UNHEALED is a project initiated by the Trent Center for Bioethics, Humanities & History of Medicine at Duke University School of Medicine, in collaboration with the Duke University Institutional History Project. It is part of the Trent Center’s broader mission of bringing the humanities to bear on clinical medicine—in this case, the challenges for academic health centers posed by the historical legacies of medical racism. The podcast incorporates voices from both inside and outside the health system, including those of the family of Maltheus Avery.
Jeffrey Baker, MD, PhD
Co-host
Jeff Baker is a professor of Pediatrics and of the Practice of History, and directs the Trent Center for Bioethics, Humanities & History of Medicine at Duke University School of Medicine. He has spoken to many audiences on the history of racism in academic health centers and their communities, focusing on the example of Duke Hospital and Durham. He serves on the board of the Museum of Durham History, and in 2024-25 served as chair of the President’s Advisory Committee on Institutional History at Duke.
Damon Tweedy, MD
Co-Host
Damon Tweedy is a professor of Psychiatry at Duke University School of Medicine and staff physician at the Durham VA Health Care System. His first book, Black Man in a White Coat, was a New York Times bestseller and was selected by Time as one of the top ten nonfiction books of 2015. He has also published articles about race, medicine, and mental health in medical journals and print publications, including The New York Times and The Washington Post. His most recent book is Facing the Unseen: The Struggle to Center Mental Health in Medicine.
Beverley Abel
Producer
Beverley Abel has worked in public media for more than twenty-five years. Originally from South Africa, she spent a decade in London, producing television documentaries for the BBC, IT, Central TV, and the CBC. In the United States, she has worked in public radio as a producer, editor, and host, including for WUNC Public Radio. Her past work has been awarded a shared Peabody for the radio documentary Immigration Uncovered: Untold Stories of Moving North. She has also received the Edward R. Murrow award, National Federation of Community Broadcasters Silver Reel award, and a Gracie Allen award for Best National Radio Magazine.
Behind the Scenes
We thank the following individuals who have made essential contributions to this project:
Project Manager: Nikki Vangsnes
Research Assistant: Tayzhaun Glover
Staff Support: Marjorie Miller
Audio Engineer: Keith Weston
Voice-Overs: Linda Belans, Scott Huler, Mike Wiley
Library and Archive Support: Brooke Guthrie, Rebecca Williams
Music by Blue Dot Sessions
We wish to thank Dr. Erica Taylor for reading from her letter to Duke leadership in 2020.