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It's Brain Surgery

It's Brain Surgery

Written by: Andrew Brunswick
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Welcome to It’s Brain Surgery, where we explore the mental, physical, and philosophical tools that help high performers thrive in high-stakes, uncomfortable, and uncertain parts of life.


I’m Dr. Andrew Brunswick, a neurosurgeon, athlete, and wellness advocate sharing first-hand insights from the operating room and the training ground. Here you’ll find conversations, strategies, and tools to help you:

•Strengthen your mindset 🧘
•Optimize physical and mental performance 💪
•Improve recovery and resilience 🔄
•Learn practical lessons from real neurosurgery stories 🧠
•Explore the latest in fitness, mindfulness, and wellness 🌱

Expect weekly podcast episodes, in-depth explainers, and highlight clips featuring guests ranging from doctors and elite athletes to thought leaders in mindset and recovery.

If you’re passionate about neurosurgery, health, fitness, mindset training, or unlocking peak human potential, you’re in the right place.

👉 Subscribe now and join a growing community of high achievers committed to mastering both body and mind.

© 2026 It's Brain Surgery
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Episodes
  • Finding Joy in the Grind with LadySpineDoc
    Dec 30 2025

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    What does it really look like to build a meaningful life in one of the most demanding professions in the world?

    In this episode of It’s Brain Surgery, Andrew Brunswick sits down with Dr. Betsy Grunch, board-certified neurosurgeon, researcher, mother, and globally recognized creator known as @LadySpineDoc.

    Dr. Grunch shares her personal journey into neurosurgery, inspired by her mother’s spinal cord injury, and how that early experience shaped the way she treats patients, delivers difficult news, and leads with empathy in a high-stakes field. Together, they explore what neurosurgical training is actually like, how surgeons learn to carry responsibility without losing their humanity, and why communication matters just as much as technical skill.

    The conversation also dives into how Dr. Grunch built a powerful educational platform on social media, why evidence-based medical voices matter online, and how she balances medicine, family life, creativity, and leadership in a traditionally male-dominated specialty.

    This episode is an honest, thoughtful look at purpose, resilience, and redefining what a neurosurgeon can look like in the modern world.

    In this episode, you’ll hear about:

    What inspired Dr. Betsy Grunch to become a neurosurgeon

    How empathy shapes patient care and family communication

    The realities of neurosurgical training and life after residency

    Balancing surgery, motherhood, marriage, and leadership

    Building trust and education through social media

    Redefining success in medicine and beyond

    🔔 Subscribe for more conversations at the intersection of neuroscience, medicine, mindset, and life.


    📩 Join the Mind Gym community for weekly insights on performance, presence, and purpose.

    Follow Dr. Betsy Grunch:
    Instagram & TikTok: @LadySpineDoc

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    40 mins
  • How a Neurosurgeon Stays Human with Dr. Howard Weiner
    Dec 17 2025

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    Dr. Howard Weiner is one of the most respected pediatric neurosurgeons in the country — Chief of Neurosurgery and Endowed Chair at Texas Children’s Hospital, and Professor at Baylor College of Medicine. But titles barely scratch the surface of who he is.

    In this deeply personal conversation, Andrew talks with his former mentor about the part of medicine most people never hear about: how you stay human while doing the hardest job in the hospital.

    They get into:

    • How a childhood shaped by empathy led him to neurosurgery
    • Why “hospitality” in medicine matters more than people think
    • Leading teams through trust, warmth, and integrity
    • How he navigates complications and the mental toll of surgery
    • The role of spirituality, Sabbath, family, and giving in avoiding burnout
    • The surprising tools that help surgeons build long, meaningful careers
    • What it means to build a life you’re proud of — not just a career

    If you’re in medicine, leadership, or just trying to build a meaningful life without burning out, this episode will hit home.

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    49 mins
  • The REAL Sauna Experience: What Finland Knows That We Don’t
    Nov 20 2025

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    Most of us think of a sauna as just “a hot room.”

    In Finland, it’s a way of life, a ritual, a community practice, and surprisingly a powerful tool for training the mind.

    In this episode of It’s Brain Surgery, Dr. Andrew Brunswick sits down with Lassi Liikkanen, one of the world’s leading experts on Finnish sauna design, tradition, and research. His books The Secrets of Finnish Sauna Design and Finnish Sauna: Steam, Wood, Stone, and How to Build Your Own have reshaped how the world understands authentic sauna culture.

    We dive into:

    • Why Finnish sauna culture is nothing like the “sauna” trend in the U.S.
    • How heat trains the mind like surgery: presence, discomfort, clarity
    • The true purpose of steam (löyly) and why humidity matters
    • Sauna as meditation, community, and digital detox
    • Why infrared is not a Finnish sauna—and what the research says
    • What Americans consistently get wrong about sauna design
    • How sauna shapes honesty, connection, and vulnerability
    • Why even infants in Finland go to the sauna
    • The right way to think about temperature, cycles, and cooling
    • How to build a sauna that actually works (and why most don’t)

    If you’ve ever wondered what a sauna really is or if you’re trying to deepen your own practicethis episode will change how you think about heat forever.

    Guest Information
    Lassi Liikkanen
    Author, researcher, and one of the leading authorities on Finnish sauna design.
    Books:
    • The Secrets of Finnish Sauna Design
    • Finnish Sauna: Steam, Wood, Stone, and How to Build Your Own

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    47 mins
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