Hello and welcome to House Calls!
I'm Dr. Vivek Murthy, and I have the privilege of serving as the Surgeon General of the United States, also known as the nation's doctor.
When I was a kid growing up in Florida, my dad, like many community doctors, would sometimes make house calls, bringing care directly to patients in their homes. He did that because he believed that healing was about more than writing prescriptions and reading charts. It was about meeting people where they were, quite literally.
Through those visits to people's homes, he forged powerful connections with his patients, connections that helped everyone feel seen and understood.
In that spirit, I'm launching this podcast so we can build connections and help each other heal.
In an ever-changing world full of uncertainty, I want this to be a space where we can talk openly about the issues weighing on our minds and our hearts, while also taking time to seek out light and joy.
I'll invite guests to talk about their experiences with a range of topics and I'll also reach out to listeners across America to hear what you're thinking, feeling, and experiencing.
Think of it as me making a house call. Because conversations can be healing.
So please subscribe and join me every other week on House Calls with Dr. Vivek Murthy.
Because conversations can be healing.
House Calls with Dr. Vivek Murthy is a podcast hosted by the 21st U.S. Surgeon General. In each episode, Dr. Murthy and his guests explore how they navigate the messiness and uncertainties of life to find meaning and joy. By sharing openly what’s on our minds and in our hearts, we can find strength and healing through connection.
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Chloe Kim: How Do You Separate Success From Self-Worth?
One of the world’s greatest athletes opens up about how she finds inner peace and meaning in life.
Aug 21, 2024
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Sebastian Junger: How Can Death Make Us Think About Life?
Surviving a near-death experience from a ruptured aneurysm, Sebastian Junger talks about what death can teach us about living.
Aug 7, 2024
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Ann Kim: What Does Friendship Mean To Us?
House Calls goes behind-the-scenes, as the Surgeon General and House Calls producer Ann Kim discuss their decades-long friendship.
Jul 24, 2024
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BONUS | Selena Gomez: Setting the Stage for Mental Health
Singer and founder of Rare Beauty Selena Gomez sits opens up about her personal commitment to the issue of mental health.
Jul 18, 2024
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Adam Grant: Is A Fulfilling Life Different Than A Successful One?
The Surgeon General and organizational psychologist Adam Grant get real about what’s at the heart of a fulfilling life.
July 9, 2024
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Dr. Abraham Verghese (Part 2): On the Healing Power of Writing
Both a celebrated physician and author, Dr. Abraham Verghese opens up about his creative life as a writer.
June 26, 2024
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Dr. Abraham Verghese (Part 1): When There Is No Cure, How Can We Heal?
In this deeply personal conversation, Dr. Murthy and Dr. Verghese contemplate what it means to heal the spirit of a patient.
June 12, 2024
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How Do Art and Friendship Set the Stage for Our Mental Health?
A beautiful, intimate conversation with two artistic greats on how friendship and creativity can strengthen our mental well-being.
May 28, 2024
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Why Parent Mental Health is Essential for Our Kids
How can parents care for their mental health?
May 14, 2024
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How Do Our Minds Help (or Hinder) Finding Connection & Purpose? (Part 2)
What is our purpose, both individually and collectively? What lies in the balance of who we are now and who we will become?
May 1, 2024
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How Do Our Minds Help (or Hinder) Finding Connection & Purpose? (Part 1)
Offering both science and personal stories, Shankar Vedantam and the Surgeon General discuss how understanding our minds can help us get through our fears of connecting
Apr 16, 2024
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Why Is Hope So Powerful?
Writer Rebecca Solnit and the Surgeon General discuss what hope is and why it is necessary, especially in these times of uncertainty.
Apr 2, 2024
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Encore | Learning to Live When Life Falls Apart
Kate Bowler’s sudden cancer diagnosis upended her world. It also offered a chance to build a new strength — learning to lean on others.
Mar 19, 2024
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Q&A on Becoming a Healer
The Surgeon General sits down with his long-time medical school mentor, Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen, to field House Calls listener questions on the journey to becoming a healer.
Mar 6, 2024
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The Power of Showing Up for Each Other
Drawing from professional and personal moments, Dr. Murthy and Rabbi Brous delve into why the simple act of showing up for each other — an intrinsic power we all possess — is so powerful and healing.
