ICU Doc Talk

Ep. 75 How to Think in a Crisis Feb 19, 2026 00:42:23 My new YouTube channel!https://youtube.com/@wickwelkerreads?si=UbAlSGZmqqR0pcwwMy new website!https://wickwelker.com/

Ep. 74 Cardiac Arrest After Heart Surgery Dec 11, 2025 01:17:56 Talking about cardiac arrest in a patient after they’ve had heart surgery. Books discussed:Metabolical by Lustig The Glorious Cause by Middlekauff Original of Political Order by Fukuyama The Stand by Stephen KingBuy my books here:https://www.amazon.com/Wick-Welker/e/B00J21FNRI

Ep. 73 Neuro Critical Care May 19, 2025 00:53:30 Discussing high yield neuro critical care topics. Hot Takes From the Void: Trump Qatar Jet, Biden Dementia, Putin. Books: Chokepoint by Fishman, One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by El Akkad, Lord of the Flies by Golding My new book is out!!👇https://a.co/d/crihSjb

Ep. 72 V/Q Mismatch May 5, 2025 00:39:57 Discussing V/Q mismatch, dead space ventilation and hypoxemia. Hot Takes From the Void: Pope Trump, Deportation ‘travel assistance’, Alcatraz Book discussion: Money, Lies and God by Stewart, Fahrenheit 451 by Bradbury. Wick Welker’s bookshttps://www.amazon.com/Wick-Welker/e/B00J21FNRI

Ep. 71 Type A Dissection Apr 21, 2025 00:48:53 Talking about management of Type A Dissection. Hot Takes From the Void: Pope Francis, JD Vance, TarrifsMy author panel with Mary Robinette Kowalhttps://www.youtube.com/live/YRybNHh-YfM?si=SO2IgFMEbuvcQW1eWick Welker’s science fiction novels:https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B00J21FNRI

Ep. 70 Choosing a Specialty, Pregnancy and ECMO Apr 3, 2025 00:49:44 How to choose a medical specialty, discussing pregnancy and ECMO use. Hot Takes From the Void: Tariffs, Cory Booker, Susan Crawford. Books: Supremacy by Olson, Why Taiwan Matters by Brown, Worlds Without End by Impey, Slaughterhouse Five by Vonnegut, All Quiet by Remarque My next book out May 15th! DARK PROPHET https://a.co/d/0zWgmlP

Ep. 69 Critical Care Story Time Mar 3, 2025 00:42:51 Sharing bedside stories of the critically ill.**New segment** Hot Takes From the Void: A brief discussion of current news. This episode: SCOTUS pause on USAID funding, measles outbreak, Trump tariffs. Book reviews: Sourdough Culture by Pallant, Ejaculate Responsibly by Blair.

Ep. 68 My Book Reads of 2024 Feb 24, 2025 01:02:00 Brief overview of the 90+ books I read in 2024. First half is nonfiction, second half fiction. The full list is here 👇https://www.goodreads.com/user/year_in_books/2024/53069903

Ep. 67 Trauma Surgery Feb 17, 2025 00:48:42 Talking about trauma resuscitation in the emergency department, the operating room and the ICU. Book discussion: Genghis Khan by Weatherford, A City on Mars by the Weinersmiths.

Ep. 66 American Fascism Feb 11, 2025 00:55:24 Talking about current fascist insurgency in the US. Books: The Third Reich at War by Evans, The Handmaid’s Tale by Atwood.

Ep. 65 Epidurals Jan 20, 2025 00:46:00 Talking about epidurals and neuraxial anesthesia. Books: Gangsters of Capitalism by Katz, It by Stephen King.

Ep. 64 Pulmonary Hypertension Dec 17, 2024 00:55:24 Discussing the dangers and management of acute pulmonary hypertension. Also talking about insurers trying to limit anesthesia reimbursement and the United Health CEO assassination. Books: Psychopolitics by Han, Ubik by Phillip K Dick, Lancelot by Giles Kristian.

Ep. 63 Heart Block & Nuclear War Dec 3, 2024 00:45:28 Discussing heart block and its management. Books: Nuclear War by Jacobson and Strongmen by Ben-Ghiat.

Ep. 62 Leaving Social Media Nov 25, 2024 00:45:42 My thoughts on why I’ll no longer create social medial content. ECMO case study. Some life philosophy stuff. Book: Age of Revolutions by Zakaria.

