In this episode, we dig into the exploding trend of breast-milk sharing—an underground practice driven by desperation, inequity, and a system that leaves new mothers to fend for themselves. We trace how social pressure, economic strain, and impossible postpartum expectations push parents to seek milk from strangers online, often without any medical screening or safety oversight.

We talk openly about the real risks: contamination, harmful substances, and the absence of public health protections. But the larger question is the one no one wants to touch—why do women have to rely on unregulated networks in the first place? This episode pulls back the curtain on a growing public health crisis and asks what it would take to build a society that actually cares for mothers and infants.

Hosted by:

Tony Chin-Quee: @wheyouat

Frances Mei Hardin: @francesmeimd

Produced by: The Hippocratic Collective

On this week’s Social Rounds, Tony and Frances Mei go from the universal pain of long-haul flights (and the rise of the Butt Donut Brotherhood) to one of the biggest breakthroughs in women’s mental health: a new blood test that can predict postpartum depression with over 80% accuracy. They break down the biology, the stigma, and why so many women suffer in silence.

Then, the conversation turns to stigma in medicine—how weakness is weaponized, how shame gets baked into training, and why physicians are conditioned to hide anything that looks like vulnerability.

Finally, Tony shares a rare, raw story about a capital-F failure from med school—walking at graduation with an empty diploma folder after failing a rotation during a major depressive episode—and how it reshaped his understanding of shame, resilience, and what failure actually looks like in medicine.

Oh—and yes, they absolutely cover the Kentucky woman who opened a package full of severed fingers (???), because of course they do.

Topics:

– The science behind postpartum depression

– Why stigma still controls medicine

– Failure as a doctor: the stories people never tell

– Cadaver-lab scandals & severed-finger delivery nightmares

– How to stop letting shame run your life

Hosted by:

Tony Chin-Quee: @wheyouat

Frances Mei Hardin: @francesmeimd

Produced by: The Hippocratic Collective

In this episode of Social Rounds, surgeons-turned-dropouts Frances Mei and Tony revisit the myths and realities of what it takes to stay healthy—in and out of medicine. It starts with a story from their first week of residency, when an upper-level told them to “know your alcohol tolerance.” What followed was a crash course in stress, survival, and misplaced wellness advice. From the marketing origins of the 10,000-step myth to the real metrics that matter for health, they explore how doctors—and everyone else—can move, rest, and live without guilt or burnout.

Hosted by:

Tony Chin-Quee: https://www.instagram.com/wheyouat/

Frances Mei Hardin: https://www.instagram.com/francesmeimd/

Produced by: The Hippocratic Collective

00:00: The First Week of Residency

04:17: Debunking the Myth of 10,000 Steps

15:59: Health Scares and Life Changes

20:19: Understanding Food Relationships and Coping Mechanisms

34:21: Navigating Professional Ethics: Alcohol and Responsibility

37:31: Navigating Patient Relationships

45:21: The Heist Theme: A New Direction for Social Rounds