Feb 21, 2024
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Meditation for Connecting with Loved Ones
The Surgeon General shares a reflection he does to keep friends & family close.
Feb 7, 2024
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How Does Spirituality Protect Our Mental Health?
Psychologist Lisa Miller shares the fascinating science of how human brains are wired for spirituality and the need for meaning.
Jan 24, 2024
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How Do You Build the Confidence to Connect?
Grammy Award-winner Jon Batiste opens up about the magic of connecting with people, on and off the stage.
Jan 10, 2024
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What Does Success Really Mean?
In this live conversation taped at UT Austin, the Matthew McConaughey and the Nation’s Doctor about the real meaning of success.
Dec 13, 2023
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How Will You Connect?
Do you want to improve your mental and physical health? Join the 5-for-5 Connection Challenge!
Dec 6, 2023
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Encore | What Makes Us Happy?
In the face of our youth mental health crisis, happiness professor Laurie Santos offers simple but powerful changes that can help students (and all of us) be happier.
Nov 29, 2023
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How Music Heals Us (Part 2)
This gem of a conversation continues on the power of music, especially in lonely times.
15. November 2023
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How Music Heals Us (Part 1)
The Nation’s Doctor and the legendary cellist talk about the power of music and how it brings meaning to being human.
Oct 31, 2023
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What Can Nature Teach Us About Connection?
Just like the air we breathe and water we drink, we need to connection to survive. Baratunde Thurston shows us how being in nature matters to our ability to connect with each other and to ourselves.
Oct 17, 2023
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Encore | Can Anxiety Be Good For Us?
Nobody likes to feel anxious. But when approached with curiosity, anxiety can actually be a positive.
Sep 19, 2023
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Can We All Be Healers?
The Surgeon General’s long-time mentor offers wisdom on how we can help heal each other.
Sep 5, 2023
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Encore | How Do We Navigate the Joy and Sorrow of Being Human?
Life is bittersweet. Embracing this can bring comfort and solace.
22. August 2023
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Encore | Recipe for Connection
We’re all hungry for connection. Chef José Andrés shares how connection has always been at the heart of his love of food.
Aug 9, 2023
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Walking A Spiritual Path In A Lonely World
Rainn Wilson opens up about his spiritual journey and his path to connection.
Jul 25, 2023
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Why Are Boys And Men Struggling For Connection?
As we face an epidemic of loneliness as a country, how might we better understand how and why men and boys are disconnected?
Jul 11, 2023
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Meet My Moai, A Powerful Friendship Tradition
How do you show up for your friends? In this deeply personal conversation, Dr. Murthy and his friends share how they help each other move through life’s ups and downs.
Jun 27, 2023
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What Does It Mean To Really Listen?
Real connection relies on real listening. Judy Woodruff offers a journalist’s perspective on how understanding others starts with listening.
Jun 13, 2023
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How Can We Protect Teen Mental Health?
Are you worried about your teen’s mental health? In this episode, Dr. Lisa Damour and the Surgeon General discuss many of the questions on parents’ minds and the concrete ways adults can help adolescents.
May 30, 2023
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Yes, Vulnerability is a Superpower (Even For Pop Stars)
How can we find our way through our darkest times? For Eric Nam, a voiced loved by millions around the world, he found his answer in being honest & vulnerable.
May 16, 2023
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You’re Not Alone in Feeling Lonely
Loneliness is an experience so many of us have. What can we do about it in our everyday lives?
May 2, 2023
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What's at the Core of Your Happiness? (Part 2)
Our culture of striving for more can undermine our happiness. But if we think of happiness as a skill, we can bring more joy into our everyday.
Apr 18, 2023
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How Stressed Are We? (And What Can We Do About It?) (Part 1)
How do you experience stress? Dr. Rangan Chatterjee offers perspective on different types of stress and lessons learned from helping his patients find happiness.
Apr 4, 2023
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What is a Meaningful Life?
In a world that can feel uncertain and pressured, this episode is a pause to ask what stories we tell, about ourselves and the world, and to think about what gives each of us a sense of meaning in our lives.
Mar 21, 2023
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Can You Live Without Your Phone?
How is your relationship with your phone (or other devices) affecting your health and well-being? Listen to hear how Surgeon General and Catherine Price, science journalist and author of “How to Break Up with Your Phone,” explore this big question.