Ep. 61 Heart Arrhythmias Nov 17, 2024 00:54:37 Discussing management of atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia. Books: The Singularity is Nearer by Kurzweil, Inferno by Hastings, Empire of Silence by Ruocchio.

Ep. 60 Trump & Sleep Nov 11, 2024 00:40:47 Just a small discussion about the election and talking about sleep hygiene. Books: How Emotions Are Made by Barrett, Of Boys and Men by Reeves, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by PKD.

Ep. 59 UHC, Mental Health, Hemodynamics Oct 27, 2024 00:42:55 Answering emails and questions. Books: The Man Who Broke Capitalism by Gelles, The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine by Pappe

Ep. 58 What Even is Blood Pressure? Jul 15, 2024 00:51:14 Discussing the math (just a lil) and clinical application of blood pressure and shock. Basic and complex topics to get you started or if you are actively managing patients. Book discussions: 1984 and Homage to Catalonia by Orwell, Spain in Our Hearts by Hochschild, My Disillusionment with Russia by Emma Goldman

Ep. 57 How to Vote Jun 10, 2024 01:11:52 Talking about US politics and history and how to be an informed voter in 2024. Lots of book recommendations.

Ep. 56 How to School Jun 3, 2024 00:47:16 Talking about how to study, take tests and be a successful student. Book discussion: Why Civil Resistance Works by Chenoweth, Travelers in the Third Reich by Boyd

Ep. 55 Stories May 17, 2024 00:42:57 One big story about a complex patient. Books: Nixonland by Perlstein, The Lathe of Heaven by Le Guin

Ep. 54 Communicating in Medicine Apr 9, 2024 00:44:54 Talking about work place conflict, defensiveness and effective communication. Books: The Anxious Generation by Haidt, The Dark Tower by Stephen King

Ep. 53 Conscious Sedation & WWI Mar 26, 2024 00:40:31 Talking about anesthesia for conscious sedation. Book: To End All Wars by Hochschild

Ep. 52 Random Q&A, Civil Wars Mar 1, 2024 00:40:09 Answering random medical questions from listeners. Book discussion is How Civil Wars Start by Barbara F. Walter

Ep. 51 Central Lines Feb 22, 2024 00:44:27 Talking about central lines. Book discussion: Technofeudalism by Yanis Varoufakis.

Ep. 50 Placing an IV Feb 13, 2024 00:46:57 Talking about IV basics. Book Discussion is about the Civil War, Battle Cry of Freedom by McPherson.

Ep. 49 Tracheostomy Jan 26, 2024 00:44:26 Discussing tracheostomy management in a critical setting. Book: The Value of Everything by Mazzucato

Ep. 48 My Book Reads from 2023 Jan 16, 2024 01:06:16 Going over about 75 books I read in 2023: politics, economics, history, sci fi and fantasy.

Mini #3 Matthew Perry & Ketamine Dec 20, 2023 00:11:24 Quick chat about ketamine

Ep. 47 Crazy ICU Week Dec 15, 2023 00:43:36 Sharing stories about a particularly crazy week I had in the ICU. Book discussion: American Midnight by Hoschild and Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Sanderson.

Ep. 46 Tele ICU Nov 27, 2023 00:39:44 Talking about the practice of tele ICU. Books: The Rape of Nanking by Chang, Wellness by Hill.

Ep. 45 The Liver Oct 30, 2023 00:49:57 Talking about liver disease during critical illness. Books: Socialism: Utopian and Scientific by Engels, Blood Song by Ryan, The Name of the Wind by Rothfuss

Ep. 44 How to Argue Oct 23, 2023 00:46:56 How to have hard conversations with people. A little ECMO chat. Books: Skeptics Guide to the Universe by Novella, Think Again by Grant, Jade City by Lee, The Grace of Kings by Liu.

Mini #2 Palestinian and Israeli Victims Oct 19, 2023 00:18:23 The discourse is dead. Here are my thoughts if you want them. Thank you.

Ep. 43 Induction Agents, Congo, Faith Oct 16, 2023 01:06:19 Talking about propofol, etomidate and ketamine. Books: Cobalt Red by Kara, King Leopold’s Ghost by Hochschild. Also dicussiom about religious faith.

