Podcast
The Pursuit of Health Podcast
Hosted by Dr. Eric Fethke · EN
The Pursuit of Health is a weekly podcast dedicated to a thorough exploration of the American Healthcare System at a critical time in our nation’s history. The podcast’s creator and host, Dr. Eric Fethke, is a pediatric cardiologist and educator trained at Columbia University, with over 25 years of experience practicing medicine. Students, professionals, and everyday people alike are invited to learn from guest experts who are pursuing groundbreaking work to improve America's health. Join us on our journey towards a better healthcare!
26episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Ep103: Breaking the Silence on Men's Health: Sexual Function, Prostate Cancer and Why It's Time to Talk w/ Dr. Arthur Burnett
2w ago00:49:57Tap to summarizeA conversation with Dr. Arthur Burnett“Optimizing sexual function is one of the most important things men can do to increase their overall health and happiness.”We welcome Dr. Arthur Burnett to the conversation, one of the world’s leading urological surgeons, educators and a pioneer in surgery and men’s health.His discovery of the role of Nitric Oxide in the erectile function helped make Viagra possible, his surgical work transformed prostate cancer care, and his career has consistently challenged how medicine treats men’s bodies and concerns. Who better to talk us through how stigma and silence are shaping men’s health outcomes?It’s time to talk.—We spoke about why sexual health is one of the most overlooked warning signs in modern medicine, how time-limited primary care visits mean physicians avoid sexual health conversations, how men’s reluctance to seek care is reinforced, not corrected, by the system, and how access gaps disproportionately affect Black men and marginalized groups.Follow me on Instagram and Facebook @ericfethkemd and checkout my website at www.EricFethkeMD.com. My brand new book, The Privilege of Caring, is out now on Amazon! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CP6H6QN4
Transcribe →Ep102: You Are the CEO of Your Health: Fatty Liver Disease, Missed Diagnoses and Demanding Better Care w/ Terri Milton
Apr 2700:41:55Tap to summarizeA conversation with Terri MiltonYou are the CEO of your own health.Terri Milton received a diagnosis of fatty liver disease in 1998, and was told there was nothing they could do.But liver disease is progressive, and after it developed to Stage 4 cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma twenty years later, Terri received a liver transplant in 2022.Her story exposes how routinely this disease has been minimized in primary care - but it’s time for change, and Terri is using her voice to educate, empower, and demand better detection measures for patients.—We spoke about her experience first hearing “fatty liver” back in 1998, the missed warning signs in her past labs and imaging, how measurable lifestyle interventions such as unprocessed diets, portion control, and activity can provide meaningful impact, and why siloed healthcare needs be addressed in favour of the ‘whole picture’. You can find the American Liver Foundation here: https://liverfoundation.org/Follow me on Instagram and Facebook @ericfethkemd and checkout my website at www.EricFethkeMD.com. My brand new book, The Privilege of Caring, is out now on Amazon! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CP6H6QN4
Transcribe →Ep 101: Redesigning Women's Health: Precision Medicine, Hormone Disorders and the Future of Fertility w/ Kirsten Karchmer
Apr 1300:47:53Tap to summarizeA conversation with Kirsten Karchmer“What happens in society when we restore women to their full, embodied selves?”Kirsten Karchmer is a reproductive health expert with over 20 years of experience helping women navigate fertility challenges.Having been diagnosed with MS in her early adult life, Kirsten experienced major improvement through Chinese medicine principles - which highlighted a focus on treating the whole system, rather than the diagnosis alone.Combining the wisdom of Eastern and Western medicine philosophies with modern technology, Kirsten is using data, AI pattern matching, and holistic health principles to educate women and alleviate symptoms of PMS, PMDD, endometriosis and more.It’s time to redesign women’s healthcare.—We spoke about why precision medicine is all about individualized diagnosis and targeted intervention, why current policymakers are not advocating for women - they're advocating for a political agenda, how the Conceivable app combines data points with virtual care teams to uphold women’s health, and why her blueprint for positive, practical menstrual education will remove shame from the equation!Follow me on Instagram and Facebook @ericfethkemd and checkout my website at www.EricFethkeMD.com. My brand new book, The Privilege of Caring, is out now on Amazon! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CP6H6QN4
