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The Curious Clinicians

The Curious Clinicians is a medical podcast that asks "why?". Why do diseases present in certain ways? What are the mechanisms of treatments we use? Why does the human body function as it does? Join us to explore these questions and many more.

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20 episodes
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Avg 29 min
English

Episodes 20

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Friday · 23 min
131 - A President's Polio
In this episode, Avi walks us through a medical mystery many of us may not be aware of: Did President Franklin Delano Roosevelt truly have polio, or is an alternate diagnosis more likely? Click here for show notes and click here to obtain AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ (0.5 hours), Non-Physician Attendance (0.5 hours), or ABIM MOC Part 2 (0.5 hours). Resident Giancarlo Buonomo and medical student Millennium Manna are our producers.
September 3 · 33 min
[Archive] The Smell of the Rain
In the waning days of summer, we at The Curious Clinicians were in the mood take things back to the rains of spring. This episode is a reboot from our archives of one originally posted on March 27, 2025. Hannah dove into a question inspired by nature: Why do humans have such a keen smell for petrichor, aka the scent of rain?
August 20 · 34 min
130 - The Simp with Roshan Sethi
This week, Dr. Roshan Sethi joined us for a conversation about his new book, The Simp, balancing life as a director, author, and radiation oncologist, and a bit about his upcoming work. Listen for more insights about Hollywood versus medicine and maintaining roles across many areas!
July 25 · 29 min
129 - Ironing Out More Platelets
In this episode, Tony walks us through the surprising physiology behind a phenomenon many of us see every day: Why does iron deficiency cause thrombocytosis? Click here for show notes and click here to obtain AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ (0.5 hours), Non-Physician Attendance (0.5 hours), or ABIM MOC Part 2 (0.5 hours). Resident Giancarlo Buonomo and medical student Millennium Manna are our producers.
June 26 · 33 min
128 - After Shock with Dr. Rana Awdish
In this episode, we talk curiosity, healing, and the wonders of the human body with Dr. Rana Awdish, bestselling author of In Shock: My Journey from Death to Recovery and the Redemptive Power of Hope and the new book, After Shock, out now! The book prompts doctors (and everyone else) to feel curious and open to the amazing abilities the human body has to heal. We think that if you enjoy our podcast, you'll find something meaningful to take away from the book. Thanks to Dr. Awdish for joining us! Audio for this episode was produced by Clair Morgan of Nodderly.com and Resident Giancarlo Buonomo and medical student Millennium Manna are our producers.
June 20 · 32 min
127 - ACHOO! (The Sunlit Sneeze)
In this episode, Avi achoo-ses an seasonal question: Why can sunlight exposure induce sneezing?? Click here for show notes and click here to obtain AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ (0.5 hours), Non-Physician Attendance (0.5 hours), or ABIM MOC Part 2 (0.5 hours). Resident Giancarlo Buonomo and medical student Millennium Manna are our producers.
May 29 · 22 min
126 - A Third Circulatory System
What are the Hidden Pathways in the Human Body? This week, Avi fills us in on the science behind his New York Times Magazine article (link) describing the interstitium as our third circulatory system. We cover questions that he wasn't able to get to in the article and he fills us in on the story behind this (magazine) story! Audio edited by Clair Morgan of Nodderly.com. Resident Giancarlo Buonomo and medical student Millennium Manna are our producers.
May 13 · 36 min
125 - Why Comics?
This week, we talk with Dr. Grace Farris, who is a hospitalist and the author of See One, Do One, Teach One: The Art of Becoming a Doctor: A Graphic Memoir. We explore how she got into comic-drawing, her advice for people who want to explore storytelling about medicine through comics, and some of the backstory behind the book!
April 29 · 21 min
Why Does Umami Taste So Good?
Today, we are rebooting an absolute classic from way back in our catalog - episode 9. Avi teaches us about the biology behind the taste of umami and why we might have evolved to find it so delicious. Show notes for the episode are a very long scroll down our website, or you can find them here: https://curiousclinicians.com/2020/09/16/episode-9-why-is-umami-so-delicious/ We'll be back in 2 weeks in discussion with doctor and illustrator Grace Ferris!
April 9 · 24 min
124 - One of the Fastest Reactions in the Human Body
Why don't interstitial lung disease patients typically get increased pCO₂? The answer involves one of the fastest chemical reactions in the human body. Click here for show notes and click here to obtain AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ (0.5 hours), Non-Physician Attendance (0.5 hours), or ABIM MOC Part 2 (0.5 hours). Audio edited by Clair Morgan of Nodderly.com. Resident Giancarlo Buonomo and medical student Millennium Manna are our producers.
