Knock Knock, Hi! with the Glaucomfleckens
"Knock Knock, Hi! with the Glaucomfleckens" dives into the highs, lows, and WTFs of healthcare. Whether you're in the medical field, live with a healthcare worker, or broke your arm once and are still paying off your medical bills, this is a must-listen. Join Will and Kristin Flanary (aka the Glaucomfleckens) for candid chats with leading healthcare voices like Dr. Mike and Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy. Discover fun facts about eyeballs, hear relatable stories from medical training, and sneak a peek into the U.S. health insurance industry (spoiler alert: it's not great!). We'll share our own perspectives of being a patient or family member experiencing the healthcare system. And, of course, we explore the question on everyone's minds: "Why has Dr. Glaucomflecken never had his eyes dilated?" Combining science with humor and a dash of snark, we unpack the human side of healthcare.
Episodes
Knock Knock Eye: World Cup Eye Injuries: An Ophthalmologist's Field Guide
I'm on call July 4th for the first time in what feels like forever, and I have fully lost perspective on what call should feel like. 2018 me, fresh out of an Iowa trauma center, would be horrified at how nervous private practice me has gotten about it. I'll report back after the holiday.
Today's main event is World Cup eye injuries. Every professional sport needs an ophthalmologist on the sidelin
Is the Match Broken? A Deep Dive into Medical Education with Dr. Bryan Carmody
I've been watching the Sheriff of Sodium break down medical education data on social media for years, so I'm thrilled to finally have Dr. Bryan Carmody on the show to help me understand what's actually happening to the system that turns medical students into doctors. We start with the basics What the Match is, why it was created in the 1950s to solve a headhunting problem that was stressing ever
Knock Knock Eye: Mark Cuban's Case for Medicare for All and Total Financial Transparency
A few things on the agenda today. First, RFK Jr. and the MAHA crew want medical schools to dedicate around 40 hours, roughly 20% of preclinical training, to nutrition education. I have some thoughts. We already have dietitians, med school is already a fire hydrant, and the Krebs cycle had it coming, but this isn't the way.
Then a Mark Cuban appreciation segment, because he's out there on X draggi
Everything You're Getting Wrong About Sleep with Sleep Doctor Chris
This week we sit down with Dr. Chris Allen, board-certified sleep medicine physician, board-certified pediatric neurologist, and a man who has been on CPAP therapy for 22 years. We cover how a sleep study actually works, the real misconceptions around sleep apnea, why CPAP isn't the only treatment option, and what the difference is between a home sleep test and a full in-lab polysomnogram. Oh, and
Knock Knock Eye: Is Medical Recertification a Money Grab?
I just watched The Backrooms and now I can't stop thinking about hospital liminal spaces. The basement. The pathology lab. The OR at 2 AM when you're going in for an open globe. We start there.
Then a great Spotify question pulls me into ophthalmology boards, what the written test is like, the oral exam I took inside an examiner's actual hotel room (with their luggage in the corner) during a hote
Understanding Mitochondrial Disease with Dr. Heather Gatcombe
Dr. Heather Gatcombe, a clinical radiation oncologist at Emory, who immediately humbles me by explaining that her job involves a lot more than drawing circles on a screen, it involves medical physics boards, cancer biology exams, and oral evaluations with the world's leading subspecialty experts. I'm putting radiation oncology in my "insanely smart doctors" tier, effective immediately. But Heather
Breaking News: A Game-Changing Treatment for Pancreatic Cancer with Dr. Mark Lewis
We're dropping this bonus episode because something genuinely historic happened in oncology and we couldn't wait until our regular schedule to talk about it. Dr. Mark Lewis, GI medical oncologist, pancreatic cancer survivor, and one of our absolute favorite guests. He just got back from ASCO, the Super Bowl of oncology, where a new drug called daraxonrasib received one of only about six standing o
Glauc Talk: The Mystery of My Unknown Genetic Mutation
I’m back from a whirlwind speaking tour where I realized my entire social media presence might just be a long-con ruse to get a captive audience of 1,000 electrophysiologists to look at my genetic testing report. I officially "locked the doors" at the Heart Rhythm Society in Chicago until someone could tell me if my phospholamban mutation actually means anything. Spoiler alert: I met the guy who l
Knock Knock Eye: Victor Wembanyama Has the Strictest Bedtime and a Pair of Blue Light Glasses
Victor Wembanyama, the 7'5" alien playing for the Spurs, apparently refuses to look at blue light after 9pm, which allows me to get into my love-hate relationship with blue light glasses, the misinformation campaign that has them treating everything from dry eye to macular degeneration, and the one claim that actually holds up: sleep and circadian rhythm.
