
Medical Humanities Podcast
The Medical Humanities Podcast explores the connections between clinical medicine and the arts, covering topics like medical history, bioethics, and gender. Hosts Dr. Sabina Dosani and Dr. Sarah Ahmed speak with writers, artists, and scholars who are reshaping our understanding of health. The show is produced by the BMJ Group and the Institute of Medical Ethics and serves as an audio companion to the Medical Humanities journal. Episodes aim to educate and inform, without providing medical advice.
Episodes

Children's hospitals as exceptional places: Topic Collection
What happens when we look past the "good glow" of charity to critically analyse its role in public healthcare?
In this episode, hosts Dr Sarah Ahmed and Dr Sabina Dosani discuss the Medical Humanities Topic Collection, "Charity and children’s hospitals — exceptionalism, experiences and welfare" with the guest editors: Professor Ellen Stewart, Dr. Francesca Vaghi, and Dr. Jennifer Crane.
They tal

Decolonising academic publishing: Black and Brown in Bioethics topic collection
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, calls to confront racism, systemic bias, and inequity in global health have become increasingly urgent. But what does meaningful change look like in practice?
In this episode, Dr Sarah Ahmed and Dr Sabina Dosani are joined by the co-founders of the Black and Brown in Bioethics (BBB) network: PhD scholar Matimba Swana, postdoctoral researcher and artist Kumeri Bandara,

The Medical Humanities: what's next for the field?
Traditional methods of research and clinical practice are facing a radical shift as scholars push for deeper inclusivity and new ways of thinking.
In this episode, Dr. Sarah Ahmed and Dr. Sabina Dosani talk with Dr. Louise Creechan and Professor Femi Oyebode about the future of the Medical Humanities. They explore the boundaries of inclusivity, questioning who truly gets to speak for lived experie

Medicine and the Humanities: the art of transgression
What happens when a comic book illustrator and a fine artist challenge the way medicine is practiced? In this episode, Dr. Sarah Ahmed and Dr. Sabina Dosani talk with Dr. Monica Lalanda and Dr. Tamarin Norwood about why "politeness" might be a problem for research. They explore the overlap between the arts and medical science – exploring how graphic medicine and fine art are tools to break through

Generative chaos: mapping the Medical Humanities
In the second part of our four-part series about the fundamentals of the field, Professor Stuart Murray and Professor Neil Vickers discuss the origins and institutional state of the Medical Humanities. The conversation explores the field's roots as a strategic effort in the 1960s to maintain human values within a technological medical landscape. Murray and Vickers offer differing perspectives on t

What’s the point? Medicine needs the Humanities
"Medicine, like people, is messy."
In the first episode of a new series from the Medical Humanities podcast, we tackle a question often asked by both sceptics and practitioners: What is the point of the Medical Humanities?
Jointly hosted by Dr. Sarah Ahmed (Paediatrician and Medical Humanities scholar) and Dr. Sabina Dosani (Medical Humanities' Editor-in-Chief and Consultant Child and Adolescent
The Medical Humanities podcast is coming back soon...
Join Dr. Sabina Dosani and Dr. Sarah Ahmed as they interview world-class artists, scholars, and clinicians about health, illness and systems of care.

Looking further than what you can see: non-visual design, with Simon Dogger
The design studio of Simon Dogger focusses upon stimulating equity, connection and innovation. He is able to look further than what you can see and not only because he is blind. In cooperation with Dutch schools and universities his studio is working on design education for Visual Impaired People (VIPs). VIPs are resourceful and good inclusive thinkers, but this power is rarely acknowledged. That’

The industrial tragedy at Bhopal through the LivingBodiesObjects’ digital storytelling
The 1984 Union Carbide gas disaster in Bhopal, India, is recognised as the world’s worst industrial disaster.
The Wellcome-funded LivingBodiesObjects project has been working with the Bhopal Medical Appeal (referred to as BMA), a charity funding free healthcare for disaster survivors and water-affected communities. In this podcast episode, LivingBodiesObjects team members Clare Barker and Lynn Wr

