Medicine and the Machine

Join Medscape editor-in-chief Eric Topol, MD, and master storyteller and clinician Abraham Verghese, MD, as they interview experts on the hottest topics in healthcare ranging from COVID-19 to social determinants of health to bringing humanity back to medicine. Subscribe Now

How Medicine Is Failing a Nation in Pain Pain is central to every specialty, and we all played a part in the opioid crisis, says Dr Haider Warraich, author of The Song of Our Scars: The Untold Story of Pain.
Medscape, May 2022

Animal Reservoirs, Immunocompromised Hosts: COVID Dangers Ahead Stanford's Benjamin Pinsky on the potential for even more transmissible and pathogenic versions of the SARS-CoV-2 virus to arise.
Eric Topol: 'I Still Have My Guard Up' Why we should be shifting into high gear on treatments for long COVID and a pan-beta-coronavirus vaccine.
The Medical Model Doesn't Work for Mental Health Former NIMH Director Tom Insel explains how the medical model has failed the field of psychiatry.
Why Test to Treat is Imperative Now Epidemiologist-engineer Michael Mina thinks diagnostics belong in the hands of the people.
'Historic Botched Job': CDC's, Others' Failed COVID Communication Randy Olson on what science can learn from Hollywood about communicating with the masses.
COVID Vaccines for the Under 5's: The 'Finish Line' We Need ‘Your Local Epidemiologist’ Katelyn Jetelina translates the COVID science for millions.
Dr. Glaucomflecken on Why We Can All Use a Laugh Right Now Two bouts with cancer and a cardiac arrest at age 35 haven't stopped this ophthalmologist-comedian from becoming a social media phenomenon for hilariously poking fun at medicine and himself.
2021 in Review Eric Topol and Abraham Verghese reflect on 2021's extraordinary podcast guests, and how we excelled in science and healthcare but were tripped up by the vagaries of human behavior.
Former White House COVID Advisor: We Can All Safely Experience Joy This Holiday Season Andy Slavitt believes we've made real progress, despite overselling vaccines and the public's dismay with rapidly changing science.
Dr Kimberly Manning on Twitter Teaching, Vaccine Deliberation, and Her Own 'Secret Sauce’ Her message to academia: If you really want diversity, equity, and inclusion in medicine, put your money where your mouth is.
How Pediatrician Rachel Pearson Brings Along Vaccine-Hesitant Parents Talking about how being vaccinated will let school-aged kids get back to normal life is paramount.
Dr Ebony Hilton Wants to Talk Herself Out of a Job If you want her to stop talking about racial and gender disparities in healthcare, fix the system.
How Machines Bring Humanity Back to Medicine Dr Eric Topol explores the next 20 years of progress in artificial intelligence with expert Kai-Fu Lee.
Wellcome Trust's Jeremy Farrar: 'Seeing the End of the Pandemic Is Premature' Jeremy Farrar explains why we must expect new variants, and why he’d like to give away his booster shot.
A Leading Virologist Reveals His Two 'Nightmare' Viruses Virologist Florian Krammer talks about how much we should worry about the Delta virus and the truth about antibody tests.
'Coma' Author Robin Cook on Medical Thrillers and Healthcare With his latest book, 'Viral,' Robin Cook says he's trying to entertain people and get them to think about the parts of healthcare that aren't working.
Google's Head of AI Talks About the Future of the EHR Jeff Dean, head of artificial intelligence at Google, talks with Eric Topol and Abraham Verghese about using technology to improve people's lives. And, he says, a lot of this started with cat videos.
Simplifying COVID Immunology, One Metaphor at a Time With tales of Post-it Notes and fire trucks, Shane Crotty explains COVID immunology and vaccine responses for scientists and nonscientists alike.
To End Burnout, Doctors Must Change the Culture of Medicine The culture of medicine is an invisible force with the strength of gravity that keeps the profession stuck, Robert Pearl says. To move forward, physicians have to own their role and drive change.

Eric Topol, MD Medscape Editor-in-Chief Eric Topol, MD, has led the flagship National Institutes of Health–supported Scripps Translational Science Institute since 2006 and cofounded the West Wireless Health Institute. He is a professor of molecular medicine at Scripps Research and senior consultant in the Division of Cardiovascular Diseases at Scripps Clinic. Topol pioneered the development of many routinely used medications, including tissue plasminogen activator, clopidogrel (Plavix), bivalirudin (Angiomax), and abciximab (ReoPro), and was the first physician to raise safety concerns about rofecoxib (Vioxx). He has published 1100 peer-reviewed articles and over 30 medical textbooks.

Topol was elected to the National Academy of Medicine (formerly Institute of Medicine) of the National Academy of Sciences and is one of the top 10 most cited researchers in medicine. He is the author of The Creative Destruction of Medicine (2012), The Patient Will See You Now (2015), and Deep Medicine: How Artificial Intelligence Can Make Healthcare Human Again (2019), published by Basic Books.

Abraham Verghese, MD Abraham Verghese, MD, is a critically acclaimed best-selling author and a physician with an international reputation for his focus on healing in an era when technology often overwhelms the human side of medicine. Now vice chair and professor of the theory and practice of medicine in the Department of Medicine at Stanford University, he was born in Ethiopia and was educated at Madras Medical College in India. Dr Verghese's books include My Own Country: A Doctor's Story, The Tennis Partner: A Doctor's Story of Friendship and Loss, and Cutting for Stone. His writing has also appeared in the New Yorker, the Atlantic, the New York Times, the New York Times Magazine, and the Wall Street Journal, among other publications. Verghese was elected to the National Academy of Sciences, is a 2014 recipient of the Heinz Award for Arts and Humanities, and in 2016 received the National Humanities Medal from President Barack Obama.