Then a great Patreon question drops me i
A Survival Guide for Journalists and Protesters with Adam Rose
I’m stepping away from the slit lamp this week to talk about a different kind of eye emergency. The ones happening on the front lines of protests across the country. I’ve been seeing way too many videos of people losing their vision to "non-lethal" force, so I invited Adam Rose, the Deputy Director of Advocacy for the Freedom of the Press Foundation, to help us navigate this. Adam has 20 years of
Knock Knock Eye: I Ran A Cow Eyeball Dissection Station
I'm not in a great mood and I'll tell you why. A mini fridge in our family room sprang a slow leak, and before I knew it I was $5,000 deep in a restoration black box with no idea whether any of those numbers were real. Which, of course, got me thinking about healthcare cost transparency, because everything eventually does.
From there I get into Oregon's SB 951, the strongest corporate practice of
Glauc Talk: Why Are Med Students Saying They "Wasted Their Twenties"?
We’re diving into a heavy topic that’s been making the rounds on medical TikTok, the soul-crushing feeling of "wasting your twenties" in medical training while your non-medical friends are out buying houses and going to clubs instead of living in squalor with five roommates. Kristin and I look back at our own unusual twenties, including the "Sock on the Pager" move which Kristin officially is clai
Knock Knock Eye: Let's Navigate Dry Eye Treatments
Today is a day for celebration and a little bit of "I told you so." We finally have a resolution in the saga of the Eugene Emergency Physicians (EEP). Just as final arguments were about to begin, PeaceHealth completely rescinded its contract with Apollo MD and restored it to the local doctors who have served the community for 35 years. I’m breaking down the federal judge’s scathing remarks, includ
Glauc Talk: Blunt Force Blindness: The Bizarre 8-Million Thermos Recall
I’m opening up this week with a bit of a public service announcement: please stop pointing stuck containers at your face. We’re diving into a bizarre and honestly terrifying recall of 8 million Thermos bottles that have been essentially turning into high-pressure gas bombs in people’s kitchens, causing some devastating eye injuries. I try to explain "blunt force blindness" to Kristin, who, like ma
Knock Knock Eye: Can Pig Semen Eye Drops Actually Treat Childhood Cancer?
Put down the "Standard of Care" manual for a second, this week I’m talking to you like a med student watching a corporate train wreck in slow motion as we break down the "rigged" request for proposals (RFP) process. I’ll show you how a local group with 35 years of perfect staffing was given a "0.1" score for call coverage just so a corporate giant could swoop in. We’ll also discuss a federal judge
Glauc Talk: Medical TikTok Firestorms: The Doctor Iggy "Exodus" Debate
We dragged the kids across the country for a mix of family time and a high-stakes meeting at the Capitol with Senator Elizabeth Warren. I’ll admit, I was a nervous wreck trying to record a skit in a Senate hallway in under five minutes, but the Senator had her lines down and even brought a bit of upbeat energy to my usual comatose resting face. We’re pushing the "Breakup Big Medicine Act" because
Knock Knock Eye: Why Does the U.S. Have a "Barbaric" Emergency Room Problem?
Put down the hospital cafeteria coffee because today I am diving into a "barbaric" problem in American hospitals that I can't believe I haven't addressed yet: ED Boarding. I’m talking to you like a med student in the trenches to explain why patients are stacking up in hallways for days and why it’s not because we’ve run out of beds, but because the incentives of hospital administration and insuran
Grief is Not a Contest with Dr. Rebecca N. Thompson
I’m feeling a bit reflective this week as we head into Mother’s Day, a holiday that used to be a real bummer for us. It turns out that having a cardiac arrest the day after Mother's Day imprints some pretty weird sensory triggers, like the specific way a tree buds or the smell of spring air.
Joining Kristin and I to talk about motherhood, medicine, and the messy "long view" of family life is Dr.
Knock Knock Eye: Is Vision Insurance Worth It?