Humanising Care for Older People Living with Dementia - Teun Toebes in conversation with Khalid Ali
Teun Toebes, humanitarian activist, in conversation with Khalid Ali. In this podcast, Teun talks about his book 'The Housemates' (The Housemates by Teun Toebes, Laura Vroomen | Waterstones) and documentary film 'Human Forever' (Human Forever The Film (human-forever.com) describing his quest to understand better the experience of older people living with dementia in care in the Netherlands and glob

Making Modern Maternity
Introducing their forthcoming special issue of Medical Humanities, Drs. Whitney Wood, Heather Love, Jerika Sanderson, and Karen Weingarten discuss the political significance of “making” our “modern maternity” with Editor-in-Chief Brandy Schillace.
Whitney Wood is Canada Research Chair in the Historical Dimensions of Women’s Health at Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo, British Columbia.
Heathe

Black and Brown in Bioethics: A new Medical Humanities Research Forum
In this podcast, our Editor-in-chief Brandy Schillace sits down with Matimba Swana and Kumeri Bandara of Black and Brown in Bioethics to discuss how they started, why it is important to build community when challenging disparities in academia, and how Medical Humanities and Black and Brown in Bioethics are joining forces to transform the academic publishing landscape to cater to more diverse voice

Scenario Planning, Healthcare, and the Humanities
In this podcast, Brandy Schillace (EIC) and Cristina Hanganu-Bresch (Blog and Associate Editor) talk to Matt Finch and Matthew Molineux about how scenario planning can help inform decisions about healthcare and the role of narrative in building scenarios that teach and humanize the health professions.
Read more: https://blogs.bmj.com/medical-humanities/2024/03/08/scenario-planning-healthcare-and-t

Poetry, Disability, and the Power of Medical Humanities with Kimberly Campanello
Making connections through poetry, disability, and medical humanities. Brandy Schillace, Medical Humanities' Editor-in-Chief, interviews Kimberly Campanello, Associate Professor of Creative Writing at Leeds University, UK.
Read the related blog including the transcription of this podcast: https://blogs.bmj.com/medical-humanities/2023/10/26/on-poetry-disability-and-the-power-of-medical-humanities
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Virtual Reality and Disability: Supportive learning through VR
Stuart Murray, Professor of Contemporary Literatures and Film, University of Leeds; Wellcome funded LivingBodiesObjects project David Tabron, Blueberry Academy speak to Brandy Schillace about LivingBodiesObjects, the Blueberry Academy, and how Virtual Reality can support those with learning differences.
Read the blog with the transcript of this episode: https://blogs.bmj.com/medical-humanities/202

Bittersweet Potatoes: Noura Kevorkian, documentary film maker, reflects on the plight, and resilience of Syrian Refugees in Lebanon
In this podcast, Dr Khalid Ali, film and media correspondent, interviews Noura Kevorkian, a Syrian/ Lebanese documentary film-maker.
Noura Kevorkian discusses the personal and professional journey of her award-winning documentary 'Batata', its impact on the film's protagonists, and how the film advocates for the rights of refugees around the world.
Read the blog post and the transcription of the p

Featuring the Nocturnist’s SHAME IN MEDICINE: The Lost Forest
Medical Humanities, editor-in-chief Brandy Schillace speaks to Emily Silverman, MD, the University of California San Francisco (UCSF)creator of The Nocturnist podcast, and Luna Dolezal, Associate Professor in Philosophy and Medical Humanities based in the Wellcome Centre for Cultures and Environments of Health. They both published a 10-part podcast series called 'Shame in Medicine: The Lost Forest

Immersive and Interactive: Accessibility Theatre and LivingBodiesObjects
Editor's in Chief of Medical Humanities, Brandy Schillace, interviews Amelia DeFalco, University of Leeds and Steve Byrne Director/Chief exec of the Interplay Theatre about the Interplay Theatre's work with disabled students and the role of immersive experience for the LivingBodiedObjects project.
Related blog including the transcription of the podcast:
https://blogs.bmj.com/medical-humanities/2

