Dr. thOTs

The Dr. thOTs duo is joined by Cheranne Hunter-Bennett, Chairperson of the Multicultural, Diversity, and Inclusion Network Leadership Council in Occupational Therapy. The thOTs hash out the details of MDI, AOTA, COTAD, DEI Committee, and all things DEIJAB orgs in OT. From affinity and advocacy to visions for the future, humanity is top priority. Highlights include: Ryan being a diversity hire, Khalilah shaking some wigs, and Cheranne not judging a butch by her cover!

What do you get when you put two passionate rapping educators on the Dr. thOTs podcast? An episode jam packed with stories, history, pedagogical strategies, and more. Khalilah and Ryan welcome Drs. Jian Jones and Donovan Livingston to the podcast to talk all things hip hop pedagogy. Bringing beats, bars, and banter to your earbuds, these two know how to take hip and make it hop. Transforming students and claiming space, these two keep it real in the classroom. Highlights include: Donovan gets one dad joke, Khalilah finds time for freedom, Jian has a feminist t-shirt, and Ryan becomes a choir director.

The thOTs are Associates! The Dr. thOTs duo celebrates achieving the next stage of their careers by offering a rousing, enthralling, and downright nail-biting discussion of tenure and promotion processes. Maybe not your highest priority topic, but if you're interested in academia, this is a must listen. If you're not interested in academia... well, you've been warned. Highlights include: the trials and tribulations of university bureaucracy, Khalilah's academic pet peeves, and Ryan threatening to quit.

Is philosophy just professional bullshitting? Well in this episode, the Dr. thOTs duo welcome their mentor, colleague, and occupational elder, Dr. Antoine Bailliard, to the microphone to discuss the state of the philosophy of OS and OT. From occupation to DB3, these theory nerds break down lenses and frameworks - leaving no theoretical stone unturnt. Highlights include: Ryan burning bridges, Antoine getting ontological, and Khalilah calling out propaganda when she sees it.

Do you struggle with balancing work and life? Does your partner read at all hours of the night? Have you not seen your boyfriend in 3 days because you are in a writing hole? Did you and your spouse decide to put your family through 5-7 years of an academic and theoretical gauntlet? Well do we have the podcast episode for you! Julian Johnson and Ben Hershey welcome Drs. Ryan Lavalley and Khalilah Johnson onto the first episode of Season 6 of the Dr. thOTs podcast to discuss all things partnering in academia. Highlights include: Khalilah's car breaking down at a taco stand, Ben saying no, and Julian actually having boundaries.

Y'all aren't ready. You. are. not. ready. The tomfoolery of this season finale, y'all. Channeling their inner Housewives, the thOTs welcome the sassiest guests they could find in the OT&OS world. Joined by Dr. Arameh Anvarizadeh, Dr. Jessica Kramer, and Dr. Karen McCarthy, these housewives - and their token white gay - bring the drama, the receipts, and all the opinions on who truly holds the title of "Occupation Queen." Are you team OS or OT? Both? Neither? A whirlwind of academic drama and Housewives flair, they tackle the age old question: "Who truly is the white refrigerator of the occupational world?" Tune in for a showdown that promises to educate and entertain, complete with all the sass and class you'd expect from the Dr. thOTs duo, Dr. Khalilah Johnson and Dr. Ryan Lavalley. Highlights include: Measurement queens, building bridges, and bone collectors, oh my!

Can peer-review be sexy? Well to answer that question, the Dr. thOTs duo touch base with the thOT in Chief, Dr. Stacey Reynolds, Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Occupational Therapy (AJOT). They discuss the fabulous life as an Editor in Chief, the state of the science, peer-review processes, and the politics of trustworthy science. The three docs take research from farm to table to make sure you know where your data is coming from! Highlights include: Stacey being a nerd, Ryan starting a revolution, and Khalilah calling universities and associations to action.

Khalilah and Ryan dive into a convo with Dr. Frederick V. Engram Jr. to get real about publishing. From navigating academia to reclaiming voice and storytelling, this episode is all about truth-telling, resistance, and writing for liberation—not validation. Come for the critique, stay for the community. Highlights include: Khalilah telling yo mama jokes, Dr. Engram not letting anybody play in his face, and Academia getting put in its place.

This week on Dr. thOTs, the duo get into design and branding with Stephanie Kaczynski, a PhD candidate serving up stories and communication . After exploring her "diss" focused on community organizing, police violence, and George Floyd Square, Stephanie breaks down how storytelling, strategy, and branding shape science communication—and why humanizing research actually matters . This one is interdisciplinary, it's pretty, and it’s thOTful. Tune in to rethink how you communicate for change. Highlights include: Stephanie stanning the oxford comma and Ryan and Khalilah getting distracted by an amazing dissertation.

This week, the Dr. thOTs duo grab some time with the very busy Christine Gunningle, program director of Durham Tech's OTA program and educator extraordinaire. She pops off with personal stories and pedagogical pointers, positioning OTA programs as clear launch pads for amazing practitioners. The educators discuss classroom strategies, accessibility, and what OT programs can learn from OTA education and approaches! Highlights include: OTA programs getting their flowers, Christine getting real about occupation, and someone licking a handrail.

