Voices in Bioethics

Dr. Hassan Tetteh is a thoracic surgeon and retired US Navy Captain. He also holds an MBA, a Master of Public Administration, and a Master of Science in National Security Strategy and AI. Dr. Tetteh is the author of best-selling books including Gifts of the Heart, The Art of Human Care, and Smarter Healthcare with…

Anne Zimmerman engages Reid Blackman, PhD, the author of Ethical Machines (Harvard Business Review Press) and CEO of Virtue Consultants, in conversation about how to ethically deploy AI systems. Blackman has appeared on BBC News and Fox News and has numerous publications including essays in the New York Times and Harvard Business Review. His work…

Voices in Bioethics editor Julia Baggish interviews Robert Klitzman. He is a Professor of Psychiatry and the Director of the Master of Science in Bioethics Program at Columbia University. He is the author of nine books and numerous articles in both the academic and mainstream media. They discuss his newest book, Doctor Will You Pray…

Randi Fain, MD interviews author Diane Button, an end-of-life doula and instructor in the University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine End-of-Life Doula Professional Certificate Program and end-of-life doula Sarah Hill, owner of East Bay Doula for the Dying, LLC. They discuss what an end-of-life doula does, how they work with other healthcare professionals, and…

Voices in Bioethics staff member Valerie Chung interviews Dr. Zohar Lederman, MD, PhD, an emergency medicine physician and bioethicist with a particular interest in loneliness. Discussion includes how COVID-19 has affected our understanding of loneliness, the difference between solidarity and loneliness, and the issue of justice. Dr. Lederman also discusses ways that bioethicists can become…

Marc-David Munk, MD, MPH, MS, joined the podcast to discuss his book, Urgent Calls from Distant Places, which chronicles his time as a doctor with Amref Health Flying Doctor Services in Nairobi, Kenya. With the organization, Dr. Munk provided emergency medical services to people in need across the region traveling to Rwanda, Tanzania, and the…

Karla Childers, MS, Head, Bioethics-based Science & Technology Policy for the Office of the Chief Medical Officer at Johnson & Johnson, discusses the challenges and opportunities to collaborate during crisis. The episode covers challenges to operations, supply chain, and infrastructure and creative ways to continue clinical trials. Disruptions from weather-related events, the pandemic, and war…

Voices in Bioethics staff member Abigail Anderson interviews Dan Honig, MA, owner of Happy Valley Meat Company, which is focused on increasing access to ethically raised meat from family farms. Discussion includes the process of founding Happy Valley Meat Company, the importance of ethically sourced meat to the environment and the public, and Dan’s recommendations…

David Edward Walker holds a PhD in psychology and has had years of experience in the US Indian Health Service as a licensed psychologist. He shares insights he developed while serving the Yakama Nation community. Specifically, the conversation covers his experiences as well as the way oppression and marginalization are reframed as issues of mental…

Dr. Sam Sugar, an internal medicine specialist who exposed widespread corruption in the guardianship systems, joins the podcast to discuss the guardianship system and the vulnerability of older adults to corporate guardianship, abuse of power, and crime. He is the author of Guardianships and the Elderly: The Perfect Crime. and Founder and President of Americans…

Joshua May is a philosophy professor at University of Alabama, Birmingham. He holds a PhD from UC, Santa Barbara. His recent book, Neuroethics: Agency in the Age of Brain Science brings together neuroscience and philosophy to create a nuanced view of human agency as surprisingly diverse and flexible. He joins the Voices in Bioethics podcast…

Michael Scroggins, Lecturer at UCLA Institute for Society and Genetics, discusses ChatGPT and the changing landscape of technology. This conversation follows up the Voices in Bioethics 10th anniversary event, ChatGPT, Knowledge, and Misinformation. The conversation ranges from a discussion of knowledge and how people use technology to the concept of tech users as citizens rather…

Susie Hughes is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Coalition to End Transplant Abuse in China (ETAC). She leads the organization’s advocacy efforts, hosts numerous roundtable discussions, and has extensive experience in the not-for-profit human rights sector. She joins Anne Zimmerman to discuss forced organ harvesting from prisoners of conscience in China. Forced organ…

