The Pitt Podcast – "9:00 A.M." with Sepideh Moafi & Shawn Hatosy

Date: January 23, 2026
Hosts: Dr. Alok Patel & Hunter Harris
Guests: Sepideh Moafi (Dr. Al Hashemi), Shawn Hatosy (Dr. Abbott), Dr. Shoshana Ungerleiter

Episode Overview

This episode dives into Season 2, Episode 3 of HBO Max's The Pitt, exploring the multi-layered events at the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center. The hosts break down how the show confronts issues including implicit bias, forgiveness, the complexity of medical diagnoses, and the interplay of personal relationships within and outside the ER. The conversation features actors Sepideh Moafi (Dr. Al Hashemi) and Shawn Hatosy (Dr. Abbott), and a thoughtful interview with Dr. Shoshana Ungerleiter about brain health, behavioral changes, and the experience of caregiving. The episode stands out for its emotional depth and its willingness to engage with real-life medicine, ethics, and culture through the lens of a medical drama.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Episode Recap & Major Themes

• Life Lessons & Emotional Stakes:

  • The episode is packed with emotional challenges, focusing on implicit bias, forgiveness, and tragic circumstances.
    • “Another week, another episode. Hunter, I don't know if I was, like, emotionally ready for all the life lessons in this episode.” – Alok Patel [02:42]
  • Multiple storylines involve tough medical calls and personal reckonings.

• Featured Cases:

  • Dr. McKay deals with two patients with flirtatious undertones; one reveals a 4cm brain mass.
    • "She was trusting her gut and thinking something is going on here... and he comes back with a 4 centimeter mass on his brain, which that really hit for me." – Hunter Harris [03:17]
  • A family engaging in “pill roulette,” displaying risky self-medication behavior.
  • A college student tased by a biased campus security guard, prompting discussion of implicit bias in medical contexts.
    • “I think this is, this one is like a lesson, I think, in implicit bias and jump into a conclusion before you know the whole story.” – Alok Patel [04:24]

2. Implicit Bias and Medical Assumptions

• The hosts reflect on how implicit bias shapes assumptions about patients, especially around race and disruptive behavior.
  • Reference to a sickle cell patient and comparisons to real-world medical stereotypes.
  • “If a non White person comes in yelling, raising their voice... the mind immediately for some of these people goes to like, they're being disruptive... It's like drug seeking behavior.” – Hunter Harris [05:16]

3. The Challenge of Diagnosis: Uncertainty and Honesty

• The process of communicating diagnostic uncertainty to patients is highlighted as both difficult and necessary.
  • “She uses these powerful words called, I don't know, it could be maybe... We're going through this process of discovery together. I've got your back.” – Alok Patel [06:14]
• Doctors must keep an open mind and avoid “locking in” on a single diagnosis, as shown by the ITP (immune thrombocytopenia) storyline with Kylie.

4. Trauma, Empathy, and Humanity at "The Pitt"

• The episode features a moving subplot: an older woman with PTSD from the 2018 Tree of Life synagogue shooting.
  • “I was on my way inside Oct. 27, 2018, to the synagogue when the shooting started. There's nothing I could do. I went in after the police arrived... But you just see Fourth of July when kids have their fireworks and firecrackers.” – Unattributed Patient [11:22]
  • Hosts highlight the importance of empathy in medicine and bedside manner when dealing with trauma.
    • “There is no clock on how long it takes. This is such a powerful moment in terms of empathy, connection, recognizing grief...” – Alok Patel [12:40]

5. Interview: Sepideh Moafi (Dr. Al Hashemi) & Shawn Hatosy (Dr. Abbott)

• On Dr. Al Hashemi:
  • She enters as a disruptor, intending to modernize medicine with tech and a patient-centered focus.
    • “She comes in and sort of wants to shake things up... to implement her sort of vision of elevating patient centered care.” – Sepideh Moafi [18:22]
  • The conversation touches on biases faced by women in leadership:
    • “Anytime there's a woman in position of power, we kind of go hard on her... let's question our own biases...” – Sepideh Moafi [19:52]
• On Dr. Abbott’s Role:
  • Abbott and Robbie are “mirrors” for each other, each confronting burnout, trauma, and different approaches to care.
    • “Abbott is able to articulate what his purpose is. There's such comfort in knowing, you know, we're the bees that protect the hive...” – Shawn Hatosy [23:29]

