Published by CBC
Trusted ER doctor Brian Goldman brings you honest and surprising stories that can change your health and your life. Expect deep conversations with patients, families and colleagues that show you what is and isn't working in Canadian healthcare. Guaranteed you’ll learn something new. Episodes drop every Friday.
Listen on Apple Podcasts27 min
How much would you pay to get your knee or hip replaced? Calgarian Linda Slater's knee pain became unbearable during her two-year wait to see an orthopedic surgeon. In this encore episode, we learn how she drained her retirement savings to pay $30,000 for a new knee at a private Toronto clinic. Dr. Rick Zarnett, an orthopedic surgeon who works out of both a private clinic and public hospital, says the system needs to improve so patients can get surgery sooner.
27 min
When Kyle Brymer went to the ER with altered speech, facial drooping, severe headaches and confusion, the doctor blamed his symptoms on his post-grad academic workload and even his partner Kirstie. In a few days, Kyle went back to the ER – and this time, the stroke was unmistakable. We’re re-airing this episode from last season, as strokes in young people are on the rise in Canada, with one in 20 affecting someone under the age of 45.
55 min
IDEAS, hosted by Nahlah Ayed is a daily podcast that explores how ideas over place and time shape our world. In the days before her medically-assisted death, journalist Elaine Dewar made it her mission to finish writing her book revealing ignored Canadian history. For more than three years, the author investigated how Canada's health care system cruelly mistreated Indigenous people — including forcing them to use segregated hospitals. Dewar's extensive research uncovers not only a shameful past. It also reveals that our collective obliviousness to it was deliberately manufactured. You can find more episodes of IDEAS wherever you get your podcasts, and here: https://link.mgln.ai/IDEASxWCBA
27 min
Dr. Tara Kiran knows primary care in Canada can be better. That's why the Toronto-based family physician and researcher went to the Netherlands, a world leader in health, to see what we can take away. What she found is a system that provides around-the-clock care and primary care teams who can see patients when they need it most. In this encore episode, Dr. Kiran and Brian chat about what the Netherlands is getting right.
26 min
When sportscaster Scott Oake isn't rinkside at NHL games, he's often hanging out at a substance use treatment centre in Winnipeg. He's there to be close to his late son. An urn with Bruce's ashes greets everyone who walks through the doors of the Bruce Oake Recovery Centre. We’re re-airing this 2025 Mindset Award-winning episode for reporting on addiction, taking you inside the centre to learn about its effective recovery approach.
26 min
Miles Randell says years of working as a Vancouver paramedic led to post-traumatic stress that left him “unemployable.” When the help he needed wasn’t there, he created TEAAM (Technical Evacuation Advanced Aero Medical), a non-profit that deploys helicopters to provide advanced life support in some of the most rugged locations in B.C.’s wilderness. But TEAAM is also a workplace where health-care workers are encouraged to care for their mental health - a story that we’re proud to re-air as the 2025 Mindset Award winner for workplace mental health reporting.
26 min
What if birth care put women and babies first? Dr. Michael Klein’s guiding question came from the Ethiopian midwives who let him “catch” his first babies during a gap year in med school. It would go on to shape his lauded career in pediatrics and family medicine—and challenge medical dogmas like routine episiotomies. His research helped show the once-common procedure often did more harm than good, helping drive a major shift in maternity care. On the occasion of his death on June 10, 2026, we're revisiting our remarkable 2018 conversation with the self-described “Dissident Doctor.”
27 min
As Toronto and Vancouver play host to the international soccer tournament, public health officials have been preparing for the influx of people and any health risks that come with it. From wastewater surveillance and food safety inspections to sexual health outreach, Dr. Michelle Murti of Toronto Public Health and Dr. Mark Lysyshyn of Vancouver Coastal Health discuss the work happening behind-the-scenes for the games.
