Dr. thOTs

We got students in the house! Khalilah and Ryan are joined by Jaime Leitre Jr. and Rebecca Parkin for a lively discussion about publication, studenthood, and the structures of power in the process. Becky has recently published a critique of whiteness in the science in JOS and Jaime on dissident genders and sexualities in AJOT. They give us all the tea on publishing challenging and disruptive conte...

Khalilah and Ryan warmly welcome Dr. LaRhonda Manigault-Bryant - to the podcast but also to Carolina! After a delightfully contentious conversation about shades of blue, the three docs get into it about Black women in media, in church, and in big bodies. The three discuss the narratives of Black women, the power of documentary for dissemination, and the work that still needs to be done in represen...

Ryan and Khalilah, representing no organizations or institutions they are affiliated with, recorded this episode as a special conversation about student movements given the current situation within the US and global context. In the episode, they discuss there own experiences as faculty, student activists, and ongoing supporters of students' right to protest. They emphasize the importance of critic...

Your girl Dr. Khalilah Johnson and colleagues wrote a whole paper about the State of the Science when it comes to DEIJAB in occupational therapy in the United States. The thOTs talk the limits of DEI and how it sits with decoloniality, and decolonization. Khalilah discusses why she thinks Black women are leading these risky efforts and why DEI often focuses on race. Highlights include: The first e...

The Dr. thOTs duo welcome Whitney Harris to the podcast this week to talk everything leadership, inclusion, and identity. Whitney discusses how she got involved with COTAD National Leadership and what drives her forward in the work, particularly from her experience as a mixed race practitioner. The thOTs discuss the ways leading can look differently and finding your own way in the work. Highlights...

The Dr. thOTs duo is back for a jam packed Season 4! Joining the duo for this season opener is Seth Mitchell, PhD student in occupational science and Dr. thOTs onboarder, helping hand, and assistant extraordinaire. The thOTs welcome Seth to his podcast debut and spill the tea on working with these two wannabe celebrities. Dr. Johnson and Dr. Lavalley give some updates on what's been going on in th...

We did three seasons y'all! The Dr. thOTs duo wraps up this season of the podcast in this finale review! If you prefer to pick and choose your podcast episodes, this is a great episode to get some sneak peeks at previous Season 3 discussions and guests and see which episodes might tickle *wink* your fancy. Ryan and Khalilah reminisce about their beginnings as podcasters and discuss what they've le...

Everybody's favorite Ms. Frizzle look alike joins the Dr. thOTs duo this week! Khalilah and Ryan welcome colleague Dr. Meghan Blaskowitz to the podcast! After a rousing return to 1990s PBS, Megan talks with the thOTs about post-secondary inclusive education and her work to be an ally for young adults with IDD at the collegiate level. The trio discuss university supports, red-tape, and the right to...

Ok fam. This episode is a gas. Get ready for the Dr. thOTs duo to give you the skinny on generational differences and lingo. Khalilah and Ryan talk everything from bussin' to wet noodles in the classroom and in practice. From professional dynamics to work/life boundaries, the thOTs spill the tea on generational differences and similarities. From social media to sex work, the Drs. stan Gen Z and gi...

Come on interdisciplinary! The Dr. thOTs duo are excited to invite everybody's favorite "long time listener, first time caller" to the podcast. Dr. Suzanne Huot is an internationally known Canadian occupational scientist and geographer whose research focuses on immigration, space generation, and linguistic inclusion. However, she is also a unicorn of an occupational scientist because she is not an...

This is a gut 👏 buster 👏 of an episode. Your cheeks are gonna be sore from laughing so hard. Ryan and Khalilah invite everybody's favorite Karen to the podcast! The incomparable Dr. Karen McCarthy gives the Dr. thOTs duo one of the most playful episodes they've had yet. The thOTs are tickled with Karen's wit and biting humor, discussing comedy, play, and satire in practice, the classroom, and li...

Doom scrolling got you down? SCOTUS got you suffering? Well, the Dr. thOTs duo is in the building with an episodic remedy. This episode is an ode to optimism and filling our cups when the negativity is rolling around. Filled with tangents and laughs, Khalilah and Ryan do a brief recap of how they got into OS, the benefits they've found from having that science brain, and the ways its been exciting...