From Voiceless to a Voice Representing the Deaf Community and British Sign Language (BSL)
Dr Khalid Ali, film and media correspondent, interviews British documentary filmmaker, Edward Lovelace. They discuss his film ‘’Name me Lawand’’, a rapturous portrait of a deaf Kurdish boy’s emotional journey towards discovering how to express himself. A love letter to the power of communication and community. Edward describes how he bonded with Lawand and how together they created a poignant film

Finding the Right Words, a book on Grief, Dementia, and Literature
The moving story of an English professor studying neurology in order to understand and come to terms with her father's death from Alzheimer's. Brandy Schillace (Medical Humanities' Editor-in-Chief) interviews Cindy Weinstein, Vice Provost and Professor of English at California Institute of Technology.
Related blog including the transcription of the podcast:
https://blogs.bmj.com/medical-humaniti

Infectious Disease Epidemics and Inequality
Join us for a fascinating discussion about the ethics of care, and most especially the way structural racism and impediments to access heightened existing inequalities during both outbreak and lockdown.
Brandy Schillace speaks to epidemiologist Professor John Wright, Bradford Institute for Health Research and Wolfson Centre for Applied Health Research.
A blog post containing the transcript of this

Body Talk: “Corporeal Pedagogies”
In this month's podcast, Brandy Schillace talks to Dr Sally Waite and Dr Olivia Turner, of Newcastle University. They discuss "corporeal pedagogy", a form of learning and teaching that suspends conventional modes of Western education, particularly within a university setting, to facilitate embodied and haptic learning and production of knowledge.
A blog post containing the transcript of this podca

Posthumanism and the LivingBodiesObject Project
LivingBodiesObjects is a 3-year project funded by the Wellcome Trust designed to test and extend the boundaries of Medical Humanities research. Today we talk to Stuart Murray and Amelia DeFalco, University of Leeds, about the value of de-centering structures and opening diversity.
Link to the blog post with more information about the project, and transcription of the podcast:
https://blogs.bmj.co

Global Health Humanities, a June Special Issue
Editor-in-chief of Medical Humanities, Brandy Schillace, interviews Narin Hassan and Jessica Howell about their innovative and interdisciplinary approach to health humanities.
Narin Hassan is Associate Professor and Director of Global Media and Cultures (MS-GMC) in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication at Georgia Tech. Jessica Howell is Professor of English and Associate Director of t

Bradford Tales Authentically and Poetically Portrayed in Film by Clio Barnard
Clio Barnard is multi-award winning British Film writer, director and producer. In this conversation with Medical Humanities' film and media correspondent, Khalid Ali, she revisits her 'Bradford Film Trilogy'; 'The Arbor' (2010), 'The Selfish Giant' (2013), and 'Ali & Ava' (2021).
The uniqueness and diversity of Bradford community portrayed as a love story between two unlikely characters mad

LivingBodiesObjects: Changing the way we research
LivingBodiesObjects is a 3-year project funded by the Wellcome Trust designed to test and extend the boundaries of Medical Humanities research.
Editor-in-chief of Medical Humanities, Brandy Schillace, interviews Stuart Murray, Professor of Contemporary Literatures and Film and Director of the Centre of Medical Humanities at the University of Leeds, in the UK.
Read the blog with the transcription o

Golem Girl: Disability and Embodiment with Riva Lehrer
We are excited to present Riva Lehrer, artist and author, and her book GOLEM GIRL, about disability, embodiment, joy, and becoming herself.
Read the blog with the transcription of this podcast here: https://blogs.bmj.com/medical-humanities/2023/03/04/podcast-with-riva-lehrer-author-of-golem-girl-a-memoir.
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Loneliness, friendship and love in the office space
J. Rick Castañeda is a writer, director and producer (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1479268/?ref_=tt_ov_dr). His works have been around the world to festivals in London, Canada, Japan, and Romania, as well as festivals in the US such as SXSW. He made over 30 short films, earning recognition from YouTube, Crackle, and Funny or Die.
Rick uses humour to explore stress, anxiety and disenfranchisement i

