Social Rounds

Hippocratic Collective
  • 5.0 (10)
  • Medicine

Two of the happiest surgeon dropouts you’ll ever meet, Tony Chin-Quee, MD and Frances Mei Hardin, MD, have traded the OR for the mic. On Social Rounds, they give their wildly unsolicited opinions on the state of medicine, the absurdities of healthcare culture, and the chaos of the world at large. From inside-baseball medical news to pop culture drama, space doctors to Taylor Swift, no topic is too sacred (or too ridiculous) to roast, dissect, and laugh about. Smart, irreverent, and occasionally unhinged, Social Rounds is what happens when surgeons leave the scalpel behind and decide to say everything out loud.

  1. 1d ago

    From Medicine to Archaeology, And the Human Bones Industry Nobody Talks About

    What does it take to walk away from a successful medical career and start over as an archaeologist? In this episode of Social Rounds, Tony Chin-Quee and Frances Mei sit down with archaeologist and former nurse practitioner Katie Chin-Quee to talk about one of the most unconventional career pivots you'll ever hear. Katie shares how years of practicing medicine led her to pursue archaeology, what it's really like studying ancient human remains, and why the transition wasn't as strange as it sounds. Then the conversation takes a surprising turn into one of archaeology's biggest ethical debates: the booming online market for human bones. Should human remains ever be bought and sold? Who owns the dead? And what responsibilities do museums, collectors, and medical institutions have to the people whose remains they're displaying? Topics include: Leaving medicine for archaeologyBurnout in healthcareBioarchaeology and paleopathologyAncient Egypt and hieroglyphicsMedical ethics vs archaeological ethicsThe controversial online human bone tradeColonialism, museums, and the ownership of human remainsWhy archaeology may have more in common with medicine than you think If you enjoy thoughtful conversations about medicine, history, ethics, and culture, subscribe for new episodes every week. Hosted by: Tony Chin-Quee: @wheyouat Frances Mei Hardin: @francesmeimd Guest: Katie Chin-Quee Connect with Katie: @indiana.joan Produced by: The Hippocratic Collective

    45 min

  2. Jun 19

    Why Every Doctor Was a Weird Kid | The Secret Powers of Being Unpopular

    Were the doctors you know always this weird? This week on Social Rounds, Tony, Frances Mei, and Ryan take a trip back to childhood and revisit the nerdy obsessions, social disasters, and formative experiences that shaped them long before medicine entered the picture. From comic book collecting in the 1990s to Pokémon encyclopedic knowledge, musical theater fandom, bug collections, dictionaries at recess, and the painful realities of being the odd kid out, the conversation explores what it means to grow up different—and why that difference can become a strength later in life. They also discuss people-pleasing, popularity, identity, internet criticism, and why some adults spend decades trying to recover from middle school while others simply learn to embrace being weird. Plus: Ryan launches a campaign to become Social Rounds' "third chair," Frances Mei reveals her lifelong Pokémon expertise, Tony defends musical theater, and Colin's mustache unexpectedly becomes a topic of public discourse. In this episode: Growing up nerdy in the 90s and 2000sComic books, Pokémon, and musical theaterChildhood loneliness and social rejectionPeople-pleasing vs. individualityWhy unpopular kids often become unconventional adultsThe psychology of fitting inInternet criticism and resilienceThe ongoing saga of Cartography GeoffColin's controversial mustache Hosted by: Tony Chin-Quee: @wheyouat Frances Mei Hardin: @francesmeimd Ryan Montoya: @ryan_montoya_art Produced by: The Hippocratic Collective

    38 min

  3. Jun 12

    From Residency Burnout to Finding Love | Doctors, Long Distance & Tony & Katie's Story

