Medicine was never meant to be a collection of procedures and tools. Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen, physician and UCSF professor, describes her course The Healer’s Art, now taught in half of American medical schools, which helps first-year students reclaim the values of compassion, service, and human connection that drew them to medicine in the first place.
What separates pain threshold from pain tolerance, and when does prescribed medication become addiction? Armand DiMele and guests Dr. Sherry Siegel, M.D. (neurologist and pain specialist) and Dr. Kent Robertshaw, MD, Psychiatrist, trace physical pain through the nervous system, examine malingering, and use Michael Jackson’s death as a lens on narcotic dependency, withdrawal, and the emotional dimensions of chronic suffering.
Pain is invisible, subjective, and often disbelieved, yet it reshapes lives. Armand DiMele and studio guest Jonna Valerio examine the biology of chronic pain, the psychology of how it persists after injury heals, and how loved ones can offer genuine support without hollow advice.
Compassion can be turned on and off like a switch, and much of what passes for it is really pity, sentimentality, or self-serving need. Armand DiMele draws on Buddhist definitions, mirror neuron research, and caller stories to distinguish genuine compassion from its counterfeits, and argues that true compassion flows from personal contentment rather than inner pain.
