Medicine, Machines, and Meaning: Justin C. Key's The Hospital at the End of the World

In this episode, I talk with Justin C. Key about his speculative novel The Hospital at the End of the World. Justin shares how his medical training and fascination with AI, consciousness, and ethics informed the novel’s evolution from a short story into a full-length work. We dive into the tension between technological advancement and human connection, particularly in medicine, emphasizing the irreplaceable value of empathy and lived experience. Justin also discusses worldbuilding choices, balancing speculative ideas with grounded realism, and both the promise and risks of AI in healthcare and learning.

Listen to hear about:

• How Justin’s writing journey evolved naturally from a deep love of reading into a disciplined, intuitive creative practice
  
• How his “pantser” approach prioritizes discovery, with structure and outlines often emerging during the editing phase
  
• How The Hospital at the End of the World began as a short story and expanded over years alongside his medical education
  
• The way the novel explores AI in healthcare, balancing its powerful analytical potential with the risks of over-reliance and loss of human judgment
  
• How the novel explores the irreplaceable role of human connection, arguing that empathy and presence are just as critical as data in medicine

Follow Justin C. Key here and grab a copy of The Hospital at the End of the World here

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Gare Billings @gareindeedreads

Steph Lauer @books.in.badgerland

Halley Sutton @halleysutton25

Brian Watson @readingwithbrian

MacKenzie Green @missusa2mba

Erin Ashley @bellametaphor