White Coat, Black Art
White Coat, Black Art
CBC
Trusted ER doctor Brian Goldman brings you honest and surprising stories that can change your health and your life. Expect deep conversations with patients, families and colleagues that show you what is and isn't working in Canadian healthcare. Guaranteed you’ll learn something new. Episodes drop every Friday.
How post-traumatic stress led one paramedic to a new mission
Miles Randell says years of working as a Vancouver paramedic led to post-traumatic stress that left him “unemployable.” When the help he needed wasn’t there, he created TEAAM (Technical Evacuation Advanced Aero Medical), a non-profit that deploys helicopters to provide advanced life support in some of the most rugged locations in B.C.’s wilderness. But TEAAM is also a workplace where health-care workers are encouraged to care for their mental health - a story that we’re proud to re-air as the 2025 Mindset Award winner for workplace mental health reporting.
Jul 3
26 min
Fighting for better births
What if birth care put women and babies first? Dr. Michael Klein’s guiding question came from the Ethiopian midwives who let him “catch” his first babies during a gap year in med school. It would go on to shape his lauded career in pediatrics and family medicine—and challenge medical dogmas like routine episiotomies. His research helped show the once-common procedure often did more harm than good, helping drive a major shift in maternity care. On the occasion of his death on June 10, 2026, we're revisiting our remarkable 2018 conversation with the self-described “Dissident Doctor.”
Jun 26
26 min
Condoms and wastewater testing: How public health is handling FIFA World Cup
As Toronto and Vancouver play host to the international soccer tournament, public health officials have been preparing for the influx of people and any health risks that come with it. From wastewater surveillance and food safety inspections to sexual health outreach, Dr. Michelle Murti of Toronto Public Health and Dr. Mark Lysyshyn of Vancouver Coastal Health discuss the work happening behind-the-scenes for the games.
Jun 19
27 min
A camel, a fractured pelvis, and a travel insurance lesson
Carol Ann McDevitt spent two years looking forward to a trip to Egypt. But an accident on a camel ride completely changed her travel plans and her understanding of travel insurance. McDevitt and other Canadians share what people should know about travel health policies before packing their bags.
Jun 12
27 min
The power of an exercise prescription
Calgary nurse and primary care behavioural health provider Rachel Fynn prescribes exercise as medicine. Through Alberta's Prescription to Get Active program, she helps patients improve their physical and mental health. Once intimidated by the gym herself, Rachel is now a dedicated weightlifter, and proof of the power of movement.
Jun 5
26 min
Inside the Halifax hospital scanning for weapons
AI-powered weapons detectors now scan everyone entering the Halifax Infirmary, screening out everything from box-cutters to homemade throwing stars studded with razor blades. The technology is part of a province-wide reset on hospital safety after years of escalating violence, and a knife attack that injured three healthcare workers. The message is clear: if you wouldn’t bring it to the airport, don’t bring it to the hospital. For our episode on a nurse who survived a violent attack outside a Winnipeg hospital, click here.
May 29
27 min
The permanent birth control surgery that may lower ovarian cancer risk
There's a surgery to remove the fallopian tubes as a permanent method of birth control that could also reduce a woman's risk of the most common ovarian cancer. But a group of B.C. researchers and physicians say the procedure isn't widely known across Canada. They're trying to change that.
May 22
26 min
Colorectal cancer's surprising Canadian hero
Canadians under 50 are twice as likely as prior generations to get colorectal cancer. In this encore episode, we met up with battle rapper Bishop Brigante, whose delayed Stage 4 colorectal cancer diagnosis drove him to advocate for better access to colonoscopies — ​​and to raise awareness that persistent symptoms deserve investigation at any age.
May 15
27 min
The rare disease treatment gap
Three million Canadians live with a rare disease, but many still struggle to get treatment. Jeremy Harany was diagnosed as a child with hypophosphatasia, which weakens bones and can cause early tooth loss, but then spent decades without answers. A chance connection later in life led him to life-changing treatment. Now he’s pushing for faster, more consistent care for others with rare diseases.
May 8
27 min
The nurse practitioners who saved a clinic
So many Canadian small towns have lost their only doctor. But when this happened in Wembley, Alberta, two nurse practitioners stepped in thanks to new provincial legislation allowing NPs to run their own clinics and bill the province directly, as a family doctor would. Though doctors’ organizations are pushing back, patients in Wembley are thrilled with this new model of primary care.
May 1
27 min
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