College of Physicians of Philadelphia
A Conversation with Jack El-Hai, the Author behind the Film Nuremberg
Book Launch & Signing
Please join us for this evening program featuring Mr. Jack El-Hai, author of the book, The Nazi and the Psychiatrist, upon which the new motion picture Nuremberg is based.
Mr. El-Hai’s book, which details the work of U.S. Army psychiatrist, Dr. Douglas M. Kelley, who was tasked with examining the highest-ranking German war criminals being held for trial after the end of World War II, delivers important insights into the human mind.
"A Conversation with Jack El-Hai, the author behind the film Nuremberg" will begin with a reception, followed by a brief welcome from the College’s President & CEO, Dr. Larry R. Kaiser. Mr. El-Hai will then give remarks about the book, after which Dr. Kaiser will conduct an interview with the author in a conversation-style format. Mr. El-Hai will be available to sign copies of the book, which will be available for purchase at the event through Head House Books.
Program
6:00 PM–6:45 PM
Reception
6:45 PM–6:50 PM
Welcome remarks from Dr. Larry R. Kaiser, President and CEO of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia
6:50 PM–8:00 PM
Mr. El-Hai remarks about the book, followed by a conversation-style interview with Dr. Kaiser
This event is made possible with the support of The Lindy Snider Foundation.
About the Author
Jack El-Hai is a writer of nonfiction books, articles, and essays about medicine, science, history, and crime. During 2025-2026, he has given many media interviews and presentations on the work of Douglas M. Kelley, M.D., a U.S. Army psychiatrist who studied the twenty-two German defendants during the 1945-1946 International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg – all occasioned by the recent release of the film Nuremberg, adapted from El-Hai’s book The Nazi and the Psychiatrist and screened worldwide.
Among his other books are The Lobotomist: A Maverick Medical Genius and His Tragic Quest to Rid the World of Mental Illness, a biography of lobotomy developer and promoter Walter Freeman, M.D.; Face in the Mirror, which follows a patient’s road to and recovery from a face transplant; and The Lost Brothers, about a family’s 74-year-long search for three missing boys. His forthcoming book, The Case of the Autographed Corpse, is a nonfiction narrative about legal injustice on Apache reservations in the U.S. Southwest during the middle of the twentieth century. His articles have appeared in Smithsonian, The Atlantic, GQ, The Washington Post, Wired, Scientific American, and other publications.
The New York Times, The Washington Post, the BBC, Le Monde, The Wall Street Journal, The Lancet, JAMA, major newspapers in the U.K., dozens of podcasts, and many other media outlets in North America, Europe, and Latin America have interviewed El-Hai and covered his work.
He has given lectures and presentations at the Hanse-Wissenschaftskolleg Institute for Advanced Study, the Nathan Klein Psychiatric Institute, Yale University, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Mississippi, the Library of Virginia, Stanford University, and in the medical schools of the University of Michigan, the University of Arkansas, Tufts University, the University of Maryland, Cornell University, the University of Minnesota, and the Mayo Clinic. He has also addressed the annual conferences of the American Psychological Association, the History of Science Society, the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, and the American Society of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery.
Born in Los Angeles, El-Hai earned his Bachelor’s degree at Carleton College and his Master’s of Fine Arts degree (in nonfiction writing) at Bennington College. He is a past president of the American Society of Journalists and Authors and a past board chair of the Loft Literary Center. He lives in Minneapolis.
Please note:
Must be 21+ to enter.
By entering the event premises, you consent to photography, audio recording, video recording and its release, publication, exhibition, or reproduction to be used for news, promotional purposes, advertising, inclusion on websites, social media, or any other purpose by The College of Physicians/The Mütter Museum and its affiliates and representatives.