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Medical Humanities Podcast
The Medical Humanities Podcast explores the stories, ethics, and experiences that connect clinical medicine to the arts. From the history of medicine to bioethics and gender, hosts Dr. Sabina Dosani (Editor-in-Chief of Medical Humanities) and paediatrician Dr. Sarah Ahmed speak with writers, artists, and scholars redefining our understanding of health. Join us as we pull at the threads that tie us together and investigate the ones that unravel.
Brought to you by the BMJ and the Institute of Medical Ethics.
Medical Humanities - mh.bmj.com - is an international journal from the BMJ Group and the Institute of Medical Ethics (IME) publishing studies on the history of medicine, cultures of medicine, disability, gender, bioethics and medical education.
Episodes
Friday Mar 20, 2026
Friday Mar 20, 2026
"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 Psychiatrist), this conversation features a deep-dive with two leading voices in the field:
Dr. Wing May Kong, Honorary Senior Lecture in Endocrinology and Ethics from Imperial College London, and Chair of Trustees of the Institute of Medical Ethics. https://profiles.imperial.ac.uk/w.kong
Dr. Grace Halden, Reader in Contemporary Literature and Medical Humanities, and co-director of the Centre for Medical and Health Humanities at Birkbeck, University of London. https://www.drgracehalden.com/
They explore why healthcare is about far more than just data and objectivity. From the unconventional use of sculpture to teach medical students the power of touch, to the "liberating" impact of bringing lived experience and creative non-fiction into the NICU, they also discuss how the humanities create a vital, legitimising space for the stories that don't fit into a clinical record.
Stay connected! Visit our blog for more insights and subscribe to the podcast for the latest episodes. Love the podcast? Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and join the conversation with us on social media.
The Medical Humanities is produced by Letícia Amorim, and is edited by Letícia Amorim and Nick Currey.
Friday Mar 13, 2026
Friday Mar 13, 2026
Join Dr. Sabina Dosani and Dr. Sarah Ahmed as they interview world-class artists, scholars, and clinicians about health, illness and systems of care.
Thursday Dec 19, 2024
Thursday Dec 19, 2024
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’s a pity since the design field and societies are in desperate need of different perspectives. This podcast is about the first steps toward a non-visual design school. It deals with the image of VIPs in society, the importance of touch and the benefit for design schools.
In a world where design seems reserved for those who can see, a new perspective is emerging. This podcast delves into the groundbreaking journey of blind and partially sighted designers challenging the visual dominance in the design industry. Through personal stories, innovative methods, and transformative workshops, it reveals how creativity thrives beyond sight. Experience how touch, sound, and emotion redefine design processes, making them more inclusive and human-centered. Join us as we explore a future where design is not just seen but felt, where limitations become strengths, and where diversity reshapes what creativity truly means.
Please read the related blog post and transcript: https://blogs.bmj.com/medical-humanities/2024/12/16/4015/ Visit Simon's website at www.SimonDogger.nl or send him an email at info@SimonDogger.nl. Instagram @Simon_Dogger.
Subscribe to the Medical Humanities Podcast in all podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher and Spotify. If you enjoy our podcast, please consider leaving us a review and a 5-star rating on the Medical Humanities Podcast iTunes page - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/medical-humanities-podcast/id961667204. Thank you for listening!
Thursday Jul 11, 2024
Thursday Jul 11, 2024
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 Wray, and the Bhopal Medical Appeal’s Jared Stoughton introduce their collaborative work to produce new digital resources emerging from the stories of survivors and activists in water-affected areas of Bhopal.
To learn more about the Union Carbide disasters and the work of the Bhopal Medical Appeal, please visit www.bhopal.org. You can also find them on Facebook and Instagram.
Please read the related blog post and transcript: https://blogs.bmj.com/medical-humanities/2024/07/11/livingbodiesobjects-and-the-tragedy-at-bhopal
Subscribe to the Medical Humanities Podcast in all podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher and Spotify. If you enjoy our podcast, please consider leaving us a review and a 5-star rating on the Medical Humanities Podcast iTunes page - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/medical-humanities-podcast/id961667204. Thank you for listening!
Thursday May 30, 2024
Thursday May 30, 2024
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 globally.
Read the related blog post, including a transcript of this podcast: https://blogs.bmj.com/medical-humanities/2024/05/30/humanising-care-for-older-people-living-with-dementia-teun-toebes-in-conversation-with-khalid-ali
Subscribe to the Medical Humanities Podcast in all podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher and Spotify. If you enjoy our podcast, please consider leaving us a review and a 5-star rating on the Medical Humanities Podcast iTunes page (https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/medical-humanities-podcast/id961667204). Thank you for listening!
Wednesday May 08, 2024
Wednesday May 08, 2024
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.
Heather A. Love is Assistant Professor of English at the University of Waterloo (Ontario, Canada).
Jerika Sanderson is a PhD candidate in English at the University of Waterloo. Her research investigates 21 st-century biotechnologies across the media, literature, and popular culture.
Karen Weingarten is Professor of English at Queens College, City University of New York and the author of “Pregnancy Test” and “Abortion in the American Imagination: Before Life and Choice 1880-1940”.
The issue is due in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, please read the related blog post: https://blogs.bmj.com/medical-humanities/2024/05/08/making-modern-maternity/
Subscribe to the Medical Humanities Podcast in all podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher and Spotify. If you enjoy our podcast, please consider leaving us a review and a 5-star rating on the Medical Humanities Podcast iTunes page (https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/medical-humanities-podcast/id961667204). Thank you for listening!
Thursday Mar 28, 2024
Thursday Mar 28, 2024
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 voices, knowledge, and audiences.
Read more: https://blogs.bmj.com/medical-humanities/2024/03/28/research-forum-black-and-brown-in-bioethics
Subscribe to the Medical Humanities Podcast in all podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher and Spotify. If you enjoy our podcast, please consider leaving us a review and a 5-star rating on the Medical Humanities Podcast iTunes page (https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/medical-humanities-podcast/id961667204). Thank you for listening!
Friday Mar 08, 2024
Friday Mar 08, 2024
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-the-humanities
Subscribe to the Medical Humanities Podcast in all podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher and Spotify. If you enjoy our podcast, please consider leaving us a review and a 5-star rating on the Medical Humanities Podcast iTunes page (https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/medical-humanities-podcast/id961667204). Thank you for listening!
Thursday Oct 26, 2023
Thursday Oct 26, 2023
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
Subscribe to the Medical Humanities Podcast in all podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher and Spotify. If you enjoy our podcast, please consider leaving us a review and a 5-star rating on the Medical Humanities Podcast iTunes page (https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/medical-humanities-podcast/id961667204). Thank you for listening!
Friday Jul 28, 2023
Friday Jul 28, 2023
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/2023/07/28/podcast-with-stuart-murray-and-david-tabron And more on the LBO website https://livingbodiesobjects.org/, and the Blueberry Academy website https://www.blueberryacademy.co.uk/.









