Episodes

Dr. Eric Topol, now a three-time returning guest on the Fixing Healthcare podcast, discusses 21st-century lessons in leadership. Topol is the director of the Scripps Research Institute and a professor of molecular medicine. He has published more than 1,200 peer-reviewed articles and serves as the editor-in-chief of Medscape. He has authored three bestselling books including his most recent, “Deep Medicine: How Artificial Intelligence Can Make Healthcare Human Again.” In this episode, Topol tal...

For three years, all eyes (and ears) were turned toward the Covid-19 pandemic. And since early 2020, Dr. Robert Pearl and Jeremy Corr have hosted the popular podcast “Coronavirus: The Truth.” That show has cut through the fearmongering and misinformation circulated on social media to bring listeners the truth about the coronavirus—with informed commentary, helpful context and reporting from only the most credible sources. Over the past year, as other medical issues have rivaled this viral pande...

Without looking it up, how many Americans do you think are enrolled in Medicaid, the government-funded program that provides health coverage to low-income adults, children and families? The answer is one of three shocking healthcare statistics you’ll hear about on today’s program. Welcome back to Diving Deep, the first new episode of the new year. Each month, this show probes some of healthcare’s most complex topics and deep-seated problems. Today, hosts Dr. Robert Pearl and Jeremy Corr dive ...

The internet (and nearly every American industry) is abuzz with a new phenomenon called ChatGPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer), a remarkable artificial intelligence chatbot launched in November 2022 that has an uncanny ability to generate human-like text. Recent headlines tell of the potential havoc this AI can inflict: “ChatGPT writes medical research abstracts that can fool scientists” and “Use of ChatGPT in counseling sessions is raising ethical questions.” Dr. Z lauded ChatGPT’s abil...

This episode kicks off season eight of the Fixing Healthcare podcast. The guest: Dr. David Feinberg, currently chairman of Oracle Healthcare, former CEO of Cerner (acquired by Oracle in 2022), and previous head of both Google Health and Geisinger. This is Dr. Feinberg’s third appearance on the show. He joined hosts Dr. Robert Pearl and Jeremy Corr in season one (episode 3) and season six (episode 41). The focus of Season 8: How better, bolder leadership can fix American healthcare. As Dr. Pear...

This week, Fixing Healthcare hosts Jeremy Corr and Dr. Robert Pearl conclude their holiday tribute to episodes past with this 2018 interview of Dr. Don Berwick. Don is the former president and CEO of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and led the organization’s 100,000 Lives Campaign. He’s the former administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and has served on the faculty for Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health. This is the third and ...

This holiday season, Fixing Healthcare hosts Jeremy Corr and Dr. Robert Pearl are mixing things up with a look back in time—way back, in fact, to the season-one finale with healthcare futurist Ian Morrison. During this 2019 interview, Morrison earned the distinction of becoming the first (and still the only) guest to propose “Medicare Advantage for All” as a solution for fixing healthcare. He explained: “Medicare Advantage for All reconciles different (American) values with regard to competiti...

In this episode of Coronavirus: The Truth, Jeremy Corr and Dr. Robert Pearl discuss the long list of viral enemies attacking Americans this winter. Chief among them: Covid-19, RSV and seasonal influenza, the latter of which has tallied 8.7 million cases and 78,000 hospitalizations so far (40 times higher than at this point last year). How seriously should American take these viral threats as we approach the holiday gathering season? You’ll find this topic and all the other [time stamped] questi...

This Fixing Healthcare podcast series “Diving Deep” probes some of healthcare’s most complex topics and deep-seated problems. On today’s episode, hosts Dr. Robert Pearl and Jeremy Corr discuss two imperatives for healthcare leadership in the 21st century: changing the way docs use technology and changing the way we pay for medical care. For more information on healthcare leadership, check out Dr. Pearl’s latest columns on Forbes and LinkedIn. For listeners interested in show notes, here’s a di...

As a college freshman, Fixing Healthcare cohost Dr. Robert Pearl decided that rather than becoming a university professor as he had planned, he’d go into a field without politics: medicine. He laughs about how naïve he was as a 17-year-old. “Healthcare is about life and death,” said Pearl, recalling his decision, “How could there be politics entwined inside that esteemed world?” Of course, Pearl soon learned that politics and medicine are a tangled mess. In this episode of Unfiltered, Pearl an...

Dr. Jonathan Fisher was practically born into medicine. All six of his siblings became doctors, following in their father’s professional footsteps. Jonathan, himself, became a Harvard-trained cardiologist, working in some of the nation’s leading medical institutions. But, in the process of making his family proud, he was becoming anxious, depressed and burned out. He was losing an important part of himself. To make matters worse, when Jonathan finally sought the help of a therapist, he experien...

This holiday season, Fixing Healthcare hosts Jeremy Corr and Dr. Robert Pearl are mixing things up with a look back in time—way back, in fact, to the first episode of the first season with Dr. Zubin Damania (aka ZDoggMD). Since this interview in 2018, Dr. Z has become one of this show’s most popular returning guests. Zubin Damania is a UCSF- and Stanford-trained internist and founder of Turntable Health, an innovative primary care clinic and model for Health 3.0. As a way to address his own bur...

