - The Pitt gets ER medicine so right.

Credit: Audio clips from The Pitt courtesy of HBO Max.

For over twenty years, Dr. Jeff Goldstein was part of a successful, thriving cardiology practice in central Illinois. And then he wasn't. Dr. Goldstein and his wife, Dr. Kemia Sarraf, join us to share their personal story of how a change in the structure of his practice led to him feeling blocked at every turn, overworked, and underappreciated, and what the two of them did to change it.

We talk to a lot of people. We hear a lot of stories. But for every person who shares their story publicly, there are ten more who hold off because they’re afraid of blowback. And we get it. Speaking up is risky. We often think about the costs of speaking up, but what has our silence cost? In this episode, Wendy and Matt talk about the risks of not acting, and what their experience has taught them about how to speak up - and be heard.

Leaders can be infuriating or they can learn to be inspiring. Adam Galinsky, a social psychologist and the Paul Calello Professor of Leadership and Ethics at Columbia Business School, joins us to talk about how our vision, modeling and mentorship can inspire those around us.

What do healthcare and journalism have in common? (Hint: it has something to do with corporate interference and public trust.) Recorded in front of a live audience in one of the oldest surviving press clubs in the country, Matt and Wendy (along with members of the audience) share stories about the breakdown in medicine and journalism, and how we're working to recapture our profession."

Two years ago, Dr. Traci Hurley lost her husband, Dr. Dan Hurley, to cancer. Dan spent the last few years of his life battling his disease - and his insurance company. Before he died, he set himself a goal to, in his own words, help “with the problem of insurance company physicians without expertise denying or delaying care as recommended by the patient’s chosen physician.” Dr. Traci Hurley joins us to share their story.