I’m feeling a little run down today—it’s peak "conference season," and I’ve been bouncing between recording studios and speaking gigs. But I couldn’t wait to give you an update on the situation in Eugene. We’ve moved past simple contract disputes and into "administrative meddling," with leaked emails showing a hospital CEO attempting to influence clinical decisions in real time without a license
Why Do Med Students Think Pediatrics is Easy? with Dr. Paul Tran
This we're joined by one of the few people whose medical comedy I actually enjoy: Dr. Paul Tran. Dr. Tran is a pediatric gastroenterologist who has mastered the art of playing a perpetually anxious med student on TikTok, but in real life, he’s an attending who actually cares about things like "ethics" and "professionalism". We get into the "fodder ability" of different specialties, basically my in
Knock Knock Eye: Why Do Hyperopic Lenses Make Kids’ Eyes Look So Big?
I just got back from Puerto Rico, where I attended my very first gynecology oncology conference. It turns out that even though we're at opposite ends of the body, ophthalmologists and gynecologists actually share a lot, mostly a love for speculums and organs that dilate.
I’m also diving into the terrifying news of a Florida surgeon recently indicted on manslaughter charges after removing a patie
Glauc Talk: The Ethics of the Medical Influencer
This week, we tackle the emotional roller coaster of Match Day and the precarious "new frontier" of medical professionalism on social media. Kristin and I reflect on my Match experience, including the moment Kristin cried after finding out we were moving to Iowa, and offer a heartfelt word of encouragement for students navigating the heartbreak of not matching. We discuss why "it can always get w
Knock Knock Eye: Why is the DOJ Investigating Higher Education Admissions?
Put down the study guides for a second because I’m taking you back 20 years to my own medical school application, back when the MCAT was still paper and pencil. I’m breaking down my 4.0 GPA, my "31S" test score, and why I spent my interviews pretending to be passionate about the phylogenetics of North American fruit bats just to check a box. We’re also diving into the high-stakes Department of Jus
Tales of a Pediatric Airway Surgeon with Dr. Tali Lando
This week, we are talking about the busiest "real estate" in the human body, the neck. Dr. Tali Lando, a pediatric otolaryngologist who spends her days (and many terrifying nights) operating on the tiny, fragile airways of babies and children, joins us to talk about being chased by police while rushing to an emergency to the precision required to remove a peanut from a toddler's lung, Dr. Lando sh
Knock Knock Eye: Why I’m Skeptical of AI Replacing Radiologists
We need to talk about the "Doomsday Scenario" currently haunting the radiology department. A prominent CEO of a major public health system recently went on record saying he is ready to replace radiologists with AI "at this moment". As someone who spent my pre-med days doom-scrolling on StudentDoctor.net twenty years ago hearing these same rumors, I can tell you the fear is real, but the reality is
Glauc Talk: Breakup Big Medicine: My Collaboration with Senator Elizabeth Warren
This week, the Glaucomfleckens are feeling a bit "spicy" as they navigate the grogginess of daylight savings and the fallout of their recent trip to New Orleans. Will shares a harrowing story from a recent live show where an ad-libbed joke about sperm banking and "the sisters" nearly cost him the audience, only to be saved by the laughing nuns in the front row. Between beignets and redfish, the co
Knock Knock Eye: Something I Love and The Thing I Hate About Ophthalmology
Today, I’m putting on my "career counselor" hat to address the latest medical social media drama: a spine surgeon who decided to take a break from clinical practice just six months in to become a full-time content creator. While the internet is full of opinions, I’m sharing why I choose to stay in the game, even when YouTube decides to reclassify my skits and slash my ad revenue. For all you med s
How One Family’s Christmas Morning Turned Into 9 Minutes of CPR with Ellie Breech
This week, the Glaucomfleckens connect with a fellow "co-survivor" whose Christmas morning took a harrowing turn from opening presents to performing life-saving chest compressions. Ellie Breach, a D1 goalkeeper for the Pittsburgh Panthers and NC State, shares the intense story of her father’s sudden cardiac arrest and the specific athletic training that kept her calm when "shit hit the fan" in her
Knock Knock Eye: Can Oregon Stop this Corporate Takeover?
Usually, I’m teaching you about the finer points of ophthalmology, but today we’re looking at a real-world case study in "how to tank a hospital’s morale". We are heading to my home state of Oregon to discuss the PeaceHealth system and their decision to fire a group of 41 local emergency physicians who have served the community for 35 years.
