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The Nocturnists

The Nocturnists is an award-winning, independent medical storytelling podcast, hosted by Emily Silverman, MD. We share stories that aim to humanize healthcare and foster meaningful public dialogue about the practice of medicine. Each episode brings the humanity of healthcare workers to the fore, from stories told at The Nocturnists live shows, to raw audio diary recordings in our special documentary series, to insightful conversations with authors and filmmakers whose work intersects with health and medicine. Welcome to our community.

Learn more at thenocturnists.com

Oct 30, 2019

In this live podcast taping, Emily speaks with UCSF geriatrician and author Louise Aronson about her New York Times best-selling book, Elderhood: Redefining Aging, Transforming Medicine, Reimagining Life. Louise opens the episode with a reading from her book. Emily follows with questions about the inspiration behind...


Sep 26, 2019

Emily sits down with palliative care doctor BJ Miller and IDEO's Global Editorial Director, Shoshana Berger, to talk about their new book, A Beginner's Guide to the End: Practical Advice for Living Life and Facing Death. First, BJ and Shoshana read excerpts from the book about their individual stories. The readings are...


Sep 19, 2019

Emily sits down with physician Matt McCarthy, an infectious disease specialist at New York Presbyterian Hospital who researches drug-resistant microbes, to talk about his latest book, Superbugs.

Find show notes, transcript, and more at 


Jun 18, 2019

Here we share a tapestry of voices that we stitched together from the 38 audio submissions we received for our first storytelling contest on the theme of "Learning." The entries came from 28 institutions, 14 states, and 3 countries. We plan to announce the contest winner before the end of the month. Thank you to all who...


Jun 13, 2019

Emily sits down with internist and thought leader Dr. Lucy Kalanithi to discuss her late husband's book When Breath Becomes Air and topics such as illness and identity, prognosis and uncertainty, love and suffering, and the importance of community.

Find show notes, transcript, and more at