6. Real Medicine: Pediatric ER, Medical Techniques, & the “Mother’s Kiss”

• Extracting Foreign Objects:
  • Discussion of pulling beads from children’s noses and the “mother’s kiss” technique.
    • “That's what we call it, where you essentially blow into your child's mouth forcefully while plugging the other nostril... and it causes pressure.” – Alok Patel [27:50]
• The Sternal Rub:
  • Used to check responsiveness:
    • “The sternal rub is such an irritating motion... If they don't respond to that, you're like, yo, unresponsive to sternal rub.” – Alok Patel [28:51]

7. Diagnoses, Behavioral Changes, and Forgiveness

• Do Medical Conditions Excuse Harm?
  • Hosts ponder whether a diagnosis (like a brain tumor) should change how we view and forgive difficult behaviors in loved ones.
    • “If you found out that what they were doing or how they were acting was related to an illness, would there be room for forgiveness?” – Alok Patel [30:54]
    • “It's like you're playing catch up emotionally almost.” – Hunter Harris [40:15]

8. Interview: Dr. Shoshana Ungerleiter on End-of-Life, Brain Change, and Caregiving

• When to Suspect Medical vs. ‘Just Aging’ Changes:
  • “Is this new... and is it moving fast?... when behavior or personality changes come on quickly... that's often a clue that something medical could be going on.” – Dr. Shoshana Ungerleiter [34:39]
• The Complexity of Blame & Repairing Relationships:
  • “We tend to moralize behavior before we medicalize it... by the time maybe a diagnosis comes up, a lot of damage has already been done.” – Dr. Shoshana Ungerleiter [39:02]
• Anticipatory Grief:
  • The grief of a caregiver is unique, often unspoken, and starts before the physical loss occurs.
    • “I think it's really important... to name this as grief. Not failure and not lack of love.” – Dr. Shoshana Ungerleiter [46:42]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Diagnostic Honesty:

  • “That, I don't know feels very important here... That's an important term that doctors have to say sometime.”
    – Hunter Harris & Alok Patel [06:30-06:33]

• On Gender and Leadership in Medicine:

  • “Anytime there's a woman in position of power, we kind of go hard on her... let's question our own biases...”
    – Sepideh Moafi (Dr. Al Hashemi) [19:52]

• On Mirroring in Medical Colleagues:

  • “Abbott is able to articulate what his purpose is. There's such comfort in knowing, you know, we're the bees that protect the hive.”
    – Shawn Hatosy (Dr. Abbott) [23:29]

• On Caregiver Grief:

  • “Mourning the version of someone that you loved... can feel incredibly lonely because I think socially there's no permission to grieve someone who's technically alive.”
    – Dr. Shoshana Ungerleiter [45:16]

• Mic Drop Phrase:

  • “We tend to moralize behavior before we medicalize it.”
    – Dr. Shoshana Ungerleiter [39:02]

Timestamp Guide to Key Segments

• Episode Opening & Introductions: [01:04–02:18]
• Episode 3 Recap & Main Cases: [02:42–07:04]
  • Dr. McKay’s patient and brain mass: [03:17]
  • Pill roulette family: [03:50]
  • College student/implicit bias: [04:03]
  • Brain mass storyline: [05:43–07:04]
• Painful Moments & Trauma Care: [07:26–12:40]
  • Tree of Life shooting case: [11:22–12:40]
• Kylie’s ITP & Child Abuse Suspicion: [08:19–15:52]
• Interview: Sepideh Moafi & Shawn Hatosy: [17:52–26:31]
• Real ER Techniques (Mother’s Kiss, Sternal Rub): [27:04–29:42]
• Forgiveness, Brain Changes, and Relationships: [30:54–32:46]
• Interview: Dr. Shoshana Ungerleiter: [33:48–47:25]
• Final Reflections: [47:27–49:06]

Overall Tone & Style

The hosts balance warmth, expertise, and empathy as they unpack heavy issues, both those dramatized in the series and those relevant to real-world medicine. Humor and humility punctuate the conversation, particularly as the hosts admit their own uncertainties.

For Listeners: Key Takeaways

• The Pitt goes well beyond dramatization to explore the real ethical, emotional, and diagnostic complexities facing hospital staff and patients.
• Implicit bias, uncertainty, and the emotional labor of caregiving are recurring themes, tackled with both sensitivity and candor.
• Behind every medical case is a web of relationships, histories, and hidden factors—reminding listeners of the importance of both medical expertise and human empathy.

Listen to The Pitt Podcast for more inside stories and real-world reflections after each episode of The Pitt, streaming now on HBO Max.