Since the COVID-19 pandemic, calls to confront racism, systemic bias, and inequity in global health have become increasingly urgent. But what does meaningful change look like in practice?

In this episode, Dr Sarah Ahmed and Dr Sabina Dosani are joined by the co-founders of the Black and Brown in Bioethics (BBB) network: PhD scholar Matimba Swana, postdoctoral researcher and artist Kumeri Bandara, and academic clinical fellow Dr Harleen Kaur Johal. Together, they discuss their Medical Humanities Topic Collection (https://mh.bmj.com/pages/topic-collection-black-and-brown-in-bioethics) and how decolonising knowledge can help transform healthcare by rebalancing power, challenging whose voices are recognised as authoritative, and creating more equitable futures.

Drawing on papers exploring Black feminist citation practices, clinical trials, and the lived experience of sickle cell pain, they reflect on mentorship, collaboration, and widening participation. Evidence suggests that reshaping medical narratives and diversifying authorship contribute directly to the development of more equitable and inclusive healthcare models.

 - Matimba Swana, PhD student at the University of Bristol researching swarm robotics, cancer nanomedicine, bioethics, and digital health inequalities;

 - Kumeri Bandara, Postdoctoral researcher at the Ethox Centre, University of Oxford, and an artist focusing on health disparities, migration, and the arts

 - Dr Harleen Kaur Johal, Anesthetics resident doctor, postdoctoral researcher, and NIHR Academic Clinical Fellow at the University of Bristol, specialising in critical care and healthcare disparities

The hosts:

 - Dr. Sabina Dosani, Medical Humanities' Editor-in-Chief and Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist;

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The Medical Humanities Podcast is produced by Letícia Amorim, and is edited by Letícia Amorim and Nick Currey.

Traditional methods of research and clinical practice are facing a radical shift as scholars push for deeper inclusivity and new ways of thinking.

In this episode, Dr. Sarah Ahmed and Dr. Sabina Dosani talk with Dr. Louise Creechan and Professor Femi Oyebode about the future of the Medical Humanities. They explore the boundaries of inclusivity, questioning who truly gets to speak for lived experiences of suffering and ill health without being instrumentalised by institutions. 

The participants:

 - Dr. Louise Creechan is a Wellcome early career fellow at Durham University, co-lead of the Measurement Lab in Durham's Discovery Research Platform, and a scholar at the forefront of critical neurodiversity studies.

The hosts:

 - Dr. Sabina Dosani, Medical Humanities' Editor-in-Chief and Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist;

This is the last of a four-part series about the Medical Humanities. Please check the previous episodes.

Stay connected! Love the podcast? Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and join the conversation with us on social media.

The Medical Humanities Podcast is produced by Letícia Amorim, and is edited by Letícia Amorim and Nick Currey.

What happens when a comic book illustrator and a fine artist challenge the way medicine is practiced? In this episode, Dr. Sarah Ahmed and Dr. Sabina Dosani talk with Dr. Monica Lalanda and Dr. Tamarin Norwood about why "politeness" might be a problem for research. They explore the overlap between the arts and medical science – exploring how graphic medicine and fine art are tools to break through silos. They discuss how crossing lines and being "transgressive" can bring the focus back to the person behind the patient.

The participants:

Dr. Tamarin Norwood is a Leverhulme Research Fellow. She is an Honorary Fellow at the University of Durham Institute for Medical Humanities and was an Associate Editor at the Medical Humanities journal from 2025 to 2026. 

The hosts:

Stuart Murray, Professor at the University of Leeds and Director of the Leeds Centre for Medical Humanities - https://ahc.leeds.ac.uk/english/staff/102/stuart-murray;

In the first episode of a new series from the Medical Humanities podcast, we tackle a question often asked by both sceptics and practitioners: What is the point of the Medical Humanities?

Jointly hosted by Dr. Sarah Ahmed (Paediatrician and Medical Humanities scholar) and Dr. Sabina Dosani (Medical Humanities' Editor-in-Chief and Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist), this conversation features a deep-dive with two leading voices in the field:

Stay connected! Visit our blog for more insights and subscribe to the podcast for the latest episodes. Love the podcast? Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and join the conversation with us on social media.

The Medical Humanities Podcast is produced by Letícia Amorim, and is edited by Letícia Amorim and Nick Currey.

Join Dr. Sabina Dosani and Dr. Sarah Ahmed as they interview world-class artists, scholars, and clinicians about health, illness and systems of care.

