Only One In The Room

Can you picture surviving cancer and feeling like you’ve been given a second chance at life? A chance to really cherish the time you spend with your beloved husband and your two beautiful daughters?  Pam O’Donnell, wife, mother, cancer survivor and founder of the Catch You Later Foundation, spent the year after her last chemo treatment, giving thanks for the fact that she was alive and she didn’t...

We couldn’t be happier to celebrate the wedding day of two of our all-time favorite guests, with two of our all-time favorite episodes. First you’ll hear entrepreneur and Real Housewife of Atlanta, Cynthia Bailey, tell the story of how she met the love of her life in episode 24, Cynthia Bailey: The Only Real Housewife Keeping It Classy.  Then, in episode 40, Mike Hill: The Only One Who Was Afraid...

Dr. Alexandra M. Owensby is running for congress in Kentucky. She believes fervently that the role of a Congressional Representative is to promote the voice and the will of the people through her own. Alexandra will work daily to ensure that Kentuckians and all Americans receive honest, unfiltered, dedicated representation in Congress. Visit the website: www.amowensby.com Instagram & Twitter: @amo...

Scott Slaughter co-host and producer of The Only One In The Room has a short and casual, yet deep conversation with our guest Robinne Lee right after the show. Don't miss our Now Normal series releasing every Thursday. Be sure to join our Facebook Group for the most up-to-date info on guests, episodes and more. You can also DM us on Instagram @theonlyoneintheroom or email us via the website at www...

What if your Jamaican born parents immigrated to the United States and expected you to uphold the morals and codes with which they had been raised, but placed you in a diverse environment where many of those rules simply didn’t apply? Robinne Lee, actress, author, producer, grew up in Westchester County New York and was often the only Jamaican American in the room. But what would you do if one day...

The "troubled teen industry" is a mostly unregulated collection of for-profit programs that claim to rehabilitate out-of-control youth. Between 50,000 and 100,000 adolescents currently spend at least part of the year in these facilities. The hopes are that their enrollment – or confinement, depending on the arrangement or their perspective – can prevent these relatively privileged kids from joinin...

Did you know that Donald Trump was born on a full moon during a total lunar eclipse? Some psychics allege that they can use information like this to predict the future. Generally, psychics don’t shy away from weighing in on political matters. Astrologers, clairvoyants, and other intuitives have always chimed in with their own predictions around election time. As we all want to glean some insight i...

The Only One In The Room is extremely proud to partner with 19-year old poet, Valyn Lyric Turner. From time to time, we will be bringing you her phenomenal spoken word poetry. Scott and Laura feel that today’s presentation, Race In The Classroom: Seeing Color could not have come at a better time in our history. You’ll want to share this episode with the students, parents and educators in your life...

What if because you were big, you’d learned to do things like sit in a chair so it didn’t make noise or fold your body in certain ways so that you appeared to be smaller? Athena Dixon, author, poet and founder of Linden Avenue Literary Journal, spent years presenting herself to the world in a way that wouldn’t call attention to her size.  But what would you do if one day you decided the word FAT w...

The last few months have been taxing for Black people in a myriad of ways, but for Black journalists these have been uniquely challenging times. For decades, Black people have been invited inside the halls of journalism, but not too many at a time. Even fewer advance to the levels where decisions are made about news coverage, reporter assignments, promotion and pay. When we think about journalists...

When Sean McMillan of Fox Soul TV's, Book Of Sean, wanted to know more about being The Only One In The Room, he came to the right place. We're excited to bring you an excerpt from this important discussion between Sean and Laura. If you want more, please go to www.theonlyonepod.com to watch the whole interview. Instagram: @book_of_sean, @foxsoul Don't miss our new Now Normal series releasing every...

What if the men you admired growing up lived high on the hog - literally, meaning their sizable bellies, made larger with the fried and unhealthy foods they ate, were thought to be proof of good living and gave them status amongst their peers. “Man look at that belly! You must be living good!” Randy Jackson, world renowned musician, producer, executive, American Idol Judge, and founder of Unify He...

