What happens when a physician is just as curious about the human story as he is about the science?

Dr. Avraham “Avi” Cooper is a pulmonary and critical care physician at The Ohio State University, an educator, writer, poet, and co-host of The Curious Clinicians podcast. But this conversation goes far beyond medicine.

Avi shares the story of growing up in the shadow of his late father — a brilliant physician with a photographic memory who died climbing Mount Kilimanjaro when Avi was only six — and how that legacy helped shape both the doctor and the man he became.

We talk about why curiosity may be one of the most important skills a physician can have, what our medical system gets wrong when it doesn’t allow doctors time to ask “why,” the incredible resilience of the human body, and why literature may have made Avi a better physician.

And near the end, Avi reads his poem Hymn for a Dying Girl — written after one of his early experiences caring for a critically ill young woman in the ICU. It leads us into a beautiful conversation about death, dignity, family, and what it means to meet patients exactly where they are.

We also get a preview of Avi’s upcoming book, Why Doesn’t Your Stomach Digest Itself? Tales of the Human Body’s Remarkable Resilience, co-written with Dr. Tony Breu. Avi will be back on Ferocious Ambition in March for Part Two, when we’ll dive into the book.

Links mentioned in this episode:

Dr. Avi's website: https://www.avrahamcooper.com/

The Mountain — Avi’s essay about his father: https://journal.chestnet.org/article/S0012-3692(24)00286-1/fulltext

The Curious Clinicians — a medical podcast that asks “Why?”: https://curiousclinicians.com/

Hymn for a Dying Girl — Avi’s poem published in CHEST: https://journal.chestnet.org/article/S0012-3692(18)30266-6/pdf

Pre-order for his book: https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324117117/about-the-book/reviews

Pastor Russ Moore came back to Ferocious Ambition to talk about his third book, Fire Breather: How Your Words Create Your World.

And then we went somewhere neither of us planned.

Yes, we talk about the extraordinary power of words...the difference between saying “I failed” and “I am a failure,” how we speak to ourselves, how we navigate conflict, and how our words can either connect us or divide us.

But I also challenge Russ with some of the harder questions.

If we believe God spoke through burning bushes and visions, what do we do with intuition, psychics, Eastern philosophy, and experiences we can't easily explain? Where do prayer and manifestation intersect...and where don't they? Can faith leave room for curiosity? Can we pursue truth without losing grace? And can two people challenge each other's beliefs without needing to make the other person wrong?

We even wander into politics, religion, culture, fear, connection, and why we seem to have forgotten how to disagree without becoming enemies.

This isn't a sermon. And it isn't a debate.

It's two people sitting across from each other, asking bigger questions, occasionally pushing back, laughing, thinking out loud, and proving that curiosity and conviction don't have to be opposites.

Russ says, “Your life comes from your lips.”

So maybe the question for all of us is this:

What kind of world are your words creating?

Listen to this one with an open mind. You may not agree with everything either of us says—and that's exactly why I think it's worth the conversation.

Fire breather book: https://a.co/d/0gRaHUxL

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RussMoore7/

https://thex.church/our-team/

Brock Everhart came back to Ferocious Ambition because you asked for him.

After his first episode, I kept hearing the same question from listeners:

What happened at Cocodona?

Well...he went back.

253 miles. More than 40,000 feet of climbing. Nearly 110 hours from start to finish. And this time, Brock didn't just meet the physical brutality of Cocodona—he met every demon we'd talked about the first time he sat across from me.

He started the race already injured. By mile 15, he was questioning whether he should even be there. He later discovered he'd partially torn his calf. His back began giving out. His body was breaking down.

And at mile 159, Brock decided he was done.

He started counting down the miles until he could quit.

Then, somewhere inside his own head, Brock remembered explaining that decision to quite to one of the young athletes he coaches—and she asked one question:

“But coach, were you still moving when you quit?”

And he kept going.

This conversation became about so much more than running 253 miles through Arizona.

We talk about grief and Brock's late father. Fear so intense it nearly paralyzed him before the final climb up Mount Elden. His wife Sarah, daughter Bailey, coaches, pacers, friends and complete strangers who carried pieces of this race with him. We talk about the strange place where your body says no, your mind says no...and somehow you find one more step anyway.

And we revisit something Brock told me during our first conversation:

The demons have realized they're not going to get me to quit. They're just going to drag me through the deepest, darkest hell they can.

This time, they showed up.

We also talk about gratitude, vulnerability, the people watching us when we don't even realize it, and something Brock's coach told him that may sum up this entire experience:

It wasn't the race you wanted. It was the race you needed.

This isn't an episode about becoming an ultrarunner.

It's about what happens when life doesn't look anything like you planned, progress is painfully slow, fear gets loud—and you decide you're still moving.

Because sometimes forward doesn't look impressive.

Sometimes it's one step.

One cup.

One more lap.

Just don't quit while you're still moving.

Brock is the founder of Build Pursuits and works with athletes both locally and remotely in running, strength training and performance coaching. His current coaching profile also confirms that he works with athletes ranging from beginners through professional levels.

https://www.buildpursuits.com/

https://www.instagram.com/buildpursuits/

His coaching email is brock@buildpursuits.com

https://open.spotify.com/episode/20ihfidy928Ng6my75Ru3G?si=y1pSY2Y4TUm-kkp4uwnp8Q