The design studio of Simon Dogger focusses upon stimulating equity, connection and innovation. He is able to look further than what you can see and not only because he is blind. In cooperation with Dutch schools and universities his studio is working on design education for Visual Impaired People (VIPs). VIPs are resourceful and good inclusive thinkers, but this power is rarely acknowledged. That’s a pity since the design field and societies are in desperate need of different perspectives. This podcast is about the first steps toward a non-visual design school. It deals with the image of VIPs in society, the importance of touch and the benefit for design schools.

In a world where design seems reserved for those who can see, a new perspective is emerging. This podcast delves into the groundbreaking journey of blind and partially sighted designers challenging the visual dominance in the design industry. Through personal stories, innovative methods, and transformative workshops, it reveals how creativity thrives beyond sight. Experience how touch, sound, and emotion redefine design processes, making them more inclusive and human-centered. Join us as we explore a future where design is not just seen but felt, where limitations become strengths, and where diversity reshapes what creativity truly means.

Please read the related blog post and transcript: https://blogs.bmj.com/medical-humanities/2024/12/16/4015/ 

Subscribe to the Medical Humanities Podcast in all podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher and Spotify. If you enjoy our podcast, please consider leaving us a review and a 5-star rating on the Medical Humanities Podcast iTunes page - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/medical-humanities-podcast/id961667204. Thank you for listening!

The 1984 Union Carbide gas disaster in Bhopal, India, is recognised as the world’s worst industrial disaster. 

The Wellcome-funded LivingBodiesObjects project has been working with the Bhopal Medical Appeal (referred to as BMA), a charity funding free healthcare for disaster survivors and water-affected communities. In this podcast episode, LivingBodiesObjects team members Clare Barker and Lynn Wray, and the Bhopal Medical Appeal’s Jared Stoughton introduce their collaborative work to produce new digital resources emerging from the stories of survivors and activists in water-affected areas of Bhopal. 

To learn more about the Union Carbide disasters and the work of the Bhopal Medical Appeal, please visit www.bhopal.org. You can also find them on Facebook and Instagram. 

Please read the related blog post and transcript: https://blogs.bmj.com/medical-humanities/2024/07/11/livingbodiesobjects-and-the-tragedy-at-bhopal

Subscribe to the Medical Humanities Podcast in all podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher and Spotify. If you enjoy our podcast, please consider leaving us a review and a 5-star rating on the Medical Humanities Podcast iTunes page - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/medical-humanities-podcast/id961667204. Thank you for listening!

Teun Toebes, humanitarian activist, in conversation with Khalid Ali. In this podcast, Teun talks about his book 'The Housemates' (The Housemates by Teun Toebes, Laura Vroomen | Waterstones) and documentary film 'Human Forever' (Human Forever The Film (human-forever.com) describing his quest to understand better the experience of older people living with dementia in care in the Netherlands and globally. 

Read the related blog post, including a transcript of this podcast: https://blogs.bmj.com/medical-humanities/2024/05/30/humanising-care-for-older-people-living-with-dementia-teun-toebes-in-conversation-with-khalid-ali

Subscribe to the Medical Humanities Podcast in all podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher and Spotify. If you enjoy our podcast, please consider leaving us a review and a 5-star rating on the Medical Humanities Podcast iTunes page (https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/medical-humanities-podcast/id961667204). Thank you for listening!

Introducing their forthcoming special issue of Medical Humanities, Drs. Whitney Wood, Heather Love, Jerika Sanderson, and Karen Weingarten discuss the political significance of “making” our “modern maternity” with Editor-in-Chief Brandy Schillace.

Whitney Wood is Canada Research Chair in the Historical Dimensions of Women’s Health at Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo, British Columbia.

Heather A. Love is Assistant Professor of English at the University of Waterloo (Ontario, Canada).

Jerika Sanderson is a PhD candidate in English at the University of Waterloo. Her research investigates 21 st-century biotechnologies across the media, literature, and popular culture.

Karen Weingarten is Professor of English at Queens College, City University of New York and the author of “Pregnancy Test” and “Abortion in the American Imagination: Before Life and Choice 1880-1940”.

The issue is due in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, please read the related blog post: https://blogs.bmj.com/medical-humanities/2024/05/08/making-modern-maternity/

Subscribe to the Medical Humanities Podcast in all podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher and Spotify. If you enjoy our podcast, please consider leaving us a review and a 5-star rating on the Medical Humanities Podcast iTunes page (https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/medical-humanities-podcast/id961667204). Thank you for listening!