Palliatively Speaking

About Palliatively Speaking

In this podcast, host Toby Campbell dives into the inspiring journeys of clinicians from all corners of palliative care. You’ll hear from palliative care physicians, nurses, social workers, scientists, and chaplains who are making a profound impact through their groundbreaking research, advocacy work, innovative tools, and, of course, by being there for patients and families in their most vulnerable moments. We’ll explore what drives them, how they got started, the challenges they've faced, and those moments of clarity that changed everything. Stick around; you’re about to be inspired and transformed.

Publisher

Dr. Toby Campbell

Category

health & fitness

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

4 Feb 2025

Latest episode

17 Mar 2026

Latest episodes

15 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   17 Mar 2026

   Palliatively Speaking Ep 14 - Teaching the World Palliative Care

   In this episode of "Palliatively Speaking" host Toby Campbell interviews Dr. Judith Paice, the director of the Cancer Pain Program at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and co-chair of the 2023 American Society of Clinical Oncology guideline on opioid use for cancer pain. The conversation explores Dr. Paice's 25-year involvement with the End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC), a train-the-trainer program that has reached millions of healthcare professionals worldwide. Dr. Paice discusses how ELNEC  started with five planned courses, and then expanded to over 300 courses translated into multiple languages. The curriculum has been adapted for various audiences, including pediatric nurses, advanced practice nurses, and faculty. Using personal stories and anecdotes, Dr. Paice gives a closer look at the critical challenges in pain management, particularly the tension between managing cancer pain and the opioid epidemic. She emphasizes that oncology clinicians face unique pressures as they navigate both cancer pain management and opioid safety concerns. The conversation then shifts to a discussion about the importance of primary palliative care education for all oncology providers, not just specialist palliative care teams. Later in the episode, Dr. Paice is joined by Sarah Lowery, a nurse practitioner at OHSU and ELNEC international trainer, and a mentee of Dr. Paice. Both speakers reflect on mentorship as essential to professional development and organizational sustainability. Dr. Paice advises emerging leaders to recognize their unique contributions, overcome imposter syndrome, and offers tips for identifying potential mentees for a successful collaborative relationship.

2. 

   25 Feb 2026

   Palliatively Speaking Ep 13 - Saving Hospice

   In this special episode, Toby Campbell sits down with palliative care legend Dr. Ira Byock for a candid, far-reaching conversation about the field's origins, its current challenges, and the path forward. Joined by the CEO of the Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC), Brynn Bowman, Byock reflects on his early days as a rural family medicine resident drawn to patients "put down the hall" and forgotten—a pull that would lead him to become one of hospice and palliative care's most influential voices. Forty years later, Byock pulls no punches in assessing the field he helped build. He calls out the "epidemic" of fraudulent hospice programs, the unacceptable variability in quality, and what he sees as palliative care's timidity in advocating for itself. According to Dr. Byock, the solution to these challenges lies in establishing clear clinical and programmatic standards and a willingness to embrace, rather than hide from, healthcare's capitalist reality. Brynn Bowman offers a generational counterpoint, acknowledging the field's growing pains while finding reasons for optimism: culture change, an undeniable value proposition, and emerging work on quality standards that could finally separate excellent care from the merely mediocre. In this special episode, Toby Campbell sits down with palliative care legend Dr. Ira Byock for a candid, far-reaching conversation about the field's origins, its current challenges, and the path forward. Joined by the CEO of the Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC), Brynn Bowman, Byock reflects on his early days as a rural family medicine resident drawn to patients "put down the hall" and forgotten—a pull that would lead him to become one of hospice and palliative care's most influential voices. Forty years later, Byock pulls no punches in assessing the field he helped build. He calls out the "epidemic" of fraudulent hospice programs, the unacceptable variability in quality, and what he sees as palliative care's timidity in advocating for itself. According to Dr. Byock, the solution to these challenges lies in establishing clear clinical and programmatic standards and a willingness to embrace, rather than hide from, healthcare's capitalist reality. Brynn Bowman offers a generational counterpoint, acknowledging the field's growing pains while finding reasons for optimism: culture change, an undeniable value proposition, and emerging work on quality standards that could finally separate excellent care from the merely mediocre. This episode is a master class in leadership, honesty, and the courage to speak truth—even to the field you love.

3. 

