Random Acts of Medicine
The Hidden Forces That Sway Doctors, Impact Patients, and Shape Our Health
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Narrated by:
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Anupam B. Jena
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Christopher Worsham
About this listen
Does timing, circumstance, or luck impact your health care? This groundbreaking book reveals the hidden side of medicine and how unexpected—but predictable—events can profoundly affect our health. • Is there ever a good time to have a heart attack? Why do kids born in the summer get diagnosed more often with A.D.H.D.? How are marathons harmful for your health, even when you're not running?
"Fantastically entertaining and deeply thought-provoking." —Emily Oster, New York Times bestselling author of The Family Firm, Cribsheet, and Expecting Better
"Random Acts of Medicine shows that the ingenious use of natural experiments can improve medicine and save lives." —Wall Street Journal
As a University of Chicago–trained economist and Harvard medical school professor and doctor, Anupam Jena is uniquely equipped to answer these questions. And as a critical care doctor at Massachusetts General who researches health care policy, Christopher Worsham confronts their impact on the hospital’s sickest patients. In this singular work of science and medicine, Jena and Worsham show us how medicine really works, and its effect on all of us.
Relying on ingeniously devised natural experiments—random events that unknowingly turn us into experimental subjects—Jena and Worsham do more than offer readers colorful stories. They help us see the way our health is shaped by forces invisible to the untrained eye. Is there ever a good time to have a heart attack? Do you choose the veteran doctor or the rookie? Do you really need the surgery your doctor recommends? These questions are rife with significance; their impact can be life changing. Addressing them in a style that’s both animated and enlightening, Random Acts of Medicine empowers you to see past the white coat and find out what really makes medicine work—and how it could work better.
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Critic reviews
"Random Acts of Medicine is my favorite kind of book: smart, entertaining, and full of surprises. The field of medicine has been slow to appreciate the immense power of natural experiments. Jena and Worsham are on a crusade to change that. Read this book, and you’ll be a believer." —Steven D. Levitt, #1 New York Times bestselling co-author of Freakonomics
"What a brilliant book! Random Acts of Medicine is science, but it is much more than that. It offers a set of profound lessons about learning, life, and health." —Cass R. Sunstein, New York Times bestselling co-author of Nudge and Noise
"Jena and Worsham are the Freakonomicists of the medical realm... [They] are serious researchers who skillfully navigate the world of medicine and natural experiments. Random Acts of Medicine follows the successful formula of popular-science authors like Malcolm Gladwell, Stephen Dubner and Steven Levitt, and Emily Oster, combining relatable human stories, statistical exploration and scientific explanations. But don’t be fooled by the fun read; Random Acts of Medicine shows that the ingenious use of natural experiments can improve medicine and save lives." —Wall Street Journal
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Dr. Marty Makary is co-developer of the life-saving checklist outlined in Atul Gawande's best-selling The Checklist Manifesto. As a busy surgeon who has worked in many of the best hospitals in the nation, he can testify to the amazing power of modern medicine to cure. But he's also been a witness to a medical culture that routinely leaves surgical sponges inside patients, amputates the wrong limbs, and overdoses children because of sloppy handwriting. Over the last 10 years, neither error rates nor costs have come down, despite scientific progress.
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Everyone should read this book.
- By Julie on 06-11-16
By: Marty Makary
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State of the Heart
- Exploring the History, Science, and Future of Cardiac Disease
- By: Haider Warraich
- Narrated by: Neil Shah
- Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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In State of the Heart, the journey to rid the world of heart disease is shown to be reflective of the journey of medical science at large. We are learning not only that women have as much heart disease as men, but that the type of heart disease women experience is diametrically different from that in men. We are learning that heart disease and cancer may have more in common than we could have imagined. And we are learning how human evolution itself may have led to the epidemic of heart disease
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Good information, bad organization
- By Conor Cox on 09-03-19
By: Haider Warraich
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Panic Attack
- Playing Politics with Science in the Fight Against COVID-19
- By: Nicole Saphier
- Narrated by: Nicole Saphier
- Length: 10 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Medical doctor and national bestselling author of Make America Healthy Again Nicole Saphier reveals how politicization of the COVID-19 pandemic has baffled the public by creating distrust, fueling conspiracy theories, and making it harder for Americans to understand the necessary path forward. The pandemic has resulted in a failure of government, much of which is unavoidable in a unique disaster scenario. However, the rampant politicization of science has hopelessly muddied the water and knee-jerk anti-Trumpism made it all worse.
