NBM Talks: Podcast from the Narrative-Based Medicine Lab

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NBM Talks is a podcast from the Narrative-Based Medicine Lab at Continuing Professional Development, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto. Listen to engaging conversations with writers, clinicians, scholars, and artists working at the intersection of literature, medicine, and health. Discover the rewarding possibilities that exist when we engage with narrative-based principles and practices in healthcare. Visit our website to learn more about our work and offerings: narrativebasedmedicine.ca

  1. AUG 20

    "Teachings" by Rory O'Sullivan

    Rory O'Sullivan reads from an original short narrative, "Teachings," which first appeared in Pulse in 2024. Rory is leading an upcoming workshop at the NBM Lab! From Page to Publication starts online January 21, 2026. This workshop is your launchpad for developing your writing style and voice, and sharing your work with the world. Learn how to move from raw draft to a polished piece with practical steps and guidance. *** Follow "NBM Talks" for future episodes, where we explore the transformative impact and reach of narrative-based medicine with talented guests. Visit the ⁠Narrative-Based Medicine Lab⁠ to learn about our work and offerings.

    5 min

  2. AUG 20

    A Conversation with Rory O'Sullivan

    In this episode, Rory O'Sullivan chats with us about his work as a writer and family physician. He shares the place that writing holds in his life and how it interacts with his clinical work, as well as offering advice on balancing careers and thoughts on publication strategies for those starting out. Rory also shares the latest on his pseudonymous psychological thriller: Waking on the Ground. About Our Guest: Rory O'Sullivan is a family doctor who practices comprehensive family medicine at the Garrison Creek Clinic in Toronto. In his 12 years in practice, Rory has worked in emergency rooms and hospitals across several provinces and served for nearly 3 years as the community physician for the Poplar Hill First Nation in Northwestern Ontario. He is an Assistant Professor of Family Medicine at the University of Toronto, where he teaches reflective practice as part of the portfolio course for undergraduate medical students, and is currently enrolled in the NBM Lab’s Advanced Certificate. His written work has been published in medical journals and magazines including The Intima, Pulse, and Canadian Family Physician. He is a past recipient of the CFPC Mimi Divinsky Award for history and narrative in family medicine, and a long-listed finalist for the International Amy MacRae Award for memoir. His latest publication Waking on the Ground is a novella written under the pen name "Eamon Rourke," available on Kobo and Kindle platforms. Rory is leading an upcoming workshop at the NBM Lab! From Page to Publication starts online January 21, 2026. This workshop is your launchpad for developing your writing style and voice, and sharing your work with the world. Learn how to move from raw draft to a polished piece with practical steps and guidance. *** Follow "NBM Talks" for future episodes, where we explore the transformative impact and reach of narrative-based medicine with talented guests. Visit the ⁠Narrative-Based Medicine Lab⁠⁠ to learn about our work and offerings.

    27 min

  3. AUG 6

    Darian Goldin Stahl reads from “Embodied Books”

    Darian Goldin Stahl invites us to expand our perspective on what a book is, and what the act of reading a book entails, as she shares an excerpt from the introduction of Embodied Books: Experiencing the Health Humanities through Artists’ Books (Peter Lang International Academic Publishers, 2024). *** Follow "NBM Talks" for future episodes, where we explore the transformative impact and reach of narrative-based medicine with talented guests. Visit the ⁠Narrative-Based Medicine Lab⁠⁠ to learn about our work and offerings.

    2 min

  4. AUG 6

    A Conversation with Darian Goldin Stahl

    Artist and scholar Darian Goldin Stahl joins us for a conversation about her work making (and teaching others to make) embodied books: beautiful, physical manifestations of health stories. Darian shares how her work in this field has origins in her family history and a family collaboration, which has become a profoundly original and generative approach to health humanities over time. About Our Guest: Darian Goldin Stahl is an interdisciplinary printmaker whose work explores themes of healthcare, disability, and well-being. After earning an MFA in Printmaking from the University of Alberta, she completed a research-creation PhD in Humanities at Concordia. Her dissertation, Embodied Books: Experiencing the Health Humanities through Artists’ Books, was published by Peter Lang International Academic Publishers in 2024. She was awarded a SSHRC Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship at the UNBC Northern Medical Program, which she used to launch the Embodied Books Project. This initiative empowers intrepid bookmakers to create new artists’ books on personal medical experiences. Her own artist’s books are included in many prominent permanent collections around the world, such as the Wellcome Collection in London, the Moody Library at Baylor University in Texas, the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library at the University of Toronto, and the Herron Library at Indiana University. *** Follow "NBM Talks" for future episodes, where we explore the transformative impact and reach of narrative-based medicine with talented guests. Visit the Narrative-Based Medicine Lab⁠ to learn about our work and offerings.