March 20 · 28 min
123 - Why-roid
In this neck(st) episode, Avi asks an isthmus-ing question: Why does an autoimmune antibody stimulate the thyroid in Graves disease? Click here for show notes and click here to obtain AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ (0.5 hours), Non-Physician Attendance (0.5 hours), or ABIM MOC Part 2 (0.5 hours). Audio edited by Clair Morgan of Nodderly.com. Resident Giancarlo Buonomo and medical student Millennium Manna are our producers.
March 5 · 29 min
[Archive] Irregularly Irregular
We apologize for the break in our regularly scheduled programming! This is a reboot of Episode 77, originally posted in September 2023, which asked: why is hyperthyroidism associated with atrial fibrillation? We will return with an adjacent thyroid-related topic in 2 weeks! Read the show notes here. Click here to obtain AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ (0.5 hours), Non-Physician Attendance (0.5 hours), or ABIM MOC Part 2 (0.5 hours). Audio edited by Clair Morgan of Nodderly.com.
February 26 · 21 min
[Archive] More Right Than Left
This is a reboot of Episode 66, originally posted back in March 2023, where investigated why tricuspid valve endocarditis is more common in persons who inject IV drugs. Read the show notes here. Click here to obtain AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ (0.5 hours), Non-Physician Attendance (0.5 hours), or ABIM MOC Part 2 (0.5 hours). Audio edited by Clair Morgan of Nodderly.com.
February 12 · 30 min
122 - When CRP Goes Missing
This week, Tony shares a morning report physiology pearl: Why do patients with active lupus have a low CRP? Click here to obtain AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ (0.5 hours), Non-Physician Attendance (0.5 hours), or ABIM MOC Part 2 (0.5 hours). Audio edited by Clair Morgan of Nodderly.com. Resident Giancarlo Buonomo and medical student Millennium Manna are our producers.
January 23 · 23 min
Reboot! Bendopnea
Cold and flu season greetings from the Curious Clinicians! We hope you all are cold-free, but we were unfortunately under the weather this week. In honor of our "heme boards" series from Hannah's PGY-6 year, we decided to reboot this PGY-1 "intern question" that taught us all a new word. We will be back in 2 weeks with our regularly scheduled new episodes! Show notes for this episode are here!
January 8 · 39 min
121 - The Forgotten Factor
This week, Hannah shares the story of an overlooked piece of the coagulation cascade, beginning with a 1950s medical mystery: Why didn't John Hageman bleed? Click here to obtain AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ (0.5 hours), Non-Physician Attendance (0.5 hours), or ABIM MOC Part 2 (0.5 hours). Audio edited by Clair Morgan of Nodderly.com. Resident Giancarlo Buonomo and medical student Millennium Manna are our producers.
Dec 12, 2025 · 27 min
120 - No Sleep for the Weary
This week, Avi shares the pathophysiology behind an important question: Why can't people with familial fatal insomnia fall asleep? Click here to obtain AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ (0.5 hours), Non-Physician Attendance (0.5 hours), or ABIM MOC Part 2 (0.5 hours). Audio edited by Clair Morgan of Nodderly.com. Resident Giancarlo Buonomo and medical student Millennium Manna are our producers.
Nov 27, 2025 · 26 min
119 - While My Liver Gently Weeps
This week, Tony explores a fascinating, hospital rounds-ready question: Why does cirrhosis cause low SAAG ascites? You can read the show notes here! Click here to obtain AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ (0.5 hours), Non-Physician Attendance (0.5 hours), or ABIM MOC Part 2 (0.5 hours). Audio edited by Clair Morgan of Nodderly.com. Resident Giancarlo Buonomo and medical student Millennium Manna are our producers.
Nov 12, 2025 · 24 min
118 - Extremophiles
This week, Avi follows up Episodes 112 and 114 with the question: How does a bacterial species called Deinococcus radiodurans withstand extreme levels of radiation? You can read the show notes here! Click here to obtain AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ (0.5 hours), Non-Physician Attendance (0.5 hours), or ABIM MOC Part 2 (0.5 hours). Audio edited by Clair Morgan of Nodderly.com. Resident Giancarlo Buonomo and medical student Millennium Manna are our producers.
Oct 29, 2025 · 45 min
117 - The Body A-Z with Dr. Mike Todorovic
This week, Dr. Mike Todorovic returns as a special guest to tell us about his book with Dr. Matt Barton, The Body A-Z! Join us as Dr. Mike gives us a sneak preview of the interesting questions and fascinating insights within. You can order the book here, and show notes for this episode are here! Click here to obtain AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ (0.5 hours), Non-Physician Attendance (0.5 hours), or ABIM MOC Part 2 (0.5 hours). Audio edited by Clair Morgan of Nodderly.com. Resident Giancarlo Buonomo and medical student Millennium Manna are our producers.

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