The thOTs are not here for your messy spreadsheets or half-baked interview guides. They’re diving into data evaluation and communication. Your favorite duo unpacks what it really means to produce knowledge that matters. Accuracy? Required. Completeness? Non-negotiable. Relevance? Don’t show up without it. Whether you’re a seasoned researcher, a grad student in the trenches, or just nosy, this convo will get your epistemo-ontological life together. Spoiler, this one's for the nerds. Highlights include: Ryan being the queen of codes, Khalilah calling out raggedy methods, and the thOTs deciding when to gate keep.

Ryan and Khalilah welcome Dr. Jen Newton onto the podcast this week to discuss intellectual and development disabilities, death row, and school systems. The three dive into a difficult conversation about the realities of our justice system, the ways ableism and anti-blackness are leveraged to dehumanize in the US. They also talk about ways occupational therapy practitioners can step up in advocacy to mitigate the school to prison pipeline. Highlights include: A necessary conversation Content warning: discussion of state death

Happy Pride thOTs! This week, the Dr. Duo is queering the convo exploring the who, what, and why when it comes to gay bars , tea rooms, lesbian hangouts, queer spaces, and more. From bachlorettes to Maggie Clapp, from 1700s to 2019, Ryan and Khalilah cover it all. They’ve got hot takes and cold truths when it comes to the messiness of who is welcome and who isn't, and why knowing the history is part of the homework. From the dance floor to the discourse, it’s giving intersectional, intentional, and unapologetically queer. Highlights include: Khalilah getting an A+ on her queer vocabulary, Ryan clarifying which Molly, and the thOTs making a legal disclaimer.

Hold onto your gait belts, y’all—this episode is serving up tech tea with a side of clinical realness. Khalilah and Ryan are joined by the brilliant Sarah Lyon of OT Potential to unpack where occupational therapy meets artificial intelligence. We’re talking AI scribes, clinical decision support, and the big ol’ ethical elephants in the room. The trio dives into how AI is shaking up healthcare, what it means for future OT practitioners, and why we need to stay alert about who’s designing these systems—and who they’re serving. The crew keep it real about the promise and the pitfalls of tech in care work. Highlights include: Physicians having egos, Sarah fearing for our children, and Ryan and Khalilah flip flopping on AI.

Whew, chile. This episode gets into the thick of it—the Dr. thOTs duo are back at it, peeling back the layers of identity, advocacy, and the messiness of inclusion. From classroom to community, they’re asking hard questions: Who gets to be included? Who should be excluded? Are we all just inside a bush? They kiki about critical pedagogy and managing discomfort while learning. You know these two love a good boundary! But even in research? Racial caucusing, coalition-building across difference, and, yes, occupation as a tool for liberation - you know they couldn't leave her out. Highlights include: Khalilah joining Michelle Obama in saying FAFO and Ryan deciding "clusion" is somehow a word.

This week, the Dr. thOTs duo welcome a guest from 17 time zones away. Dr. Isla Emery-Whittington joins Ryan and Khalilah in a warm conversation about decolonizing practices. With a true auntie vibe, Dr. Emery-Whittington names and frames the importance of building communication, building movements, and building concrete strategies in the work of reconnecting our separated world, including looking deeply into ourselves. Highlights include: Nova making a keynote, Isla publishing in a circle, and Ryan being called out for being the youngest

In this homegrown heart-to-heart, Khalilah and Ryan get all up in their feelings (and their plants) to talk about what makes a space feel like a place. We’re talking aesthetics, sensory vibes, cultural grounding, and the divine chaos that is cohabitation. From Khalilah’s sacred order to Ryan’s plant-based messages of care, this episode unpacks how our environments reflect our identities, values, and that fine line between "intentional design" and "creative clutter." Highlights include: Ryan thinking dusting is stupid and Khalilah taking a plant off life support.

This episode is a LONG time coming! Ryan and Khalilah wanted to make sure this one got its due. Spurred by a calling in, the duo invite Dr. Emily Grullón and Dr. Alondra Ammon to discuss complex racial identities. History, age, geopolitics, and learning are the hot topics of this episode, unpacking Latinidad, Blackness, and the relationship between the two. Highlights include: Emily giving historian realness, Ryan challenging clients, Alondra bringing the data, and Khalilah proposing a situationship. Content Warning: This episode discusses violence against Black people

Beaten, bruised, but they are back! The Dr. thOTs duo is up to good trouble yet again, launching their 5th season of the podcast with spicy nicknames, real talk to the front, and some self care resolutions! Khalilah and Ryan give you the run down on what they've been up to the last few months and what they are excited about in the upcoming season. Join the duo as they launch the next season of the Dr. thOTs podcast! Highlights include: Khalilah talking q-tips and thermometers and Ryan singing for the first time on the podcast (don't quit your day job).

That very important time of 2024 is approaching y'all! November 5th is election day and the Dr. thOTs want to make sure you are ready to vote! On this special election episode, the thOTs duo interview Dr. Victoria Garcia Wilburn, Occupational Therapist, Associate Professor, and State Congresswoman of Indiana! She is doing it all! She discusses life in the state house, leadership, and working to make change she believes in. Highlight includes: GET OUT THE VOTE!