Transplant and its imaginaries - December Special Issue
Brandy interviews Donna McCormack about the December Special Issue, Transplant and its Imaginaries.
Donna McCormack, Chancellor'S Fellow and Senior Lecturer (with co-editor Magrit Shildrick) proposes new understandings of the limits and possible extensions of organ and tissue transplantation.
The Special Issue of Medical Humanities is available here: https://mh.bmj.com/content/47/4
Read the relat

”We’re not broken”: changing the conversation around autism with Eric Garcia
Join us on this episode of the Medical Humanities Podcast as Brandy Schillace speaks with Eric Garcia, author of WE’RE NOT BROKEN: Changing the Autism Conversation (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, August 3, 2021).
Eric Garcia is a journalist based in Washington, D.C.
Read the related blog post (with the transcription of the whole podcast) here: https://blogs.bmj.com/medical-humanities/2021/11/05/eric-g

Reflections on childhood trauma, creativity and mental well-being
In this podcast, Kristina Lindström and Kristian Petri (Swedish film makers) reflect on their documentary film 'The most beautiful boy in the world' (2021) and their professional relationship with the film's protagonist, Björn Andrésen. Björn came to international fame at the age of 15 when Italian director Luchino Visconti cast him as Tadzio, the young boy in his film 'Death in Venice' (1971). Kr

Special Issue on Global Genetic Fictions: Decolonising genetics through literature
This podcast features Clare Barker, Associate Professor in English Literature, University of Leeds, and guest editor of our Medical Humanities June Special Issue for 2021: Global Genetic Fictions.
Read more on the Medical Humanities website: https://mh.bmj.com/content/47/2
Read the transcript of this podcast in the Medical Humanities blog (https://blogs.bmj.com/medical-humanities/2021/09/02/clare-

Medicine’s Disability Blind Spot: Vaccine Roll-out, Privilege, and Access
An outlook at how disabled lives have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and, in particular, by the current vaccine roll-out. Alice Wong, a disabled activist, and Alyssa Burgart, an anesthesiologist and ethicist at Stanford University, tell Medical Humanities' Editor-in-Chief, Brandy Schillace, how disabled lives have been overlooked in this crisis, as the very systems and designs of medicine

Going Medieval: Historical Comparisons of Plague and Pandemic
Medical Humanities' Editor-in-Chief, Brandy Schillace, talks to Dr. Eleanor Janega, a medieval historian, about comparisons between COVID-19 and the Black Death.
Read the blog post, which includes the transcript of the podcast, here: https://blogs.bmj.com/medical-humanities/2021/07/15/going-medieval-historical-comparisons-of-plague-and-pandemic/

Representation is Power: What it means to be a LGBTQ in government
Editor-in-Chief of Medical Humanities, Brandy Schillace, speaks to Brian Sims, an openly gay LGBTQ activist, Pennsylvania State Representative, and civil rights attorney about the power of representation, and what minority groups offer to better governance.
Read the related blog with this podcast's transcript: https://blogs.bmj.com/medical-humanities/2021/06/10/celebrating-pride-month-with-brian-s

The Female Gaze in Film as seen by Sarah Gavron
Sarah Gavron talks to our film and media correspondent, Khalid Ali, about her passion for telling stories about marginalised women from diverse backgrounds in her films.
Read the blog post, which includes the transcript of the podcast, here: https://blogs.bmj.com/medical-humanities/2021/05/27/the-female-gaze-in-film-as-seen-by-sarah-gavron

Generation Covid: Education, Access, and the Long Shadow of Pandemic Trauma
David Perry is a freelance journalist covering politics, history, education, and disability rights with bylines at CNN, NYT, Atlantic, Guardian and many more. He and his food-scientist wife live in the Twin Cities with their children, one of whom has Down syndrome, and Perry also plays in an Irish rock band.
Today on the podcast, David talks about access and education under COVID-19. What does it

