Ethics Talk
High-stakes ethics decisions are common in health care. What should you do? Each month, the AMA Journal of Ethics’ podcast, Ethics Talk, features interviews with influential experts and leaders on a wide range of cultural, historical, legal, and social topics in health care ethics. We sort through interesting, important, and difficult questions, talk about how to weigh competing values, and offer strategies for navigating real world tough cases.
Ethics Talk: Are Private Equity Investments Really Different From Other Ownership Structures in Health Care?
Dr Rob Field joins Ethics Talk to discuss whether and to what extent private equity firm’s increasing presence in health care deserves our scrutiny and what policy makers, clinicians, and patients should know about responding to private equity ownership stakes in the organizations where work and where they go for health services.
Read the full May 2025 issue on private equity in health care for free at JournalOfEthics.org
Author Interview: “Ethics of Learning Surgical Autonomy in Safety-Net Hospital Systems With Patients Who Are Incarcerated”
Kala Pham joins Ethics Talk to discuss her article, coauthored with Dr Rachel Davis: “Ethics of Learning Surgical Autonomy in Safety-Net Hospital Systems With Patients Who Are Incarcerated.”
Recorded February 6, 2025.
Read the full article for free at JournalOfEthics.org
Author Interview: “How Foundations of Carceral Health Care Came From a Right to Sue”
Jorie Braunold joins Ethics Talk to discuss her article: “How Foundations of Carceral Health Care Came From a Right to Sue.”
Recorded February 6, 2025.
Read the full article for free at JournalOfEthics.org
Ethics Talk: Yes, Involuntary Sterilization Still Happens in the US
Lawyer Cynthia Chandler joins Ethics Talk to discuss the practice of sterilization in California state prisons and Dr Anthony Loria shares new research on surgical outcomes for incarcerated patients.
Chandler interview recorded December 17, 2024; Loria interview recorded December 19, 2024.
Author Interview: “What Are Organizations’ Responsibilities When Surgeons Experience Regret?”
Dr Amy E. Vertrees joins Ethics Talk to discuss her article, coauthored Dr Matthew R. Endara: “What Are Organizations’ Responsibilities When Surgeons Experience Regret?”
Recorded December 17, 2024.
Read the full article for free at JournalOfEthics.org
Editorial Fellow Interview: “Regret Is Endemic to Surgical Professional Life and Navigating It Is a Skill”
Editorial Fellow Dr Kimberly E. Kopecky joins Ethics Talk to discuss the March 2024 issue of the Journal: “Regret in the Moral Psychology of Surgical Professionalism”
Recorded December 12, 2024.
Read the full March 2025 issue, Regret in the Morla Psychology of Surgical Professionalism, for free at JournalOfEthics.org
Author Interview: “How Should Senior Surgeons Help Junior Colleagues and Trainees Experiencing Regret?”
Dr Carlie Arbaugh joins Ethics Talk to discuss her article, coauthored with Dr Kimberly Kopecky: “How Should Senior Surgeons Help Junior Colleagues and Trainees Experiencing Regret?”
Recorded December 17, 2024.
Read the full article for free at JournalOfEthics.org
Author Interview: “How Should Professional Resistance Be Integrated Into Conceptions of Professional Accountability?”
Dr Rachel Ellaway joins Ethics Talk to discuss her article, coauthored Drs Lisa Graves and Tasha R. Wyatt: “How Should Professional Resistance Be Integrated Into Conceptions of Professional Accountability?”
Recorded December 9, 2024.
Read the full article for free at JournalOfEthics.org
Author interview: “Stage, Cut, Investigate, Regret, Heal”
Maximilian Shaefer joins Ethics Talk to discuss his series of drawings: “An Empty Stage,” “One Wrong Cut,” “An Investigation,” “Regret,” and “The Healing Hand.”
Recorded July 1, 2024.
See the full series of drawings for free at JournalOfEthics.org
Author Interview: “How Should We Understand Regret as a Moral Psychological Experience That Can Influence Clinical Decision-Making?”
Sarah Spaulding joins Ethics Talk to discuss her article, coauthored Dr Katherine Fischkoff: “How Should We Understand Regret as a Moral Psychological Experience That Can Influence Clinical Decision-Making?”
Recorded January 9, 2024.
Read the article for free at JournalOfEthics.org
