We give voice to healthcare workers through our live performances and acclaimed medical storytelling podcast.

We give voice to healthcare workers through our live performances and acclaimed medical storytelling podcast.

We give voice to healthcare workers through our live performances and acclaimed medical storytelling podcast.

We give voice to healthcare workers through our live performances and acclaimed medical storytelling podcast.

By humanizing healthcare, we foster joy, creativity, and connection in the medical profession and the public it serves.

By humanizing healthcare, we foster joy, creativity, and connection in the medical profession and the public it serves.

By humanizing healthcare, we foster joy, creativity, and connection in the medical profession and the public it serves.

By humanizing healthcare, we foster joy, creativity, and connection in the medical profession and the public it serves.

LATEST EPISODE

APRIL 24, 2025

Root Causes with Ronald Wyatt, MD

What does uncertainty in medicine have to do with Chernobyl? According to patient safety officer Dr. Ron Wyatt, more than we might think. In the fourth episode of our "Uncertainty in Medicine" series, he draws a chilling connection between one of history’s worst nuclear disasters and the quiet, preventable tragedies that unfold in hospitals every day. In both cases, the warning signs were there. People sensed something was wrong. But no one spoke up—or if they did, no one listened.


Through his work at the Joint Commission, Dr. Wyatt has spent decades investigating sentinel events, the most serious and avoidable medical errors. What he’s found is deeply unsettling: the root causes rarely come down to lack of knowledge. They come from cultures where fear, hierarchy, and silence override curiosity and caution. And time and again, he’s seen how racism and bias magnify that silence. Here, Dr. Wyatt reveals what truly makes healthcare safe—and what has to change to protect every patient, equally.

Featured Project

We are delighted to announce that The Nocturnists — in collaboration with Arts Practica, and with generous support from the ABIM Foundation, Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation, and Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation — is producing a new podcast series on the theme of "Uncertainty in Medicine."


First episode drops April 3.

We are delighted to announce that The Nocturnists — in collaboration with Arts Practica, and with generous support from the ABIM Foundation, Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation, and Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation — is producing a new podcast series on the theme of "Uncertainty in Medicine."


First episode drops April 3.

We are delighted to announce that The Nocturnists — in collaboration with Arts Practica, and with generous support from the ABIM Foundation, Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation, and Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation — is producing a new podcast series on the theme of "Uncertainty in Medicine."


First episode drops April 3.

We are delighted to announce that The Nocturnists — in collaboration with Arts Practica, and with generous support from the ABIM Foundation, Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation, and Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation — is producing a new podcast series on the theme of "Uncertainty in Medicine."


First episode drops April 3.

the satellites program

the satellites program

The Nocturnists Satellites helps clinicians and clinician groups produce live storytelling shows in their communities. By partnering with people across the country, we amplify the movement we’ve been building over the last eight years to support clinician wellbeing through creative expression.

The Nocturnists Satellites helps clinicians and clinician groups produce live storytelling shows in their communities. By partnering with people across the country, we amplify the movement we’ve been building over the last eight years to support clinician wellbeing through creative expression.

The Nocturnists Satellites helps clinicians and clinician groups produce live storytelling shows in their communities. By partnering with people across the country, we amplify the movement we’ve been building over the last eight years to support clinician wellbeing through creative expression.

The Nocturnists Satellites helps clinicians and clinician groups produce live storytelling shows in their communities. By partnering with people across the country, we amplify the movement we’ve been building over the last eight years to support clinician wellbeing through creative expression.

Hi, I'm Emily.


Since childhood, I dreamed of becoming a doctor. But during my medical residency I found myself spending more time with computers than people, pressured to be efficient at the expense of human connection. This led me to ask deeper questions about our profession, and the direction it was taking.


In 2016, I founded The Nocturnists as a way to explore those questions. What began as a personal quest quickly grew into a vibrant community of healthcare workers celebrating our shared humanity through storytelling. To date, our live performances and award-winning podcast have featured the voices of over 450 frontline clinicians.


By airing our stories in a safe and generative public forum, The Nocturnists helps shatter the myth of the “physician God” and reveal the truth: that healthcare workers are human, just like everyone else, and that our humanity is our strength, not our weakness.


