Hot Spot: A Doctor's Diary From the Pandemic

Dr. Alex Jahangir

Dec 2022 · Tantor Media Inc · Narrated by Shawn K. Jain

About this audiobook

When Nashville identified its first case of coronavirus in March 2020, the city was between Public Health Department directors and as unprepared as the rest of the world for what was to come. Dr. Alex Jahangir, a trauma surgeon acting at that time as chair of the Metro Nashville Board of Health, unexpectedly found himself head of the city's COVID-19 Task Force and responsible for leading it through uncharted waters. What followed was a year of unprecedented challenge and scrutiny. Jahangir, who immigrated to the United States from Iran at age six, grew up in Nashville. He thought he knew the city well. But the pandemic laid bare ethnic, racial, and cultural tensions that daily threatened to derail what should have been a collective effort to keep residents healthy and safe. Hot Spot is Jahangir's narrative of the first year of COVID, derived from his op notes (the journal-like entries surgeons often keep following operations) and expanded to include his personal reflections and a glimpse into the inner sanctums of city and state governance in crisis.

Ratings and reviews

This is a thoughtful account of the pandemic from the eyes of a healthcare physician and volunteer. I'm sure similar scenarios played out across many of America's cities during the pandemic. I hope there are physician leaders in my own community as level headed and determined as Dr. Jahangir. I was inspired and grateful to hear about how hard some of our front line healthcare workers gave so much of their time and energy to get us where we are today.

About the author

Alex Jahangir, an orthopedic trauma surgeon, is vice-chair of Orthopedic Surgery and professor of Orthopedic Surgery, Medicine, and Health Policy at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Dr. Jahangir was named to the Metro Nashville Board of Health in 2017.

Shawn K. Jain, a Harvard University/Moscow Art Theater School/A.R.T. Institute graduate, has TV credits for shows on Apple TV+, CBS, HBO Max, Amazon Prime, Showtime, and Peacock. He has narrated audiobooks for Penguin Random House, Hachette, Bloomsbury, HarperCollins, Epic!, Blackstone, GraphicAudio, and HQN.

Katie Seigenthaler is a managing partner with FINN Partners and a former journalist with the Chicago Tribune.