Why Your Doctor Gets It Wrong (and a Simple Shift That Would Fix It)

About this episode

The episode explores the reasons behind frequent misdiagnoses in healthcare and discusses systemic issues within the American medical system.

Almost all of us will be misdiagnosed at some point—a terrifying stat in an age of high-tech medicine. First, Alexandra Sifferlin digs into why doctors get it wrong so often and what her reporting for The Elusive Body reveals about the diagnosis crisis. Then, oncologist Ilana Yurkiewicz takes us inside the invisible handoff failures and systemic cracks that make American health care feel impossible to navigate. Sponsored By: Book of the Day — Sign up for our free daily newsletter at bookoftheday.nextbigideaclub.com Notion — Try Custom Agents now at ⁠notion.com/daily

People in this episode

Guests: Alexandra Sifferlin, Ilana Yurkiewicz

Topics covered

• misdiagnosis
• healthcare
• systemic issues
• medical reporting
• patient experience

Keywords

• misdiagnosis
• healthcare system
• diagnosis crisis
• medical errors
• patient navigation

Sponsors

Book of the Day, Notion

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Elusive Body

More episodes of The Next Big Idea Daily

• The Places That Shape Us · June 12, 2026 · 19 min
• Serve. Lead. Repeat. · June 11, 2026 · 23 min
• Defying Destiny: Longevity, Epigenetics, and the Myth of “Fixed” Biology · June 10, 2026 · 22 min
• Evolution’s Secret Weapon (and How to Use It) · June 9, 2026 · 31 min
• Gold Fever, Land Rush · June 8, 2026 · 21 min
• The Climate Change Survival Guide · June 5, 2026 · 26 min