Author: peerspectrum

“Because everything we see is affected by how we see it, pure vision is an illusion.”

-Roy Richard Grinker

Today we are delighted to have Roy Richard Grinker with us. He a professor of anthropology and international affairs at George Washington University, and author of “Nobody’s Normal. How Culture Created the Stigma of Mental Illness.” Richard comes from a long line of research psychologists. His grandfather, Roy Richard Grinker, Sr. was a pioneer in American psychology, and studied under Sigmund Freud. He may have been one of the last people psychoanalyzed by Freud before Freud’s death.

We’ll talk more about that, and Richard’s unique lens on psychology and mental illness through history, anthropology and culture. Can science really answer the questions: Is there really such a thing as a normal human mind? Is there really such as thing as an abnormal mind? Well, let’s find out and with that said, let’s get started.     

Links and Resources:

Nobody’s Normal Book: https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393531640/about-the-book/product-details

Roy Richard Grinker Website: https://royrichardgrinker.com/

George Washington University Profile: https://anthropology.columbian.gwu.edu/roy-richard-grinker

Ted Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYVpTYKevxQ

Name: Marta Induni, PhD

Specialty: Principal Investigator at the Public Health Institute. Director of Tracing Health.

Location: Sacramento, CA.

Today we are delighted to have Dr. Marta Induni with us on the show. She is a principal investigator with the Public Health Institute. She is also director of Tracing Health, a program launched in response to the COVID-19 pandemic that provides contact tracing and scientific support services to counties and local health departments on the US West Coast.

Links and Resources:

Dr. Marta Induni Profile: https://www.phi.org/experts/marta-induni/

Tracing Health Program: https://www.phi.org/our-work/programs/tracing-health/

Dr. Marta Induni LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-marta-induni-622a8735

Name: Susan Eisenhower

Specialty: Author and President of The Eisenhower Group

Location: Washington, DC

On the release of today’s episode, we find ourselves in October of 2020. Still deep in the Covid-19 pandemic, and exactly one week away from the 2020 presidential election. Instead of piling on with our own opinions and speculation, we’re heading to the past for lessons and perspective that might, just might, help us make better sense of the world around us. Lessons from someone I think many of us wouldn’t mind having around today. A man who led the fight to liberate Europe from the darkness of Nazism. A man who spent decades patiently preparing and training for that role, never knowing if it would ever come. A man who’s deep footprint on history still shapes the world we live in today. A man who served through multiple heart attacks, strokes, and other severe illnesses. A leader tested by pandemics from the 1918 Spanish Flu to Polio. A true citizen of the world who, as Lyndon Johnson described, left, “America…a better nation—stronger, safer, more conscious of its heritage, more certain of its destiny—because Ike was with us when America needed him.”

Today’s guest knew Ike well, though she never addressed him as General or Mr. President. She called him grandpa because Susan Eisenhower is one of Dwight Eisenhower’s four grandchildren. She is a writer, policy strategist and national security expert who leads the Washington, DC based consulting firm, The Eisenhower Group.

Her recently published book, “How Ike Led, The Principles Behind Eisenhower’s Biggest Decisions,” and her personal perspective growing up with her grandfather are the focus of today’s episode. With that said, let’s get started.

Name: Carla Pugh, MD, PhD

Specialty: General Surgeon. Professor of Surgery

Location: Stanford University School of Medicine

You’ve no doubt heard this famous quote from science fiction writer, William Gibson, “The future is already here – it’s just not evenly distributed.” What better way to describe technology and medicine?  The runway for technological innovation and adoption is just a little longer in our world. What other profession or industry can you think of that still uses pagers and fax machines?

So where can we look for a sneak peek into the future? How about sports? Motion tracking sensors, video analysis, performance modeling, biometrics, wearables, “Moneyball” data analytics. This is old stuff for the coaches, trainers, scouts, and team managers who use these technologies every day. But what can we learn by putting this same technology to work in the operating room? To answer that question, we’re thrilled to have Dr. Carla Pugh with us today. Dr. Pugh is a professor of General Surgery, and Director of the Technology Enabled Clinical Improvement Center at the Stanford University School of Medicine. She is one of the world’s leading researchers in the use of sensors and simulation technology to assess and quantitatively define hands-on clinical skills. This was a fun and eye-opening episode on what is coming around the corner. With that said, let’s get started…

Name: Gerald Posner

Specialty: Author and Investigative Journalist

Location: Miami, Fl

All right, welcome back. If you think you have a pretty good handle on the opioid crisis, the pharmaceutical industry and how it all works, today’s episode may challenge that assumption. It certainly did for us. The modern pharmaceutical and biotech industries are like no other. How they got to where they are is a story like no other. The same businesses that have given us incredible lifesaving advances have also given us disasters like the opioid epidemic. The history of the pharmaceutical industry is more complex and captivating than you might imagine. 

Today’s guest in award winning investigative journalist, Gerald Posner. He’s written twelve books including national best sellers such as “God’s Bankers,” “Mengele. The complete Story,” and The Pulitzer Prize finalist, “Case Closed.” His latest book, “Pharma,” is master class history of the modern pharma and biotech space. Understanding that history is critical to understanding the present opioid crisis. In-fact, we didn’t even cover the opioid crisis until the final 15 minutes of the podcast.

With so much to cover, we asked Gerald for an extra 30 minutes beyond our usual hour. Even that wasn’t enough, but it was lot of fun, and hopefully all the reason you need to read the book yourself.  With that said, let’s get started…