Duke Theology, Medicine, and Culture Initiative

This presentation explores two distinct—and often opposing—approaches within public health: Population Health Management (PHM) and Health Through Community (HTC). Dr. Karl Johnson, Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Health Leadership and Practice at UNC Chapel Hill, will highlight key characteristics that differentiate these models and illustrate the contrast through practical examples. Drawing on the core values of public health and the unique challenges of our current historical moment, the presentation will make a case for shifting from PHM toward HTC. This episode aired on March 20, 2026.

What does beauty have to do with suffering? And what do both have to do with the practice of medicine? In this TMC seminar, theologian Dr. Natalie Carnes and family physician Dr. Brewer Eberly sit down for a rich conversation about beauty — one of the Christian names for God — and why beauty and suffering are so deeply intertwined in the Christian story. Together they explore what this togetherness means for how we love, attend, and care in medicine. This episode aired on February 20, 2026.

Providing care among the poor and marginalized has always required tenacity and perseverance. Failures, discouragement, and even despair are commonplace. In this seminar, Rick Donlon, MD and Susan Post, DMin, MBA explore the normal course of faithful and sacrificial Christian discipleship and the means of grace available for long-term faithfulness from their work with Christian Community Health Fellowship (CCHF), a national network of Christians and Christian health centers that serve those experiencing poverty in the U.S. This episode aired on February 6, 2026.

The nursing profession been shaped by Christian nurses while also having an influence on nurses. This seminar with Anne Biro, RN, PhD, President of Nurses Christian Fellowship International (NCFI), provides a brief overview of major influences on the development of the nursing profession. Impacts on nursing by Christian nurses past and present will be highlighted, including a discussion of ways that have helped Christian nurses in different parts of the world integrate a biblical worldview into their nursing work. This episode aired on October 24, 2025.

An in-depth interview with Dr. Harold Koenig, a world-leading scholar on the intersection of faith and health. Dr. Koenig reflects on his distinguished career in medicine, psychiatry, and geriatric care, sharing insights from decades of research on the relationship between spirituality and well-being. He and interviewer Dr. Warren Kinghorn discuss how Koenig's Christian faith has shaped his professional vocation, from clinical practice to global scholarship. With nearly 650 peer-reviewed publications, 66 books, and international recognition as the top-ranked researcher in spirituality and health, Dr. Koenig brings a rare combination of academic rigor, clinical expertise, and personal conviction to this important conversation. This episode aired on September 26, 2025.