Friendships don’t just happen; they take nurturing to grow and deepen. 

This episode is dedicated to friendships and the meaningful ways friends make our lives better. In this episode, the Surgeon General is joined by his two pals Sunny and Dave. Together, they have what’s called a moai. 

Moais are a friendship tradition from Okinawa, Japan – essentially, it is a friend circle that starts in childhood. Moais offer emotional and moral support, and the effect on people’s health can be remarkably positive. In Okinawa, an island known for some of the longest life expectancy in the world, some moais have lasted for over 90 years! 

This episode is an invitation to a unique and deeply personal space, as Dr. Murthy and his friends talk about the power of being seen and valued for who you are.  

We hope this episode inspires you to build and strengthen connections in your life. Please share with others who are seeking the same.  

(05:45)   What is a Moai? 

(10:51)   How did their Moai begin? 

(17:39)   How has the Moai made a difference in their lives? 

(32:06)   How has being in the Moai impacted their families? 

(36:27)   The power of an explicit friendship commitment 

(45:16)    What exactly are we chasing in life? 

(48:02)    How can you start your own Moai? 

Dr. Sandeep (Sunny) Kishore, Physician-Scientist

Twitter: ⁠@sandeep_kishore⁠ 

Instagram: ⁠@sunnyk5⁠ 

Dr. Dave Chokshi, Physician & Public Health Leader 

Twitter: @davechokshi 

About Dr. Sunny Kishore & Dr. Dave Chokshi

Dr. Sandeep (Sunny) Kishore is a physician-scientist at the University of California, San Francisco. He has worked on closing the “know-do” gap and translating scientific insights into real-world applications with focus on chronic disease prevention & control. Currently, he is focused on developing a scalable treatment algorithm for blood pressure control to improve cardiometabolic health for primary care clinics across the University of California. His work has led to the addition of over ten treatments to the Essential Medicines List of the World Health Organization (WHO) for cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and mental illness. He also has provided technical guidance to Resolve to Save Lives with a focus on fixed dose combinations for blood pressure and led large global networks focused on reducing the toll of chronic illness worldwide.  

Dr. Kishore has delivered remarks for United Nations General Assembly health sessions, WHO, TEDMED and his work has been featured in JAMA, The Lancet, Bulletin of WHO and Scientific American. He is a fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine, an Emerging Leader for the National Academy of Medicine and is a recipient of the Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans. He received the Raymond W. Sarber Award for top American graduate student in microbiology for doctoral research on anti-malarial strategies. He completed his medical and graduate training at Weill Cornell/Rockefeller/Sloan-Kettering Institute and Oxford, undertook his clinical training at Yale and Brigham & Women's Hospital/Harvard Medical School and has held fellowships at Harvard, Yale and the Dalai Lama Center at MIT. He currently resides in the Bay Area with his wife.

Dr. Dave A. Chokshi is a practicing physician and public health leader who most recently served as the 43rd Health Commissioner of New York City. From 2020-2022, he led the City’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including its historic campaign to vaccinate over 6 million New Yorkers. Previously, Dr. Chokshi was the inaugural Chief Population Health Officer at the largest public healthcare system in the nation. He has held successive senior leadership roles that span the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. A Rhodes Scholar and White House Fellow, he is nationally recognized as a transformational leader, a clinical innovator, a policy expert, and a fierce advocate for a stronger and more equitable health system.