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A Lens on Human Experience

Cultivating empathy & critical thinking in health, culture & the arts

A Lens on Human Experience ➔

Cultivating empathy & critical thinking in health, culture & the arts

Reflection

Eat Your Ice Cream

A pragmatic guide to longevity that favors balance, evidence, and meaningful human connection.

Russell Teagarden 03.16.26

Reflection Video

Stories of Illness, Stories of Loss 

An essay linking Holocaust memory books to the art of medical history-taking and illness narratives.

Howard Trachtman 03.09.26

Biblioscopy

Biblioscopy: A Glimpse of New and Upcoming Books

New books probe illness, injury, empathy, burnout, and medicine’s fragile yet enduring human limits.

Tony Miksanek 03.02.26

Litmed Poem Review

I Watched You Disappear by Anya Krugovoy Silver

A poetry collection exploring illness, loss, memory, and hope through intimate reflections on life and family.

Cortney Davis 02.26.26

In Focus ➔

In Focus: Activism ➔

MedHum highlights activism’s power in turbulent times, advancing policy change in medicine, research, health, and prisoner rights.

Film Review Focus

When AIDS Activism Went Inside a Hospital: Ward 5B at San Francisco General

Documentary recounts San Francisco’s Ward 5B, where nurses and activists humanized AIDS care amid…

Russell Teagarden 03.23.26

Focus Reflection

Craftivism is Activism

From AIDS quilts to protest knitting, craftivism transforms domestic creativity into powerful tools for…

Jacalyn Duffin 03.23.26

Book Review Focus

Blood in the Water: The Attica Uprising of 1971 and its Legacy by…

A powerful history of the Attica prison uprising exposing injustice, political power, and America’s…

Howard Trachtman 03.20.26

Book Review Focus

Blood Feud: The Man Who Blew the Whistle on One of the…

A gripping account of pharmaceutical whistleblowing, corporate misconduct, and the deadly consequences of profit-driven…

Jacalyn Duffin 03.18.26

Articles ➔

Articles ➔ All

Reflection

How Montaigne Profited from His Kidney Stones

Physical suffering becomes philosophical insight as illness transforms pain, fear, and mortality into unexpected benefit.

Russell Teagarden 02.03.26

Reflection

A Plague on Their House

How O’Farrell’s Hamnet Traces Plague’s Journey From Fleas to Family, Blending Science, History, Storytelling with Empathy

Russell Teagarden 01.05.26

Reflection

Learning Empathy through Chekhov

A psychiatrist-playwright shows how adapting classic drama for medical students cultivates empathy and reflective care practice.

Guy Glass 12.29.25

Reflection

The Word Is an Instrument of Healing

Language, ritual, and narrative serve as powerful healing tools, with context, beliefs, and social support enhancing health outcomes.

Jack Coulehan 12.16.25

Reviews ➔

Reviews ➔ All

Litmed Poem Review

From Nothing by Anya Krugovoy Silver

Anya Krugovoy Silver’s From Nothing transforms personal illness into transcendent, hopeful poetry.

Cortney Davis 02.25.26

Announcement Theater Review Video

Embodiment as Performance: Anne Gridley’s Watch Me Walk

Anne Gridley transforms walking into defiant performance, confronting disability, discomfort, and rare disease awareness head-on.

Rudy Malcom 02.24.26

Book Review

The Anatomist by Frederico Andahazi

Historical novel exploring 16th‑century anatomist Mateo Colombo’s controversial discovery of the clitoris.

Jack Coulehan 02.17.26

Cinema Without Barriers: Disability, Creativity, and Comfort Intersect at RestFest

Announcement Film Review Video

REVIEW

INTERVIEW

ARTICLE

MULTIMEDA

A Lens on Human Experience

A Lens on Human Experience ➔

Eat Your Ice Cream

Stories of Illness, Stories of Loss

Biblioscopy: A Glimpse of New and Upcoming Books

I Watched You Disappear by Anya Krugovoy Silver

In Focus ➔

In Focus: Activism ➔

When AIDS Activism Went Inside a Hospital: Ward 5B at San Francisco General

Craftivism is Activism

Blood in the Water: The Attica Uprising of 1971 and its Legacy by…

Blood Feud: The Man Who Blew the Whistle on One of the…

Articles ➔

Articles ➔ All

How Montaigne Profited from His Kidney Stones

A Plague on Their House

Learning Empathy through Chekhov

The Word Is an Instrument of Healing

Reviews ➔

Reviews ➔ All

From Nothing by Anya Krugovoy Silver

Embodiment as Performance: Anne Gridley’s Watch Me Walk

The Anatomist by Frederico Andahazi

Cinema Without Barriers: Disability, Creativity, and Comfort Intersect at RestFest

Podcasts ➔

Podcasts ➔ All

Daughters of the Bamboo Grove by Barbara Demick

Inside The Pitt: Medicine Meets Drama

Interviews ➔

Interviews ➔ All

Meet the MedHum Team: Jack Coulehan

Margo Weishar: The Excellent Doctor Blackwell

Explore ➔

Explore ➔

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About us

A Lens on Human Experience