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 into what we can expect this November and beyond, today we have with us, Laura Powers. Laura is an en...
Oct 01, 2020•43 min
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, and as soon as you hear it, you’ll understand why. Valyn Lyric Turner is a 19-year-old sophomore a...
Sep 30, 2020•14 min
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 was holding you in a cage and you no longer wanted to play small? Would you keep shrinking away from y...
Sep 29, 2020•1 hr•Season 7Ep. 63
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, we think about people who regularly put their jobs before their feelings and personal lives, but l...
Sep 24, 2020•43 min
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 Thursday. Be sure to join our Facebook Group for the most up-to-date info on guests, episodes and ...
Sep 23, 2020•28 min
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 Health Labs, found himself in the ER being diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes and facing the fact that at ...
Sep 22, 2020•51 min•Season 7Ep. 62
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 on expensive boards, wearing expensive gear in areas with a high cost of living. Surfers tend to be ...
Sep 20, 2020•41 min
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, Arielle Nissenblatt who is going to give us the lowdown on everything you need to know. Arielle is th...
Sep 17, 2020•42 min
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 our Now Normal series releasing every Thursday. Be sure to join our Facebook Group for the most up-t...
Sep 16, 2020•19 min
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 Black, leaving him to wonder, where did he fit in? But what would you do if you spent your life look...
Sep 15, 2020•1 hr 7 min•Season 7Ep. 61
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 <uh-NEE-tah rhymes with “now”>. 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 ultimately help us build more empathy and understanding for othe...
Sep 10, 2020•34 min
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 at www.theonlyonepod.com Also visit the website for the latest from our host Laura Cathcart Robbins l...
Sep 09, 2020•17 min
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 own, opening one star-studded favorite after another, including The Roxbury, Georgia, Post & Bea...
Sep 08, 2020•1 hr 9 min•Season 6Ep. 60
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, Muhammad Ali, Richard Branson, Whoopi Goldberg, Jennifer Aniston and so many more. I myself have a...
Sep 06, 2020•41 min
“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 imagine losing your home during a pandemic? Where do you go? How do you stay safe? What do you take with yo...
Sep 03, 2020•50 min
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 at www.theonlyonepod.com Also visit the website for the latest from our host Laura Cathcart Robbins l...
Sep 02, 2020•15 min
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 were black and received different treatment than you when they walked down the street? Would you pull u...
Sep 01, 2020•56 min•Season 6Ep. 59
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 in private, public, home, charter, and corporate education, she develops customized training programs...
Aug 27, 2020•37 min
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 www.theonlyonepod.com Also visit the website for the latest from our host Laura Cathcart Robbins lik...
Aug 26, 2020•16 min
Four years ago she moved from Los Angeles to McDonough Georgia literally in search of greener pastures, for her family, her horses and her other animals. Kelly Rose, Senate candidate, wife, mother, post-production producer and freelance producer, was excited to build a new life for her family, embracing small town values and becoming part of a tight knit community. But what would you do if after being welcomed into a new land, you found that your values and principles conflicted sharply with the...
Aug 25, 2020•1 hr 5 min•Season 6Ep. 58
Producer and writer Tony Spatafora has a wicked sense of humor and a heart of gold. Known for Socket, Dish it Out!, and The Lees of Los Angeles. Tony Spatafora is The Only Fifty Year-Old Gay Father In The Room. Instagram: @tonyspats Be sure not to miss our weekly full episodes on Tuesdays and Scott Talks now released on Wednesdays by subscribing to the show wherever you listen to podcasts. Join our Only One In The Room Facebook Group if you'd like to ask a question of any of our upcoming guests ...
Aug 23, 2020•41 min
Imagine packing up your family for a Thanksgiving trip to Mauritius, Africa and deciding to stay and make it your home? Today’s guest, Lucia Brawley and her husband did just that, joining a number of Americans who are moving to The Motherland. Lucia is a co-founder and the Chief Creative Officer of AMP Global Technologies and executive producer of the two-time Interactive Emmy finalist, "Take Back the Mic: The World Cup of Hip Hop," and “The Mic: Africa." She worked as an actress alongside talen...
Aug 20, 2020•38 min
Scott Slaughter co-host and producer of The Only One In The Room has a short and casual, yet deep conversation with our guest Ever Gonzalez 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 www.theonlyonepod.com Also visit the website for the latest from our host Laura Cathcart Robbins ...
Aug 19, 2020•19 min
What if, after crossing the US border with your mother, you joined the Mormon church and began to reject the clichés associated with immigrants, deciding that handouts were not for you and with hard work, anything was possible for anyone. Ever Gonzalez, podcaster, and founder of Outlier HQ media and events company, found that his morals and principals were better aligned with more traditional values. But what if one day there was a cultural reckoning and everywhere you looked people were marchin...
Aug 18, 2020•57 min•Season 6Ep. 57
In May of this year, TMZ reported on a new trend sweeping the California, Salon speakeasies. Folks in the hair biz started secretly taking clients despite the states Stay At Home Order. Stylists see their regular customers for their normal appointments, all while keeping the appearance that the shop is closed, just like a speakeasy during prohibition. Other barbers and stylists began secretly making housecalls to their clients, doing hair in backyards, kitchens and basements. The Board of Barber...
Aug 13, 2020•26 min
Scott Slaughter co-host and producer of The Only One In The Room has a short and casual, yet deep conversation with our guest Simone Reyes 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 www.theonlyonepod.com Also visit the website for the latest from our host Laura Cathcart Robbins l...
Aug 12, 2020•15 min
Food is the way we connect in our society. You can’t celebrate a holiday or a birth, mourn a loved one or make a business deal without communing over a meal - and for many a meal is incomplete without meat or dairy. Simone Reyes, author, avid animal rights activist, vegan, animal rescuer, music and TV executive and country music artist, knew that going vegan while working at Def Jam Records in the 90’s would be a lonely venture. But she felt compelled to follow her conscience and help others see...
Aug 11, 2020•59 min•Season 6Ep. 56
When Black and brown girls don’t see black ballerinas in the world’s most prestigious troupes, they don’t know that dancing is something that’s possible for them. A career in professional ballet is already a long shot for MOST girls, but the odds are even more stacked against Black girls who rarely, if ever, see prima ballerinas of color succeed. So when my dear friend Riva Lombardi told us about 16-year old Imani Lindsay, who is one of the only Black dancers at the National Ballet School of Can...
Aug 09, 2020•30 min
Friday March 13, 2020 - That was the date of my last in-person workout at my gym, Arena Fitness Training Center in Encino. On March 17, the world as we knew it went into freefall, and all gyms, not just mine, would shut their doors in accordance with Governor Newsom’s orders - some of them for good. By mid May, there was a light at the end of the tunnel, if we continued to flatten the curve, gyms, barbershops and salons might be allowed to reopen in July - provided that they made some pretty exp...
Aug 06, 2020•37 min
Scott Slaughter co-host and producer of The Only One In The Room has a short and casual, yet deep conversation with our guest Antonio Harvey right after the show. Don't miss our new Now Normal series releasing every Thursday. If you'd like to ask a question on the Dear Laura segment or of an upcoming guest on Now Normal be sure to join our Facebook Group . You can also DM us on Instagram @theonlyoneintheroom or email us via the website at www.theonlyonepod.com Also visit the website for the late...
Aug 05, 2020•15 min
