Medical Humanities Podcast

Read the accompanying blog post: https://blogs.bmj.com/medical-humanities/2016/09/13/film-review-x-y/

In this podcast, Tom and his son Frankie discuss how their experience of making short films together supported their relationship as a father and son. Tom talks about the films ‘Bokx’, ‘Beyond’, and ‘Aston Gorilla’, and reflects on how watching the films after many years can say a lot about his two boys, George and Frankie; how different they have become and yet how similar they have remained! ‘Aston Gorilla’ was a direct response to a phase in George’s life when he was suffering from nightmares and Tom’s insecurity about his role as a father. ‘Bokx’ and ‘Beyond’ were responses to Frankie’s world of imagination; at times he seemed to completely disappear into his fantasies, perhaps as a reaction to the fact that he was born blind with glaucoma. Whilst his sight was restored, he was not able to participate in the world as other children do. These films were a way of trying to feel what life was like within Frankie’s imagination, and the cruelty of having vivid fantasy replaced with mundane normality. Frankie participated in making the films when he was ‘seven’, and was oblivious to their sub-plot, darker themes. Tom talks about his fascination by the way in which films can create a community of collaboration and an intensity of endeavour. He wanted his sons to share his fascination, to witness the hard work undertaken by a film team and to gain different invigorating perspectives. Frankie now makes short films independently whilst George runs a film club at school. Tom believes that they both look back at the experience with pride and pleasure.

In this podcast, Dr El Beih, Egypt’s country director of Drosos Foundation talks about her journey from a hospital doctor to becoming a pioneer in the use of art and creativity in healing. She was behind the making of the Egyptian film ‘Asmaa’ which highlighted the stigma and discrimination faced by women living with HIV in Egypt (https://blogs.bmj.com/medical-humanities/2011/11/03/khalid-ali-film-review-asmaa-directed-by-amr-salama-star-rating/). The film was inspired by the real life story of a woman living with HIV that Dr El Beih met as a patient while working as the UNAIDS Country Director in Egypt. Dr El Beih continued to support the human rights of socially-disadvantaged children and people with physical disability in national raising-awareness campaigns using short films with eminent Egyptian film makers. She explains her vision in engaging with several charitable organisations such as ‘Banati (My daughters) Foundation’ to support homeless girls (https://en-gb.facebook.com/Banati.Foundation/) With an extensive experience of more than 25 years in managing development projects in Health, Gender and Education in the Middle East, in North and East Africa and the United States, Dr El Beih led several joint health and social projects supporting the sectors of entrepreneurship, economic empowerment and creativity for youth and women.

https://blogs.bmj.com/medical-humanities/2016/11/07/film-review-doctor-strange/

On today’s podcast, Professor Roberta Bivins, Centre for the History of Medicine University of Warwick, speaks to unfounded fears of immigrants underpinning rhetoric surrounding the inception of the NHS.

Freelance author and historian Julian Simpson, author of Migrant Architects of the NHS, joins Editor-in-Chief of Medical Humanities Brandy Schillace (@bschillace) to discuss the role and responsibility of historians. How do we create a space for history that addresses itself to contemporary concerns including #immigration? This is about who gets to write #history, who gets to make decisions about funding, who recruits, who decides who can speak to #policy concerns.

Join us for a preview of the new June special issue on Biopolitics, Psychosomatics and "participating bodies" and read it on the MH website: https://mh.bmj.com/.

June's issue is specially dedicated to the many ways of looking at psychosomatics. In this conversation with Brandy Schillace, guest editor Dr. Monica Greco explains why a different outlook on our bodies is much needed. Listen to the full conversation and keep an ear out for the buzz word that brings together nature and politics.

For more information read: https://mh.bmj.com/content/44/2/106.

Increasingly in the US, elements of religion have crept into medical and political discourse. The Bible has been invoked repeatedly, for instance, in discussion of women’s right to abortion, same sex marriage, adoption, coverage rights, and the list goes on. In today’s MH podcast, Brandy Schillace interviews John Fugelsang, host of Tell Me Everything on SiriusXM, as well as an American actor, tv personality, comedian, and twitter-burr beneath the saddle of the far right. Together they discuss this often taboo subject, navigating the way “religion” as a political identity has become a tool for denying healthcare, and how to make allies among and between believers of many faiths, agnostics, and atheists to provide better care for all.

Medical Humanities editor-in-chief Brandy Schillace interviews Medical Humanities board member Daniel LaForest on his understanding of medical humanities and storytelling.