27 min
Carol Ann McDevitt spent two years looking forward to a trip to Egypt. But an accident on a camel ride completely changed her travel plans and her understanding of travel insurance. McDevitt and other Canadians share what people should know about travel health policies before packing their bags.
26 min
Calgary nurse and primary care behavioural health provider Rachel Fynn prescribes exercise as medicine. Through Alberta's Prescription to Get Active program, she helps patients improve their physical and mental health. Once intimidated by the gym herself, Rachel is now a dedicated weightlifter, and proof of the power of movement.
27 min
AI-powered weapons detectors now scan everyone entering the Halifax Infirmary, screening out everything from box-cutters to homemade throwing stars studded with razor blades. The technology is part of a province-wide reset on hospital safety after years of escalating violence, and a knife attack that injured three healthcare workers. The message is clear: if you wouldn’t bring it to the airport, don’t bring it to the hospital. For our episode on a nurse who survived a violent attack outside a Winnipeg hospital, click here .
26 min
There's a surgery to remove the fallopian tubes as a permanent method of birth control that could also reduce a woman's risk of the most common ovarian cancer. But a group of B.C. researchers and physicians say the procedure isn't widely known across Canada. They're trying to change that.
27 min
Canadians under 50 are twice as likely as prior generations to get colorectal cancer. In this encore episode, we met up with battle rapper Bishop Brigante, whose delayed Stage 4 colorectal cancer diagnosis drove him to advocate for better access to colonoscopies — and to raise awareness that persistent symptoms deserve investigation at any age.
27 min
Three million Canadians live with a rare disease, but many still struggle to get treatment. Jeremy Harany was diagnosed as a child with hypophosphatasia, which weakens bones and can cause early tooth loss, but then spent decades without answers. A chance connection later in life led him to life-changing treatment. Now he’s pushing for faster, more consistent care for others with rare diseases.
27 min
So many Canadian small towns have lost their only doctor. But when this happened in Wembley, Alberta, two nurse practitioners stepped in thanks to new provincial legislation allowing NPs to run their own clinics and bill the province directly, as a family doctor would. Though doctors’ organizations are pushing back, patients in Wembley are thrilled with this new model of primary care.
27 min
Canadian hospitals are increasingly relying on donor dollars to make up for government funding cuts. And from Ryan Reynolds’ lol-worthy “bratty kids” campaign for SickKids to UHN’s “number-two hospital in the world” humblebrag, they’re becoming ever more creative and canny about the art of the pitch. So who better to help us survey this hospital branding landscape than legendary ad man and host of CBC’s Under the Influence, Terry O’Reilly? This episode is the second of a two-part series on hospital ads. Check out the first one in our feed .
27 min
Healthcare institutions rarely brag, but Toronto’s University Health Network is proudly advertising itself as the world’s #2 hospital and “Canada’s Hospital.” It reflects a broader push as hospitals increasingly rely on donor funding for staff, equipment, and infrastructure.
26 min
Canadians in some provinces can wait years for a new hip or knee. In Germany, it can take just weeks. Transplanted Canadian Elizabeth Sandomeer had each of her knees replaced in under three months. Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Sebastian Braun says there are many reasons why Germany can get those surgeries done faster. One of the biggest drivers is the competition between hospitals for funding, something that Braun says is lacking in Canada's health-care system.
26 min
It may seem counterintuitive, but hospital ERs can be risky for elderly patients, as the chaotic environment can quickly lead to delirium and decline. An innovative geriatric multidisciplinary ER team at St. Mary's Hospital in Montreal is getting elderly patients discharged safely and quickly, preventing harm and reducing hospital admissions.
26 min
“Pistol” Pete Pearson took ‘magic mushrooms’ illegally to ease his end-of-life distress, and is angry that Health Canada denied him access through the Special Access Program. Meanwhile, UHN psychiatrist and leading psilocybin researcher Dr. Joshua Rosenblat suggests its efficacy may stem from enhanced neuroplasticity—and it might be available by prescription sooner than later.