Brain at Work: Music, Medicine, and the Art of Seeing the World

What happens when a pediatric neurologist, jazz guitarist, and world traveler reflects on a lifetime shaped by curiosity, creativity, and connection? In this episode of 50x50: Whatever Happened to the Harvard Class of 1976?, Michael Conniff sits down with longtime friend Peter Heilbroner for a wide-ranging conversation about medicine, music, neuroscience, friendship, and birdwatching.From discovering the mysteries of the brain at Harvard to leading the Peter Lewis Octet, Peter shares how his passions evolved organically across decades of life and work. Along the way, he opens up about the influence of his father, renowned economist Robert Heilbroner, the loss of close friends, the emotional role of music, and why birdwatching became his “church.”This episode is thoughtful, funny, deeply human, and filled with reflections on identity, purpose, aging, creativity, and staying intellectually alive. A remarkable conversation about building a meaningful life beyond titles and professions.