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Very disappointed
- By K. Green on 07-29-21
By: Nicole Saphier
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COVID: The Politics of Fear and the Power of Science
- By: Marc Siegel MD
- Narrated by: Peter Van Norden
- Length: 9 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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COVID-19 has stolen our security and our nation's peace of mind. There is a pandemic virus as well as a crippling epidemic of fear sweeping America. Why? The answer, according to nationally renowned health commentator Dr. Marc Siegel, is that we already lived in an artificially created culture of fear that was just waiting to be unleashed. In COVID: The Politics of Fear and the Power of Science, Siegel identifies three major catalysts of the culture of fear - government, the media, and our own psyche.
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Informative and well sourced
- By A. Powers on 10-12-21
By: Marc Siegel MD
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Epic Measures
- One Doctor. Seven Billion Patients.
- By: Jeremy N. Smith
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Moneyball meets medicine in this remarkable chronicle of one of the greatest scientific quests of our time - the groundbreaking program to answer the most essential question for humanity: How do we live and die? - and the visionary mastermind behind it.
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Fabulously insightful read!
- By Dr. Jack E. Fincham on 10-08-15
By: Jeremy N. Smith
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A Nation in Pain
- Healing Our Biggest Health Problem
- By: Judy Foreman
- Narrated by: Karen White
- Length: 14 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Published in partnership with the International Association for the Study of Pain, A Nation in Pain offers a sweeping, deeply researched account of the chronic pain crisis, from neurobiology to public policy, and presents practical solutions that are within our grasp today. Drawing on both her personal experience with chronic pain and her background as an award-winning health journalist, she guides us through recent scientific discoveries, including genetic susceptibility to pain.
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Broad but superficial.
- By J. P. Murphy on 07-03-15
By: Judy Foreman
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Trick or Treatment
- The Undeniable Facts about Alternative Medicine
- By: Edzard Ernst, Simon Singh
- Narrated by: Dennis Kleinman
- Length: 12 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Whether you are an ardent believer in alternative medicine, a skeptic, or are simply baffled by the range of services and opinions, this guide lays to rest doubts and contradictions with authority, integrity, and clarity. In this groundbreaking analysis, over 30 of the most popular treatments - acupuncture, homeopathy, aromatherapy, reflexology, chiropractic, and herbal medicines - are examined for their benefits and potential dangers. Questions answered include: What works and what doesn't? What are the secrets, and what are the lies?
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Well researched
- By Erik J. Rasmussen on 09-09-20
By: Edzard Ernst, and others
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Counterclockwise
- Mindful Health and the Power of Possibility
- By: Ellen J. Langer
- Narrated by: Sandra Burr
- Length: 7 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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If we could turn back the clock psychologically, could we also turn it back physically? For more than 30 years, award-winning social psychologist Ellen Langer has studied this provocative question, and now has a conclusive answer: opening our minds to what's possible, instead of clinging to accepted notions about what's not, can lead to better health at any age.
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Surprisingly disappointing
- By Stephen on 06-23-09
By: Ellen J. Langer
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Influenza
- The Hundred-Year Hunt to Cure the 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic
- By: Dr. Jeremy Brown
- Narrated by: Holter Graham
- Length: 6 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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On the 100th anniversary of the devastating pandemic of 1918, Jeremy Brown, a veteran ER doctor, explores the troubling, terrifying, and complex history of the flu virus, from the origins of the Great Flu that killed millions, to vexing questions such as: are we prepared for the next epidemic, should you get a flu shot, and how close are we to finding a cure?
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Important read
- By Kathryn C. on 12-21-18
By: Dr. Jeremy Brown
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Chronic
- The Hidden Cause of the Autoimmune Pandemic and How to Get Healthy Again
- By: Steven Phillips MD, Dana Parish, Kristin Loberg
- Narrated by: Teri Schnaubelt, Thomas Allen
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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In this timely book, Steven Phillips, MD, and his former patient, Sony singer-songwriter Dana Parish, reveal striking evidence that a broad range of common infections, from COVID-19 to Lyme and many others, cause a variety of autoimmune, psychiatric, and chronic conditions. Chronic explores the science behind what makes them difficult to diagnose and treat, debunks widely held beliefs by doctors and patients alike, and provides solutions that empower sufferers to reclaim their lives.
