Staying Human with Dr. Vivek Murthy

Staying Human with Dr. Vivek Murthy

Atul Gawande: What Dying Teaches Us About How to Live

Jun 23, 2026 · 1 hr 15 min · 12 segments

Are we paying too much attention to how long we live, and too little to how well we live? In this episode of Staying Human, Dr. Vivek Murthy sits down with surgeon, writer, and public health leader…

Are we paying too much attention to how long we live, and too little to how well we live? In this episode of Staying Human, Dr. Vivek Murthy sits down with surgeon, writer, and public health leader Dr. Atul Gawande — author of the landmark book *Being Mortal* — for a conversation that's part interview, part friendship, and part shared reckoning with what makes a life worth living. Together they explore the question most clinicians were never trained to ask: not how do we keep people alive, but how do we help them live in a way that means something to them? Atul reflects on how *Being Mortal* reshaped his own understanding of what it means to be a good doctor, and why the most important skill in medicine may be the simplest — asking people what they actually want. Along the way, Vivek and Atul get personal: caring for aging parents, the guilt that comes with it, and the loss of Atul's mother and Vivek's grandmother. They talk about belonging, the future of AI in medicine and the risk of a two-tiered system where human connection becomes a luxury, and the surprising things that make life meaningful — from chocolate ice cream and football to remembering the score in a ping pong game. It's a conversation about what dying can teach us about living, and the questions worth asking the people we love before it's too late. Every episode offers a reflection question inspired by the conversation. Share your thoughts and ideas with us at [hello@stayinghuman.us](mailto:hello@stayinghuman.us), on our Substack, or leave us a message at 1-833-74-HUMAN. IG @drvivekmurthy Substack vivekmurthy.substack.com/ More about your host, Dr. Vivek Murthy https://www.vivekmurthy.com

Are we paying too much attention to how long we live, and too little to how well we live? In this episode of Staying Human, Dr. Vivek Murthy sits down with surgeon, writer, and public health leader…

Speakers: Atul GawandeGuestVivek MurthyHost

Opening Question: Quality vs. Quantity of Life0:19 – 2:46

Vivek MurthyHost

0:19

Are we paying too much attention to how long we live and too little attention to how well we live? For most of my medical training, my goal as a doctor was to help patients live as long as possible.

Vivek MurthyHost

0:34

But the more I've sat with patients, I've come to question whether we've been missing something because more time isn't always the same thing as more life.

Vivek MurthyHost

0:43

and the people I've cared for haven't only wanted to live longer, they've wanted to live in a way that meant something to them.

Vivek MurthyHost

0:50

That's a question most of us in medicine were never trained to ask.

Vivek MurthyHost

0:54

What does dying teach us about how to truly live? And that's a question that Dr.

Vivek MurthyHost

1:00

Atul Gawande, surgeon, writer, public health leader, posed years ago in his powerful book, Being Mortal.

Vivek MurthyHost

1:09

What I love about this question he poses what makes life worth living, is that the answer is different for all of us.

Vivek MurthyHost

1:16

Ask it honestly, and it unfolds into a whole set of more beautiful questions.

Vivek MurthyHost

1:22

What do we actually want when more time isn't the only thing on the table?

Atul GawandeGuest

1:28

Those priorities are different from person to person and change over time.

Atul GawandeGuest

1:33

The best way to learn what people's priorities are is to ask them.

Atul GawandeGuest

1:39

And when we don't ask them, they suffer.

Atul GawandeGuest

1:43

What is the role of the doctor

Vivek MurthyHost

1:44

when longevity

Atul GawandeGuest

1:45

is not the most

Vivek MurthyHost

1:46

important

Atul GawandeGuest

1:47

goal? I would have said the job in healthcare, in medicine, is keep people living as healthy and as independently as they possibly can.

Atul GawandeGuest

1:59

And you know, save lives.

Atul GawandeGuest

2:00

People have priorities in their lives besides just living longer.

Atul GawandeGuest

2:04

Helping people serve those and achieve those loyalties is, I think, the larger purpose in medicine.

Atul GawandeGuest

2:15

help people live their priorities.

Atul GawandeGuest

2:16

When was the last time a doctor asked you what you wanted? What are your fears if your health worsens? What are your hopes if your health worsens? What are you willing to endure and not willing to endure for the sake of more time?

Vivek MurthyHost

2:34

I'm Dr. Vivek Murthy, and this is Staying Human.

Vivek MurthyHost

2:38

Join us in this conversation with Dr. Atul Gawande as we talk about what dying can teach us about how to live.

Vivek MurthyHost

2:45

Stay tuned.

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