Knock Knock, Hi! with the Glaucomfleckens

Knock Knock, Hi! with the Glaucomfleckens

"Knock Knock, Hi! with the Glaucomfleckens" dives into the highs, lows, and WTFs of healthcare. Whether you're in the medical field, live with a healthcare worker, or broke your arm once and are still paying off your medical bills, this is a must-listen. Join Will and Kristin Flanary (aka the Glaucomfleckens) for candid chats with leading healthcare voices like Dr. Mike and Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy. Discover fun facts about eyeballs, hear relatable stories from medical training, and sneak a peek into the U.S. health insurance industry (spoiler alert: it's not great!). We'll share our own perspectives of being a patient or family member experiencing the healthcare system. And, of course, we explore the question on everyone's minds: "Why has Dr. Glaucomflecken never had his eyes dilated?" Combining science with humor and a dash of snark, we unpack the human side of healthcare.

Episodes

December 16, 2025 47 mins
This week, Kristin and I break down the kind of healthcare headline that makes you want to scream into a pillow: premiums going up while subsidies disappear. Love that for us. We talk about why insurance always seems to be “oops, more expensive now!” and why families in the middle always get squeezed the hardest. But then we pivot to the good news, we got fact-checked by an actual biochemist. And honestly? It made my whole week. Th...
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This week, I’m diving into one of the weirdest modern medical questions: what actually makes a “top doctor” in the age of TikTok? After an Allure article exposed the rise, and sometimes fall, of social-media-famous plastic surgeons, I have thoughts. Many thoughts. Mostly about ethics, entertainment, and why the operating room should never be a live-streaming studio. Then we shift into something much more fun: a full mystery case. ...
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This week, Kristin and I dive into aphantasia, anendophasia, and why apparently my wife’s brain works more like a slideshow than a podcast. I’m learning things about her that I wish I didn’t know, and she’s learning that most people don’t think in GIFs. We also talk about what happens when meditation goes wrong, how brains get rewired after trauma, and why sometimes “turning your brain off” might actually mean “floating into the v...
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This week I ran into something online that made my ophthalmologist brain short-circuit: a brand-new CDC statement about autism and vaccines that… let’s just say does not follow how science actually works. So I’m breaking down the logic, the frustration, and why “prove it’s not true” is one of the worst arguments in medicine. Then, because I can only rant for so long before needing to retreat into eyeball science, I walk through tw...
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December 2, 2025 44 mins
This week on Glauc Talk, Kristin and I unpack the bizarre ways people twist “correlation vs. causation” and why apparently every high school should have a mandatory class on basic biostats. We talk about protestors, parenting, penis decisions (you’ll see), and somehow end up designing the world’s most chaotic public health curriculum. Then we pivot to something a little closer to home, physician side gigs. From telemedicine to exp...
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This week, I’m doing something different. No eyeball emergencies, no angry rants about healthcare, just gratitude. In this Thanksgiving special, I’m giving thanks to the people who shaped me: my high school English teacher who believed in my writing, the German teacher who let me hide pencils in my hair, the residency mentor who saw the future ophthalmologist before I did, and, of course, Lady Glaucomflecken, for saving my life and...
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This week, Kristin and I dig into my long-overdue skin check, a gift from my mom (because nothing says “happy birthday” like preventative medicine). We talk about awkward gown moments, dermatologists who multitask like superheroes, and why apparently I’m not famous in derm circles. Then we get a little more serious about why it takes forever to get a doctor’s appointment, how the physician shortage is affecting care, and what it r...
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In this episode, I’m breaking down what a week of ophthalmology call actually looks like, why retinal detachments aren’t the emergency you think they are, and how one cartoon wolf ended up being my latest ocular diagnosis. Plus, in the latest installment of my “Signs and Symptoms” series, we’re talking eyelash loss, bleeding eyes (aka hyphema), and the fine line between “put your pants on now” and “you can wait till morning." Ta...
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Kristin and I start off by talking about puzzles, rainy vacations, and why Scotland might be the best place on earth, mostly because they have giant defibrillator kiosks just sitting out in public. Then, somehow, that conversation spirals into an in-depth analysis of Kristin’s many fears (spiders, the ocean, nouns too close to her face: you name it). We also dive back into our favorite recurring segment: “Pick a Random Page From t...