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A must read book
- By Amazon Customer on 03-01-21
By: Steven Phillips MD, and others
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The Language of Life
- DNA and the Revolution in Personalized Medicine
- By: Francis S. Collins
- Narrated by: Greg Itzin
- Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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A scientific and medical revolution has crept up on us, based on study after study, from hundreds of laboratories around the world. It is no longer just a theoretical shift: every one of us will be touched by it, and many of us already have been. The meaning of disease, our understanding of the human body, and crucial decisions about what we all need to know and what choices we make about our health are at stake. Welcome to the new world of personalized medicine.
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The future of medicine
- By Ronald E on 04-12-10
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Early
- An Intimate History of Premature Birth and What It Teaches Us About Being Human
- By: Sarah DiGregorio
- Narrated by: Ann Marie Gideon
- Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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The heart of many hospitals is the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). It is a place where humanity, ethics, and science collide in dramatic and deeply personal ways as parents, doctors, and nurses grapple with sometimes unanswerable questions: When does life begin? When and how should life end? And what does it mean to be human? Nearly 20 years ago, Dr. John D. Lantos wrote The Lazarus Case, a seminal work on ethical dilemmas in neonatology. He described the NICU as “a strong, strange, powerful place”. The
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Gripping read for this late preterm infant mom
- By R. Ash on 08-08-21
By: Sarah DiGregorio
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The Price We Pay
- What Broke American Health Care - and How to Fix It
- By: Marty Makary MD
- Narrated by: Marty Makary MD
- Length: 9 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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One in five Americans now has medical debt in collections and rising health care costs today threaten every small business in America. Dr Makary, one of the nation's leading health care experts, travels across America and details why health care has become a bubble. Drawing from on-the-ground stories, his research and his own experience, The Price We Pay paints a vivid picture of price-gouging, middlemen and a series of elusive money games in need of a serious shake-up.
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Very important book!
- By Wayne on 05-17-21
By: Marty Makary MD
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Very important book!
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What listeners say about Random Acts of Medicine
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- FRANCIS M.
- 11-25-23
Robust evidence but skewed to Ivy League researchers
The book is well written and gathered large evidence that used RCT, the gold standard. It showcases how economics works with health to improve lives. But the authors largely present evidence from researchers from ivy league universities leaving the readers believing that only ivy leagues researchers conduct health economics studies.
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- R. Weilacher
- 08-22-23
Podcast is much better
Content is mostly same as the Freakonomics MD podcast, which is great, but the narration and pacing here are just too slow and flat
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1 person found this helpful
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- Nick H
- 07-20-23
Data nerd nirvana
If you love learning about heuristics and statistics in a field directly relatable to at least one sphere of everyone’s life, this is the book for you.
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- I.love.history
- 08-11-23
Outliers meets Why do Men Have Nipples
Not nearly as interesting as Outliers. Not nearly as inane as Why Do Men Have Nipples
Multiple narrators was distracting. One of the narrators was particularly cloying in their style. Both did way too much virtue signaling. Most of us do not have the high and mighty opinion of doctors that the authors do.
I only read this because Pater Attia referenced these guys in Outlive. Do yourself a favor and skip this one for Outlive.
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1 person found this helpful
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- John Sobonya (Author)
- 06-19-24
Engaging, but Repetitive
"Random Acts of Medicine" by Anupam Jena and Christopher Worsham offers intriguing insights into the world of medicine through the lens of "natural experiments." However, the presentation, while aiming for accessibility, can feel overly simplified and repetitive at times.
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- Amazon Customer
- 07-29-23
Loved the book, enjoy the show
Have read a lot of both medicine and statistics/data science books. This one stands out for the ingenuity of the underlying research. Also well told. Production value was great. Enjoyed it and enjoy the show.
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- Brooke S
- 09-18-23
Great book
Freakonomics but for medicine. I loved the focus on natural experiments and clever methods. Highly recommend.
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- Kristen Carrier
- 07-11-23
Thought provoking, clever, and ingenious!
Will open your eyes to how the world around you connects to our health and well being. Researchers and healthcare professionals can learn a new way of asking and answering questions, and the general public will be flat out entertained. Can’t put this book down!
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- keS
- 11-11-23
Wonderful but frightening insights into the US health care system
Why can’t we have better health care? Because no one does the analysis like this.
I don’t want to say we need more MD/Econ PhDs but we need someone to do the health care analysis, not just the bean-counting analysis.
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- Marko
- 10-30-24
Too political
Too political. Started out very good but went downhill into politics. Could be better overall
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