I’m breaking down why this isn’t about money or perform
Glauc Talk: How Do You Become a Space Doctor?
This week on Knock Knock, Hi, Will and Kristin stumble into one of the more unexpected parenting moments yet: discovering their teenager might want to become an astronaut. That leads to a surprisingly deep dive into what it actually takes to make it to space and the answer is… a lot. Think extreme environments, elite training, and possibly even medical school. Naturally, Will immediately begins re
Knock Knock Eye: Where Is the Line Between Medical Comedy and Being Unprofessional?
Pull up a chair and grab your notebooks, because today I’m talking to you like it’s your first day of medical school. We’re seeing more "med-fluencers" than ever before, but our medical education system hasn’t quite caught up to the reality of TikTok and social media ethics. I’ve seen too many students and residents trip up lately, so I’m laying down the "Glaucomflecken Guidelines" for a successfu
Why Did Physicians in Oregon Feel Forced to Strike? with Dr. Jennifer Lincoln
This week, Will and Kristin sit down with Dr. Jen Lincoln, OB-GYN, educator, advocate, and author of The Birth Book, for a conversation that goes way beyond the usual pregnancy advice.
Together, they unpack the internet’s favorite birth myths, from epidurals and exercise in pregnancy to IUD fearmongering and the idea that eating the “right” foods can somehow control how big a baby gets. Dr. Linco
Knock Knock Eye: My Official Medical Comedy Ladder
I saw a video from a dermatology resident asking people to stop making fun of dermatologists… and it got me thinking.
Why do certain specialties get roasted more than others?
So in this episode, I present something I’ve been mentally building for years: the medical comedy ladder. A hierarchy that explains who can make fun of who in medicine without accidentally starting a professional civil war.
Glauc Talk: Why You Shouldn't Wear Contacts to a Protest?
After my recent pepper spray video unexpectedly hit 5–6 million views, we break down what actually happens to your eyes when exposed to pepper spray, what to do immediately, whether baby shampoo is your new best friend, and why milk absolutely does not belong anywhere near your corneas.
We also talk contact lenses (don’t wear them into situations where pepper spray is possible), corneal abrasions
Knock Knock Eye: What Did The Pitt Get Wrong About Conjunctivitis?
After reading your very disturbed (and very funny) comments, I briefly explore whether a large “package” might negatively affect figure skating rotational velocity.
Then we pivot to the eyeballs. The Pitt keeps delivering ophthalmology cases, so I break down gonorrhea conjunctivitis (yes, that’s a thing), what really happens when someone super-glues their eye shut, and why trimming eyelashes is
What Is a GI Psychiatrist? with Dr. Claire Brandon
This week we sit down with Dr. Claire Brandon, one of only a handful of GI psychiatrists in the country, to talk about something most of us learned in med school and then promptly never thought about again: the gut-brain axis.
Why does stress wreck your stomach?Why do chronic GI conditions come with anxiety and depression attached?Why does “it’s all in your head” miss the point entirely?
We talk
Knock Knock Eye: Is Corporate Medicine Breaking Emergency Care?
This episode starts with something that makes me very angry and ends with something that makes me genuinely happy. First, we talk about what’s happening in Eugene, Oregon, where a nonprofit hospital system decided not to renew a 35-year contract with its locally rooted emergency physicians and instead hand the ER over to a large corporate staffing group based thousands of miles away. Wait times we
Glauc Talk: Why Is My Dog Having Seizures?
This episode starts with TikTok’s updated Terms of Service, specifically the part where apps want to know where you are at all times, and quickly spirals into a much bigger question: did we accidentally sign up for the surveillance state… or was it always inevitable?
Kristin and I debate privacy, inevitability, pessimism, preparedness, and whether refusing to participate actually protects you, or
Knock Knock Eye: Can Penis Size Really Affect Olympic Performance?
We start this episode exactly where you’d expect: Olympic penis drama. From pole vault mishaps to ski jumpers allegedly injecting hyaluronic acid for aerodynamic advantage, we briefly explore how far humans will go for gold.
Then we pivot to the eyeballs.