Ep. 42 Being a Parent Oct 2, 2023 00:42:35 My experience being a dad. Book discussions are Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child by Gottman and Good Inside by Becky Kennedy.

Mini #1 The Roman Empire Sep 25, 2023 00:14:46 The Roman Empire, paralytics, skepticism

Ep. 41 Obesity Sep 19, 2023 00:44:45 Talking about obesity and anti-fat bias in medicine. Book discussions: What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat by Gordon and The Utopia of Rules by Graeber

Ep. 40 What is Wrong With America? Sep 12, 2023 01:01:09 Me ranting about America. You’ve been warned.

Ep. 39 Random Q&A and Compassionate Feminism Sep 5, 2023 00:49:13 Just random questions and answers. Books: The Will to Change, Factfullness and surprise!

Ep. 38 Life > Career & The Fall of Liberalism Aug 29, 2023 00:45:56 Talking about how career should not be your priority. Book discussion: How Liberalism Failed, A Day of Fallen Night

Ep. 37 Staying Out of the ICU & The Supreme Court Jun 5, 2023 00:41:00 Discussing how to triage patients into the ICU. Book discussions: The Shadow Docket by Vladeck and Hyperion by Simmons

Ep. 36 Patient Anxiety May 23, 2023 00:46:48 Discussing the impact and treatment of patient anxiety. Books: The Storm Before the Calm by Friedman and Dreams of Dying by Lietzau

Ep. 35 How to Write a Book & Poverty Apr 10, 2023 00:43:29 Discussing how I go about writing books and how to pursue creative aspirations. Book discussion: Poverty, by America by Desmond

Ep. 34 Cardiac ICU & The Dawn of Everything Apr 3, 2023 00:47:52 Different types of patients in a cardiac ICU. Discussing books The Dawn of Everything by Graeber and The Sword of Kaigen by Wang.

Ep. 33 God, Medicine & The French Revolution Mar 24, 2023 00:48:19 Talking about religion, spirituality and faith in critical care. Book discussion: The French Revolution by Davidson; The Winter King by Cornwall

Ep. 32 Crisis Management Mar 16, 2023 00:40:18 Discussing how to think in a crisis. Book review is Babel by Kuang

Ep. 31 POCUS & Putin Feb 24, 2023 00:42:38 Talking about point of care ultrasound and discussing the book The Road to Unfreedom by Snyder.

Ep. 30 ECPR & Political Extremism Feb 7, 2023 00:45:27 Talking about ECMO during CPR. Book discussion: The Coming of the Third Reich by Evans and discussing political extremism.

Ep. 29 How to Teach, Damar Hamlin, Invisible Women Jan 18, 2023 00:41:30 Discussing teaching in a clinical setting, Damar Hamlin arrest and book discussion is Invisible Women by Pérez

Ep 28. Happy New Year & Polarization Jan 2, 2023 00:40:09 Answering a bunch of random questions. Book discussion: Why We’re Polarized by Ezra Klein.

Ep. 27 Crazy Day in the OR & Maoism Dec 7, 2022 00:38:14 Discussing a crazy day in the OR. Book discussion: The Tragedy of Liberation by Dikotter.

Ep. 26 Confidence & Cyberwarfare Nov 29, 2022 00:39:30 Discussing how to be confident on the job. Book discussion about cyberwarfare: The is How They Tell Me the World Will End by Perlroth

Ep. 25 ICU Liberation & American Conservatism Nov 14, 2022 00:40:23 Very important protocol to get people out of the ICU. Book: The Right by Parenti

Ep. 25 How to Work and Be Happy Nov 7, 2022 00:46:26 Discussing how to live meaningfully and also be gainfully employed. Book discussion: The Atlas of the Heart by Brown.

Ep. 24 Surgeons & Reframing Communism Oct 31, 2022 00:44:58 Talking about my experience working with surgeons. Books discussion: Blackshirts and Reds by Parenti which gives a reframing of communist regimes.

Ep. 23 End of Life Care & The American Empire Oct 24, 2022 00:41:55 Discussing stories about end of life and the book How to Hide an Empire by Immerwahr.

Ep. 22 US Medical Education & Global Collapse Oct 17, 2022 00:46:58 Discussing my opinions about US medical education and book discussion The End of the World is Just the Beginning by Zeihan.

