Part Two

What if the body wasn’t a fixed map, but a living, improvisational landscape?

In this conversation with Lan Li, a historian, filmmaker, and rhythm-savvy thinker at the crossroads of medicine and imagination, we explore how anatomy is more than skin and sinew—it’s a set of metaphors, shaped as much by culture as by scalpels. Lan brings insight from her work in neuroscience, film, and Chinese medicine to help us consider how maps of the body aren’t just drawn—they’re felt, narrated, and revised in real time.

Listen into this discussion as we explore the improvisational nature of clinical work, the metaphoric structure of anatomy, the interplay between nerves and meridians, the persistence of imagination in medical history, and why ancient images might still be some of our most useful tools.

This episode invites a reimagining of what it means to know, feel, and practice medicine. Especially when inquiry is more like music than math.

Part One

What if the body wasn’t a fixed map, but a living, improvisational landscape?

In this conversation with Lan Li, a historian, filmmaker, and rhythm-savvy thinker at the crossroads of medicine and imagination, we explore how anatomy is more than skin and sinew—it’s a set of metaphors, shaped as much by culture as by scalpels. Lan brings insight from her work in neuroscience, film, and Chinese medicine to help us consider how maps of the body aren’t just drawn—they’re felt, narrated, and revised in real time.

Listen into this discussion as we explore the improvisational nature of clinical work, the metaphoric structure of anatomy, the interplay between nerves and meridians, the persistence of imagination in medical history, and why ancient images might still be some of our most useful tools.

This episode invites a reimagining of what it means to know, feel, and practice medicine. Especially when inquiry is more like music than math.

The roots of tradition sometimes take hold in unexpected soil. What happens when traditions from France, Korea, and China converge in one practitioner’s hands? There’s a kind of alchemy in the way knowledge travels—through stories, teachers, and clinical results that raise the question of what is going on here.

In this conversation with Jacques MoraMarco, we explore the shape of a career that’s spanned over five decades. From his early exposure to French-Vietnamese and Korean teachings, to his role in building acupuncture education in the U.S.—Jacques has carried multiple lineages while helping to shape what Chinese medicine looks like in the modern clinic.

Listen into this discussion as we talk about the perspective of different streams of practice, the shift from apprenticeship to formal schooling, and how European and Korean influences still echo in his work.

What do we do when the world feels like it’s unraveling? How to respond when our systems—political, economic, medical—feel brittle, even broken? It’s easy to fall into despair, or look away. But maybe what we’re being asked to do is look closer. To stay present.

In this conversation with Ed Neal and Mel Hopper Koppelman, we explore the edges where medicine, ecology, and culture meet. Both are thinkers who don’t shy away from complexity. Ed draws from classical Chinese texts and ecological systems. Mel, from her knowledge of science and systems thinking.

Listen into this discussion as we explore the role of Chinese medicine in times of crisis, the importance of narrative and metaphor in clinical work, how despair and possibility coexist, and the invitation to practice medicine as an act of presence and participation.

Sometimes the best opportunities don’t look like opportunity—they look like risk. Like driving hours into the mountains. Like renting a stranger’s massage room and hoping someone shows up. But there’s a strange kind of capacity that comes from following a hunch—especially the kind that seems to go against the grain.

In this conversation with Irina Cividino, we explore her unconventional path as a peripatetic acupuncturist serving remote towns in the Canadian Rockies. What started as a weekend experiment became a thriving circuit of clinics in communities with little to no access to acupuncture. Irina brings both practical wisdom and a spirit of quiet boldness to the work.

Listen into this discussion as we explore building a low-overhead mobile practice, using local Facebook groups for patient outreach, how geography shapes clinical presentations, and the surprising clarity that comes from being in motion.

This is a story about acupuncture. But more than that, it’s about trusting your instincts, listening to your patients, and crafting a life that follows your values with courage and curiosity.

Technology is evolving fast—and it’s starting to mirror us in ways that are both fascinating and a little unsettling. As AI becomes part of our daily lives, it raises an important question: how do we stay human while working with machines that mimic us?

In this conversation with Vanessa Menendez-Covelo, we explore the intersection of Chinese medicine and artificial intelligence. With a background in both fields, Vanessa shares thoughtful insights on how AI tools can support, challenge, and even reshape our work as practitioners.

Listen into this discussion as we talk about writing clinical notes with AI, the ethics of machine-generated empathy, what happens when AI “learns” your voice, and how these tools might influence the future of medicine.

This isn’t a conversation about hype—it’s about curiosity, discernment, and remembering that the real wisdom in healing still comes from the human side of the equation.

It’s a curious thing, sometimes you want to get away from something. Maybe it’s the town you grew up in, or a family business. You think you know it, and are not interested. But circumstances change and find your way back to it with new eyes.

In this conversation with Thomas Leung, we trace the arc of a family deeply rooted in Chinese herbal medicine. From his great-grandfather’s shop in Guangdong, to navigating the upheaval of the Chinese revolution, to adapting a Manhattan herb store to changing demographics, Thomas brings both a practitioner's  and a business owner’s sensibility to the conversation.

Listen in as we talk about the evolution of Chinese medicine in America, what it means to modernize without losing tradition, the challenge of standardizing herbal language, and the precarious state of our profession in this current moment.

This conversation is  about more than herbs. It’s about responsibility, reinvention, and how the future of our medicine depends not only on practice—but on stewardship.

Sometimes what holds us back isn’t a lack of skill or knowledge, but an old story unknowingly agreed to. One that says it’s unseemly to want success, that business is at odds with healing. But what if your clinic wasn’t just a way to help people—but also a practice of alignment, agency, and even joy?

In this conversation with Julie Bear Don’t Walk, we explore how business and medicine aren’t separate pursuits but reflections of each other. A long-time practitioner and now coach, Julie brings both clinical experience and a fresh, grounded perspective on how your values, mindset, and systems can support a flourishing practice.

Listen into this discussion as we discuss financial trauma and healing, collaborative care models, the subtle art of patient retention, and how team dynamics reflect the qi of a clinic.

Julie reminds us that a successful practice isn’t about pushing harder—it’s about congruence. When your clinic reflects who you are and how you want to show up, the business part starts to feel a lot more like medicine.

There’s a moment in every practitioner’s life when they start thinking less about where they’re going and more about what they’re leaving behind. What does it mean to practice for decades, to see students turn into colleagues, and to watch the medicine evolve through your hands? The arc of a career in acupuncture isn’t just about technique—it’s connection and contribution as well.

In this conversation with Whitfield Reeves, we explore his 40+ years in practice, from his early days training in California to his work in orthopedic and sports acupuncture. He shares his reflections on what it means to transition from practitioner to mentor, the conundrum  of monetizing wisdom, and how in the end— the best work finds you.

Listen into this discussion as we talk about the weight of responsibility in clinical work, the role of legacy in acupuncture, how the empirical method shapes our medicine, and the evolving landscape of mentorship in Chinese medicine.

Childhood is a surprising, messy, and unpredictable unfolding that follows an orderly  pattern of stages through reliable spirals of development.

In this conversation with Moshe Heller, we explore the complexities of childhood development through the lens of Chinese medicine. Moshe shares his insights from years of working with children, drawing connections between physiological, emotional, and social growth, and how these elements shape both health and resilience.

Listen into this discussion as we explore the concept of the developmental spiral, how early experiences shape lifelong health, the interplay between stimulation and emotional regulation, and why creating space for boredom might just be a powerful tool for healing.