Biomorphic: The life of an Artist with Cancer
Editor-in-Chief of Medical Humanities, Brandy Schillace, speaks to Arabella Proffer, an artist whose work combines the history of medicine with biomorphic abstraction about life, art, and cancer.
Read the related blog post, which includes the transcript of this podcast: https://blogs.bmj.com/medical-humanities/2021/04/21/life-art-cancer-living-to-the-fullest

Designing for the Body: SCALED wearable technology
In this podcast, Editor-in-Chief of Medical Humanities, Brandy Schillace, speaks to Natalie Kerres, designer of SCALED and a recent graduate of Imperial College London and the Royal College of Art. SCALED is wearable technology designed for sports, medicine, and disability.
Read the transcript of this podcast in the Medical Humanities blog: https://blogs.bmj.com/medical-humanities/2021/04/07/desig

The fight against sexism in science: International Women’s Day featuring scientist Rita Colwell
Rita Colwell is one of the top scientists in America: the groundbreaking microbiologist who discovered how cholera survives between epidemics and the former head of the National Science Foundation.
She joins us for International Women’s Day, discussing the trials and successes of being a woman in science and her new book A Lab of One’s Own.
Read the related blog post with the transcript of this p

Health Justice with Dr. Oni Blackstock
In this podcast, Brandy Schillace, Medical Humanities Editor-in-Chief, interviews Dr. Oni Blackstock, physician and Director of Health Justice
Dr. Blackstock speaks about the influence of her mother, the fight against health inequality, and her own struggles as a Black woman physician for social justice.
Read the related blog post: https://blogs.bmj.com/medical-humanities/2021/02/24/the-power-of-e

What becomes of us: health disparity in pandemic
Dr. Josh Mugele, a disaster and emergency medicine physician, speaks about health disparity during crises like the current COVID pandemic.
Read the blog post containing the transcript of this podcast: https://blogs.bmj.com/medical-humanities/2021/02/04/what-becomes-of-us-health-disparity-in-pandemic/

Hearing Happiness: Jaipreet Virdi on deafness, accessibility, and her latest book
Jaipreet Virdi’s latest book, Hearing Happiness raises pivotal questions about deafness in American society and the endless quest for a cure. Read the blog post:
https://blogs.bmj.com/medical-humanities/2021/01/05/hearing-happiness-jaipreet-virdi-on-deafness-accessibility-and-her-latest-book/

Heart in Medicine, History and Culture
Therese Feiler, a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, describes the interdisciplinary Medical Humanities special issue, bringing together cardiac surgeons, cultural historians and theologians on matters of the heart (https://blogs.bmj.com/medical-humanities/2020/12/10/podcast-heart-in-medicine-history-and-culture).
Please read:
- the editorial: https://mh.bmj.com/conten

Accessibility, Creation, Community: an interview with Cheryl Green
What would it mean if, instead of being “add-ons,” accessibility tools like captions and transcripts were built into a project from the ground up? What if instead of thinking about accessibility as “mere” additions only, we realized their incredible creative power?
Read the related blog post: https://blogs.bmj.com/medical-humanities/2020/11/19/accessibility-creation-community-an-interview-with-che

Finding ways forward for LGBTQ+ health access
In today’s podcast, Dr. Henry Ng, MD MPH, Cleveland Clinic, speaks with Editor-in-Chief of Medical Humanities, Brandy Schillace, about issues of LGBTQ+ and health accessibility. Already a difficult prospect, access to care for this population has become increasingly precarious during the COVID epidemic.
Read the blog post: https://blogs.bmj.com/medical-humanities/2020/10/27/accessing-the-future-wa

The Dignity of Help: Sara Hendren’s What a Body Can Do
Sarah Hendren’s book, What Can A Body Do? How We Meet the Built World, looks at design and disability at all scales: prosthetics, furniture, architecture, urban planning, and more, to examine critically the definition of the good life.
Read the related blog post: https://blogs.bmj.com/medical-humanities/2020/09/25/the-dignity-of-help-sara-hendrens-what-a-body-can-do/

