Book Club

In the 1940's, popular American President Franklin D. Roosevelt developed a serious illness that went undetected by the media and general public. That illness was severe hypertensive heart disease, and unbeknownst to everyone outside the White House, the medical staff may have been hiding its progression to protect the President's image during his last campaign. Did the secrecy cost him his life prematurely, or were treatments too limited at the time to make a fundamental impact? Furthermore, had it been known by everyone, would the President have been reelected?

Joining Dr. John Russell to discuss the fascinating history of a possible White House medical conspiracy of old is Dr. W. Bruce Fye, author of Caring for the Heart: Mayo Clinic and the Rise of Specialization,

Physicians are expected to memorize and maintain an enormous amount of clinical information on a wide variety of topics. But when it comes to financial management, it's this particular population that often comes up the shortest. Perhaps the most at-risk individuals within this community are the young physicians just out of training. For this group, having endured anywhere from 8 to 15 years of low wage training, financial disasters are just a few instant gratification purchases away.

Dr. John Russell welcomes James Hemphill, author of PAY YOURSELF FIRST: A Financial Guide for Doctors Entering Practice, Mr. Hemphill is Chief Investment Strategist and Managing Director of TGS Financial Advisors.

In the late 19th century, America’s most popular spectator sport drew thousands of fans, created celebirty athletes, endured scandals for performance-enhancing drugs, and opened doors for immigrants, African Americans, and women. But this sport wasn’t baseball, boxing, or horseracing—it was competitive walking. Dr. John Russell speaks with Matthew Algeo, author of Pedestrianism, about competitive walking’s peculiar appeal and popularity, its rapid demise, and its enduring influence in American spectator sports.

Up to 24 million Americans of all ages and genders suffer from eating disorders: binge eating disorder, anorexia, and bulimia—linked todepression, they have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. Yet, only 1 in 10 people with eating disorders receive treatment. Host Dr. Maurice Pickard welcomes author Sarahjoy Marsh to review the steps and stages of recovery from disordered eating patterns including yo-yo dieting, emotional eating, binge eating, compulsive eating, restricting, obsessive food thoughts, and body-centered shame and self-hatred.

Renowned trauma expert Dr. Bessel van der Kolk has spent over three decades working with trauma survivors. In his book, The Body Keeps the Score, Dr. van der Kolk adds to modern understandings of traumatic stress, revealing how it literally rearranges the brain’s wiring—specifically areas dedicated to pleasure, engagement, control, and trust. He discusses how these areas can be reactivated through innovative treatments including neurofeedback, mindfulness techniques, play, yoga, and other therapies.

Stress and other negative emotions contribute to about 25 percent of heart attacks. But recent cutting-edge research shows that positive emotions can cause a chemical change in your body that directly improves your overall cardiovascular health. Dr. Maurice Pickard welcomes Dr. Michael Miller to discuss his book, Heal Your Heart: The Positive Emotions Prescription to Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease. Dr. Miller is a Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine, Epidemiology, and Public Health at the University of Maryland School of Mediicne and is the Director of the Center of Preventive Cardiology.

Dr. Bruce Fye's unique book, Caring for the Heart: Mayo Clinic and the Rise of Specialization, weaves together three important themes. It describes major developments in the diagnosis and treatment of heart disease in the twentieth century, explains how the Mayo Clinic evolved from a family practice in Minnesota into one of the world's leading medical centers, and reveals how the invention of new technologies and procedures promoted specialization among physicians and surgeons. Join Dr. John Russell in overviewing with Dr. Fye this pivotal epoch in American medical history.

A cure for HIV? Two men, known in medical journals as the Berlin Patients, were cured of HIV in distinct yet related ways. The two patients’ disparate cures came twelve years apart, but Nathalia Holt, an award-winning scientist at the forefront of HIV research, connects the molecular dots of these cases for the first time. Her book, CURED: How The Berlin Patients Defeated HIV and Forever Changed Medical Science, explores this new field of investigation and paradign shift in HIV treatment inspired by the Berlin Patients. Dr. John Russell hosts.

Internationally respected neurologist Frances E. Jensen, M.D. speaks with host John Russell, MD about her book, The Teenage Brain: A Neuroscientist's Survival Guide To Raising Adolescents And Young Adults. This insightful book offers new findings and dispells myths and also provides practical advice for parents and teenagers.

The beginning of AIDS epidemic has been traced to a single event, localized rather precisely in place and time. David Quammen's book, The Chimp and the River: How AIDS Emerged from an African Forest explores these origins. Dr. John Russell's interview with David Quammen explores the real story of AIDS—how it originated with a virus in a chimpanzee, jumped to one human, and then infected more than 60 million people.