
Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
When a 7.6 magnitude earthquake leveled entire villages in Pakistan, retired U.S. Navy Admiral Mike LeFever was thrust into the heart of the disaster with no playbook and a simple directive: provide humanitarian aid and strengthen U.S.-Pakistan relations. In this episode, LeFever recounts what it was like to lead a massive relief effort in the chaotic aftermath—coordinating aid, rebuilding schools, and navigating diplomacy in a country where his presence was politically charged. As his mission evolved from emergency response to long-term relationship-building, including during the fallout of the Bin Laden raid, LeFever shares hard-won lessons on leadership, humility, and decision-making in extreme uncertainty.
Find show notes, transcripts, and more at thenocturnists.org, and subscribe to our substack.
The "Uncertainty in Medicine" series is generously funded by the ABIM Foundation, by the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation, and the Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation.
The Nocturnists is supported by The California Medical Association and donations from listeners like you.
Host: Emily Silverman, MD
Uncertainty Correspondent: Alexa Miller
Series Illustrations by Eleni Debo
4.9
581581 ratings
When a 7.6 magnitude earthquake leveled entire villages in Pakistan, retired U.S. Navy Admiral Mike LeFever was thrust into the heart of the disaster with no playbook and a simple directive: provide humanitarian aid and strengthen U.S.-Pakistan relations. In this episode, LeFever recounts what it was like to lead a massive relief effort in the chaotic aftermath—coordinating aid, rebuilding schools, and navigating diplomacy in a country where his presence was politically charged. As his mission evolved from emergency response to long-term relationship-building, including during the fallout of the Bin Laden raid, LeFever shares hard-won lessons on leadership, humility, and decision-making in extreme uncertainty.
Find show notes, transcripts, and more at thenocturnists.org, and subscribe to our substack.
The "Uncertainty in Medicine" series is generously funded by the ABIM Foundation, by the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation, and the Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation.
The Nocturnists is supported by The California Medical Association and donations from listeners like you.
Host: Emily Silverman, MD
Uncertainty Correspondent: Alexa Miller
Series Illustrations by Eleni Debo
10,370 Listeners
38,158 Listeners
27,296 Listeners
326 Listeners
43,472 Listeners
692 Listeners
286 Listeners
3,320 Listeners
1,081 Listeners
5,054 Listeners
3,727 Listeners
1,084 Listeners
15,949 Listeners
386 Listeners
2,031 Listeners