The Dr. Hoeflinger Podcast

Brian Hoeflinger, MD
  • 4.8 (72)
  • Medicine
  • Updated Weekly

The Dr. Hoeflinger Podcast helps you make smarter decisions in everyday life, without the jargon, fear, or hype, so you can live healthier and more intentionally. Hosted by Dr. Brian Hoeflinger, a board-certified neurosurgeon with 26+ years of experience, and his son, Kevin, the show breaks down complex topics in plain English: longevity, memory, sleep, back and neck pain, injury prevention, alcohol’s impact, exercise, and more. Kevin keeps things practical and relatable, asking the questions you’d ask at the dinner table and turning insights into simple steps you can use right away. Expect evidence-based education, powerful personal stories, and behind-the-scenes perspective from medicine, plus thoughtful conversations about resilience, meaning, and what adversity can teach us about living well, both one-on-one and with incredible guests. Dr. Hoeflinger's Free Newsletter https://pages.doctorhoeflinger.com/ Dr. Hoeflinger's Book The Night He Died: The Harsh Reality of Teenage Drinking https://doctorhoeflinger.com/products/the-night-he-died-the-harsh-reality-of-teenage-drinking Dr. Hoeflinger's links https://linktr.ee/brianhoeflinger Contact Us brian.hoeflinger1@gmail.com

  1. 5d ago

    #49: Why Cigarettes and Vaping Are So Addictive

    Try Nuropod for 5% off with a 30 day money back guarantee 👉 https://nuropod.com/hoeflinger Nicotine reaches your brain in 10 to 15 seconds, and that speed is most of the reason it's so hard to quit. Dr. Brian Hoeflinger, a board-certified neurosurgeon, and his son Kevin get into what nicotine actually does in the brain, why the body builds more receptors the more you use, and why that makes tolerance and withdrawal close to inevitable. They also talk through what's in vape aerosol beyond the flavoring, why the routine around smoking can be as hard to break as the chemical dependency, and why willpower alone has such a poor track record compared to quitting with support. Dr. Hoeflinger shares what smoking did in his own family, including the difference between his father, who never quit, and his father's brother, who did. Resources if you're trying to quit: 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669), free national quitline that routes to your state program smokefree.gov, quit plans and tools from the National Cancer Institute Text DITCHVAPE to 88709, free text support built specifically for quitting vaping lung.org/quit-smoking, American Lung Association Freedom From Smoking Check out my free newsletter ▶ https://pages.doctorhoeflinger.com/ Check out My Book: https://doctorhoeflinger.com/products/the-night-he-died-the-harsh-reality-of-teenage-drinking Check out all of my links: https://linktr.ee/doctorhoeflinger The Dr. Hoeflinger Podcast ** The information in this episode is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. All content, including text, graphics, images, and information, contained in this episode is for general information purposes only and does not replace a consultation with your own doctor/health professional. Opinions represented on this podcast are our own. **

  2. Aug 30

    #48: The 4 Stages of Sleep & What Happens in Each One

    Try Nuropod for 5% off with a 30 day money back guarantee 👉 nuropod.com/hoeflinger Most of us spend a third of our lives asleep with no idea what's actually happening. This episode walks through all four stages of sleep, what the brain is doing in each one, and why the order matters. How light hitting the back of your eye starts the whole process, why stage two works like a librarian shelving the day's memories, what gets repaired during deep sleep, and why your body paralyzes itself while you dream. Then the practical side. Why so many people wake up around 2 AM, what alcohol and late caffeine actually do to sleep quality, whether you can train yourself to need less sleep, and why being consistent beats trying to optimize everything.

  3. Aug 26

    #47: NBA Team Doctor for the Chicago Bulls | Dr. Jeremy Alland

    Dr. Jeremy Alland is the head primary care team physician for the Chicago Bulls and also works with the White Sox and Chicago Fire, but he never planned on being a doctor at all. He was doing lab research in college and assumed he'd end up in pharmaceuticals, until he realized he got his energy from people instead of petri dishes. He talks about finding non-operative sports medicine almost by accident, and the six years he spent with the G League's Windy City Bulls before getting called up to the NBA. In this episode, we discuss what caring for professional athletes actually looks like day to day, where regenerative medicine and PRP really stand right now, why strength training is the most effective thing in all of orthopedics, and what's happened to youth sports over the past twenty years. Check out Dr. Alland on social media 👉 https://www.instagram.com/jeremyallandmd

  4. Jun 21

    #46: Are Doctors Being Asked to Do More With Less? | Dr. Furhan Qureshi

    Try Nuropod for 5% off with a 30 day money back guarantee 👉 nuropod.com/hoeflinger Check out Dr. Qureshi on social media 👉 https://www.instagram.com/furhanqureshimd/ Dr. Furhan Qureshi is a board-certified internist, U.S. Air Force reservist, and one of the early pioneers of telehealth medicine. In this episode, he and Dr. Hoeflinger get into what's really pushing doctors out of medicine, how the business side of healthcare is changing what it means to be a doctor, and what it was actually like treating COVID patients on the front lines while the rest of the world stayed home.

