Cal takes a moment to honor those impacted by the attack on the World Trade Center that killed more than 3,000 people in 2001. He replays his conversation with Michael Wright, who was working on the 81st floor on the morning the planes struck. When Michael made it down to the street, one of the twin towers collapsed on his head. Cal replays Michael’s vivid description in this episode for two reasons. So that we’ll never forget the day, as well as to alert us to the terrorist threat of this era: ...
Sep 06, 2022•1 hr 13 min•Season 3Ep. 12
Many people have avoided going to the doctor during the time of Covid . . . unless they had Covid. This may have resulted in missing an early detection of cancer. So this podcast is a reminder to all those who’ve delayed checkups to make an appointment. Cal gets an exam, and now has peace of mind. He also puts the podcast to a checkup. Marketing guru Jason Harris, the CEO of the creative agency Mekanism, enters the conversation to show Cal that it’s time for Big Questions to grow to wear many ha...
Aug 30, 2022•16 min•Season 3Ep. 11
Cal has spent his life writing stories and telling them on stage. Big Questions started after he told stories for three straight hours on Tim Ferriss’s podcast. But Cal finds a new power in storytelling through Harvard’s Annie Brewster, a physician who used her own story to help heal herself after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis roughly twenty years ago. Annie went on to start a non-profit to help others understand their health problems through storytelling, and this conversation gives C...
Aug 23, 2022•46 min•Season 3Ep. 10
Until this week, Cal never knew that more than ten percent of the people who signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776 were physicians. Doctors are now found in tech roles that can bring exponential improvements to the masses. Amazon’s Adam Glasofer is a great example.
Aug 16, 2022•42 min•Season 3Ep. 9
Johnny Crowder is motivation to all when it comes to changing the way you think about your health. He’s actually rewired his brain to get the best possible behavior from himself. His life is an extreme example of overcoming mental health problems. But the work he’s put in to understand the human brain can be used by anybody who needs to overcome ANY problem.
Aug 09, 2022•57 min•Season 3Ep. 8
For a couple of years now, Cal has been asking questions to get to the root of why we’re all so disappointed with aspects of healthcare. This week, he speaks with a man whose created a game-changing solution which puts people back in control of their care with high-quality experiences at lower prices. It’s called Transcarent. Listen up . . .
Aug 02, 2022•56 min•Season 3Ep. 7
Matt Hollingsworth, the CEO of Carta Healthcare, has had a sense of the way healthcare can Impact a family’s financial health since . . . well, perhaps since he was in the womb and his mother was diagnosed with cancer. She refused chemotherapy to protect him. Matt’s life has been deeply influenced by his family’s battles with cancer. It’s common knowledge that one of every two Americans has medical debt and that medical debt is the leading cause of bankruptcy. But beyond that, Matt explains to C...
Jul 26, 2022•53 min•Season 3Ep. 6
Cal is introduced to a man who’s orchestrated 4,000 college scholarships to students from low-income areas and who plans to extend 30,000 scholarships through an organization called Hope Chicago. This gets Cal to thinking about helping one child to become a doctor at a time when one in five healthcare workers has left the field during Covid. Pete makes that scholarship happen for Cal and Big Questions, and leaves Cal wondering how to generate 49 more!
Jul 19, 2022•42 min•Season 3Ep. 5
Cal finds himself looking down different highways and byways in the wide arc of healthcare and begins to wonder about the ways to make the biggest impact. Then he awakens one night at 3 a.m. with an urge to relisten to the first podcast he did on the subject. It was with Navy surgeon and dermatologist Reagan Anderson before COVID. It resonates now more than ever.
Jul 12, 2022•1 hr 12 min•Season 3Ep. 4
Cal looks for a way to bring people together during the acrimony following the Supreme Court decision reversing Roe vs. Wade and setting the stage for the prohibition of abortion in certain states. So he made an unusual decision to publish an episode that he was planning for September – during Prostate Cancer Awareness month. The idea behind it is for people of different sexes and opinions to share knowledge in a kind way – in this case about an often-misunderstood male organ. Dr. Neil Baum, a u...
Jul 05, 2022•53 min•Season 3Ep. 3
On average, every American eats 100 bowls of cereal a year. Most are filled with highly-sugared, highly-processed carbohydrates fronted by wonderful animations of characters that lure kids in to thinking they're breakfast pals. Cal used to be one of those kids, and he loved those sweet, crunchy cereals. Now, Cal wonders how much healthier America would be if it were eating cereals that taste great but contain virtually no sugar made by Magic Spoon. His conversation with company founder Gabi Lewi...