    What happens when a surgeon says yes to a random yoga retreat in Mexico and meets the person who will change his life? In this special (and surprisingly wholesome) episode of Social Rounds, Tony and Frances Mei are joined by Tony's wife, Katie Chin-Quee, a former nurse practitioner turned archaeologist, to share the story of how they met, fell in love, navigated long-distance dating, and built a life together. From chance encounters and late-night phone calls to board exams, grand gestures, and a second date in the Bahamas, this episode explores what it takes to build a lasting partnership in medicine and beyond. Along the way, the trio discusses: Dating during medical careersLong-distance relationshipsSituationships vs. commitmentFriendship boundaries and relationshipsWhy grand gestures still matterMarriage, partnership, and putting each other firstLife after medicine Whether you're a physician, healthcare professional, or simply someone who loves a good love story, this episode offers an honest look at relationships, vulnerability, and choosing each other. Social Rounds is the podcast where Frances Mei Hardin and Tony Chin-Quee give their unsolicited opinions on medicine, culture, relationships, and whatever else they happen to find interesting. Hosted by: Tony Chin-Quee: @wheyouat Frances Mei Hardin: @francesmeimd Guest: Katie Chin-Quee Connect with Katie: @indiana.joan Produced by: The Hippocratic Collective

    35 min

  4. Jun 5

    Medicine Without Merit? The DEI Debate That Exposes Medicine's Blind Spots

    A graduating medical student publishes an essay called Medicine Without Merit, arguing that DEI initiatives have undermined fairness, lowered standards, and discriminated against white men in medicine. Tony and Frances Mei dive into the article, unpacking its claims about merit, admissions, standardized testing, diversity, and representation in healthcare. Along the way, they explore why conversations about "meritocracy" in medicine are often more complicated than they first appear—and what gets missed when individual achievement is separated from larger systems and structures. They also discuss educational privilege, physician workforce diversity, patient trust, professional accountability, and the difference between experiencing discrimination and understanding it. Plus: Geoff the cartographer returns as an unexpected source of podcast drama, Instagram etiquette becomes a philosophical debate, and Frances Mei explains why unanswered comments can create alternate realities. In this episode: The "Medicine Without Merit" controversyDEI and medical school admissionsStandardized testing and educational privilegeDiversity, trust, and patient outcomesMeritocracy in medicineProfessional accountabilityGeoff's growing cult followingThe psychology of being left on read Hosted by: Tony Chin-Quee: @wheyouat Frances Mei Hardin: @francesmeimd Produced by: The Hippocratic Collective

    40 min

  5. May 29

    Was It All Bad? | Remembering the Good Parts of Medicine

    This week on Social Rounds, Tony and Frances Mei slow things down for a more reflective episode. After weeks of guests, chaos, travel, and controversy, they get back to basics — talking about Europe, ghosts in Rome, getting robbed in England, leaving the UK for Canada, and the question at the center of the episode: Was medicine really all bad? From funny patient encounters and late-night residency memories to heartbreaking moments with cancer patients and families, Tony and Frances Mei reflect on the humanity that still stayed with them long after leaving clinical medicine. This episode is about the moments that made the work meaningful — even inside a broken system. Topics include: Traveling through Rome, Paris & CopenhagenWhy Frances Mei thinks the Colosseum should be hauntedTony’s family home getting robbed in EnglandLeaving medicine without invalidating the good partsPatient relationships that still matter years laterLove, grief, family, and dignity in healthcareWhy medicine can be meaningful and unsustainable at the same time Hosted by: Tony Chin-Quee: @wheyouat Frances Mei Hardin: @francesmeimd Produced by: The Hippocratic Collective

    33 min

  6. May 22

    Doctors, Medfluencers & Career Suicide on the Internet

    A fourth-year medical student goes viral for offensive videos targeting women’s health, and the internet exploded. In this episode of Social Rounds, Tony Chin-Quee, Dr. Ryan Montoya, and Dr. Janet McMordie unpack the controversy, the rise of medfluencers, professionalism in medicine, and whether physicians should be held to a higher standard online. The trio dives into the blurred line between personal branding and professional identity, the dangers of parasocial fame, physician social media culture, and how online behavior can impact trust, hiring, and patient care. Plus: a chaotic round of “Hire or Fire?” featuring doctors posting OR content, real estate side hustles, political rallies, and more. Topics include: The medfluencer eraSocial media professionalism in medicineWomen’s health and misogyny in healthcareParasocial relationships onlinePhysician identity beyond medicineShould doctors be “cancelable”?Privacy, branding, and internet permanenceWhy some doctors leave medicine entirely Social Rounds is a podcast from the Hippocratic Collective exploring medicine, culture, internet chaos, and everything in between. Hosted by: Tony Chin-Quee: @wheyouat Ryan Montoya: @ryan_montoya_art Janet McMordie: @janetmcmordie Produced by: The Hippocratic Collective