Eric Maisel is the author of 50+ books, including Why Smart Teens Hurt, Redesign Your Mind, Rethinking Depression, and The Future of Mental Health. Dr. Maisel writes the “Rethinking Mental Health” blog for Psychology Today and is the creator and lead editor for the Ethics International Press Critical Psychology and Critical Psychiatry Series. A retired family therapist and active…

Kaitlin Puccio, JD, MS, host of Grey Matter, is a lawyer, bioethicist, and podcaster. Kaitlin’s podcast addresses questions without clear answers and areas of culture, law, and bioethics where questions include the word “should”. Kaitlin joins the podcast to discuss her commonsense approaches to sensitive matters, the intersection of law and bioethics, and thinking and…

Camille Castelyn interviews Marisa Dallas about her diverse career interests including sex-based bias in healthcare artificial intelligence algorithms, patient non-compliance, and the intersection of the pharmaceutical industry and bioethics. Dallas is currently a Doctor of Pharmacy Candidate at the University of Michigan. She completed a Bachelor of Science in Human Biology at Michigan State University and a Master of Science in Bioethics at Columbia University.

Jennifer Cohen interviews Hibah Ilyas, a medical student studying to become a Doctor of Osteopathy. Hibah discusses the similarities and differences between allopathic and osteopathic medicine, as well as some of the misconceptions about her field. Hibah also describes her research into the exploitation of the Ainu people of Japan by medical researchers and anthropologists, and steps that can be taken to avoid ethical breaches to indigenous people in the future as well as ways to re-establish trust. Photo 126255060 / Osteopath © motortion | Dreamstime.com

Jennifer Cohen interviews Silva Sergenian, MA, Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner (SAFE), Program and Volunteer Coordinator, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. They discuss counseling and services for victims of violent crime, privacy, and communications in the context of helping victims and navigating the difficulties of the doctor-person relationship and the role of law in bioethics. Ethical considerations include alleviating the financial burdens victims face and cultural sensitivity. Photo 118955524 © Anton Skavronskiy | Dreamstime.com

In this podcast, Jennifer Cohen discusses with Lydia Dugdale her claim that our present medical and lay cultures have lost touch with centuries of wisdom concerning the preparation, confrontation, and acceptance of death, and that this loss of wisdom is resulting in enormous mental and physical suffering. In her recently published book, “The Lost Art of Dying:…

Jennifer Cohen interviews Kelly Werner, MD about the science and ethics of artificial womb technology (AWT) research. AWT research is demonstrating successful outcomes in gestating animals in the United States, Australia, and Japan.  Assuming this technology will soon be an available therapy in human neonatology, Dr. Werner discusses AWT's projected impacts on the determination of viability,…

Dr. Karen Rezach and Meryl Selig discuss The Ethics Institute at Kent Place School, a comprehensive bioethics curriculum for primary and secondary school students. Dr. Rezach, an ordained Episcopalian minister, promotes the teaching and practice of ethical thinking and decision making. The institute's goal is to develop effective leaders and compassionate citizens. The conversation continues with Regene Nolan, an alumna of KPS and aspiring medical student. Regene discusses how the bioethics training expanded her awareness and critical thinking skills, as well as her career plans.

Jennifer Cohen interviews Reid Blackman about AI, algorithmic bias, and the many ethical considerations surrounding data, AI, and technology in general. He addresses the role of data scientists and design as well as sources of data. He covers the importance of weighing the input variables and designing functions, helping listeners understand the designer's role in discriminatory or undesirable results. Setting the right goals, using the best functions, and overall design can be as important as the data itself. Reid Blackman, PhD, is CEO of Virtue Consulting, and author of the new book, Ethical Machines (Harvard Business Review Press), 2022.

Jennifer Cohen interviews Amy Silverstein, attorney, speaker, and award-winning author of Sick Girl, a book also serialized by U.S. News and World Report. Her new book, My Glory Was I Had Such Friends highlights the support she had in her move across the country for her second heart transplant. Apple will be streaming Silverstein's limited drama by the same name. She shares insights that only someone who has navigated the complexities of large medical institutions and experienced the life-altering effects of diagnosis can share. Her work appears in SELF, Prevention, and Glamour magazines and she is an avid advocate for transplant recipients. Photo 13771153 / Heart Transplant © Lucian Milasan | Dreamstime.com