Jun 28, 2022•53 min•Season 3Ep. 2
Cal meets two guys who’ve created an App that does not let you forget anything -- and creates a memory archive. That made Cal feel sharper and healthier in an instant. Not only is the Twos App free. But the founders gave Cal a two-dollar bill as a promotional gesture just to try it out. Cal did, and has been using the Twos App ever since. Founders Parker Klein and Joe Steilberg got so excited to come on Big Questions, they offered to Venmo $2 to anybody who tries the Twos App. Cal’s sure this wi...
Jun 21, 2022•49 min•Season 3Ep. 1
Cal has become fascinated with how people are reinventing soda and breakfast cereal to make them healthier. When he hears how Neuro mints bring calm and clarity and Neuro chewing gum brings focus and energy, he reaches out for a taste and finds a story that you’re going to want to pass on to anyone you know having a difficult time. Just listen to how Neuro co-founder Ryan Chen came through a 35-foot fall that smashed his spine during a snowboarding accident, lost all movement beneath his hips, t...
Jun 14, 2022•47 min•Season 2Ep. 216
Cal catches up with a friend he met while speaking at an event at Kaiser Permanente just before COVID. Eddie Garcia had had a heart attack. His heart was in trouble, and Eddie was waiting for a transplant. Eddie did receive a new heart and a second chance at life during COVID. What Cal didn’t know was that Eddie had been wanting to write a letter of thanks to the family of the donor – but was gripped by writer’s block. It was understandable, because such a letter can bring pain to the family of ...
Jun 07, 2022•1 hr 4 min•Season 2Ep. 215
Cal reached out to the Chief Medical Officer to the President to find out what Dr. Anthony Fauci learned since the start of the COVID pandemic. Cal’s surprised by Dr. Fauci’s answer, though maybe he shouldn’t have been.
May 31, 2022•27 min•Season 2Ep. 214
Cal had no idea that as we age there is a risk that receiving CPR could give you brain damage. Knowing that, would you want to be resuscitated? There are many medical situations that can leave you unable to communicate. Have you left behind decisions on how you’d like to be treated? Or who you’d like to be making decisions on your behalf? Dr. Tatiana Fofanova of Koda Health takes Cal through the interview process that allows us to make legally-binding decisions in an emergency should we be unabl...
May 24, 2022•52 min•Season 2Ep. 214
Millions of people are impacted by IBS. But few talk about their troubles on the toilet – whether they be about constipation, diarrhea, bloating or excess gas. Most suffer in silence. The conversation you’re about to hear is a game changer. Because IBS picked on the wrong guy when it came after a data scientist at Uber – Asaf Kraus. Asaf used artificial intelligence and photos to track down the foods and habits that were causing his problems and created a company called Dieta Health that can pot...
May 17, 2022•49 min•Season 2Ep. 213
Cal comes across an interesting situation when an 18-year-old college freshman develops back pain after donating blood. A campus doctor fears it could be a deadly pulmonary embolism and directs Ashton Marshall to the local Emergency Room. This could lead to many tests and high bills. Ashton’s father, the author of Never Pay The First Bill, offers his son a strategy to keep the charges reasonable. Listen to Marshall Allen, and you’ll have that same strategy.
May 10, 2022•51 min•Season 2Ep. 212
Cal reads a story on ESPN.com that makes him cackle, and he reaches out to the writer to thank him for bringing laughter into his day. The conversation that ensues brings forth an amazing story about the loss of Ryan’s toes and the surreal journey it takes him on. Pass this podcast on to anyone feeling down or miserable. They’ll likely have a very different mindset after they’re done: Gratitude.
May 03, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Season 2Ep. 211
Cal sees a newsmagazine with a headline that reads: THE BAD GUYS, ON YOUR PHONE, IN YOUR COMPUTER, FILLING YOUR EMAIL, MINING YOUR INFO, TRICKING YOUR LOVED ONES, IMPERSONATING YOU AND PLOTTING THEIR NEXT STEAL. He notices that The Tindler Swinder is one of Netflix’s top-rated documentaries. And he observes how getting scammed affects the daily life and mental health of a friend. He gets an inside look from the victim of a massive scam and identify theft – the former wife of NBA all-star Jason K...
