Podcasts · Health & Fitness

Staying Human with Dr. Vivek Murthy

Vivek Murthy

13 episodes

What if, instead of looking for quick fixes or life hacks, we asked: what does it take to live a fulfilling life?

More about the show

Like so many people, trusted physician Dr. Vivek Murthy grapples with what it means to live well. As U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy started a groundbreaking public conversation around loneliness and the importance of connection. Now, he’s inviting listeners to join him as he explores what makes life meaningful, even when that means going against the grain.

Through warm, provocative conversations with people from all walks of life, Dr. Murthy takes on topics that profoundly affect our health and well-being, but that most people don’t really talk about, let alone with a doctor: What if we redefined success not in terms of money or status but in terms of meaning? How do we find our sense of purpose? Can we center our lives around connection and community? Can technology help us be more human instead of taking away from our humanity?

In a world that can feel harsh and isolating, Staying Human is a show about finding better, more human ways to live, together.

Substack vivekmurthy.substack.com/

IG @drvivekmurthy

Episodes

  1. Michael Pollan: Are You Losing the Ability to Think for Yourself?

    · 1 h 11 min

    What does it mean to think for yourself in a world that's constantly trying to think for you? And in an age when AI can do more and more for us, what makes human experience valuable? In this warm and personal…

  2. Robin Wall Kimmerer: What is nature teaching us that we’re too distracted to see?

    · 1 h 05 min

    What is nature trying to teach us that we’re too distracted to notice? Botanist and author Robin Wall Kimmerer joins Vivek for a conversation about slowing down and paying attention to the living world around us. She…

  3. Ayad Akhtar: How Do We Stay Open to Life’s Mysteries?

    · 1 h 07 min

    Vivek talks with Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Ayad Akhtar about his new novel, The Radiance, and what it means to be truly connected to the world—including the parts of it which defy easy explanation. In this novel,…

  4. Remembering Dr. Rachel Remen: What is the Secret to True Healing?

    · 58 min

    What does it really mean to heal? What is the difference between curing and healing? What can we offer one another when something can’t be fixed? Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen spent her life exploring what it means to be…

  5. Angela Duckworth: What Situations Bring Out the Best in Us?

    · 1 h 05 min

    Angela Duckworth changed the way millions of people think about achievement with her bestselling book Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance. Yet ten years later, she’s come to believe that grit and willpower are…

  6. Robert Putnam: What Does It Mean To Be a Social Capitalist? (and how does it affect our health?)

    · 44 min

    How many of us have felt the deep need to belong, but weren’t sure where to start? In this episode, recorded live at WBUR in Boston, Vivek sits down with the Harvard professor, author, and friend for a wide-ranging…

  7. Maya Shankar: What Happens When Life Changes Our Plans?

    · 54 min

    Ten years ago, Vivek and Maya Shankar met in a meeting at the White House; he still doesn't remember what the meeting was about, but he remembers being struck by her brilliance, and even more by her warmth. They stayed…

  8. Dr. Robert Waldinger: What does 85 years of research reveal about a Good Life?

    · 1 h 08 min

    What makes a good life? Is it accomplishment and wealth? Meaning and purpose? Relationships? This is the question Dr. Robert Waldinger, a Harvard psychiatrist, has spent decades exploring as the fourth director of the…

  9. Jennifer Wallace: Why Don’t We Feel Like We Matter?

    · 1 h 08 min

    A lot of us move through our days on autopilot, heads down, just clearing the to-do list. And somewhere in there, we stop noticing the small signals that tell us we matter. We stop sending them, too. In this episode,…

  10. Atul Gawande: What Does Death Teach Us About How To Live?

    · 1 h 15 min

    Are we paying too much attention to how long we live, and too little to how well we live? For most doctors, the goal is to help patients live as long as possible. But more time and more life aren’t always the same…

  11. David French: How Can We Come Together Across Divides?

    · 1 h 14 min

    We’re living in an era where division often feels like the status quo, and it's affecting us on a personal level. A 2025 study from the American Psychological Association found 62% of adults say polarization is a…

  12. Kate Bowler: Is Joy Possible When Things Are Difficult?

    · 1 h 14 min

    What does it mean to feel joy amid moments of real difficulty and even sorrow? Not in the sense of being falsely upbeat or pretending that everything’s ok—but as a way to sit with and honor what’s going on in our…

  13. Announcing Staying Human with Dr. Vivek Murthy

    · 1:23 · Trailer

    What if, instead of looking for quick fixes or life hacks, we asked: what does it take to live a truly fulfilling life? Join Dr. Vivek Murthy, 19th and 21st U.S. Surgeon General as he explores what it means to stay…

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