The Emergency Mind Podcast

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• EP 134: Elvina Hewitt and Mena Ramos on Chaos, Systems, and Bears 20.05.2026 50min

  In this episode of The Emergency Mind Podcast, I’m joined by Elvina Hewitt and Mena Ramos for a wide-ranging conversation about emergency medicine, healthcare innovation, AI, entrepreneurship, and what it means to build better systems from inside the reality of clinical work. All three of us came through Brown, spent time working in emergency care, and have since moved into different but overlapping worlds of healthcare technology, startups, education, and systems change. The conversation moves from the emergency department as society’s safety net, to the personalities drawn to chaos and uncertainty, to the tension between visionary innovation and the constraints that shape real healthcare work.
• EP 133: Diane Malaspina on The Myth of Suffering at Work 27.04.2026 42min

  Psychologist, performance coach, and yoga teacher Diane Malaspina shares a strengths-based approach to stress, resilience, and optimal performance for high-pressure professions.
• Episode 132 - Aaron Clark-Ginsberg on Full Spectrum Risk Management 13.04.2026 30min

  In this episode of The Emergency Mind Podcast, Dan Dworkis speaks with Aaron Clark-Ginsberg, a social scientist at RAND Corporation, whose work spans disaster response, risk governance, and organizational performance under extreme conditions. Drawing on experience as a wildland firefighter, disaster recovery volunteer after Hurricane Katrina, and applied policy researcher, Aaron explores why some systems adapt and learn after crisis while others repeatedly fail. The conversation moves across medicine, wildfire response, infrastructure, and emerging technology to examine how risk actually behaves in the real world.
• Episode 131 - Joshua Feblowitz on Experiential Learning with Uncertainty 30.03.2026 43min

  In this episode of The Emergency Mind Podcast, Dan Dworkis sits down with emergency physician and medical educator Joshua Feblowitz to examine how clinicians are trained to make decisions under pressure, and where traditional medical education struggles to prepare people for real-world uncertainty. The conversation spans experiential learning, simulation, metacognition, and the everyday tradeoffs between speed, accuracy, and risk that define emergency care.
• EP 130: Patick Pollock on Rescue, Risk, and the "Non-Human" Factor 16.03.2026 34min

  In this episode of The Emergency Mind Podcast, Dan Dworkis sits down with Patrick Pollock, the world’s first Professor of Veterinary Surgery and Remote & Rural Medicine, to explore what really happens when humans, animals, and complex systems collide.
• EP 129 - Christine Stead on Systems of Innovation in ECMO 02.03.2026 41min

  ECMO does not succeed because of a single clinician, team, or device. It succeeds because of systems. In this episode of The Emergency Mind Podcast, Dan talks with Christine Stead, CEO of ELSO, about how innovation in ECMO emerges from networks of people, data, organizations, and shared purpose. From the early days of ECMO development to the global response during COVID-19, they explore how systems enable high-risk, high-complexity care to evolve under pressure.
• Episode 128 - Adam Milano on Teamwork as Ensemble Art 16.02.2026 44min

  What do theater, crisis response, military service, and social work have in common? In this episode of The Emergency Mind Podcast, Dan Dworkis sits down with Adam Milano to explore a powerful idea: high-performance teamwork under pressure looks a lot like ensemble art.
• Episode 127 - Marius Aleksa on Why Curiosity is Key for Human Performance 02.02.2026 35min

  Why do some performers keep improving under pressure while others hit a ceiling? One of the most powerful answers is curiosity. In this episode, Dan talks with Marius Aleksa, a performance advisor who has coached elite performers across professional baseball, special operations, medicine, and high-level athletics. Together they explore how curiosity helps people recognize their strengths, uncover hidden leverage points, and build the kind of solid foundation that supports growth at the edge of their ability.
• Episode 126 - Measuring Team Performance Part II 19.01.2026 55min

  Part 2 of 2! How do you know if your team is doing a good job? In this second part of a two-part series, we bring together leaders from medicine, the military, and crisis response to explore what team performance really means — and how to measure it beyond outcomes.
• Episode 125 - Measuring Team Performance Part I 05.01.2026 52min

  How do you know if your team is doing a good job? In this first of a two-part series, we bring together leaders from medicine, neuroscience, and crisis response to explore what team performance really means — and how to measure it beyond outcomes.
• Episode 124 - Dr. Mark Ramzy on How Teams Decide in Crisis 15.12.2025 44min

  What happens when life-and-death decisions must be made by a team rather than an individual? In this episode, Dr. Mark Ramzy — cardiothoracic intensivist, emergency physician, and Co-Editor-in-Chief of REBEL EM — joins us to explore how teams think, decide, and act under pressure inside the ICU
• Episode 123 - Thomas Preston on ECMO, Expertise, and Trust 01.12.2025 46min