Harko Mulder is currently a Swine Herd Manager at Columbia Center for Translational Immunology. He is a candidate for an MS in Bioethics and holds and MS in Animals Science: Production Physiology and Product Quality, and a BS in Animal Science. He talks to us about animal ethics in research, gene editing of animals, and xenotransplantation. The opinions reflected in this podcast remain that of the speakers and do not represent any company or institution. Photo 27594141 / Swine © Dmitry Kalinovsky | Dreamstime.com

Jennifer Cohen interviews Nicole Wells, MA, Program Manager, Pediatric and Rare Liver Diseases at Global Liver Institute, who discusses her experiences with liver transplantation, her advocacy, and her interest in healthcare policy. Nicole is a native of Kentucky and taught school in the US Virgin Islands. As a transplant recipient herself, Nicole provides valuable insights on the process of diagnosis and realizing the need for transplant, and then walks our listeners through the process of how the donor list works and how she found her liver donor.

Dr. Farhat Moazam is Professor and founding Chairperson of the Centre of Biomedical Ethics and Culture (CBEC) of the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation in Karachi, Pakistan. She is an American board-certified pediatric surgeon with an MA in Bioethics and a doctorate (2004) from the Department of Religious Studies, University of Virginia, USA. Dr. Moazam is also Fellow of the Institute of Practical Ethics and Visiting Professor, Centre for Humanism in Medicine, UVA, and International Fellow of The Hastings Center, Garrison, New York. Camille Castelyn interviews Dr. Moazam about the promise of precision and genomic medicine and what the next step may be in order to ensure just and equitable access in the near future. Challenging the narrative that precision medicine will only be accessible to an elite few, they discuss the importance as described by the United Nations in Sustainable Development Goal #3 that health should be seen as a public good and that we must leave no one behind in the pursuit of healthy lives and well-being for all ages.

Camille Castelyn interviews Professor Jay Shaw about which ethics and values underlie the current design of narrow AI. The discussion focuses on his team’s research on design ethics and a community-integrated approach to healthcare and digital systems in light of an often-dominant capitalist design approach.  Jay Shaw is Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy…

Camille Castelyn and Professor Sarosh Saleem, MBBS, MS, PhD discuss religion, cultural views, and traditional gender roles in the context of organ donation and clinical ethics consultations in Pakistan. Dr. Saleem held the the first postgraduate Fellowship in Pediatric Bioethics in Pakistan and is the Founder of Pakistan's only Bioethics Department involved in teaching and training of both undergraduate and post-graduate students (medical & nursing) and held a Fellowship in Pediatric Bioethics from Children's Mercy Kansas City, MO USA.

Sana Goldberg, NP, has worked in community, hospital and academic settings, helping others achieve quality of life from the perspective of social worker, nurse, researcher and provider. A public health advocate, she's presented at World Congress, TEDx Harvard, and The Society for Neuroscience, with work featured on NPR, PBS, and in publications from The European Journal of Neuroscience to Real Simple. She is the recipient of the OHSU Early Career Achievement Award, the PCC Diamond Award, and the author of of How to Be a Patient: The Essential Guide to Navigating the World of Modern Medicine, Harper Collins, 2019, selected by the National Library of Medicine as a book of the year in 2019. Photo 32154012 © Spotmatik | Dreamstime.com

Dr. Wandile Ganya is an African medical doctor and bioethicist who focuses on the African notion of ubuntu (I am because you are). He applies ubuntu to emerging technologies such as embryo-like structures, AI, as well as decision-making capacity of children, and mandatory vaccination. He is a poet whose collections include The Dark Wood and Divine Interspace. Photo 2378734 © Bigpressphoto | Dreamstime.com

Jennifer Cohen interviews Josh Hyatt about his experiences in the growing field of risk management in healthcare. Discussion covers risk management and its relationship to clinical bioethics. Photo 59693686 / Hospital © Spiroview Inc. | Dreamstime.com

Jennifer Cohen interviews Xavier Amador, PhD, the CEO of the Henry Amador Center for Anosognosia. Dr. Amador has 30 years of experience as a clinical psychologist, researcher, author, and caregiver for people suffering with serious mental illnesses. Dr. Amador is the author of several books including, I'm Not Sick, I Don't Need Help: How to Help Someone Accept Treatment, and has authored or co-authored over 120 peer-reviewed articles. He is a frequent expert in both print and broadcast media. In this interview, Dr. Amador discusses the communication tools he has developed for assisting people with serious mental illnesses accept treatment, especially those patients who lack insight into their symptoms and disease, the ethics of overriding autonomy, the best ways to share information with clinicians while respecting confidentiality, and meeting the rising rates of mental illness in the US.

