Speaking of Pain
TEDx Boulder, What We Lose When We Undertreat Pain, September 17, 2017. Proper treatment of my pain allowed me to continue work as a Federal civil rights prosecutor after a surgery left me in severe pain, and unable to sit, stand, or walk. In this talk, I tell my story and go on to explore the ways in which our approach to opioid abuse by 2.5 million Americans is hurting the treatment of 50 million people in severe or persistent pain. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4vHSLeTe-s
Dartmouth College, Conference on the Politics and Ethics of Healthcare, The Dueling Epidemics of Opioid Abuse and Chronic Pain, August 2016.
Upcoming Keynotes and Talks. Numerous keynotes in 2018 to medical societies and talks in CME. Also upcoming:
In Stillness, Health (2018). On my discovery of stillness through which I learned to lower my heartrate and blood pressure and, eventually, to get outside the fight or flight response. Everyone in the modern world lives adrenaline-charged lives. This talk explores the gifts that come from unplugging.
Collecting Health (2018). On the role of art and pleasure in healing.
Speaking of Art
The Art of Justice, 48 Hours of Socially-Engaged Art, Redline, Denver, Colorado, August 12, 2017. On socially-engaged art and the marriage of art and activism.
Art and Activism, Roundtable prompter, September 2017.
Writing on Pain
Why I Went Public About Serious Pain and Opioids, November 16, 2017, National Pain Report (still featured).
What My 20-year Health Journey Should Tell Us About Undertreating Pain, November 3, 2017, The Mighty.
How Rx Opioids Helped Me Work Again, October 31, 2017, Pain News Network.
At Pain’s Weak Mercy, March-April 2017, Dartmouth Alumni Magazine.
Writing on Art
Tilt West, Development, Displacement and the Arts, August 2017.
Tilt West, Art and Activism, September 2017.
Review, John Buck at Robischon Gallery, December 2016, Daily Serving.
Foreward, Exhibition Catalogue, Sarah McKenzie: White Walls (2016).