Doctors Take the Mic

Federal health officials are moving fast to let AI diagnose and treat patients, but is the technology ready? In this episode of Doctors Take the Mic, Dr. Wu looks at Christina Jewett's New York Times report "U.S. Health Officials Move Quickly to Deploy Medical A.I. Despite Concerns." It was published online September 14, 2026, and ran in print September 16 under the headline "Dr. A.I. Will See You, Despite Misgivings." The story follows Curai Health, the company run by Neal Khosla, son of billionaire venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, as federal health officials consider AI models that can diagnose and even prescribe. Clinicians agreed with Curai's AI about 91% of the time across roughly 2,300 cases. But in three of those cases, the AI suggested a telehealth visit where a human doctor would have sent the patient for urgent or emergency care. Dr. Wu explains why that gap matters: AI can pass the medical boards, but it can't yet see a patient turning blue. She also covers Limbic, a mental health AI led by CEO Ross Harper, which outperformed human therapists in a study published in Nature Medicine. That result raises hard questions about how AI should handle patients at risk of suicide. The episode ends at the FDA, where Jared Seehafer, a former tech founder, is now Deputy Commissioner for Technology and AI, and with Dr. Wu's case for why physicians need a seat at the table as these decisions get made.

In this episode of Doctors Take the Mic, Dr. Gloria Wu discusses Valeda photobiomodulation (light therapy), an FDA-approved treatment designed for patients with dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD) presenting with large drusen (greater than 150 microns). Dr. Wu explains how excess light exposure triggers oxidative stress in the retinal pigment epithelium—the cellular waste disposal system of the retina—resulting in the accumulation of lipid-rich drusen along Bruch's membrane. Drawing parallels to red-light therapy used in dermatology to stimulate mitochondrial energy and reduce oxidative damage, she details how Valeda's multi-session protocol (nine treatments over two to three weeks) helps alter drusen appearance and expands therapeutic options beyond traditional AREDS 2 vitamins and dietary modifications.

In this episode of Doctors Take the Mic, Dr. Wu discusses a troubling trend she has observed in her clinic over the past two years, where high-achieving executives, professionals, and everyday workers are increasingly turning to alternative substances like marijuana, cocaine, and various psychedelics to cope with unprecedented modern stress . She explores how individuals seeking quick relief are traveling to unregulated clinics and retreats—both domestically and abroad—often paying thousands of dollars for treatments involving mushrooms, bufo secretions, or the powerful African root ibogaine without realizing the severe hidden dangers . Drawing on her clinical perspective and her husband's expertise as a cardiologist, Dr. Wu highlights critical medical warnings, such as the severe risks of kidney failure from unregulated fungi, dangerous cardiovascular arrhythmias and potential fatalities associated with unmonitored ibogaine use, and the importance of choosing evidence-based mental health support over risky shortcuts .

In this episode of Doctors Take the Mic, Dr. Wu discusses the practical applications and challenges of integrating artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT and Gemini into a private medical practice in San Jose . She highlights how AI serves as an invaluable tool to bridge communication barriers when managing patients who speak languages like Farsi or Arabic during urgent situations, especially when 24/7 translation hotlines are unavailable . Furthermore, she examines how AI chatbots and digital tools can help address modern staffing shortages, improve patient communication regarding office hours, and streamline administrative workflows to reduce overhead in an increasingly demanding healthcare landscape .

Can gene editing finally solve the oldest problem in dog ownership? In this episode, Dr. Wu and Darren dig into "Gene Editing Technology Offers New Ways to Create the Dogs of Our Dreams" by Emily Anthes, published in The New York Times' Pet Theory column on August 31, 2026 (print edition September 8). The story follows Kindred Companion Sciences and CEO Matt Walker, who used CRISPR to disable the Can F1 gene, responsible for the primary canine allergen, and produced two beagles, Alfie and Bailey, that trigger no allergic reaction in their owners. But the episode goes further than the science: it digs into a well-documented history of breeding-related suffering in dogs, from flat-faced pugs to elongated dachshund spines, and asks whether this new technology risks repeating those mistakes or finally correcting them. Along the way, Dr. Wu brings in her own reflections on why pets matter so deeply to us neurologically, including the story of Barbra Streisand paying a quarter million dollars per clone to recreate her dying dog. The episode closes on the question one Facebook commenter asked when this story went viral: why doesn't Walker just alter himself instead of the beagles?