What comes to mind when you think of surfing? Do you think about the brown-skinned Polynesians, Africans and Peruvians who started this sport? Or is what comes to mind, the overwhelmingly white and upper middle class surfers that you see on surfing magazine covers or in the media? Paddle out in Malibu, Trestles or Rockaway and you’re likely to find a mostly homogenous pack of white people surfing...

How many times have you thought...I should do a podcast? Or maybe people always tell you, you should have a podcast! But then there are so many questions, right? Like how do you actually start? What equipment do you need? Remote or in person? How do you get more listeners? How much does it cost? And more importantly, how much can you make?  Here with us today we have podcaster and podcast pundit,...

Instead of a Scott Talks this week, we have something that we’ve been dying to share with you. Occasionally, we have to make demo reels for different events, you know, for people who may not be as familiar with The Only One In The Room as you are. We love this one, it tells the history of the podcast in a way we’ve never done before, and it also re-amplifies some very important voices. Don't miss...

Imagine being born into the rarely talked about world of the Black elite. Living in the best neighborhood, going to the most prestigious schools and hitting the tony beaches of the Bahamas or Martha’s Vineyard during vacations. But for Cole Brown, 24-year old author and Georgetown graduate, the spaces in which he grew up were primarily white, while the groups in which he felt at home, were mostly...

Introducing EMBODIED Podcast. As we gear up for our Season 7 premiere on September 15th we wanted to share with you another podcast that we love and know you'll love too. Enjoy! Embodied is a new podcast hosted by Anita Rao . Every episode is an invitation to have conversations that most people consider impolite. Anita believes that pushing past our discomfort with talking about taboo topics will...

Scott Slaughter co-host and producer of The Only One In The Room has a short and casual, yet deep conversation with our guest Brad Johnson right after the show. Don't miss our new Now Normal series releasing every Thursday. Be sure to join our Facebook Group for the most up-to-date info on guests, episodes and more. You can also DM us on Instagram @theonlyoneintheroom or email us via the website a...

Imagine growing up in The Cellar, not a basement, but the upper West Side hotspot that your father, Howard Johnson owned. Picture what it must have been like to be Black Restaurant Royalty, hosting the likes of Muhammad Ali and Bianca Jagger. Brad Johnson, second generation restaurateur and 40-year restaurant industry veteran, started off washing dishes for his dad, but quickly made a name of his...

Dyslexia can be difficult to recognize in some, but is usually characterized by difficulty with reading and transposing letters and numbers. It is the most common of all neuro-cognitive disorders, affecting more than 20 percent of the population. Statistically speaking, people who are diagnosed with dyslexia have very high IQ’s. Famous dyslexics include Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs, Erin Brockovich...

“I have a FEMA Identification number.”  So begins last week’s Facebook post from today’s guest, Juko Holiday. California firefighters have continued to battle more than 700 wildfires in California. Fires, which have burned more than 1 million 35 acres. While evacuation orders have been lifted for some, others are still displaced as more than 272 homes have been damaged or destroyed. Can you imagin...

Scott Slaughter co-host and producer of The Only One In The Room has a short and casual, yet deep conversation with our guest Deb Besinger right after the show. Don't miss our new Now Normal series releasing every Thursday. Be sure to join our Facebook Group for the most up-to-date info on guests, episodes and more. You can also DM us on Instagram @theonlyoneintheroom or email us via the website a...

Imagine being a white woman, a daughter of the south, and a fundamentalist Christian who gets married and looks forward to raising a family, only to be given discouraging news.  Deb Besinger, writer, dating expert and mother was undaunted when she and her husband were told that it might be difficult to conceive - she always knew she would adopt.  But what would you do if the children you adopted w...

What a different experience I might have had growing up if there had been a place like Black School, a pop-up school designed for Black students to develop their identity, culture, and race. Today’s guest is Black School co-founder and educational specialist, Queenie Johnson, MA. Queenie is the mission maverick and brains behind the school for Brilliant Thinkers. With over 20 years of experience i...

Scott Slaughter co-host and producer of The Only One In The Room has a short and casual, yet deep conversation with our guest Kelly Rose right after the show. Don't miss our new Now Normal series releasing every Thursday. Be sure to join our Facebook Group for the most up-to-date info on guests, episodes and more. You can also DM us on Instagram @theonlyoneintheroom or email us via the website at...