Dr. Brian Goldman, author of The Power of Kindness, explains why empathy is essential in everyday Life. And host Keith McArthur shares an essay about his special needs son Bryson with music by Julie Maxwell.

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Episode 38 Show Notes

[00:00] Welcome and Intro

[4:03] “Grateful for Hope.” An essay by Keith featuring music by Julie Maxwell.

• Read the essay here
• Music is used by permission of the composer Julie Maxwell. She also provides a more limited license under Creative Commons.
  • Title “I Miss You”
  • Author “Julie Maxwell”
  • Source: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Julie_Maxwells_Piano_Music/
  • License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/
  • Website: http://www.juliemaxwell.com
  • bandcamp: https://juliemaxwellspianomusic.bandcamp.com/

[10:02] Featured interview with Dr. Brian Goldman

Dr. Brian Goldman is author of The Power of Kindness: Why Empathy is Essential in Everyday Life. He’s an emergency room doctor and host of the radio program and podcast White Coat, Black Art.

In this conversation, Keith and Brian discuss:

• What led to Bryan’s interest in kindness and empathy [10:54]
• The mistaken idea that doctors need to sacrifice their kindness in order to be brilliant [12:10]
• Shame in the health-care profession [15:00]
• The connection between shame and empathy [18:10]
• Kindness vs empathy [22:06]
• Why are we becoming less empathetic [30:27]
• Why Brian was worried he wasn’t empathetic [35:09]
• Keith shares his family’s experiences in the medical system [42:02]
• Brian shares tips to build empathy muscle, including gratitude [45:25]

[52:44] Brian’s  Instruction Manual

1. What are the habits you maintain every day to stay happy and healthy? [53:03]

• List things he’s grateful for
• Re-frame bad experiences
• Abdominal box breathing
• Exercise

  2. What personal development book do you recommend? [56:02]

• Man’s Search for Meaning By Viktor Frankl
• Miracle in the Andes by Nando Parrado

3. Favorite personal mantra / inspirational quote [1:01:23] 

• Stop Now

4. What’s your one guilty pleasure? [1:02:27]

• The Toronto Maple Leafs

5. When your time comes, how do you want to be remembered? [1:03:53]

•  “I want to be remembered as the guy who wrote a book about kindness and ended up being a kind man.”

[1:04:14] Where to find Brian

• Website: DoctorBrianGoldman.com
• Radio show / podcast: cbc.ca/whitecoat

[1:05:08] Closing words

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