The Emergency Mind Podcast

What happens when life-and-death decisions must be made by a team rather than an individual? In this episode, Dr. Mark Ramzy — cardiothoracic intensivist, emergency physician, and Co-Editor-in-Chief of REBEL EM — joins us to explore how teams think, decide, and act under pressure inside the ICU

What happens when life depends on perfect coordination between human and machine? In this episode, Thomas Preston — a veteran ECMO expert and executive leader at Integration Health — joins us to explore the high-stakes world of ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) and the complex teamwork it demands.

In this episode, Harry Moffitt shares his insights on human performance and philosophy. Moffitt, a director at Stoughton Group and Mission Critical Teams Institute, and a former SAS member, discusses his new book 'The Fourth Pillar: Modern Stoicism and the Philosophy of High Performance.' He touches on the importance of philosophy alongside physical, psychological, and social aspects of human performance. The conversation also explores the risks of modernity, the importance of maintaining humanity in high-performance environments, and how metaphors influence our understanding of development and growth. Harry challenges listeners to embrace philosophical practices and offers practical steps to maintain a balanced, fulfilling life.

How do complex systems shape the emergencies we face—and how can understanding them help you perform when it matters most? In this episode, I talk with epidemiologist and emergency responder Geoff Dougherty about how complexity science shows up everywhere from individual patient care to statewide population health. We dig into what makes a system complex, why small changes can have massive effects, and how feedback loops, phase transitions, and path dependence shape what actually happens under pressure.

Coming home to your family after shift is a skill. In this episode, Dr. Art Finch and I talk about re-integration, and coming home as a process not an event. We introduce our new resource, "On Coming Home," a workbook for people operating in crisis and their families -- you can download it free at www.bit.ly/mctioch