A public voice cultivating empathy & critical thinking in health, culture & the arts

The Medical Humanities Review ➔

A public voice cultivating empathy & critical thinking in health, culture & the arts
Hands 

Hands 

During the clinic visit, the patient map unfurls, their hands leaving little clues.

ByColin Killeen 08.11.26
Summer 2026 Biblioscopy 

Summer 2026 Biblioscopy 

New books highlighting illness poetry, the toll on compassion extracted during medical training, and the emotional burden of illness on family members 

ByTony Miksanek 08.03.26
Five Little Peppers and How They Grew by Margaret Sidney 

Five Little Peppers and How They Grew by Margaret Sidney 

Children’s literature offers a lens into public perception and experience of childhood infectious diseases as we face a resurgence of these same illnesses today. 

ByGretl Lam 07.28.26
Three Paintings by Edvard Munch

Three Paintings by Edvard Munch

Edvard Munch transformed personal family tragedies into haunting paintings that reveal illness, grief, isolation, and enduring emotional suffering.

ByFelice Aull 07.23.26

This month we focus on the nexus of and interface between medicine and the humanities.

Feeling Dementia from the Play, The Father

Feeling Dementia from the Play, The Father

Florian Zeller’s The Father immerses audiences inside dementia, transforming theatrical disorientation into visceral understanding and empathy.

The Ghost Road by Pat Barker

The Ghost Road by Pat Barker

A haunting, fast-paced conclusion to Barker’s trilogy, exploring memory, mortality, and symbolic healing against the backdrop of war.

ByJack Coulehan 07.21.25
A Doctor’s Visit  by Anton Chekhov 

A Doctor’s Visit  by Anton Chekhov 

A young doctor’s visit to a factory owner’s daughter reveals the emotional roots of illness through empathy, confinement, and human connection.

ByJack Coulehan 03.11.25
How To Be Depressed by George Scialabba

How To Be Depressed by George Scialabba

A candid, unconventional book blending psychiatric records, personal struggle, and practical tips, offering rare insight into living with depression.

ByGuy Glass 09.15.25
We Want So Much to Be Ourselves by Stephen O’Connor 

We Want So Much to Be Ourselves by Stephen O’Connor 

Love, Duty and Psychoanalysis in Third Reich Berlin

BySteven Field 07.21.26
How The Doctor Rose From Grave Robber To Great Man 

How The Doctor Rose From Grave Robber To Great Man 

Arrowsmith (1925) marks a dramatic shift in the American imagination from viewing scientific doctors as monsters to viewing them as…

Isles-Second Fragment

Isles-Second Fragment

A watchful partner, a curse, a part of everything all at once, in sickness and in health.

Two Long-Hidden Stories about Barriers to Health Care Surface and Still Relate

Two Long-Hidden Stories about Barriers to Health Care Surface and Still Relate

Two unknown stories from the past forewarn of problems in health care ahead.

Rethinking Mental Illness: Interview with Dr. Gavin Francis

Rethinking Mental Illness: Interview with Dr. Gavin Francis

In his chair at the clinic, Dr. Gavin Francis sees the mind as much less fragile than the…

ByRudy Malcom 07.14.26
Meet the Medhum Team: Dr. Tony Miksanek

Meet the Medhum Team: Dr. Tony Miksanek

Writer, runner, and medical humanities advocate explores storytelling, trust, vulnerability, and the human side of care.

ByDave Hsu 06.26.26
Factors Underlying Mental Orders Depicted in Pink Floyd’s The Wall

Factors Underlying Mental Orders Depicted in Pink Floyd’s The Wall

Using Pink Floyd’s The Wall, this episode explores psychiatric diagnosis through music, film, trauma, and medical education.

Consumptive Heroines: Opera and TB with Drs Linda and Michael Hutcheon

Consumptive Heroines: Opera and TB with Drs Linda and Michael Hutcheon

This podcast explores tuberculosis’ impact on opera, focusing on La Traviata and La Bohème, examining medical and cultural…

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The Medical Humanities Review

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


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