Millions of older adults take the same daily pills year after year without anyone stopping to ask whether they still make sense. In this episode, Dr. Wu and Darren dig into "3 Common Drugs Older Adults May Be Overusing" by Paula Span, from the New York Times' New Old Age column (published September 5, 2026). The conversation covers three widely prescribed medications, benzodiazepines like Valium and Ambien, antibiotics routinely given for uncomplicated diverticulitis, and daily aspirin taken for primary prevention, and the real-world data showing how slowly prescribing habits change even after the guidelines shift. Dr. Wu brings her own experience as an ophthalmologist treating geriatric patients into the conversation, including a personal story about her mother-in-law's decades-long dependence on Valium, and closes with a candid case for questioning every bottle in your medicine cabinet.

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Luxury psychedelic retreats promise healing in beautiful, spa-like settings, but the reality behind the marketing is often far less safe. In this episode, Dr. Wu and Darren dig into "Americans Encounter Risks at Psychedelic Clinics Abroad" by Noah Daly and Andrew Jacobs, published in the New York Times on August 26, 2026. The conversation covers the unregulated boom in ibogaine, 5-MeO-DMT, and kambo treatments across Mexico and South America, real deaths tied to cardiac risk and inadequate monitoring, and a harrowing account of sexual assault at a Cancún clinic. Dr. Wu brings her own clinical perspective from her practice, including what she's seeing firsthand as patients increasingly turn to psychedelics over more familiar substances, and closes with clear, practical advice for anyone considering these treatments.

What if the cotton shirt on your back and the sound of traffic outside your window count as food? In this episode, Dr. Wu and Darren explore three traditional medicine systems, separated by thousands of years and thousands of miles, that all arrived at the same radical idea: your environment is nutrition. Drawing on "Indian Traditional Ayurvedic System of Medicine and Nutritional Supplementation" by M. M. Pandey, Subha Rastogi, and A. K. S. Rawat (2013), "Essential role of medicine and food homology in health and wellness" by Junshi Chen (Chinese Herbal Medicines, 2023), and "Eight Essential Foods in Iranian Traditional Medicine and their Role in Health Promotion and Well-being" by Mehrdad Zeinalian and colleagues (2017), the conversation moves from ginger's blood-vessel-expanding chemistry to a plant that can literally block your ability to taste sugar, to Iranian medicine's eight essential foods, where clothing, smell, sound, and even your own thoughts all count as things you consume. Along the way, they separate the parts backed by real dermatology and neuroscience from the parts that don't hold up, and close with a question worth sitting with: what's the cost of the digital diet most of us are on right now?

Wet age-related macular degeneration is the leading cause of blindness among older adults in developed countries, and the standard treatment, anti-VEGF injections, works by blocking abnormal blood vessel growth in the eye. But can nutrition support that treatment further? In this episode, Dr. Wu and Darren break down "Effect of a Nutraceutical-Oriented Dietary Intervention on Serum Carotenoids and Antioxidant Vitamin Concentrations in Patients with Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration," by Daria Szulim, Elżbieta Kucharska, Anna Machalińska, Leszek Kuprjanowicz, Piotr Czupryński, and Małgorzata Szczuko, published in Antioxidants (2026). The prospective pilot study followed 43 patients receiving anti-VEGF therapy, comparing those who added an individualized whole-food dietary plan against a control group. The results: meaningful within-group increases in blood levels of lutein, zeaxanthin, lycopene, and vitamins A and E, though between-group differences didn't reach statistical significance after adjustment. Tune in for a clear-eyed look at what the data actually shows, how it stacks up against pharmaceutical-dose supplements like AREDS2, and why food-based nutrition may be a promising complement to standard AMD treatment.

For two decades, menopausal hormone therapy has carried the shadow of the 2002 Women's Health Initiative panic. In this episode, Dr. Wu and Darren unpack a landmark nationwide Danish cohort study, "Menopausal hormone therapy and long term mortality: nationwide, register based cohort study," by Anders Pretzmann Mikkelsen, Thomas Bergholt, Øjvind Lidegaard, and Nikolai Madrid Scheller, published in The BMJ (BMJ 2026;392:e085998). Drawing on data from more than 876,000 women followed for a median of 14.3 years, the study found no increased mortality risk associated with hormone therapy overall, a striking 27–34% lower mortality hazard among women who used it after surgical menopause, and a clear survival advantage for transdermal formulations over oral ones. Tune in for a data-driven conversation about why the original WHI trial misled a generation of doctors and patients, what the new numbers actually show, and what current clinical guidelines now recommend.