  What happens when life depends on perfect coordination between human and machine? In this episode, Thomas Preston — a veteran ECMO expert and executive leader at Integration Health — joins us to explore the high-stakes world of ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) and the complex teamwork it demands.
• Episode 122 - Harry Moffitt on The Fourth Pillar 17.11.2025 46min

  In this episode, Harry Moffitt shares his insights on human performance and philosophy. Moffitt, a director at Stoughton Group and Mission Critical Teams Institute, and a former SAS member, discusses his new book 'The Fourth Pillar: Modern Stoicism and the Philosophy of High Performance.' He touches on the importance of philosophy alongside physical, psychological, and social aspects of human performance. The conversation also explores the risks of modernity, the importance of maintaining humanity in high-performance environments, and how metaphors influence our understanding of development and growth. Harry challenges listeners to embrace philosophical practices and offers practical steps to maintain a balanced, fulfilling life.
• Episode 121 - Geoff Dougherty PhD on Complexity in Emergency Systems 03.11.2025 39min

  How do complex systems shape the emergencies we face—and how can understanding them help you perform when it matters most? In this episode, I talk with epidemiologist and emergency responder Geoff Dougherty about how complexity science shows up everywhere from individual patient care to statewide population health. We dig into what makes a system complex, why small changes can have massive effects, and how feedback loops, phase transitions, and path dependence shape what actually happens under pressure.
• Episode 120 - On Coming Home with Dr. Art Finch 13.10.2025 39min

  Coming home to your family after shift is a skill. In this episode, Dr. Art Finch and I talk about re-integration, and coming home as a process not an event. We introduce our new resource, "On Coming Home," a workbook for people operating in crisis and their families -- you can download it free at www.bit.ly/mctioch
• Episode 119 - Operating With Uncertainty, with Drs. Eric Benoit and Andrew Petrosoniak 09.09.2025 46min

  Eric Benoit, acute care surgeon at Lahey Hospital, and Andrew Petrosoniak, emergency physician at St. Michael’s Hospital, join me on the podcast to discuss operating with uncertainty in high-stakes medical environments. This episode addresses managing risk, performing under pressure, and the importance of decision-making and reflection. Discover how they balance technical skills and knowledge with handling ambiguity in critical situations. Learn valuable insights on improving clinical decision-making, teaching trainees to cope with uncertainty, and the operating in highly uncertain environments.
• Episode 118 - Alex Hodson PA-C on Multiprofessional Critical Care 17.07.2025 47min

  Explore the vital role of Advanced Practice Providers (APPs) in critical care with Alex Hodson, a seasoned critical care physician assistant. Learn about the dynamics of high-functioning healthcare teams, the training pipeline for APPs, and the importance of feedback and teamwork. Gain insights into the challenges and rewards of working in high-stress environments and understand how multidisciplinary and multi-professional collaboration shapes effective patient care.
• Episode 117 - Sean Griffiths, DO, on Better Humans to Better Doctors 11.06.2025 47min

  Dr. Sean Griffiths shares his experiences and insights from his training and career in emergency medicine, both within the United States Air Force and civilian practice. We talk through the stark differences between various emergency care environments, the importance of leadership, and the challenges of preparing for high-stakes medical emergencies in diverse settings. Dr. Griffiths emphasizes the significance of character in medical training and offers practical advice on creating a thriving medical team culture. Ideal for anyone passionate about improving emergency care and leadership in healthcare.
• Episode 116 - Gloria Park on Rehumanizing Human Performance 01.05.2025 52min

  Gloria Park, an expert in sport performance and positive psychology, joins the podcast to discuss her journey from competitive figure skating to human performance optimization. She emphasizes the importance of understanding emotions, stress, and social contexts in achieving peak performance. Gloria also explores the challenges and strategies for fostering human performance in high-stakes environments such as the military. This episode offers valuable insights on how to integrate well-being and performance, and how to cultivate a thriving life both professionally and personally.
• Episode 115 - Dr. Jeremy Cannon on Military Medical Readiness and Project 100k 26.03.2025 45min

  Dr. Jeremy Cannon is a Professor of Surgery at the University of Pennsylvania where he serves as the Surgeon Champion for the Penn Medicine-US Navy Trauma Training Partnership. He is a graduate of the US Air Force Academy and Harvard Medical School and holds a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from MIT. He served as President of the Excelsior Surgical Society from 2022-2023 and recently edited Edward D. Chruchill’s Surgeon to Soldiers 2024 Edition. With a focus on military health policy, he is now serving as a Veteran Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. In this episode of The Emergency Mind Podcast, we talk about military medical readiness and the 'peacetime effect,' examining the steep learning curves experienced in past conflicts and the importance of maintaining and improving readiness in military medical systems. This conversation explores the necessity of military-civilian partnerships, the evolution of trauma care, and the critical need for effective policy. Deep insights here for both military and civilian listeners about optimizing medical readiness and saving lives on and off the battlefield.