    44 min

  7. May 15

    Big Map Conspiracies, Victorian Cholera, and Finding Work You Actually Love

    This week on Social Rounds, Tony and Frances Mei are joined by fan-favorite “Cartographer Geoff” — historian, mapmaker, professional forager, jam-maker, and accidental proof that people can actually enjoy their jobs. What starts as a conversation about whether children should follow their parents into medicine spirals into a surprisingly deep discussion about maps as instruments of power, colonialism, propaganda, redlining, Victorian cholera outbreaks, and why the Mercator projection might have subtly rewired all our brains. Geoff also explains how he turned a PhD on colonial-era beeswax extraction into a dream career making historical maps for places like the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Along the way: Why almost no physicians want their kids to become doctorsThe hidden emotional bargain of “settling” for prestigious careersThe terrifying influence of Big MapThe real story behind John Snow’s cholera mapStardew Valley as an aspirational lifestyle blueprintWhy Frances Mei is emotionally destabilized by someone genuinely liking their work Also featuring: “Frances Frizzante Mei,” anxiety hobbits, sea monster maps, and the phrase “everything in the world is about maps except maps; maps are about power.” Hosted by: Tony Chin-Quee: @wheyouat Frances Mei Hardin: @francesmeimd Guest: Cartographer Geoff Produced by: The Hippocratic Collective

    39 min

  8. May 8

    CTE, Football Culture & The Science of Farts

    What do the NFL, brain damage, and fart tracking have in common? More than you’d think. In this episode of Social Rounds, Frances Mei Hardin and Tony Chin-Quee are joined again by writer and comedian Joel Walkowski to break down two wildly different, but oddly connected, stories: the long-term consequences of head trauma in contact sports, and the surprisingly scientific world of human flatulence. From new research on chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) to the cultural machine behind football, this conversation dives into the cost of entertainment, masculinity, and systems that produce “broken bodies” for spectacle. Then, in a sharp left turn: wearable “fart sensors,” digestion data, and what it reveals about the human body—and relationships. This episode covers: New research on brain injury in football and combat sportsThe cultural and class dynamics behind the NFLWhy harmful systems persist despite known risksWhat CTE actually does to the brainThe science behind flatulence (yes, really)Relationship dynamics: how “comfortable” is too comfortable? It’s medicine, culture, and chaos—exactly as intended. Hosted by: Tony Chin-Quee: @wheyouat Frances Mei Hardin: @francesmeimd Guest: Joel Walkowski Connect with Joel: @joelwalkowski Find his book, Honolulu Blues, available for pre-order now: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Honolulu-Blues/Joel-Walkowski/9781637749043 Produced by: The Hippocratic Collective

    35 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
10 Ratings

About

Two of the happiest surgeon dropouts you’ll ever meet, Tony Chin-Quee, MD and Frances Mei Hardin, MD, have traded the OR for the mic. On Social Rounds, they give their wildly unsolicited opinions on the state of medicine, the absurdities of healthcare culture, and the chaos of the world at large. From inside-baseball medical news to pop culture drama, space doctors to Taylor Swift, no topic is too sacred (or too ridiculous) to roast, dissect, and laugh about. Smart, irreverent, and occasionally unhinged, Social Rounds is what happens when surgeons leave the scalpel behind and decide to say everything out loud.

Information

  • Creator
    Hippocratic Collective
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    44
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 Hippocratic Collective
  • Show Website
    Social Rounds

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