First, a patient with sudden, painless loss of half their vision walks into the ER. What sounds like a retinal detachment turns out to be som
Glauc Talk: How Residency Applications Became an Arms Race
This week, Kristin and I unpack what really happened after Step 1 went pass/fail and why medical students are now under more pressure, not less. We talk about how Step 2 quietly became the new make-or-break test, why students are leaving clinical rotations early just to study, and why calling this generation “less dedicated” completely misses the point.
We also zoom way out and ask a bigger quest
Knock Knock Eye: Why Do We Still Require Pre-Op Clearance for Cataract Surgery?
Let’s talk about something deeply unsexy but incredibly important: pre-op clearance for cataract surgery.
After watching a colleague get sent to their own primary care doctor for a seven-minute procedure under minimal sedation, I realized how far we’ve drifted from common sense. Cataract surgery is one of the safest, most routine operations in medicine, yet we’re still funneling millions of patie
Glauc Talk: Should You Trust Chat GPT Health With Your Medical Records?
This episode opens with an extremely serious debate about whether buying a $5,000 air hockey table is financially irresponsible… or medically necessary for eye-hand coordination.
From there, we read listener feedback from our EMS episode, including why dispatchers are absolute heroes, how CPR instructions actually work over the phone, and the big difference between fire-based and non-fire-based
Knock Knock Eye: What Should You Do If You’re Pepper Sprayed At A Protest?
This episode is a tough one. I start by talking about the killing of Alex Preti and Renee Good in Minneapolis and why it’s been sitting so heavily with me as a physician, a parent, and a human being trying to make sense of what’s happening in this country.
Then I focus on something concrete I can do: explain what pepper spray and tear gas actually do to your eyes and how to protect yourself if yo
What Actually Keeps Your Heart Healthy? with Dr. Stacey Rosen
It’s Heart Month, so we went straight to the top and invited Dr. Stacy Rosen, Volunteer President of the American Heart Association, to help us answer one simple question: What actually keeps your heart healthy… and what’s just noise?
We talk about why 80% of heart attacks and strokes are preventable, what the AHA’s Life’s Essential 8 really looks like in real life (spoiler: you’re still allowed
Knock Knock Eye: How Dangerous Is Pickleball for Your Eyes?
This episode we get into a new JAMA Ophthalmology study takes a hard look at pickleball-related eye injuries, and the numbers are… not great. Retinal detachments, hyphemas, orbital fractures, and even open globes are showing up more and more, especially as the sport explodes in popularity among older adults.
I break down exactly how these injuries happen, which ones are true emergencies, and why
Glauc Talk: Who Thought This Medical Procedure Was a Good Idea?
Kristin and I read through listener comments, including theories about how I can create characters without an inner monologue, and real-world ophthalmology stories that lead me to beg you, once again, to call your eye doctor before going to the ER.
We also talk about scrubs, fashion, and the fact that someone published a real scientific paper about what patients think doctors should wear. Then we
Knock Knock Eye: Virtual or In-Person Residency Interviews: What Are the Pros and Cons?
This episode we tackle something a lot of people are quietly worried about: virtual residency interviews. Are they here to stay? Are they fair? And how exactly are programs supposed to deal with applicants using AI to help answer questions in real time?
Then we get into the eyeballs. A young woman with hair growing where hair absolutely should not exist. A 78-year-old with “sudden vision loss” th
What Happens When Doctors Get Involved in Legislation? with Dr. Erik Heitkamp & Courtney Koebele
This episode we head to North Dakota, a place that is extremely flat, very windy, and filled with some of the kindest humans I’ve ever met, including Dr. Erik Heitkamp, a hospitalist in Fargo, and Courtney Koebele, the Executive Director of the North Dakota Medical Association.
Together, we dig into what physician advocacy actually looks like at the state level, not the cable-news chaos, but the
Knock Knock Eye: Who’s Liable When AI Misses Your Cancer?
After surviving Disney motion-simulator rides that nearly ended me, I dive into a question that’s been rattling around my brain all break: if AI replaces doctors… who gets sued when something goes wrong?
We talk AI hype, liability, tech companies discovering malpractice culture the hard way, and why replacing physicians isn’t as simple as Silicon Valley thinks it is. Then we get back to basics: h
Glauc Talk: Why Are Med Students Driving Uber?
This episode starts with the important questions, like whether I’m emotionally prepared to return to my ancestral homeland of Big Bend National Park, and whether Kristin would rather share a cabin with a venomous snake or a tarantula.