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I’m trying something new: differentials. Each episode, I’ll pick one ocular sign and one ocular symptom, and walk you through everything that could cause them. This week: the mysterious “abnormal red reflex” and the all-too-common “my eyes are burning.” From cataracts and retinoblastoma to blepharitis and bad makeup glue, I’m breaking down the real possibilities, one red, irritated eyeball at a time. It’s part med school, part come...
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This week, Kristin and I sit down with Wendy Bryan Lazar, the founder of I Heart Guts, the company making plush organs so lovable you almost forget they’re based on, you know, actual human guts. We dive into how she turned her background in design and a deep love of anatomy into a wildly successful brand that celebrates the weird, wonderful world inside us. We talk about the real challenges of bringing humor to healthcare, the jo...
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From ophthalmology to testicle jokes, this episode covers a lot. I’m talking about why physicians should be allowed to own hospitals, the internet debate over vision therapy, and the truth about whether your eyes can actually pop out if you sneeze too hard. Plus, I share the one time an ophthalmologist asked a patient to drop his pants and why professional athletes might be missing out by skipping regular eye exams. Takeaways: ...
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So… I turned 40. And like any doctor staring down middle age, I celebrated by talking about colonoscopy prep. This week, Kristin and I unpack everything that happens to your body when you hit your forties, from dry eyes and presbyopia to statins and perimenopause. (Don’t worry, it’s still funny.) We talk about getting old, staying healthy, and why I’m way too excited to film my own colonoscopy. Then things take a turn for the sci...
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I went to Disney World and ended up diagnosing cartoon characters. From Mike Wazowski’s lack of depth perception to Goofy’s questionable eye anatomy and Winnie the Pooh’s all pupil, no iris situation, I’m breaking down which Disney characters would absolutely fail a vision test. Plus, a quick dive into a real breakthrough from Stanford that might help restore sight lost to macular degeneration. It’s ophthalmology meets Disney meets...
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This week, Kristin and I dive into two real-world CPR stories. One that’ll make your blood boil (looking at you, Hofstra bar exam), and another that’ll make you want to hug a comedian in Spokane. We talk about what happens when bystanders freeze, how quick thinking saves lives, and why everyone should know at least something about CPR. Then I drag Kristin into a round of “Doctor Strange or Just Strange” where she has to guess if b...
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Can you really “train” your eyes to work better or is vision therapy mostly hype? In this episode, I’m breaking down the three main types of vision therapy, what the science says about each, and how to tell when it’s actually helpful versus when it’s just expensive pseudoscience. We’ll talk convergence insufficiency (the one real winner), why eye exercises don’t fix dyslexia or myopia, and how to ask the right questions before spen...
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What happens when your med school doesn’t like your TikToks? This week, we talk to Dr. Kumail Hussain, a physician who went viral for his medical content… and got in serious trouble for it. We dig into the story that followed: professionalism hearings, probation, and the ripple effects that followed him into residency. But this isn’t just about one doctor’s social media misstep, it’s about what medicine still fears. Free express...
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I’m back with part two of my “life lessons at 40” and yes, it’s even more random than part one. From safety glasses and social media boundaries to testicle self-exams (yes, really), I’m sharing the wisdom I’ve collected over four decades. Plus, a neuro-ophthalmology curveball: a patient with mismatched pupils and a mystery diagnosis that turns out to be a Horner syndrome. Takeaways: Why you should always wear safety glasse...
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We’re back with a follow-up to the “no inner monologue” chaos, but this time, we’re going deeper. Kristin and I unpack what it actually feels like when your brain disconnects, how trauma can flip your reality switch, and why dissociation might just be your mind’s weirdest defense mechanism. Then we shift gears into something truly wild: the microscopic villains that can give you cancer. Yep, your high school biology class never wa...
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I just turned 40 and I’ve learned a few things along the way. Some about eyeballs, some about life, and a few the hard way (looking at you, hot tub corneal ulcer). In this special two-part birthday series, I’m sharing the lessons, advice, and random pearls I’ve picked up over four decades from why you should never argue with trolls online to how flossing can save your sanity. It’s a mix of serious, silly, and surprisingly heartfelt...
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