Accessibility isn’t a new coat of paint: Chris Higgins on his film ACCESS
How do we make something really and truly accessible? Chris Higgins talks about what led to his 2019 short film Access, and the fact that accessibility isn’t about making a different product for those with disabilities; it’s about making the product with all people in mind.
To find out more about the film:
https://accessmovie.org/

Where race, disparity, and pandemic collide: COVID-19 USA
Dr. Oni Blackstock joins us to speak about social justice, Black Lives Matter, LGBTQ rights and the way the COVID-19 crisis has unequally affected marginalized communities. Dr. Blackstock is Assistant Commissioner for the NYC Health Department's Bureau of HIV.
Link to the blog post: https://blogs.bmj.com/medical-humanities/2020/07/03/where-race-disparity-and-pandemic-collide-covid-19-usa

Human bodies of WWII, beyond the battlefield
In this podcast, we discuss the June Special issue, "Beyond the Battlefield" and the impact of medical crisis and treatment on non-combatant bodies - still so relevant in today’s COVID-19 crises. Medical Humanities Editor, Brandy Schillace, speaks to Dr Hannah Simpson, a postdoctoral scholar at St Anne's College, University of Oxford, specialising in modern and contemporary theatre and performance

Disability visibility and the Covid-19 crisis
Medical Humanities Editor Brandy Schillace speaks to Alice Wong, a disabled activist, media maker, and consultant based in San Francisco. She is the Founder and Director of the Disability Visibility Project® and speaks about increasing disability access in the face of coronavirus pandemic.
Read the blog post and the transcript of this podcast: https://blogs.bmj.com/medical-humanities/2020/04/30/di

Coronavirus - bodies, environments and the spread of disease
How do diseases like coronavirus get their start? How does pollution affect the microbiome? Dr. Annamaria Carusi, who was as an academic in medical humanities for several years and is now a private consultant doing social studies of science for policy formation, addresses the way humans and environments interact. In this conversation with Medical Humanities Editor-in-Chief Brandy Schillace, she a

Every woman and girl counts
In this podcast Mr Matt Jackson, director of the UK, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) talks about current health inequalities that still face girls and women on a global scale. He revists the vision and programme of action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) set out in 1994 in Cairo, Egypt and ongoing efforts by his organisation to complete the ICPD unfinishe

Health, Humanity and Dr. Frankenstein
Audrey Shafer, MD, directs Medicine & the Muse at Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics. She joins Brandy to talk about the use of Frankenstein to trouble the boundaries between science, medicine, and what it means to be human.

Stories of guilt and redemption: the cinema of Atom Egoyan
In this podcast Dr Khalid Ali talks to acclaimed Canadian director Atom Egoyan at the 41st edition of the Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) where Egoyan's latest film 'Guest of honour' screened. Egoyan reflects on prominent themes in his films such as isolation, estrangement and alienation of human beings, and how communication or lack of communication can result in long-term trauma and suf

2040: A personal prescription for Global Health
In this podcast, award-winning Australian film maker, Damon Gameau talks about his new film '2040' which explores what the future could look like by the year 2040 if we embraced solutions that are currently available to improve the planet focusing on climate, economics, technology, civil society, agriculture, and sustainability. Damon also talks about his first documentary 'That Sugar Film' where

Using arts to campaign against gender-based violence
Nahid Toubia is a Sudanese surgeon and women's health rights activist, specialising in research into female genital mutilation (FGM). In this podcast, she talks about her career as a woman surgeon in Khartoum, Sudan in the 1970's. Ms Toubia describes how she got involved in championing the fight against harmful practices such as FGM, domestic and gender-based violence at the UN and several other i

Making Space
Ciara Breathnach (@CiaraBreath) is a Senior Lecturer in History at the University of Limerick, Ireland. She is a current Irish research Council Laureate holder and her research focuses on Irish social history of medicine and health. In this conversation with Brandy Schillace, she also talks about the upcoming Association of Medical Humanities meeting MAKING SPACE, which will take place in Limerick

The Power of Poetry
In this podcast, Clinical Psychiatrist and poet Owen Lewis (Columbia) and Sue Spencer, Associate Editor at Medical Humanities, discuss both the power and “disruption” of poetry in and out of healthcare curriculum.