From there, things take a turn into real life: a med student driving for Uber and Lyft just to make ends meet. That story opens up a bigger conversation about medi
Knock Knock Eye: Why Elon Musk’s MRI Tweet Made Every Doctor Roll Their Eyes
In this episode of Knock Knock Eye, I start by breaking down Elon Musk’s latest medical hot take. The idea that everyone should get a yearly full-body MRI interpreted by AI. Then I talk about why I finally said screw it and paid cash for my own medical care after insurance insisted my testicles might have magically regenerated.
And finally, a mystery case that starts as blurry vision and floater
How Does EMS Actually Work Behind the Scenes? with Jason Peng & Joe Stoffolano
This week, Kristin and I talk with Jason Pang, Director of EMS, and Joe Stoffolano, Division Chief of Community Risk Reduction in Miami Township, Ohio. These guys take us deep into the world of pre-hospital medicine. We’re talking how EMS is funded, why those funding streams vanish, the future of EMS, and much more.
We also break down how 911 dispatch actually works, how EMS decides what units to
Knock Knock Eye: Why Does Hollywood Keep Getting Eyeballs Wrong?
Hollywood, we need to talk. If one more movie shows an eyeball dangling from someone’s cheek, I might start mailing anatomy textbooks to Los Angeles. And while we’re at it, can we please stop calling every wandering eye a “lazy eye”?
After a quick rant about my personal ophthalmology pet peeves, I dive into one of the strangest mystery cases I’ve ever seen: a 47-year-old with sudden, complete oph
Glauc Talk: What Does an Apgar Score Actually Measure?
This week, Kristin and I answer listener comments about colonoscopy prep, including a truly cursed diet of mashed white vegetables and learn about Cologuard, the screening test where you… mail your poop. Through the actual mail. To a stranger.
We also dive into the ongoing household war known as “Kristin Won’t Stop Sleeping in Her Contacts,” which leads to a horrifying discussion about wrinkly ey
Knock Knock Eye: Which Christmas Characters Need an Ophthalmologist?
This week, I start by sharing why First Descents, the nonprofit that helped me rebuild community and trust in my body after cancer, deserves a spot on your end-of-year giving list. And then, because it is Christmas, I diagnose the eyeballs of Charlie Brown, the Grinch, Rudolph, and even Jack Skellington.
From aniridia to jaundice to reindeer esotropia, it’s a holiday episode only an ophthalmologi
Glauc Talk: The Weirdest Skin Diagnosis I’ve Ever Seen
It’s Christmas, which means two things: Kristin’s wearing a periodic-table tree shirt, and I’m reminiscing about the worst cafeteria meal in VA history (“brown meal,” may it never return).
But the real adventure this week? Our kid suddenly developed mysterious brown patches on her skin, smooth, painless, and deeply unsettling for two parents whose medical degrees contain zero pediatrics. Cue the
Knock Knock Eye: What Happens When Your Eyelids Won’t Close?
This week, I’m answering your YouTube questions, including why my histology shirt is back, and then diving into a mystery case straight from the ICU. A sedated teenager with a swollen face, red eyes, and a whole lot of chemosis needs help, and I show up with… my ophthalmologist luggage.
What I found is something every ICU clinician has seen but doesn’t always recognize: exposure keratopathy, the
Glauc Talk: Why Are Health Insurance Premiums Going Up AGAIN?
This week, Kristin and I break down the kind of healthcare headline that makes you want to scream into a pillow: premiums going up while subsidies disappear. Love that for us. We talk about why insurance always seems to be “oops, more expensive now!” and why families in the middle always get squeezed the hardest. But then we pivot to the good news, we got fact-checked by an actual biochemist. And
Knock Knock Eye: What Happens When Surgery Becomes Content?
This week, I’m diving into one of the weirdest modern medical questions: what actually makes a “top doctor” in the age of TikTok? After an Allure article exposed the rise, and sometimes fall, of social-media-famous plastic surgeons, I have thoughts. Many thoughts. Mostly about ethics, entertainment, and why the operating room should never be a live-streaming studio.
Then we shift into something m
Glauc Talk: How Does Vision Loss Turn Into Visual Hallucinations?
