In this episode, Dr. Bryan Pilkington speaks with Kyle Tafuri, a healthcare sustainability expert, about the importance of aligning environmental sustainability with the mission of healthcare systems. Tafuri emphasizes that clean air, water, and healthy soil are fundamental to health and that healthcare institutions, as major employers and resource users, have both an ethical obligation and strategic opportunity to lead in sustainability.

Kyle Tafuri is Vice President of Sustainability, Hackensack Meridian Health.

In this episode, Dr. Bryan Pilkington speaks with Dr. Lawrence Rosen about how advocacy extends beyond individual patient care to include public health, policy reform, and environmental sustainability. Rosen argues that physicians have an ethical obligation to use their trusted position to defend and promote health at all levels.

Lawrence Rosen, MD is an Integrative Pediatrician and Founder of The Whole Child Center & Associate Professor at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine.

In this episode, Dr. Bryan Pilkington speaks with Dr. Arthur Caplan about on the evolution of bioethics from an academic niche to a more public-facing discipline that now must address misinformation and political polarization.

Dr. Arthur Caplan is the Drs. William F. and Virginia Connolly Mitty Professor and founding head of the Division of Medical Ethics, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, Department of Population Health.

In this episode, Dr. Bryan Pilkington speaks with Dr. Lori Bruce on the ethical concerns surrounding baby boxes—devices used for the anonymous surrender of infants under Safe Haven laws. While good intentioned, Bruce argues these boxes lack regulation, informed consent, and support for vulnerable mothers. Evidence-based alternatives like confidential births and crisis counseling to better support families are discussed.

Dr. Lori Bruce is Associate Director, Center for Bioethics, at the Yale School of Medicine.

Episode Resources:
Summer bioethics program:
https://bioethics.yale.edu/summer

Article about supported/confidential birth:
https://bioethicstoday.org/blog/the-us-needs-confidential-birth/

Open letter to HHS about box regulations:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XDZMxjLSZPDUdOKT1yWHAf_e8vxW1QayxSgX3auANGE/

Token: Handmade paper and textile heart [Foundling Museum]
https://foundlingmuseum.org.uk/object/token-handmade-paper-and-textile-heart/

In this episode, Dr. Bryan Pilkington speaks with Dr. Jeffrey Boscamp about the decline in public trust in science, particularly around vaccines, and notes that this erosion affects not only individual health decisions but also community well-being.

In this episode, Dr. Bryan Pilkington speaks with Nanette Elster, JD, MPH and Kayhan Parsi, JD, PhD about the need for both legal and societal frameworks to ensure the rights and well-being of neurodivergent individuals.

In this episode, Dr. Bryan Pilkington talks to Dr. James O’Brien about his co-authored article in American Journal of Perinatology.

O'Brien JA, Lewkowitz AK, Main EK, Adashi EY. The Ongoing U.S. Struggle with Maternal Mortality. Am J Perinatol. Published online October 10, 2024. doi:10.1055/a-2404-8035

In this episode, Dr. Bryan Pilkington talks to Dr. Robert Klitzman  about his book, Doctor, Will You Pray for Me?: Medicine, Chaplains, and Healing the Whole Person. 

Robert Klitzman, MD, is a Professor of Psychiatry in the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and the Joseph Mailman School of Public Health, and the Director of the Masters of Bioethics Program at Columbia University. He has authored or co-authored over 180 scientific articles, and nine books, including When Doctors Become Parents, and has received several awards, including fellowships from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation. He is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and has been a member of the Empire State Stem Cell Commission, and the Research Ethics Advisory Panel of the U.S. Department of Defense.

In this episode, Dr. Bryan Pilkington talks to Dr. Paul Snelling, Principal Lecturer in Adult Nursing at University of Worcester, about his 2024 Nursing Ethics article, “Am I my students’ nurse? Reflections on the nursing ethics of nursing education,” which explores the student–nurse academic relationship vis-à-vis the patient–nurse relationship.

Snelling P. Am I my students’ nurse? Reflections on the nursing ethics of nursing education. Nursing Ethics. 2024;31(1):52-64. doi:10.1177/09697330231193858

In this episode, Dr. Bryan Pilkington talks to Dr. Thomas Nasca, ACGME President and Chief Executive Officer, about the crucial role of trust in medicine, emphasizing its importance in medical education, the physician-patient relationship, and addressing systemic issues in healthcare, such as burnout and moral distress. Without trust, the healthcare system risks failing both its providers and patients.