Nurturing artistic talent in children with autism. A conversation with Hana Makki
In this podcast, film maker Hana Makki revisits her memories of making the documentary film ‘As one: The Autism Project’ working with ten children with Autism and their families. The film project was supported by Sheikha Shamsa bint Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the daughter of the crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, in an effort to raise awareness about ‘Autism Spectrum Disorder’ in the United Arab Emirate

Creating father-son bonds through film: Tom Browne and his son Frankie
In this podcast, Tom and his son Frankie discuss how their experience of making short films together supported their relationship as a father and son. Tom talks about the films ‘Bokx’, ‘Beyond’, and ‘Aston Gorilla’, and reflects on how watching the films after many years can say a lot about his two boys, George and Frankie; how different they have become and yet how similar they have remained! ‘As

Bridges of hope: Supporting women and youth through economic empowerment
In this podcast, Dr El Beih, Egypt’s country director of Drosos Foundation talks about her journey from a hospital doctor to becoming a pioneer in the use of art and creativity in healing. She was behind the making of the Egyptian film ‘Asmaa’ which highlighted the stigma and discrimination faced by women living with HIV in Egypt (https://blogs.bmj.com/medical-humanities/2011/11/03/khalid-ali-film

Death and dying, Italian style
In this podcast Valeria Golino talks about end of life issues; assisted suicide, the common practice of some Italian people withholding the true diagnosis of terminal illness from their affected relatives, and doctor-patient relationships in these emotionally challenging circumstances. Such themes were explored in her award-winning films as a director ‘Miele’ (2013), and ‘Euphoria’ (2018).
Ms Go

History Lessons: Immigration, the NHS and fear of the other
On today’s podcast, Professor Roberta Bivins, Centre for the History of Medicine University of Warwick, speaks to unfounded fears of immigrants underpinning rhetoric surrounding the inception of the NHS.

Making History Matter: Julian Simpson on migration, social issues and the role of history
Freelance author and historian Julian Simpson, author of Migrant Architects of the NHS, joins Editor-in-Chief of Medical Humanities Brandy Schillace (@bschillace) to discuss the role and responsibility of historians. How do we create a space for history that addresses itself to contemporary concerns including #immigration? This is about who gets to write #history, who gets to make decisions about

A New Outlook on Psychosomatics?
Join us for a preview of the new June special issue on Biopolitics, Psychosomatics and "participating bodies" and read it on the MH website: https://mh.bmj.com/.
June's issue is specially dedicated to the many ways of looking at psychosomatics. In this conversation with Brandy Schillace, guest editor Dr. Monica Greco explains why a different outlook on our bodies is much needed. Listen to the full

Interrogating Medicine: a podcast on humanities and pain
Medical Humanities editor-in-chief, Brandy Schillace, speaks to Dr Sara Wasson about her work on chronic pain and gothic transplantation.
For more information read: https://mh.bmj.com/content/44/2/106.

The Weaponizing of Religion against Healthcare: An Interview with John Fugelsang
Increasingly in the US, elements of religion have crept into medical and political discourse. The Bible has been invoked repeatedly, for instance, in discussion of women’s right to abortion, same sex marriage, adoption, coverage rights, and the list goes on. In today’s MH podcast, Brandy Schillace interviews John Fugelsang, host of Tell Me Everything on SiriusXM, as well as an American actor, tv p

Daniel LaForest on reaching beyond medicine to live experience of health
Medical Humanities editor-in-chief Brandy Schillace interviews Medical Humanities board member Daniel LaForest on his understanding of medical humanities and storytelling.