This week, Kristin and I dive into aphantasia, anendophasia, and why apparently my wife’s brain works more like a slideshow than a podcast. I’m learning things about her that I wish I didn’t know, and she’s learning that most people don’t think in GIFs. We also talk about what happens when meditation goes wrong, how brains get rewired after trauma, and why sometimes “turning your brain off” might
Knock Knock Eye: Why Are My Eyes So Sensitive to Light?
This week I ran into something online that made my ophthalmologist brain short-circuit: a brand-new CDC statement about autism and vaccines that… let’s just say does not follow how science actually works. So I’m breaking down the logic, the frustration, and why “prove it’s not true” is one of the worst arguments in medicine.
Then, because I can only rant for so long before needing to retreat into
Glauc Talk: What Causes Gout?
This week on Glauc Talk, Kristin and I unpack the bizarre ways people twist “correlation vs. causation” and why apparently every high school should have a mandatory class on basic biostats. We talk about protestors, parenting, penis decisions (you’ll see), and somehow end up designing the world’s most chaotic public health curriculum.
Then we pivot to something a little closer to home, physician
Knock Knock Eye: A Thanksgiving Thank-You Tour Through My Life
This week, I’m doing something different. No eyeball emergencies, no angry rants about healthcare, just gratitude. In this Thanksgiving special, I’m giving thanks to the people who shaped me: my high school English teacher who believed in my writing, the German teacher who let me hide pencils in my hair, the residency mentor who saw the future ophthalmologist before I did, and, of course, Lady Gla
Glauc Talk: Why Can’t I Get a Doctor’s Appointment?
This week, Kristin and I dig into my long-overdue skin check, a gift from my mom (because nothing says “happy birthday” like preventative medicine). We talk about awkward gown moments, dermatologists who multitask like superheroes, and why apparently I’m not famous in derm circles.
Then we get a little more serious about why it takes forever to get a doctor’s appointment, how the physician shorta
Knock Knock Eye: When Eyeballs Pop Out: The Real Story Behind Proptosis
In this episode, I’m breaking down what a week of ophthalmology call actually looks like, why retinal detachments aren’t the emergency you think they are, and how one cartoon wolf ended up being my latest ocular diagnosis. Plus, in the latest installment of my “Signs and Symptoms” series, we’re talking eyelash loss, bleeding eyes (aka hyphema), and the fine line between “put your pants on now” and
Glauc Talk: Kristin’s Official List of Fears
Kristin and I start off by talking about puzzles, rainy vacations, and why Scotland might be the best place on earth, mostly because they have giant defibrillator kiosks just sitting out in public. Then, somehow, that conversation spirals into an in-depth analysis of Kristin’s many fears (spiders, the ocean, nouns too close to her face: you name it).
We also dive back into our favorite recurring
Knock Knock Eye: What Does an Abnormal Red Reflex Really Mean?
I’m trying something new: differentials. Each episode, I’ll pick one ocular sign and one ocular symptom, and walk you through everything that could cause them. This week: the mysterious “abnormal red reflex” and the all-too-common “my eyes are burning.” From cataracts and retinoblastoma to blepharitis and bad makeup glue, I’m breaking down the real possibilities, one red, irritated eyeball at a ti
When Anatomy Gets Adorable with Wendy Bryan Lazar
This week, Kristin and I sit down with Wendy Bryan Lazar, the founder of I Heart Guts, the company making plush organs so lovable you almost forget they’re based on, you know, actual human guts. We dive into how she turned her background in design and a deep love of anatomy into a wildly successful brand that celebrates the weird, wonderful world inside us.
We talk about the real challenges of b
Knock Knock Eye: Why Doctors Should Be Allowed to Own Hospitals
From ophthalmology to testicle jokes, this episode covers a lot. I’m talking about why physicians should be allowed to own hospitals, the internet debate over vision therapy, and the truth about whether your eyes can actually pop out if you sneeze too hard. Plus, I share the one time an ophthalmologist asked a patient to drop his pants and why professional athletes might be missing out by skipping
Glauc Talk: Pituitary Glands: The Testicles of the Brain
So… I turned 40. And like any doctor staring down middle age, I celebrated by talking about colonoscopy prep.
This week, Kristin and I unpack everything that happens to your body when you hit your forties, from dry eyes and presbyopia to statins and perimenopause. (Don’t worry, it’s still funny.) We talk about getting old, staying healthy, and why I’m way too excited to film my own colonoscopy.