Mar 7, 2023
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What Gives You Hope?
Hope is an essential part of our lives. “What gives you hope?” is the question Dr. Murthy and his guests explore in this special episode of House Calls.
Feb 22, 2023
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Meditation for Dealing with Negativity in the World
Feeling stressed? Mindfulness can help. Here is the fifth of 5 short meditations, led by Surgeon General Vivek Murthy.
Feb 15, 2023
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Why Do Friendships Matter? (Part 2)
Friendships don’t just happen – they take effort. How can we make and keep up strong platonic relationships?
Feb 7, 2023
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Meditation for Getting Through a Hectic Day
Feeling stressed? Mindfulness can help. Here is the fourth of 5 short meditations, led by Surgeon General Vivek Murthy.
Jan 31, 2023
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Why Do Friendships Matter? (Part 1)
Friendships are so powerful they can help you live longer. How can we make and keep friends?
Jan 24, 2023
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Meditation for Dealing with Change & Uncertainty
Feeling stressed? Mindfulness can help. Here is the third of 5 short meditations, led by Surgeon General Vivek Murthy.
Jan 17, 2023
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Why is Change So Hard?
Change is a part of life. Sometimes it’s something we plan for, other times it’s unexpected. How can we handle it?
Jan 10, 2023
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Meditation for Combating Loneliness
Feeling stressed? Mindfulness can help. Here is the second of 5 short meditations, led by Surgeon General Vivek Murthy.
Jan 4, 2023
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Meditation for Easing Holiday Stress
Feeling stressed? Mindfulness can help. Here is the first of 5 short meditations, led by Surgeon General Vivek Murthy.
Dec 20, 2022
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Can Anxiety Be Good For Us?
Anxiety feels bad, but when approached in the right way, it can actually help us achieve our goals. It starts with getting curious about our anxiety.
Dec 13, 2022
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Can We Talk?
In an era taken hold by polarization, argument, and competing for attention, how can we have meaningful conversations? Fred Dust plants the seeds for the talks we want to have.
Nov 29, 2022
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What Do Natural Disasters Mean for Our Mental Health?
Hurricanes, drought, forest fires, floods. Even when things feel hopeless, there are ways we can respond to the mental trauma of worsening natural disasters.
Nov 15, 2022
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How Do We Connect With Our Kids?
No more time outs and sticker charts. Dr. Becky Kennedy, the “parent whisperer,” teaches us to raise our kids through connection, not consequences.
Nov 1, 2022
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How Do We Navigate the Joy and Sorrow of Being Human?
Life is bittersweet. Embracing this can be bring comfort and solace to losses in our life.
Oct 18, 2022
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Taking the Path of Most Resistance
What do you do when who you want to be and who the world tells you to be are different?
Oct 4, 2022
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What Makes Us Happy?
Do we understand what makes us happy? And if we do, can we make ourselves happier? The answer might surprise you.
Sep 20, 2022
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Clarity and the Domain of Stillness (Part 2)
Befriending your own awareness means you can feel at home in the present moment. It’s the key to being alone without being lonely.
Sep 6, 2022
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Peace and the Domain of Being (Part 1)
At the root of Jon Kabat-Zinn’s practice of mindfulness is befriending ourselves to take advantage of the full repertoire of being alive.
Aug 24, 2022
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Finding Strength Through Kindness
Father Greg Boyle offers wisdom for us all on how we can emotionally navigate past anger and bridge divides. And why he believes “kindness is the only non-delusional response to everything.”
Aug 9, 2022
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Why Feeling Like We Matter Really Matters
Christian Robinson grew up drawing the life he wanted to live on paper. As an adult and celebrated artist, it’s the reverse -- Robinson infuses his children’s books with narratives and illustrations from his life to help young people understand their own lives and feel they matter.
Jul 27, 2022
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Learning to Live When Life Falls Apart
Kate Bowler’s sudden cancer diagnosis upended her world. Angry with losing the life she had created, she had to forge a new type of strength —learning to lean on others.
Jul 13, 2022
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Recipe for Connection
Whether he’s cooking dinner for his family or feeding the world, José Andrés opens up about using the power of food to build connection and community.
Jun 29, 2022
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