  5. Jun 14

    #45: Engineering Student to Brain Surgeon | Dr. Jay Jagannathan

    Try Nuropod for 5% off with a 30 day money back guarantee 👉 nuropod.com/hoeflinger Check out Dr. Jagannathan on social media 👉 https://mi-neurosurgery.com Dr. Jay Jagannathan was an electrical engineering student with no doctors in his family when he decided he was going to become a neurosurgeon. Today he runs a multi-location private practice in Michigan and has built one of the larger neurosurgery presences on social media. In this episode, two neurosurgeons get candid about the path into the field, what private practice actually looks like, AI’s role in the OR, and whether surgery is a young person’s game.

  6. Apr 8

    #44: What It Really Takes to Become a Heart Surgeon | Dr. Bobby Yanagawa:

    Check out Dr. Yanagawa on social media 👉 https://linktr.ee/dryanagawa Dr. Bobby Yanagawa was rejected from medical school twice. He almost didn't take his own father to the hospital during a heart attack when he was younger. Today he's a cardiac surgeon, Division Head at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, and he thinks about his surgical failures and how he can improve every single day. In this episode, Dr. Hoeflinger and Kevin Hoeflinger talk with Dr. Bobby Yanagawa about what it really takes to become a heart surgeon: the training, the pressure, the losses, and the warning signs of heart disease most people completely ignore. Check out my free newsletter ▶ https://pages.doctorhoeflinger.com/

  7. Feb 15

    #43: A Pediatric Doctor's Rule for Medicine & Life | Dr. Paul Tran

    Check out Dr. Tran on social media 👉 @Alimentaryschool Link to our free webinar event on Navigating Difficult Conversations in Medicine: https://www.facebook.com/share/1DQmaM49f4/ Dr. Paul Tran is a pediatric gastroenterologist, father of three, and a thoughtful voice in medical education. In this conversation, Paul opens up about a defining moment during his first year of fellowship that changed how he views medical training, mentorship, and what it really means to treat someone as a colleague. We talk about how he explains scary procedures to kids, why medical training can be dehumanizing in a field built on human health, his decision to go part-time clinical to tour medical schools across the country with his family, and the mindset shift he thinks can make a major difference for anyone. Subscribe to my free newsletter for practical insights on health, medicine, and living well ▶ https://pages.doctorhoeflinger.com/

  8. Jan 25

    #42: What Should You Do If You Have Back Pain? Neurosurgeon Explains

    Subscribe to my free newsletter for practical insights on health, medicine, and living well ▶ https://pages.doctorhoeflinger.com/ Back pain is incredibly common, and it can be scary when you don’t know what’s causing it or what to do next. If you’re dealing with back pain right now, you may be wondering what it means, what you should do first, and whether you need imaging, treatment, or surgery. In this episode, Dr. Brian Hoeflinger, a board-certified neurosurgeon, and his son Kevin break down back pain in clear, plain language. They discuss the most common causes of back pain, how to tell when symptoms are more serious, what actually helps early on, and when it’s time to seek medical care, all with the goal of reducing fear and helping you make informed decisions.

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4.8
out of 5
72 Ratings

About

The Dr. Hoeflinger Podcast helps you make smarter decisions in everyday life, without the jargon, fear, or hype, so you can live healthier and more intentionally. Hosted by Dr. Brian Hoeflinger, a board-certified neurosurgeon with 26+ years of experience, and his son, Kevin, the show breaks down complex topics in plain English: longevity, memory, sleep, back and neck pain, injury prevention, alcohol’s impact, exercise, and more. Kevin keeps things practical and relatable, asking the questions you’d ask at the dinner table and turning insights into simple steps you can use right away. Expect evidence-based education, powerful personal stories, and behind-the-scenes perspective from medicine, plus thoughtful conversations about resilience, meaning, and what adversity can teach us about living well, both one-on-one and with incredible guests. Dr. Hoeflinger's Free Newsletter https://pages.doctorhoeflinger.com/ Dr. Hoeflinger's Book The Night He Died: The Harsh Reality of Teenage Drinking https://doctorhoeflinger.com/products/the-night-he-died-the-harsh-reality-of-teenage-drinking Dr. Hoeflinger's links https://linktr.ee/brianhoeflinger Contact Us brian.hoeflinger1@gmail.com

Information

  • Creator
    Brian Hoeflinger, MD
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    49
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Brian Hoeflinger, MD
  • Show Website
    The Dr. Hoeflinger Podcast

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