Knock Knock Eye: Which Disney Characters Have the Worst Vision?
I went to Disney World and ended up diagnosing cartoon characters. From Mike Wazowski’s lack of depth perception to Goofy’s questionable eye anatomy and Winnie the Pooh’s all pupil, no iris situation, I’m breaking down which Disney characters would absolutely fail a vision test. Plus, a quick dive into a real breakthrough from Stanford that might help restore sight lost to macular degeneration. It
Glauc Talk: Why Everyone Should Know CPR (Seriously)
This week, Kristin and I dive into two real-world CPR stories. One that’ll make your blood boil (looking at you, Hofstra bar exam), and another that’ll make you want to hug a comedian in Spokane. We talk about what happens when bystanders freeze, how quick thinking saves lives, and why everyone should know at least something about CPR.
Then I drag Kristin into a round of “Doctor Strange or Just S
Knock Knock Eye: Does Vision Therapy Actually Work?
Can you really “train” your eyes to work better or is vision therapy mostly hype? In this episode, I’m breaking down the three main types of vision therapy, what the science says about each, and how to tell when it’s actually helpful versus when it’s just expensive pseudoscience. We’ll talk convergence insufficiency (the one real winner), why eye exercises don’t fix dyslexia or myopia, and how to
The Med Student Who Got in Trouble for Going Viral with Kumail Hussain
What happens when your med school doesn’t like your TikToks?
This week, we talk to Dr. Kumail Hussain, a physician who went viral for his medical content… and got in serious trouble for it. We dig into the story that followed: professionalism hearings, probation, and the ripple effects that followed him into residency.
But this isn’t just about one doctor’s social media misstep, it’s about what
Knock Knock Eye: The Testicular Hill I’m Willing to Die On
I’m back with part two of my “life lessons at 40” and yes, it’s even more random than part one. From safety glasses and social media boundaries to testicle self-exams (yes, really), I’m sharing the wisdom I’ve collected over four decades. Plus, a neuro-ophthalmology curveball: a patient with mismatched pupils and a mystery diagnosis that turns out to be a Horner syndrome.
Takeaways:
Why y
Glauc Talk: Wait… Viruses Can Cause Cancer?!
We’re back with a follow-up to the “no inner monologue” chaos, but this time, we’re going deeper. Kristin and I unpack what it actually feels like when your brain disconnects, how trauma can flip your reality switch, and why dissociation might just be your mind’s weirdest defense mechanism.
Then we shift gears into something truly wild: the microscopic villains that can give you cancer. Yep, your
Knock Knock Eye: 40 Tips From Dr. Glaucomflecken On His 40th Birthday (part 1)
I just turned 40 and I’ve learned a few things along the way. Some about eyeballs, some about life, and a few the hard way (looking at you, hot tub corneal ulcer). In this special two-part birthday series, I’m sharing the lessons, advice, and random pearls I’ve picked up over four decades from why you should never argue with trolls online to how flossing can save your sanity. It’s a mix of serious
Glauc Talk: Why We're Haunted by the Presidential Fitness Test
Some episodes wander. This one sprints from childhood trauma (aka the Presidential Fitness Test pull-up requirement) to the ethics of free speech on social media, to guts literally spilling outside the body in a crash course on gastroschisis and omphalocele.
Kristin and I also talk about why doctors get in trouble online, how to avoid losing your job with one bad post, and the weird dynamic of be
Knock Knock Eye: Autism & Tylenol: Sorting Fact from Fear
What happens when the president tells pregnant patients to “tough it out” instead of taking Tylenol? And why are accomplished physicians standing on stage making claims that don’t hold up to the evidence? This week I’m diving into the mess of misinformation, the dangers it creates, and the patients who end up paying the price. Then, to balance the outrage with some ophthalmology, I’m taking you de
Glauc Talk: The Worst Social Media Post in Healthcare History?
Some things in healthcare are forgivable mistakes. This wasn’t one of them.
Kristin and I dive into the shocking story of a group of healthcare workers who thought it was a good idea to post exam-room paper from pelvic exams online. Spoiler: they’re not working in medicine anymore. But the fallout reveals something bigger, the fragile state of public trust in doctors and what happens when we keep