Transcribe →Ep100: For Lil Roopie: Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a Mother's Fight and Keeping Matthew's Legacy Alive w/ Carol Roopchandsingh
Apr 200:24:36Tap to summarizeA conversation with Carol RoopchandsinghHe never stopped fighting. Neither will she.Matthew Roopchandsingh - known to many as Lil Roopie - lived for nearly thirty years with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. He built a YouTube channel, designed his own logo, and spent his life reaching out to others with disabilities, telling them never to give up hope. He passed away on November 14th, 2024.His mother, Carol Roopchandsingh, was his caregiver, his advocate, and his guardian. She worked three jobs. She slept in hospital chairs. She fought insurance companies, dismissive doctors, and a system that too often asked: why provide care to someone who will never get better?Today, on our milestone 100th episode, Carol bravely sat with Dr. Fethke to bring Matthew's story out of the shadows - and to make sure his legacy is just beginning.I am honored to introduce Carol Roopchandsingh.—We spoke about the long and painful road to Matthew's Duchenne diagnosis, the systemic failures that denied him the equipment, therapy, and support he needed, the emotional and physical toll of caregiving with no safety net, how Matthew channelled his condition into a platform of advocacy and joy, and Carol's vision for a foundation in his memory - to fight for every person who lives with disability, that the system forgets.Lil Roopie’s YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@lilroopie/featuredFollow me on Instagram and Facebook @ericfethkemd and checkout my website at www.EricFethkeMD.com. My brand new book, The Privilege of Caring, is out now on Amazon! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CP6H6QN4
Transcribe →Ep99: From the Secretary's Office to the Front Lines of the Fight for Medicaid w/ Kody Kinsley
Mar 2000:49:50Tap to summarizeA conversation with Kody Kinsley“Leadership starts with each of us.”Kody Kinsley is the former Secretary of North Carolina's Department of Health and Human Services, who currently serves as a Senior Policy Advisor at Johns Hopkins University and the Milken Institute.His impact on North Carolina policymaking saw Medicaid expansion to 600,000 residents, $835 million secured in behavioral health funding, and $4 billion brokered in medical debt relief.In other words, Kody is a public health champion. He joins us today to give the inside scoop on the looming impact of the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’, outlining the daunting road ahead - but carrying hope each step of the way.—We spoke about his personal journey and commitment to healthcare reform, the need for better policy changes over simply cutting costs, why we need a healthcare system that prioritizes affordability, reduces patient burden, and leverages value-based care, and why public sentiment and community input are crucial for developing effective healthcare policies.Follow me on Instagram and Facebook @ericfethkemd and checkout my website at www.EricFethkeMD.com. My brand new book, The Privilege of Caring, is out now on Amazon! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CP6H6QN4
Transcribe →Ep98: From Tragedy to Innovation: Patient-Led Data Systems and ALS w/ Indu Navar
Feb 1900:45:57Tap to summarizeA conversation with Indu NavarWe have to care to cure!Indu Navar is the founder of EverythingALS and a leading voice in patient-driven ALS research.After losing her husband to ALS following a long and exhausting diagnostic process, Indu turned her background in technology and data systems toward fixing what she saw as a broken approach to ALS care and research.She takes us through the history of the disease, before highlighting how her company is spearheading a patient-led data revolution - updating decades-old medical research on ALS with information direct from our patients' lived experiences.—We spoke about what has changed in ALS research in 2026 and why it matters for patients, how a lack of traditional biological biomarkers and a reliance on elimination-based testing has meant both diagnosis efficacy and treatment options have stalled, and how patient-driven research is reshaping discovery, trials, and treatment pathways.Follow me on Instagram and Facebook @ericfethkemd and checkout my website at www.EricFethkeMD.com. My brand new book, The Privilege of Caring, is out now on Amazon! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CP6H6QN4
Transcribe →Ep97: When Doctors Organize: Non-Partisan Advocacy and the Future of Healthcare w/Dr. Christine Petrin: in collaboration with Doctors For America