Ep. 21 Crisis in the OR & Profits Over Patients Oct 10, 2022 00:44:23 Talking about all the things that can go wrong during surgery. Also discussing the profit seeking model of American healthcare with book American Sickness by Rosenthal.

Ep. 20 Brain Death & Corruption Sep 5, 2022 00:49:02 Everything you need to know about brain death. Most important episode I’ve done. Discussing how corruption works with Corruptible by Klaas.

Ep. 19 Substance Use Disorder and Corporate Wokeism Aug 29, 2022 00:40:42 Treatment and management of patients hospitalized with various substance use disorders. Discussing Woke Inc. by Ramaswamy and how many try to rebrand corporate tokenism as Wokeism.

Ep. 18 Patient Story Time & Neoliberal Takeover Aug 22, 2022 00:40:47 I share stories about patient experiences (all anonymized in both space and time) and discussing the book Evil Geniuses by Andersen about neoliberalism in the US.

Ep. 17 Hypoxia and Liberal Flaw Aug 15, 2022 00:45:26 Talking about problems with the lungs and hypoxia. Discussing flaw and foibles of American liberalism with book Listen Liberal by Frank.

Ep. 16 The Heart and Debt Aug 8, 2022 00:43:44 Talking about the heart as an organ system in critical care. Discussing the nature of debt with the book Debt: The First 5,000 years by the late Graeber.

Ep. 15 The ICU Team and Liberation From Oppression Aug 1, 2022 00:43:19 Going into detail about all the members of an ICU team. Book discussion is Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Freire.

Ep. 14 Shock and Taxing the Ultra Wealthy. Jul 25, 2022 00:39:32 Discussing different types of medical shock. Book discussion of The Triumph of Injustice by Sáez and how the ultra wealthy dodge taxes and what to do about it.

Ep. 13 Ultrasound and the News Media Complex. Jul 18, 2022 00:41:29 Talking about the importance of physical exam and ultrasound. Book review Hate Inc. by Taibbi.

Ep 12. Acidosis and Socialism Panic Jul 11, 2022 00:41:58 A fairly detailed discussion about acidosis and book discussion: The Road to Serfdom by Hayek.

Ep. 11 Best Books to Read Right Now. Jul 4, 2022 00:54:54 Brief glimpse of around 100 books about power, economics and race. The end has some sci fi and fantasy books, too!

Ep. 10 Abortion Jun 27, 2022 00:37:06 My personal views about abortion. Two book discussions: Dead Blondes by Doyle and Hood Feminism by Kendall

Ep. 9 Medical shows vs Real Life, How Immigration Works Jun 20, 2022 00:42:19 How do medical shows match up to real life? Book discussion: Border and Rule by Walia.

Ep. 8 How to sedate & monopolization. Jun 13, 2022 00:48:34 How to safely sedate and treat pain in many scenarios. Book discussion: Goliath: The 100-Year War Between Monopoly Power and Democracy by Stoller.

Ep. 7 My path to medicine, corporate feudalism Jun 6, 2022 00:40:32 I get personal talking about my path to medicine and what I do today. Book analysis: Bullsh*t Jobs by Graber.

Ep. 6 How we die, critical theories. May 30, 2022 00:43:31 Trigger warning: talking about death and dying. How do we approach dying and what to do for loved ones. Book discussion: Cynical Theories by Pluckrose and Lindsay.

Ep. 5 How to treat pain, the filibuster May 23, 2022 00:40:40 Treating patient pain in many settings and also those with substance use disorder. Book discussion is Kill Switch by Jentleson about the rise and use of the American Filibuster.

Ep. 4 What even is anesthesia? Why are there poor countries? May 16, 2022 00:40:04 What is the practice of anesthesia? Book discussion: The Divide by Hickel

Ep. 3 COVID, ECMO, Seeing through disinformation May 9, 2022 00:41:46 My experiences with COVID patients, putting them on ECMO, the tragedy of vaccine disinformation and book discussion: Calling Bullshit by Bergstrom

Ep. 2 Arrest, tricky stats, bias May 2, 2022 00:34:31 What to do when someone’s heart stops. Discuss difference between average and median. Analysis of the book Thinking, Fast and Slow by Khaneman.

Ep. 1 Intro, RaDonda, Husel and Neoliberalism Apr 25, 2022 00:25:05 First 2 minutes bad sound, gets better after. Intro to me and my ramblings.

Episodes

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