United in film: psychiatrist Dr Nabil Elkot recommends drama therapy for patients and doctors
Medical Humanities Film Correspondent Khalid Ali interviews Dr Nabil Elkot, a doctor who uses art in his psychotherapeutic practice. This interview comes from Medfest, the medical film festival.

What society do we live in? Dr Gavin Francis on precarity, vulnerability and narrative
Medical Humanities Editor-in-Chief Brandy Schillace interviews doctor and author Gavin Francis about housing and medical outcomes, his work as a travel writer, and the influence of his medical practice on his writing.

Prescribing Art. Victoria Hume, Director of the Culture, Health and Wellbeing Alliance
What is the future of "prescribing art"? Brandy Schillace interviews Victoria Hume, Director of the Culture, Health and Wellbeing Alliance, about the role of culture, arts, and health.
Related Medical Humanities papers mentioned in this podcast:
Inclusion, access and social justice: the rhizomic evolution of a field across a continent - https://mh.bmj.com/content/44/4/218
Biomedicine and the huma

The Immigrants’ Case of Shakespeare: a discussion about borders and health effects of separation
The 400-year-old Shakespearean speech is the start of a conversation about the immigrants' situation in the US and the UK today, as well as the health effects on children suffering separation from parents and other traumas relating to a refugee situation.
Kathleen Bachynski and Brit Trogen, both from the New York University Langone, discuss 'The Immigrants' Case', a speech attributed to William Sh

Medicine meets cinema: Dr Omneya Okasha’s journey from dentistry to film making
Dr Omneya Okasha is a dentist who had a passion for film since early childhood. Bonding with characters on screen took her on a journey of self-discovery, personal growth, and wonder. After a career in Dentistry, she is now a full-time film maker. In this conversation with Medical Humanities film correspondent, Khalid Ali, she comments on 'story-telling, attention to detail, collaboration and empa

ICE Immigration and Health: Eugene Gu on the medical consequence of politics
Medical Humanities editor-in-chief Brandy Schillace interviews Dr Eugene Gu about the responsibilities of medical practitioners in light of ICE and the immigration crisis in the US.
Stay in touch with the Medical Humanities journal through the website (https://mh.bmj.com), the blog (https://blogs.bmj.com/medical-humanities), Twitter (@MedHums_BMJ) and Facebook.
This interview was recorded on the 7

The shape of Medical Humanities in South Africa
What kinds of projects in medical humanities are happening in the Global South? Today we speak to two of the guest editors for a South African Special Issue (Carla Tsampiras and Nolwazi Mkhwanazi), publishing in December 2018, on the cultural context and issues of MH and social justice.

Let’s talk sex, medicine and film. Reporting from Egypt Medfest 2018
Mina Elnaggar, an Egyptian doctor and film-maker, outlines the first Arab forum for medicine in film, Egypt Medfest, in conversation with Medical Humanities Film Correspondent Khalid Ali.
Read the Medical Humanities' blog for more on film and media in medicine: https://blogs.bmj.com/medical-humanities/.

One Year Anniversary, MH editor
In this podcast, Associate Editor Angela Woods interviews Brandy Schillace, Editor-in-Chief of the Medical Humanities journal, at the one-year anniversary of her editorship. Brandy talks about the changes in the journal and what we can expect in the next year; she also takes a moment to celebrate the current and upcoming issues, authors, and contributors. We hope you will join the conversation at

Talk to her: Arab women unveil taboos
Three film industry women talk mental health and violence.
‘Mamsous- Deranged’ is a short film about mental health and well-being through the story of three people, who share their experiences with clinical depression and panic attacks. It was directed by Shatha Masoud, an Emarati filmmaker who started her own advertising and video production business. Mamsous won the best ‘Muhr Emarati short film

How do we find meaning when we are going to die?
Dr Khalid Ali, Medical Humanities film and media correspondent, interviews Dr Amy Hardie at the Sudan Independent Film Festival where she held a training workshop for film students.
Dr Amy Hardie is a documentary film-maker with several international awards. Her documentary feature The Edge of Dreaming, was the first Scottish feature documentary to be selected for competition at IDFA in 2009 and