Welcome to our community.

Hi, I'm Emily.


Since childhood, I dreamed of becoming a doctor. But during my medical residency I found myself spending more time with computers than people, pressured to be efficient at the expense of human connection. This led me to ask deeper questions about our profession, and the direction it was taking.


In 2016, I founded The Nocturnists as a way to explore those questions. What began as a personal quest quickly grew into a vibrant community of healthcare workers celebrating our shared humanity through storytelling. To date, our live performances and award-winning podcast have featured the voices of over 450 frontline clinicians.


By airing our stories in a safe and generative public forum, The Nocturnists helps shatter the myth of the “physician God” and reveal the truth: that healthcare workers are human, just like everyone else, and that our humanity is our strength, not our weakness.


Welcome to our community.

Hi, I'm Emily.


Since childhood, I dreamed of becoming a doctor. But during my medical residency I found myself spending more time with computers than people, pressured to be efficient at the expense of human connection. This led me to ask deeper questions about our profession, and the direction it was taking.


In 2016, I founded The Nocturnists as a way to explore those questions. What began as a personal quest quickly grew into a vibrant community of healthcare workers celebrating our shared humanity through storytelling. To date, our live performances and award-winning podcast have featured the voices of over 450 frontline clinicians.


By airing our stories in a safe and generative public forum, The Nocturnists helps shatter the myth of the “physician God” and reveal the truth: that healthcare workers are human, just like everyone else, and that our humanity is our strength, not our weakness.


Welcome to our community.

Hi, I'm Emily.


Since childhood, I dreamed of becoming a doctor. But during my medical residency I found myself spending more time with computers than people, pressured to be efficient at the expense of human connection. This led me to ask deeper questions about our profession, and the direction it was taking.


In 2016, I founded The Nocturnists as a way to explore those questions. What began as a personal quest quickly grew into a vibrant community of healthcare workers celebrating our shared humanity through storytelling. To date, our live performances and award-winning podcast have featured the voices of over 450 frontline clinicians.


By airing our stories in a safe and generative public forum, The Nocturnists helps shatter the myth of the “physician God” and reveal the truth: that healthcare workers are human, just like everyone else, and that our humanity is our strength, not our weakness.


Welcome to our community.

Emily Silverman, MD

Creator + Host + Showrunner

Emily Silverman, MD

Creator + Host + Showrunner

Emily Silverman, MD

Creator + Host + Showrunner

Emily Silverman, MD

Creator + Host + Showrunner

The Nocturnists asks questions like: What is caring and healing? What fuels alienation or connection in healthcare?

The Nocturnists asks questions like: What is caring and healing? What fuels alienation or connection in healthcare?

The Nocturnists asks questions like: What is caring and healing? What fuels alienation or connection in healthcare?

The Nocturnists asks questions like: What is caring and healing? What fuels alienation or connection in healthcare?

Listener Reviews

“What a beautiful show. Often it feels like medicine gets too much credit, but The Nocturnists made me feel like it gets too little.”

“What a beautiful show. Often it feels like medicine gets too much credit, but The Nocturnists made me feel like it gets too little.”

• BJ MILLER, MD •

• BJ MILLER, MD

“As a chaplain whose hope it is to see a gentler and kinder medicine emerge from our broken system, these stories are like little cups of cold water in the desert.”

“As a chaplain whose hope it is to see a gentler and kinder medicine emerge from our broken system, these stories are like little cups of cold water in the desert.”

• JOANNAH H •

• JOANNAH H

“I am so grateful for your work. Always relevant, thoughtful, inspiring. I am a public health pediatrician and writer, among other things. This podcast feels like home.”

“I am so grateful for your work. Always relevant, thoughtful, inspiring. I am a public health pediatrician and writer, among other things. This podcast feels like home.”

• JENNIE A. MCLAURIN, MD, MPH •

• JENNIE A. MCLAURIN, MD, MPH

newsletter

Stay updated with our newest stories, episodes, and events.

Stay updated with our newest stories, episodes, and events.