Preconceived Podcast: Challenging Your "Preconceived" Notions About Life

 Dr. Zale Mednick, a Toronto-based Ophthalmologist, is the creator / host of the Preconceived podcast. In case you don't know, Ophthalmologists are eye care specialists who can diagnose and treat any issue that affects your eyes or vision. They can prescribe medication, suggest vision correction aids (like glasses or contacts) and perform surgery. It’s common to see an ophthalmologist for age-related issues like cataracts and glaucoma.

I think there is a correlation between Dr. Mednick's profession and his podcasting skills. As an ophthalmologist, he helps people see better. As a podcast interviewer, he helps listeners see the world a little clearer without the fuzziness of confirmation bias and fundamental attribution error.

As Dr. Mednick will tell you: "This podcast challenges the preconceptions that shape our world and the paradigms by which we live our lives."

Mednick continues: "It occurred to me one day; how much of my life has been dictated by my own values, and how much has been shaped by societal norms and expectations?"

Preconceived is a podcast that has released more than 250 episodes. It's an interview podcast that happens to have one of the best interviewers in the podcasting industry.

In fact, Preconceived won the Ear Worthy Independent Podcast Award in July for the Best Interview Podcast.

In 2022, Ear Worthy did an interview with Zale Mednick.

 "I started Preconceived while at a crossroads in my own life," notes Mednick. " After a decade of medical training, I was in the midst of starting my own ophthalmology practice. While excited by that prospect, it was also a natural moment for me to re-examine other domains of my life more critically. There was a certain part of myself that I felt I’d "gotten away from."

Mednick continues: "As a child, I was a professional actor, and I’ve always enjoyed public speaking and creative endeavors. I decided that it was important to me that as I formally started my professional career, I simultaneously launch another project to engage my more creative side."

Topics on Preconceived include:

Can medications help you get over a breakup? Why are we all so scared of public speaking? How did tattoos become so popular? Why are men so apprehensive in approaching women to go out on a date?

Born and raised in Toronto, Mednick is a practicing ophthalmologist who enjoys embarking on as many of life’s adventures as possible. He has travelled extensively, worked as a professional actor, and spent four seasons as part of the medical team on CBS hit show Survivor. After years of changing experiences, Mednick has come to question the “why” of every major twist and turn. To this end, he launched Preconceived to challenge the status quo.

Mednick is an excellent interviewer, and there are numerous celebrity interviewers who could learn from Mednick about conducting a podcast interview.

"The most challenging part of being a podcast host is guiding the conversation," says Mednick. "The thing is - every guest is unique and communicates differently. Some guests will tell you their whole story all at once. Other guests will give quick answers and require more prompting from me. I never know what to expect, and I want to allow each guest to answer questions in their own style and be as authentic as possible."

Mednick continues: "I try not to be too regimented in my approach to an interview. After all, a podcast is supposed to be more of a conversation than an interview. I do think there is value in letting the conversation go where it goes, so to speak. By the same token, though, I do think it’s important not to stray too far from the main theme of the episode. There are certain questions that I consider to be the crux of a particular topic, that I want to make sure I get to in a timely manner, so the listener doesn’t lose interest."

As a podcast, Preconceived exists to question the current state of affairs. Why are we groomed to accept norms as they are? Are we all destined to go to school, find a stable job, get married, have kids, then enjoy our retirement and older age? Do we hold certain beliefs because we value them, or because someone else told us to?

By challenging the paradigms that shape our world view, we discover what we want and why life is worth living. Yes, agency can be overwhelming. But when we simply ask “why”, we are free to take control and live our most authentic lives.

Mednick addresses his approach to the topics on Preconceived.

"There are three main buckets of episodes I keep in mind as I select topics for the show. The first is in relation to our major life choices - the types of romantic relationships we choose, having kids, career paths, and other decisions that determine the overarching trajectories of our lives."

 One of my favorite shows in this category is choosing baby names.

"The second is in relation to controversial topics to which we may have been indoctrinated to certain opinions - like the Pro-Gun and Pro-Life episodes you alluded to, and strippers and the sex industry."

One of my favorite episodes here is the May 28th episode that explores two perspectives - a Jewish perspective shared by Harvard Professor Derek Penslar, and a Palestinian perspective shared by Brown Professor Beshara Doumani.

"And the third type of episode relates to the seemingly mundane topics in our lives that many of us wouldn’t even consider worthy of an opinion - circumcision, pets, and the ‘made-up’ concept of money."

One of my favorite episodes was the one on being left-handed. Southpaws can learn a lot from this show.

Mednick uses his physician skills to diagnose the ills of society: "Echo chambers and social media have made it easier than ever to not think differently, and to just follow the status quo. I’ve been discouraged at times by the response to certain episodes I’ve recorded. I posted the episode regarding Transgender Athletes with Joanna Harper on our YouTube channel. I thought Joanna spoke very articulately and presented a balanced viewpoint on what many consider to be a controversial topic. Some of the comments to the video were hateful and rude to Joanna, and it was clear that those writing the comments hadn’t even listened to the episode; they just saw the subject line and started typing away."

Mednick's diagnosis is: "I think one of the biggest problems in society is that we don’t listen enough.

When observing conversations, whether on the news or in our own lives, it can feel like people aren’t really listening, but just waiting for their turn to interject with what they think."

Dr. Zale Mednick's podcast Preconceived is incontrovertible proof that podcasting is a medium that still offers a pathway to success and fulfilling a dream for the "Average Joe, Joan, and Them."

I would bet a lot of money on FanDuel or DraftKings that Zale Mednick can "out-host" most established podcast hosts. Mednick is a terrific interviewer, researches his topic like Aaron Rodgers throws TD passes, and handles his episode topics with objectivity, balance and insight. He is an independent podcaster, and, he's from Canada.

Check out the Preconceived podcast. You may never assume again.