Atul Gawande

Atul Gawande is a surgeon and author who’s well-known for his clear and eloquent writing on medicine. He was a staff writer for “The New Yorker” magazine from 1998 until 2022, when President Biden appointed him to lead global health at the ​​US Agency for International Development. Gawande is the author of four best-selling books including “The Checklist Manifesto,” and most recently, “Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End”. In that book, Gawande considers what medicine can not overcome - death. Along with the lessons he’s learned treating patients who are facing death, Gawande writes about his own family’s experience as his father’s health declined. Dr. Gawande’s unique perspective on the practice of medicine, especially things not so often discussed, has inspired us to invite him back to our stage numerous times. This conversation - with cognitive neuroscientist Indre Viskontas - is from 2017. It was recorded at the Nourse Theater in San Francisco.