Apr 26, 2022•43 min•Season 2Ep. 210
Cal talks with the best-selling author and one of America’s most sought after keynote speakers about the first steps that can send you on your way. Josh has founded, built and sold five companies for a combined exit value of more than $200 million. He knows of what he speaks. The innovation exercise he plays out with Cal on reshaping healthcare in this episode can be tailored to anybody’s needs. Josh’s mantra is: Think of how powerful your company can be if everyone innovates, every day. You’ll ...
Apr 19, 2022•52 min•Season 2Ep. 209
Simply listening to the story of how Elliott and three buddies who were just out of college andfeeling lost during The Great Recession went on to create a company called Summit that connected thousands of innovators in the Tech space at conferences that filled hotels and cruises and led to their purchase of a majestic mountain in Utah, and along the way curated the wisdom of Jeff Bezos, Ted Turner, President Bill Clinton, the actress and founder of the billion dollar Honest company, Jessica Alba...
Apr 11, 2022•1 hr 7 min•Season 2Ep. 209
Cal gets furious when he reads about predatory medical billing in The Price We Pay, What Broke American Health Care and How To Fix It. So he reaches out to the author – a surgeon at the Johns Hopkins hospital and television commentator -- for tips on how a patient should respond when she or he is the victim of outlandish charges. A conversation for everyone who needs healthcare – which means everybody.
Apr 05, 2022•1 hr•Season 2Ep. 208
What if you didn’t have to drive around packed parking lots looking for a space at hospitals because you were dropped off by a vehicle dispatched by Uber Health? And what if the cost of that trip was seamlessly woven into your insurance plan or through your healthcare provider? Well, your car may be waiting. Uber Health’s Caitlin Donovan has a Big Answer for Big Questions.
Mar 29, 2022•44 min•Season 2Ep. 207
One day Joe’s 14-year-old son Andrew was winning a state soccer tournament. Couple of days later, doctors told Joe that his son had cancer and less than a day to live. That’s the beginning of an amazing story. The story of the B+ Foundation – the largest provider of financial assistance to families of kids with cancer in the United States. If you’d like to be uplifted in these unsettling times, listen to the conversation between Joe and Cal.
Mar 22, 2022•35 min•Season 2Ep. 206
After a dizzying few weeks of watching images of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of the Ukraine and pondering the possibilities of a nuclear war, Cal senses it’s time to step back and get perspective. He reaches out to Juliet Funt, author of the book A Minute To Think , for advice on getting the most out of himself during this crazy time. “Funt’s wisdom around making space is priceless,” says marketing guru Seth Godin. Cal embraces Funt’s business tools to get the most out of his days. They will creat...
Mar 15, 2022•59 min•Season 2Ep. 205
Cal does the podcast he wishes he never had to do: Advice on surviving a nuclear attack. Hopefully, this scenario will never occur. But there have been a great deal of surprises throughout Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and it’s wise to take a few moments to think about the unthinkable. This podcast looks at selecting a shelter, at supplies to store, and it offers tips like not going out in the rain for days afterward to avoid radiation that might fall on your head – even if you’re hundreds of mi...
Mar 08, 2022•44 min•Season 2Ep. 204
Cal looks at the invasion of The Ukraine through the question that he’s been focusing on in healthcare: How can we eliminate the problem before it happens? As it turns out, there may have been a way to avoid the carnage almost 20 years ago with some innovative thinking that could’ve put the The Ukraine in a very different place. We’ll never know. But Cal throws out an example of using the question and some innovative thinking to eliminate our problems in all aspects of life before they happen.
Mar 01, 2022•19 min•Season 2Ep. 203
After tasting and loving an Olipop root beer, Cal tracks down the company’s co-founder and CEO to find out how it came about. Olipop beverages are made from ingredients like kudzu root, slippery elm bark and Jerusalem artichoke. You’re drinking plant fiber instead of high fructose corn syrup. There are few calories and very little sugar. Olipop beverages come in many flavors, and are in supermarkets all over America, and they’re an example of how an individual and one company can impact lives. T...
Feb 22, 2022•54 min•Season 2Ep. 202
The United States is one million nurses short and you don’t want to begin appreciating nurses only when you don’t have one when you need one. Cal talks with Lori Armstrong, who runs Inspire Nurse Leaders, about the nursing shortage that’s been exacerbated by departures during two years of relentless pressure on the front lines of healthcare. Lori is trying to solve the problem at an advanced level. But we can all do something. If you know a nurse, find a small way to make her or his day a little...
Feb 15, 2022•59 min•Season 2Ep. 201
