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!

What a season! The 4th epoch of the Dr. thOTs podcast has come to a close. Khalilah and Ryan recap the topics and conversations of the last 14 episodes, thanking their guests, listeners, and team along the way. They discuss the deep conversations of the summer but also the importance of reclaiming time care of self. If you want to get a taste of the topics and guests for Season 4 before diving in, this is the episode for you. Highlights include: Khalilah rejecting two monitors, Ryan failing at being a rocket scientists, and the duo synthesizing another great season of making conversations together.

The Dr. thOTs duo are joined by Trey Washington (@whatsonemorepothos) who occupies "the intersection of fried fish / porch sitting / Fantasia’s barefoot antics / communalism / anti-carceral, anti-capitalist politics and doing the chicken-head to every song like it’s still 2001" (WhatsOneMorePothos.com, 2024). The trio digs into Trey's journey to occupational therapy, community organizing, and plant care, exploring the everyday roots of justice and injustice. To close, Trey highlights some concrete ways to engage in radical communities of care. Highlights include: Ryan needing a fungus gnat solution, Trey helping a housing bond pass, Khalilah leaning into joy and imagination, and monsteras getting a movement.

We all know these two thOTs can't chart a straight path across an open field, but at least they try. Khalilah and Ryan talk professional boundaries and wandering scopes. What makes occupational therapy? They've got opinions on research, capstone, and policy impact on practice roles and identities. Lines are drawn and lines are crossed but not a single one is straight. Werk. Highlights include: Khalilah asking for an alien abduction, Ryan being occupationally blasphemous, and hell freezing over.

The Dr. thOTs duo is excited to offer this special mini episode to introduce you to a mini-diva! Chanel Jackson, niece of non other than Dr. Khalilah Johnson joins the Drs. on the podcast. In just 30 minutes, this 9 year old fashionista lets us in on her future plans, opinons on other nine-year-olds, and some advice for her Auntie Kiki - the little one reads above her grade level on this one. Y'all, the library is open. Highlights include: Ryan being analog, Khalilah lacking a family discount, and Chanel dropping some wisdom for her peers.