    32 min

  5. JUL 16

    Monica Kidd reads from "The Crane"

    Monica Kidd reads an excerpt from her new novel The Crane (Breakwater, 2025). *** Follow "NBM Talks" for future episodes, where we explore the transformative impact and reach of narrative-based medicine with talented guests. Visit the Narrative-Based Medicine Lab to learn about our work and offerings.

    2 min

  6. JUL 16

    A Conversation with Monica Kidd

    In this wide-ranging conversation — author, physician, journalist, editor, mother, and Antarctic expedition guide (and much else) — Monica Kidd discusses the origins of her new novel The Crane. She also shares her creative advice for doctor-writers (“notice everything, dismiss nothing”), and tells us what she’s keeping an eye out for in her role as editor of the CMAJ Encounters column. About Our Guest: Monica Kidd is an award-winning multidisciplinary writer, journalist, and physician. She has published eight books of fiction poetry and non-fiction, including her new novel The Crane (Breakwater, 2025), and her creative work has appeared in many literary magazines, winning the Edna Staebler Award for Personal Essay and National Magazine Awards.    Previously a reporter with CBC, her freelance writing has been featured in The Walrus, Canadian Geographic, Alberta Views, and other outlets. Monica studied ecology and evolutionary biology, then attended medical school at Memorial University. She now works as a family doctor specializing in child and maternal health, medical humanities, and equity. She has teaching roles at the University of Calgary and Memorial University and serves as Associate Editor of Humanities at the Canadian Medical Association Journal. She divides her time between Calgary and St. John’s. *** Follow "NBM Talks" for future episodes, where we explore the transformative impact and reach of narrative-based medicine with talented guests. Visit the Narrative-Based Medicine Lab to learn about our work and offerings.

    30 min

  7. JUL 2

    On Awe: Jeff Thompson offers a creative definition

    Jeff Thompson shares one of his collaborators' definitions of “awe,” which prompts us to consider how we can experience moments of wonder, amazement, and grandeur (or awe) amidst our daily routines. *** Follow "NBM Talks" for future episodes, where we explore the transformative impact and reach of narrative-based medicine with talented guests. Visit the ⁠Narrative-Based Medicine Lab⁠ to learn about our work and offerings.

    2 min

  8. JUL 2

    A Conversation with Jeff Thompson

    Jeff Thompson is a research psychologist and scientist, and retired NYPD police detective and hostage negotiator with more than 20 years of experience. Joining us from New York City, Jeff shares his journey into narrative-based medicine, and the ways in which narrative tools can help us remain calm in high pressure situations and moments of crisis. Jeff also shares his approach to “stories as science” as well as other aspects of his work such as The Awe Project, his book warr;or21, and his current work with NASA. Referenced in this episode: Psychology Today Beyond Words Blog About Our Guest: Jeff Thompson engages in work and research to better humankind here on Earth and beyond. He recently completed his second doctorate at Edinburgh Napier University in Narrative Psychology where his research supported hostage negotiators, NASA healthcare professionals, and others. Jeff is also a researcher at the New York State Psychiatric Institute at Columbia University Medical Center and the College of Leadership and Public Service at Lipscomb University. He retired from the New York City Police Department (NYPD) in 2022 after serving more than 20 years in the rank of detective having served in roles as a hostage negotiator and their first-ever mental health and wellness coordinator helping to oversee the well-being of 50,000 people, both uniformed and civilian. *** Follow "NBM Talks" for future episodes, where we explore the transformative impact and reach of narrative-based medicine with talented guests. Visit the ⁠Narrative-Based Medicine Lab⁠ to learn about our work and offerings.

    28 min
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About

NBM Talks is a podcast from the Narrative-Based Medicine Lab at Continuing Professional Development, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto. Listen to engaging conversations with writers, clinicians, scholars, and artists working at the intersection of literature, medicine, and health. Discover the rewarding possibilities that exist when we engage with narrative-based principles and practices in healthcare. Visit our website to learn more about our work and offerings: narrativebasedmedicine.ca

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