Straight Talk Md: Health | Medicine | Healthcare Policy | Health Education | Anesthesiology

Strange Daze is a bi-weekly podcast from the creators of Straight Talk MD, hosted by anesthesiologist Frank Sweeny. Each episode fuses narrative storytelling with science as our host examines a real case of a surgery or a procedure that went terribly wrong and dissects out why. Even the best doctors practicing at the best medical institutions make mistakes, and sometimes those mistakes have serious consequences. And sometimes, even when you do everything right, things can still go terribly wrong. The most cynical surgeons depict anesthesiology as 99% boredom and 1% sheer terror. Strange Daze is about the 1%.

The care for back pain in the U.S. has been called “the poster child of medical waste.” Today I talk with Dr. Richard Deyo, author of “Watch Your Back,” about the various treatments for back pain and what the evidence shows works and what doesn’t.

Today I talk with Tim Caulfield about his two national bestsellers: “The Cure for Everything: Untangling the Twisted Messages about Health, Fitness and Happiness” and “Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything? When Celebrity Culture and Science Clash.” Tim talks about what the evidence really tells us is good for our health, and deconstructs the misinformation, myths, and bogus claims coming from the pseudoscientists and some celebrities.  Tim is also the host of the popular Canadian documentary TV series: “A User’s Guide to Cheating Death.”

Today’s show is a conversation about the Dark Side of ten amazing medical firsts. In each case, the doctor’s desire to be first, whether for fame or money, clouded their judgment and put them in direct conflict with their ethical duty as medical scientists. Bioethicist Greg Pence and I countdown these ten amazing medical firsts, and discuss the ethical questions surrounding them. Case #1 is the first human heart transplant to coincide with the 50th anniversary of that event.

In recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I have distinguished breast surgeon, Dr. Michele Carpenter, in the studio to answer your questions on breast cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Today, Dr. William Elliott III discusses his book, “The Real College Debt Crisis: How Student Borrowing Threatens Financial Well-Being and Erodes the American Dream.” Dr. Elliot has a novel prescription for an entirely new paradigm to solve the student loan debt problem, and restore equitable access to higher education and The American Dream.

Today’s show is a remix of a show I did last January with Ron Howrigon, before Trump took office. As Trump was running on Repeal and Replace Obamacare, we talked extensively about what that would mean for healthcare. We also discussed Ron’s new book, “Flatlining: How HealthCare could kill the US Economy” and what was likely to happen to the U.S. economy & healthcare system if we don’t make some extraordinary changes soon. I hope you enjoy the show—it’s more relevant today than it was last January.

Since our earlier show on this subject, a lot has happened… More than 63,600 mental health professionals have signed a petition warning that Donald Trump is suffering from a grave emotional instability that makes him incapable of safely executing his duties as the President of the United States. On October 14th, the “Duty to Warn” organization will have town hall meetings throughout the United States to make their case for why he should be removed using the 25th Amendment of the Constitution. Today, I interview the creator of that petition to explore why he (and 63,600 other mental health professionals) believe Trump is mentally unfit to serve as President and should be removed. If you listened to the earlier version of this show, there’s a lot of new material and a lot of changes in this remix. This is the “producer’s cut.”

Julie Lythcott-Haims discusses her NY Times Best Seller: HOW TO RAISE AN ADULT: Break Free of the Overparenting Trap and Prepare Your Kid for Success.

In honor of the 21st anniversary of the birth of Dolly (the first cloned mammal), and the series finale of Orphan Black (a series that explores the ethics & science of human cloning), I had a far-reaching conversation about human cloning with Gregory Pence about the science, the ethics, the pop culture portrayal of cloning, and the popular misconceptions about what it would really be like to clone humans.

Only 23% of America’s youth is qualified to serve in the army, while 77% is unfit to serve due to primarily physiological factors. By 2030, less than 10% of our nation’s youth will possess the physical fitness potential to be recruited for the U.S. army. Lieutenant General Mark Hertling is back in the virtual studio to discuss how our nation’s health is a national security crisis.

The U.S. Healthcare System is broken. Who will lead us out of the current chaos to the ideal healthcare system of the 21st century? Ultimately, the transformational changes in healthcare that will achieve the Holy Grail of universal access, high quality care, and cost reduction will be lead by ethical physician leaders. Here’s the problem- most physicians don’t have any training in leadership. Today, my guest, retired Lt. General Mark Hertling, discusses his book, his insights, and his experiences training physicians to become ethical leaders.

Narcissism has reached epidemic proportions in the U.S., with potentially devastating consequences. Today, I interview Dr. Keith Campbell the co-author of “The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement.” We discuss the narcissism epidemic: how we got we here, the consequences, and what we can do about it.

There is a growing wave of anti-rationalism that has been destroying respect for expertise and undermining our institutions, preventing rational debate. It is spreading an epidemic of misinformation, which threatens to weaken the very foundations of our democracy. Tom Nichols, a Professor of National Security Affairs at the U.S. Naval War College, discusses his latest book on this subject: “The Death of Expertise and the Campaign Against Established Knowledge.” If you’re an anti-vaxxer, an Obama birther, a 9/11 Truther, or if you believe there really are aliens at Roswell, you need to listen to this show.

Over 55,500 mental health professionals have signed a petition warning that Donald Trump is suffering from a grave emotional instability that makes him incapable of serving safely as the President of the United States. Today, I interview the originator of that petition to find out why he believes Trump is unfit to serve, and what it could mean for the country in the worst-case scenario.

In my third month of residency, I administered anesthesia to my first pediatric patient. It did not go well. The case almost ended my anesthesia career, and almost ended the baby’s life. Today’s episode, “First Baby” is from The A-Files: Case #113…

In vitro fertilization is the most successful form of Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) and has helped create millions of babies for couples who have failed to become pregnant using the old-fashioned, low-tech methods. It has also created some serious ethical questions. In the largely unregulated world of infertility clinics and IVF, anything that could happen has happened. On today’s show, I have a conversation with Bioethicist, Greg Pence, on IVF and ethics.

On May 4th, the “new and improved” American Health Care Act, aka “TrumpCare 2.0,” was passed in the House of Representatives, and is set to replace Obamacare. Ron Howrigon, the CEO of Fulcrum Strategies and author of Flatlining: How Healthcare Could Kill the U.S. Economy, is back in the virtual studio to discuss “TrumpCare 2: The Resurrection of RyanCare” and how it could affect us all.

Dr. Paul Offit and I discuss his latest book, Pandora’s Lab: Seven Stories of Science Gone Wrong. Dr. Offit discusses seven discoveries that were initially promoted as stunning breakthroughs in science, but turned out to be devastatingly destructive to mankind. Several of these “breakthroughs” are still affecting us all today and some could spell the destruction of the human race…

On Today’s show, I talk with Dr. Aaron Saguil MD, MPH, Associate Dean of Admissions at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences School of Medicine, about what it takes to get into medical school, how to increase your chances for success, and here’s the kicker- how you can get that medical education for free.