In this episode of Music & Medicine, Žak Ozmo is in conversation with Dr. Jonathan Finder.  Dr. Finder is a professor of pediatrics at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and a member of the division of pediatric pulmonology at Le Bonheur Children's Hospital. In his spare time, he is a musician with many ties to the Memphis community.

The conversation includes parallels between the practice of medicine and music-making, the use of music in healthcare, and playing the banjo.

In this episode, we are joined by Dr. Francisco D. Lara.  Dr. Lara is an ethnomusicologist and musician with pedagogical, research, and performance interest in the music and culture of Latin America, Afro-Latin America, and music, health, and wellness. He is on the faculty at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee.

In this episode of Music & Medicine, Žak Ozmo continues the conversation with Stephen Johnson, a British author, BBC music broadcaster, and composer.  His recent book, How Shostakovich Changed My Mind, won the prestigious 2021 Rubery Book Award.

Johnson explores the power of Shostakovich’s music during Stalin’s reign of terror and talks about the extraordinary healing effect of music on sufferers of mental illness.  He further reflects on his own experience, where he believes Shostakovich’s music helped him survive the trials and assaults of bipolar disorder.