Feb 1200:47:18Tap to summarizeA conversation with Dr. Christine PetrinHealthcare is not a partisan issue.No better organization demonstrates this fact than Doctors for America, a national collective of 40,000 members: doctors, medical students, healthcare workers, patients, and retired physicians.And who better to talk us through their mission, than Past President Dr. Christine Petrin.In her own words, “Every time I join a DFA call or meeting or talk, it really energizes me. It keeps me optimistic. There's so many people out there that are facing the same fight as you.”— We spoke about the history, structure, and advocacy efforts of Doctors for America (DFA), how they transitioned from advocating for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to broader healthcare issues, their non-partisan nature and inclusive structure, and the importance of collective action amid widespread policy changes.Follow me on Instagram and Facebook @ericfethkemd and checkout my website at www.EricFethkeMD.com. My brand new book, The Privilege of Caring, is out now on Amazon! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CP6H6QN4
Transcribe →Ep96: Transparency, Prevention, and The Battle For Affordable Healthcare w/Dr. Erica Urquhart
Jan 2900:51:56Tap to summarizeWe don’t need to hide.Our guest this week shares this message loud and clear: as providers, we have nothing to hide from our patients.Dr. Erica Urquhart knows a thing or two about our healthcare system - having trained at Harvard as a biomedical engineer, she received a MD-PhD in Molecular and Neuroscience from Johns Hopkins and is now a practising orthopedic surgeon.She joins today to talk through her outlook on a broken system, as told in her upcoming book ‘Invisible Hand Wielding the Scalpel: Paying the Price in America’s Fractured Healthcare System’.—We spoke about the value of transparency in healthcare, her constant battle with massive insurance companies, the capitalist emphasis in the system, the influence of commercial insurers in driving the cost and accessibility of care, and the fundamental importance of sickness prevention.Follow me on Instagram and Facebook @ericfethkemd and checkout my website at www.EricFethkeMD.com. My brand new book, The Privilege of Caring, is out now on Amazon! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CP6H6QN4
Transcribe →Ep95: The Vaccination Crisis, Eroding Public Trust and Safeguarding Children's Health w/Dr. Paul Offit
Jan 1900:49:02Tap to summarizeA conversation with Dr. Paul OffitWe didn’t just eradicate measles through vaccines, we eradicated all memory of it - that’s why vaccine hesitancy is on the rise.Today’s guest Dr. Paul Offit is angry. He’s an undisputed authority in the vaccination field, professor of vaccinology at the University of Pennsylvania, co-inventor of life-saving vaccine RotaTeq, author… in short, Offit has been in the room for the creation of policies that affected hundreds of millions of people.That’s why he stands in disbelief as health secretary RFK Jr. continues to share disinformation, shred the CDC of its ability to monitor the population, and cause real-world health crises in our communities.In defiance, he’s sharing his message loud and clear, and this episode shines as our most comprehensive guide yet on the vaccination crisis. It’s time to make a collective effort, to safeguard our children's health.—We spoke about RFK Jr.'s long-standing anti-vaccine stance, historical perspectives on vaccination's successes and controversies, the evolution and impacts of vaccines on diseases like polio, measles, and hepatitis B, and the erosion of public trust in vaccines.Follow me on Instagram and Facebook @ericfethkemd and checkout my website at www.EricFethkeMD.com. My brand new book, The Privilege of Caring, is out now on Amazon! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CP6H6QN4
Transcribe →Ep94: The Broken Incentives of Primary Care - Past, Present and Future w/ Dr. Troyen Brennan
Jan 600:51:31Tap to summarizeA conversation with Dr. Troyen BrennanOur primary care sector is dysfunctional.Enter Dr. Troyen Brennan: author, adjunct professor at Harvard, former CMO for CVS Health and Aetna, and a national voice on the issues facing our healthcare system.He explains how the primary care/specialty care balance led America to adopt a profit-driven model, highlighting the repercussions this has had for primary care access across the country.The current projections are stark, so we need to push for fundamental change.—We spoke about the contrast between the Affordable Care Act and a single-payer system, the importance of primary care as a foundation for a functional healthcare system, the viability of value-based care models, and the potential pathways to achieve equitable access to primary care in spite of current political and financial challenges.Follow me on Instagram and Facebook @ericfethkemd and checkout my website at www.EricFethkeMD.com. My brand new book, The Privilege of Caring, is out now on Amazon! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CP6H6QN4
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