In this episode of Coronavirus: The Truth, Jeremy Corr and Dr. Robert Pearl discuss the latest buzzword of the Covid-19 era: Triple-demic. Earlier this month, the CDC alerted physicians about the triple threat of Covid, seasonal influenza and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus), warning that the threat of multiple infections (and resulting respiratory disease) was greatest among young children and the elderly. Is the triple-demic a legitimate public health threat and what should listeners do abou...

This Fixing Healthcare podcast series, “Diving Deep,” probes into some of healthcare’s most complex topics and deep-seated problems. On today’s episode, hosts Dr. Robert Pearl and Jeremy Corr discuss the “Anatomy of Healthcare Leadership,” a new way of looking at the skills and qualities needed to transform American medicine. According to Dr. Pearl, leaders must apply logic and creativity (a function of the brain), they must show passion and express empathy (via the heart) and they must also de...

Dr. Devi Shetty returns to the Fixing Healthcare podcast this week—making his first appearance on the show since 2019. At that time, listeners wrote in and posted messages on social media, expressing astonishment at Dr. Shetty’s accomplishments and outlook on healthcare. Shetty is a heart surgeon, trained in both London and the United States. Today, he owns and operates 11 hospitals in India and a new facility in the Cayman Islands. The cost of care in his health centers is as low as you’ll fin...

In world where it’s almost impossible to tell if someone is lying or delusional, where is line between an unintentional error in perception and intentional misrepresentation? This question is proving to have profound consequences in medical practice. In healthcare, where the difference between facts and opinion continue to blur, tribalism and factionalism are a growing concern. In this episode of Fixing Healthcare, cohosts Jeremy Corr and Dr. Robert Pearl join ZDoggMD to probe the many problem...

In this episode of Coronavirus: The Truth, Jeremy Corr and Dr. Robert Pearl discuss new research out of Scotland that finds as many as 40% of people experience lingering Covid-19 symptoms months after infection. Is this data reliable and, if so, what does it mean for the long-term treatment of this disease? You’ll find that and all the other [time stamped] topics discussed during this show here: [00:49] Each show begins with the most recent and relevant facts concerning the Covid-19 pandemic a...

This Fixing Healthcare podcast series, “Diving Deep,” probes into some of healthcare’s most complex topics and deep-seated problems. On today’s episode, hosts Dr. Robert Pearl and Jeremy Corr explore how the middleman mentality is killing American medicine, and then contrast it with how some of the nation’s largest retail companies (including CVS, Walmart and Amazon) are planning to expel the middlemen of medicine with an effective long-term strategy. Whether you provide medical care or receive...

Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel has spent a lifetime challenging the establishment. He says that tendency is very much a part of his family’s heritage. “My mother, not infrequently, would have to be in school because her sons were opposing rules and speaking out when everyone else was silent.” Those other sons happen to be Rahm Emanuel, the former Chicago Mayor and current U.S. Ambassador to Japan, as well as Ari, an American businessman and CEO of the massive entertainment agency Endeavor. Zeke, himself...

Galileo, Darwin and Einstein: three historical figures who changed the way we view the world. Galileo broke the myth that we’re the center of the universe. Darwin proved that humans evolved slowly, not through sudden divine action. Einstein’s theories of relativity led to new ways of looking at time, space, matter, energy and gravity. Each of these critical thinkers helped humanity take massive leaps forward. But have some of their lessons been lost on the medical profession? In this episode of...

This Fixing Healthcare podcast series, “Diving Deep,” probes some of healthcare’s most complex topics and deep-seated problems. On today’s episode, Dr. Robert Pearl and Jeremy Corr talk about two of the world’s biggest tech companies and their potential impact on American healthcare. Later in the episode, the hosts revisit the three biggest threats facing healthcare and discuss solutions that can and must be implemented in the next two years. For more information on these topics, check out Dr....

In this episode of Coronavirus: The Truth, Jeremy Corr and Dr. Robert Pearl discuss the battle between the current Covid-19 vaccine manufacturers, the next generation of mRNA vaccines, and the latest on America’s monkey pox fears. You’ll find these topics and others discussed during this show here: Each show begins with the most recent and relevant facts concerning the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on American life. What’s happening and what does it mean? How are future Covid-19 vaccine sh...

American writer Joseph Campbell famously studied and diagramed the hero’s journey in folklore and literature. That journey begins with a call to adventure, prompting the hero’s reluctance—often due to a fear of failure. Along the way, mentors lends guidance and help, but it is ultimately the hero, alone, who must summon the courage to win the day. In this episode of Fixing Healthcare, hosts Jeremy Corr and Dr. Robert Pearl join ZDoggMD to discuss the hero’s journey in healthcare. In every medic...

Dr. Tom Lee founded Epocrates, one of the earliest tech-enabled healthcare applications for doctors, and One Medical, the primary care-first organization recently acquired by Amazon for $3.9 billion. He is now the CEO of Galileo, a virtual care-first healthcare startup he hopes will make medical care affordable for all Americans. Though Lee is no longer with One Medical, and he was not involved in the recent merger announcement, few people are better equipped to weigh in on Amazon’s emerging ro...