Megan Wanzo, MS Bioethics, Columbia University, Clinical Ethics Consultant describes her experiences and provides insights on ethical issues surrounding access to care and rural health care. feature image Photo 185034881 / Diversity © Skypixel | Dreamstime.com

Jennifer Cohen interviews Robert Klitzman, the director of the Master's of Bioethics Program at Columbia University. Dr. Klitzman has written nine books, authored or co-authored over 150 academic articles, and contributed to extensive media in the bioethics arena including to the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, NPR, PBS, CNN, CBS, NBC, ABC, the BBC and others. The interview discusses his book Designing Babies, preimplantation genetic diagnosis, and gene editing as well as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lydia focuses on the biology of friendship, its importance, and the effect of the pandemic on it. The interview also includes topics from her vast selection of publications including her two other books, I Can Hear Your Whisper and Toxic Truth and she discusses her recent Salon article on friendships. Her work can be found in Scientific American, The Atlantic, Newsweek, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Time, and Spectrum. Lydia also writes the Brain Waves blog for Psychology Today.

This bioethics discussion cuts across law and policy, public health, social work, and gerontology with a focus on ethical issues that affect older adults including initiatives in palliative care and hospice. As Chair of the New York State Bar Association Health Law Section COVID-19 Task Force, Mary Beth Morrissey also comments on the COVID-19 resolutions adopted by the New York House of Delegates in November 2020. Dr. Morrissey, PhD, MPH, JD, holds a research fellow appointment at Fordham University's Global Healthcare Innovation Management Center, Gabelli School of Business and adjunct faculty appointments at Fordham's Graduate School of Social Service and Graduate School of Business, and Yeshiva University's Wurzweiler School of Social Work. Dr. Morrissey also serves as senior advisor to the Finger Lakes Geriatric Education Center (FLGEC), University of Rochester Medical Center and directs the Interdisciplinary Aging, Public Health, and Palliative Care Certificate Program.

Meryl Selig discusses her experiences with obtaining cancer care during the COVID-19 pandemic, lymphoma treatment and CAR T, and the implications of the language surrounding cancer and survivorship.

The ethical considerations in tumor and germ line analysis range from clinical decisions to research funding. Dr. Solit of the David Solit Lab at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center weighs in on the importance of genetic testing to match tumors to existing or new treatments based on the biological composition of the tumor. This episode covers the role and value of genomics and molecularly defined subclasses of cancer. Dr. Solit addresses many of the ethical considerations surrounding access to care, privacy, industry relationships, and fundraising.

Jorge Rivera discusses his experiences growing up in Puerto Rico. He reflects on his career navigating the role of ethicist as a bioethics fellow at Northwell Health, and his dedication to advocacy including visiting those in immigration detention.

Dr. Mimi Lee discusses freezing embryos after discovering breast cancer, only to lose them in a lawsuit during the process of divorce. She gives insight on reproductive ethics, law, and medicine, and focuses on the personal value of the embryos and how the experience influenced her life.

Jennifer Cohen interviews Awele Utomi, a Nigerian student at Columbia, whose ties to his home country spark concern over the use of the military in protests in his home country. Awele focuses on his undergraduate education at Howard University, and his applying to medical school while studying bioethics at Columbia University.

Jennifer Cohen interviews Camille Castelyn about her experiences studying bioethics online while also working toward a PhD in her home country of South Africa. Camille discusses her focus on genetics and her dedication to understanding multiple viewpoints.

Jennifer Cohen interviews Anne Zimmerman, mother of four-time cancer survivor Perry Zimmerman. They discuss parental responsibilities, genetics, fundraising, and navigating care amid paternalism in the system.

Shami Mitchell interviews Dr. Charles Modlin, of the Cleveland Clinic about the ethical issues surrounding kidney transplants, urology, and the delivery of healthcare.

Welcome to the Voices in Bioethics Podcast. Photo by Fidel Fernando on Unsplash