"The Hope Effect" with Dr. Stephen Trzeciak
Show Notes:
Dr. Stephen Trzeciak, physician-scientist, ICU intensivist, and Chief of Medicine at Cooper University Health Care, joins Chris and Eddie to talk about the hard science behind three things doctors don't usually get research funding to study: compassion, service, and hope. Steve walks through the peer-reviewed evidence behind his books Compassionomics and Wonder Drug, including a Johns Hopkins study showing that as little as forty seconds of compassionate communication measurably reduces a cancer patient's anxiety, and newer research showing that caring more — not less — is the antidote to burnout, not its cause. The conversation turns personal as Steve describes his own burnout and recovery, then moves into a preview of his forthcoming book The Hope Effect, unpacking hope as a trainable, three-part skill (goal power, way power, and willpower) rather than wishful thinking. It's a rare conversation where clinical research and pastoral instinct land in exactly the same place.
RESOURCES MENTIONED:
• Compassionomics: The Revolutionary Scientific Evidence That Caring Makes a Difference (Trzeciak & Mazzarelli, 2019) —
Steve's first book, cited throughout• Wonder Drug: 7 Scientifically Proven Ways That Serving Others Is the Best Medicine for Yourself (Trzeciak & Mazzarelli, 2022)
• The Hope Effect: The Science of Healing, Achieving, and Breaking Through (Trzeciak & Mazzarelli) — forthcoming, January 2027
• The Hope Effect Substack — Eddie references reading articles here ahead of the book's release
• Johns Hopkins University study on a brief “enhanced compassion intervention” for breast cancer patients (referenced in conversation; not named by title on air)
• Becca Levy (Yale University) research on “positive age beliefs” and longevity among seniors (referenced)
• Rick Snyder's Hope Theory — the psychological framework (goal / way / willpower) The Hope Effect draws on
GUEST LINKS
• Compassionomics (book site): https://www.compassionomics.com/
• Wonder Drug (book site): https://www.wonderdrugbook.com/
• The Hope Effect (Substack): https://thehopeeffect.substack.com/
• Cooper University Health Care bio: https://www.cooperhealth.org/doctors/stephen-trzeciak-md
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephentrzeciak
• X / Twitter — @StephenTrzeciak: https://x.com/stephentrzeciak