   13 Jan 2026

   Palliatively Speaking Ep 12 - Empowering All The Caregivers

   In this thoughtful and engaging episode, geriatric and palliative care nurse scientist Dr. AB Brody shatters illusions about dementia care with hard-won wisdom. Having witnessed his own grandparents suffer through a system that prioritized medical protocols over human dignity, Brody now leads a quiet revolution in how we support caregivers. The most important revelation? In the marathon of supporting caregivers, we've been asking the wrong question. Not "What's wrong?" but "What's going right?". This simple flip was honed through years of house calls and hospice work. It uncovers hidden reservoirs of strength in both patients and caregivers. Through his nonprofit Oliviato Health, Brody bridges the dangerous gap between research and reality, developing tools and resources that reach caregivers where they are and help healthcare systems adopt evidence-based practices that would elevate hospice care. Dr. Brody recounts how hospice teams, when properly supported, can transform from crisis managers to guardians of quality life. Dr. Brody is joined by the community leader, Elder Denise Lawson. His community engagement work with Elder Denise proves that true change happens not in ivory towers, but in church basements and living rooms where caregivers gather. We're failing dementia families not from lack of science, but lack of imagination. The solution lies in listening to caregivers' wisdom, to patients' unspoken needs, and to those fleeting moments of connection that make the unbearable bearable. As Brody puts it: "Caregiving isn't a problem to solve. It's a relationship to honor."

4. 

   4 Dec 2025

   Palliatively Speaking with Dr. Toby Campbell Ep 11 - From Founder to Successor

   Title: From Founder to Successor Summary: Guest: Matt Gonzales Guest’s guest: Ira Byock This episode offers a masterclass in humanizing healthcare. Join host Dr. Campbell for a fascinating conversation with Dr. Matt Gonzalez, a software engineer, a palliative care physician, and a leader overseeing 51 hospitals on the West Coast. The conversation begins with a discussion on the future of empathetic care and the critical importance of presence. Dr. Gonzales argues that the system must be redesigned to allow clinicians to do what they entered medicine to do: connect. He shares the monumental success of scaling goals-of-care conversations from 7% to 85% across the Providence health system, which is an accomplishment he attributes not to lecturing clinicians, but to dismantling systemic barriers and "making the right way easy." The discussion shifts to lessons about leadership as Dr. Gonzales is joined by his mentor, Dr. Ira Byock. Together, they unpack the secrets to a successful leadership transition—built on trust, joy, and the courage to lead from a place of love, not fear. Dr. Byock shares the crucial wisdom for a founder to truly let go, allowing the next leader to step into their own authentic skin. To close, our guests explore a future in which AI handles paperwork, freeing doctors for the sacred work of listening. But Matt issues a crucial caveat: AI can generate the perfect empathetic words, but without genuine human intent and authenticity behind them, they are remain empty words. This episode is an inspiring look at the leaders who are putting the "care" back into healthcare.

5. 

   18 Nov 2025

   Palliatively Speaking with Dr. Toby Campbell - Ep 10 - Dr. Steven Pantilat and Gretchen Schwarze

   Palliatively Speaking with Dr. Toby Campbell - Ep 10 - Dr. Steven Pantilat and Gretchen Schwarze

6. 

   3 Nov 2025

   Palliatively Speaking Ep 9 - Cardinale Smith

   Guest: Cardinale Smith Guest’s guest: Melissa Mazor In a compelling episode, Dr. Cardi Smith, Chief Medical Officer at Memorial Sloan Kettering and a leader in oncology and palliative care, shared her journey, from her mother’s unfulfilled dream of becoming a physician to her own rise in medicine. Driven by a legacy of resilience, she emphasized leadership as a tool for systemic change, not personal power. As one of few palliative care physicians in executive roles, she highlighted the "minority tax", which is the burden of representing marginalized identities in leadership. Yet, her palliative care skills, like empathy and communication, helped her navigate these challenges. Dr. Smith’s leadership philosophy is rooted in servant leadership which includes elevating others, creating opportunities, and measuring success by collective progress rather than individual accolades. After being joined by mentee Dr. Melissa Mazur, the discussion shifted to the urgent need to move beyond pilot programs in health equity, advocating for sustainable solutions like patient navigation, which has proven effective for decades but remains underfunded. To achieve this, there is an urgent need for implementation science and measurable community engagement. In closing, the guests emphasized that equity work cannot rely on temporary grants or goodwill. It requires embedding anti-racist practices into healthcare’s infrastructure, a challenge that demands courage from leaders and institutions alike.

7. 