The Dr. thOTs duo welcome the "great connector", Dr. Sue Coppola to the episode this week and partake in a beauty-filled, aesthetically pleasing, conversation with her as the three discuss humanities, art, and occupational therapy practice and education. If you ever wanted to know exactly what a painting on a wall has to do with occupational therapy - this is the episode for you. Dr. Coppola revea...

The Dr. thOTs duo welcome Sarah Lyon and Tomeico Faison to the podcast this week to talk business about business. These two practitioners have taken entrepreneurship to new heights, leveraging their OT approach in everything from real estate to evidence based practice education. Also sidenote: This episode marks the first "blending of the blues" in Dr. thOTs herstory - come on collaboration with r...

Let's just say this episode takes sass and mentorship and wraps into one big ball of joy. Ryan and Khalilah welcome Dr. Betsy Francis-Connolly to the podcast this week to talk about her leadership style and stories. Dr. Francis-Connolly shares her experiences in leadership positions and guiding teams in occupational therapy. She brings a humility and humor to the work that has the two thOTs laughi...

Khalilah and Ryan are joined by the founders of B3 Coffee this week on Dr. thOTs. Former UNC OT and current SLP students, these three will knock your socks off. Jacklyn Boheler, Greg Boheler, and Hannah Steen come prepared to our recording with experiences, nuggets of wisdom, and reality checks for community practitioners and beyond. These three were doing Being, Belonging, and Becoming before it...

This one is a long one but, y'all, the Dr. thOTs duo had a lot to unpack. After saying hi to new followers, Khalilah and Ryan kiki about AOTA Inspire 2023. They first cover the good and exciting things that happened at conference, recognizing the good work being done, networking and coalition building, and the amazing OTPs who are continuing to contribute to this profession and its progress. Then...

Content Warning: This episode of Dr. thOTs discusses sexual harassment and assault, particularly within the OT profession. | Ryan and Khalilah are excited to welcome Dr. Rachel Proffitt to the podcast to discuss her recent article with colleagues regarding the #MeTooOT movement and revealing the realities of sexual harassment and assault within the occupational therapy profession. Dr. Proffitt dis...

Have the thOTs got an episode for you! Ryan and Khalilah welcome a phenomenal educator, researcher, and fashionista to the podcast, none other than a former senior White House staff member and one of Obama's Black 44, Dr. Lauren Mims! Dr. Mims walks us through her transitions from doctoral school, to politics, to the White House, and back to academia. She tells Ryan and Khalilah all about her rese...

Drs. Khalilah Johnson and Ryan Lavalley are starting up a new season of Dr. thOTs! Here comes season 3! Bringing you all the thoughts and thots they can fit into 14 episodes! In this first brief episode, the hosts give some updates on their own lives, work and personal. Let's just say they've got grants, babies, classes, and plants galore. Ryan got a new D.R. in front of his name and Khalilah is r...

Khalilah and Ryan put each of their 4/10 energies together to make a 10/10 finale episode of Season 2 of the Dr. thOTs podcast. Weaving and rolling through connections to past guests and the ideas they discussed throughout the season, the Drs. discuss their growing edges and what they learned from this season.  Ryan throws out a sassy sponsorship suggestion - Khalilah makes the invitation. They ta...

This episode is one for the record books. The first 6 minutes alone will give you chills - in the best way possible. Khalilah and Ryan welcome the revolutionary occupational therapy educator, Dr. Jian Jones to the podcast. A newly minted PhD, Dr. Jones is bringing effective education through hip hop culture to the OT classroom. Diving deep into pedagogy and classroom professionalism, the three doc...

Ryan and Khalilah plunge into the world of social media, respectability, and the tension in public scholaring. They kiki about some of the challenges of having such an amazing network of people to connect with while also trying to manage professional obligations and work. Ryan can't decide if he's an OT influencer or not. They unpack the tension in compartmentalizing their sassier sides and their...

Ryan and Khalilah welcome Dr. Alaa Abou-Arab from @knowbias on the podcast this week and dive into the difficult work of speaking truth into the occupational therapy profession and beyond. Alaa shares a bit about his journey to occupational therapy and the experiences that sparked his interest in antiracism and activism in OT. He shares the discomfort he feels with how much silence persists and th...

Ryan and Khalilah welcome Dr. Anne Kirby onto the podcast to discuss her research with the autistic and trans communities regarding suicidality and mental health. Before jumping into the topics, Ryan and Khalilah reminisce about old times with Anne from graduate school and discuss the differences between identity-first and people-first language. Dr. Kirby shares how she got into OT, what brought h...