A Lens on Human Experience ➔
The Only Doctor Hawthorne Would See
A physician-poet uses storytelling and moral conviction to challenge deadly medical ignorance and earn Hawthorne’s trust.
Joshua Doležal
03.25.26
Eat Your Ice Cream
A pragmatic guide to longevity that favors balance, evidence, and meaningful human connection.
Russell Teagarden
03.16.26
Stories of Illness, Stories of Loss
An essay linking Holocaust memory books to the art of medical history-taking and illness narratives.
Biblioscopy: A Glimpse of New and Upcoming Books
New books probe illness, injury, empathy, burnout, and medicine’s fragile yet enduring human limits.
MedHum highlights activism’s power in turbulent times, advancing policy change in medicine, research, health, and prisoner rights.
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
Craftivism is Activism
From AIDS quilts to protest knitting, craftivism transforms domestic creativity into powerful tools for…
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…
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…
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
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
Learning Empathy through Chekhov
A psychiatrist-playwright shows how adapting classic drama for medical students cultivates empathy and reflective care practice.
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.
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
From Nothing by Anya Krugovoy Silver
Anya Krugovoy Silver’s From Nothing transforms personal illness into transcendent, hopeful poetry.
Cortney Davis
02.25.26
Embodiment as Performance: Anne Gridley’s Watch Me…
Anne Gridley transforms walking into defiant performance, confronting disability, discomfort, and rare disease awareness head-on.
The Anatomist by Frederico Andahazi
Historical novel exploring 16th‑century anatomist Mateo Colombo’s controversial discovery of the clitoris.
Meet the MedHum Team: Jack Coulehan
Poet-physician Jack Coulehan reflects on medical humanities, technology’s impact, and poetry’s role in healing in this thoughtful interview.
Julie Ridge : Bipolar & The English Channel
Julie Ridge’s one-woman show Bipolar & The English Channel explores her journey as a record-breaking swimmer and living…
Inside The Pitt: Medicine Meets Drama
A deep-dive podcast exploring The Pitt, a gripping medical drama, its realism, emotional impact, and lessons for medicine…
The Tennis Partner by Abraham Verghese
A special podcast episode blending sports and medicine, exploring The Tennis Partner and the complexities of friendship, addiction,…