   21 Jul 2025

   Palliatively Speaking Ep 8 - The Winding Road to Practice Change

   In this engaging podcast episode, Dr. Toby Campbell interviews Dr. Rachelle Bernacki, a palliative care physician and Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School, alongside guest Dr. Stephanie Harman. Dr. Bernacki shares her journey into palliative care and geriatrics, mentorship, and systemic change. She reflects on the development and scaling of the Serious Illness Conversation Guide, a tool now used globally, despite initial rejections and challenges in publishing the foundational research. The interview shifts to a discussion about Dr. Bernacki’s transition to geriatric surgery and her collaboration with Dr. Zara Cooper to improve care for older surgical patients. This 16-million-dollar grant from the West Health Foundation focuses on practical changes like reducing harmful medications and preventing delirium among surgical patients. Dr. Bernacki emphasized the importance of persistence and curiosity to learn about a new clinical area and drive meaningful change. Dr. Harman adds deeper insights into Dr. Bernacki’s leadership and their shared commitment to fostering supportive spaces in medicine. The episode closes with the ongoing national and global impact of Dr. Bernacki’s work, from New Zealand’s nationwide adoption of the Serious Illness Care Program to her current efforts in transforming hospital care for older adults.

8. 

   24 Jun 2025

   Palliatively Speaking Ep 7 - Quality Healthcare for LGBTQ+ People

   Communications scientist Dr. Carey Candrian and journalist Linda Kotsaftis explore improving healthcare for LGBTQ+ individuals facing serious illness and end-of-life care through storytelling and inclusive environments in this interview episode.

9. 

   5 Jun 2025

   Palliatively Speaking Ep 6 - Better Conversations, Better Care

   Dr. Gretchen Schwarze and Dr. Amy Zelenski examine methods for clinicians to enhance communication and decision-making, ultimately improving patient-centered care through mindset shifts around informed consent in this interview.

10. 

    30 Apr 2025

    Palliatively Speaking - Power of the Chaplain

    This episode features Allison Kestenbaum, Supervisor of Spiritual Care and Clinical Pastoral Education at UC San Diego Health, and Natasha Ecombe, a staff chaplain and former art curator who trained under Allison’s program. They explore the role of chaplains in palliative care, their approaches to spiritual care, and the deep impact of presence, curiosity, and reflection in the clinical setting. We get Allison's reflection on living well, including practicing gratitude, embracing connection, and having the courage to be seen and heard. We discuss how the chaplain's very presence in an important conversation affects the way the conversation unfolds, the feel and the outcome.

11. 

    18 Apr 2025

    Palliatively Speaking Ep 4 - Temel, Greer & Jackson

    In this engaging and unfiltered podcast episode, Dr. Toby Campbell sits down with renowned collaborators and friends Dr. Jennifer Temel, Dr. Vicki Jackson, and Dr. Joseph Greer for an honest discussion on the keys to building thriving and effective research teams. The group reflects on their decades-long partnership, sharing how they navigate failures and setbacks—from rejected grants to flawed studies. They emphasize the importance of mutual respect, curiosity, vulnerability, and how conflicts can sometimes benefit the team. The conversation also highlights their team science approach, including weekly meetings for each project, shared leadership, and the "mini-psychologist" skills that keep their projects thriving. The conversation concludes with a discussion of the team’s approach to mentoring rising stars like Dr. Areej El-Jawahri. Whether you're a team leader or a collaborator, this episode offers invaluable lessons to help your team thrive and succeed.

12. 

    7 Mar 2025

    Palliatively Speaking Episode 3 - Mentoring the Next Great Leaders

    Guest: Stephanie Harman Guest's guest: Shireen Heidari In this episode, Dr. Stephanie Harman, a palliative care physician and leader at Stanford, takes us through her remarkable leadership journey. From founding Stanford’s Palliative Care clinical program to establishing a leadership development program for women in medicine, Dr. Harman shares invaluable insights into the challenges and triumphs of building successful programs for the next generation. Dr. Harman shares how she draws on her expertise and experience as a palliative care provider to drive her leadership initiatives, emphasizing a process-oriented approach over outcomes and placing a strong focus on cultivating communication skills in leadership programs. A central theme of the conversation is mentorship—Dr. Harman shares how she was guided by leaders like Dr. Bob Arnold and how she now pays it forward by supporting and advocating for junior faculty and empowering them to thrive and succeed in their careers. Dr. Shireen Heidari, the program director for the Stanford University Hospice and Palliative Fellowship, joins the conversation to discuss the role of narrative medicine, emphasizing how writing can help process the emotional intensity of palliative care. Together, they explore the importance of communication, the lessons learned from working with seriously ill patients, and the need for ongoing mentorship to cultivate purposeful leadership in palliative care.

