Medicine and the Humanities: the art of transgression

What happens when a comic book illustrator and a fine artist challenge the way medicine is practiced? In this episode, Dr. Sarah Ahmed and Dr. Sabina Dosani talk with Dr. Monica Lalanda and Dr. Tamarin Norwood about why "politeness" might be a problem for research. They explore the overlap between the arts and medical science – exploring how graphic medicine and fine art are tools to break through silos. They discuss how crossing lines and being "transgressive" can bring the focus back to the person behind the patient.

The participants:

• Dr. Monica Lalanda is a physician, Graphic Medicine artist and bioethics researcher who coordinates the Spanish Society of Graphic Medicine.

• Dr. Tamarin Norwood is a Leverhulme Research Fellow. She is an Honorary Fellow at the University of Durham Institute for Medical Humanities and was an Associate Editor at the Medical Humanities journal from 2025 to 2026. 

The hosts:

• Dr Sabina Dosani, Medical Humanities' Editor-in-Chief and Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist;
• Dr Sarah Ahmed, Paediatrician and Medical Humanities scholar.