13. 

    7 Feb 2025

    Palliatively Speaking Episode 2 - Compassion: The Key to High Quality Care

    Guest: Arif Kamal Guest’s Guest: Christopher Jones Dr. Arif Kamal, an oncologist, palliative care physician and Chief Patient Officer at the American Cancer Society (ACS).  Kamal reflects on his work in oncology and palliative care, emphasizing compassion in cancer care, the role AI assistive intelligence will play in enhancing the role of humans in healthcare, and the importance of a supportive community to help you weather career setbacks. Dr. Kamal discusses how palliative care principles, like understanding a patient’s needs and values, can be integrated into routine oncology care and how this could become easier as the field of medicine incorporates the assistive intelligence aspects of AI that can assist with generating differential diagnoses and treatment considerations.  He advocates for the role of compassionate care such as considering first, who is our patient before determining what the treatment approach should be where healthcare providers prioritize understanding who the patient is before focusing on medical conditions or treatments. We discuss the future impact of AI in enhancing decision-making in oncology and he calls for a shift in how care providers are incentivized, promoting compassion as an essential component of high-quality healthcare. Dr. Kamal discusses the role of mentors in his life, career setbacks, and personal experiences that shaped his path, highlighting resilience and the importance of finding supportive communities. We welcome his guest, Dr. Christopher Jones, the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Palliative Medicine and the clinical vice chair for Duke Palliative Care.  They discuss operationalizing palliative care interventions, the human side of medicine, the challenges of burnout and the importance of creating a balance between professional responsibilities and personal well-being.

14. 

    6 Feb 2025

    Palliatively Speaking Episode1 - Navigating Uncertainty in Pediatric Palliative Care

    Dr. Debra Lotstein, a pediatric palliative care physician and leader at UCLA reflects on her journey into pediatric palliative care, sharing how an early experience as a resident shaped her understanding of end-of-life care.  She shares a defining moment in her career when she realized that focusing solely on advanced, life saving medical interventions can overlooks what truly matters to a patient or family.  We discuss the emotional and cognitive challenges of working with seriously ill and dying children.  She tells how she “reads the room”, builds trust, and helps families navigate uncertainty.  She reminds us that pediatric palliative care is a team sport where members bring unique skills to the bedside but also support each other through tough cases.  Dr. Lotstein’s deep sense of purpose and commitment to her patients and families is evident and led her to advocate at the policy level locally and nationally to improving palliative care systems of care for children.  Her reflections offer insight into the emotional depth, ethical complexities, and profound rewards of working in pediatric palliative care. Dr. Debra Lotstein is joined by Patty Everett, the mother of Ryan, a young man with severe disabilities. Their conversation delves into the emotional and logistical challenges of caring for a child with complex medical needs and how palliative care provides critical support. Patty recounts how Dr. Lotstein guided her through many of the most difficult decisions of her life regarding carin for Ryan, breaking down the process step by step in a way that felt manageable and compassionate. We discuss the role of concurrent hospice care, which allowed Ryan to receive both standard medical treatment and palliative support simultaneously. Beyond the personal aspects of their work together, the episode highlights their shared commitment to policy advocacy, including testifying at the California State House to ensure continued palliative care access for young adults transitioning out of pediatric care.  We can see how relationships forged in difficult circumstances can lead to connection and action that may help shape the future of palliative care medicine.

15. 

    4 Feb 2025

    Palliatively Speaking Trailer

    Dr. Toby Campbell talks to the brightest minds in the field of palliative care. Together, they examine the expert’s knowledge about culture, medicine, comminication and what it means to truly live, and die, well. Each episode, our guest brings a guest to the show. A guest's guest. Dr. Campbell lets them introduce each other so that we can see these special people through the eyes of someone who knows them best. Join Dr. Toby Campbell, in Palliatively Speaking.

Who has been a guest on Palliatively Speaking

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Dr Carey Candrian
• Linda Kotsaftis
• Dr Gretchen Schwarze
• Dr Amy Zelenski

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

303

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

24 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

11 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 53 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

41

Social presence

90

YouTube

66

Engagement

51

Contact Palliatively Speaking

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.