

Only One In The Room
Laura Cathcart Robbins
Hosted by Laura Cathcart Robbins, a writer and a recovery thriver and survivor, Laura found herself in an all too familiar position. In September 2018, she was the only black woman in the room at Brave Magic, a famed writer’s retreat. After it was over, she wrote about her “only one” experience in The Huffington Post and comments started flooding into her DM. These comments were from people from all races, ethnicities, creeds, and nationalities who had felt “othered”. Laura beautifully interviews a person about their Only One story each episode and addresses as many of those DM’s as possible in the process. In this podcast, you’ll hear raw, vulnerable accounts from people who are, like most of us, just eager to connect. Our hope is that The Only One In The Room will inspire a change of perspective in how we all see and hear each other’s stories. We want you to think twice before judging the person standing next to you at a party, in the pick-up line at school, or in a crowded subway car. This is a podcast for anyone who has ever felt alone in a room full of people – which is to say, that this podcast is for everyone.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Feb 26, 2021 • 14min
On my Nightstand: Greyboy by Cole Brown
Today’s On My Nightstand reading is from the essay titled, The Reveal, from the critically acclaimed, bestselling essay collection, Greyboy: Finding Blackness In A White World by Cole Brown.Cole Brown is a Philly kid; he matured in the city's predominately white private schools and neighborhoods. During his undergraduate years at Georgetown University, Cole began writing his first book, Greyboy: FInding Blackness In A White World.You can listen to Cole’s episode of The Only One In The Room: Cole Brown Is The Only One Who Is Always The Only One Episode 61and find out more about Cole here: https://colebrown.com/Be sure not to miss our weekly full episodes on Tuesdays, Scott Talks on Wednesdays & Sunday Edition every Sunday by subscribing to the show wherever you listen to podcasts. We love hearing from you in the comments on iTunes and while you're there don't forget to rate us, subscribe and share the show!All of us at The Only One In The Room wish you safety and wellness during this challenging time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 24, 2021 • 17min
Scott Talks To Irina Gonzalez
Scott Slaughter co-host and producer of The Only One In The Room has a short and casual, yet deep conversation with our guest Irina Gonzalez right after the show.Don't miss our new Friday series On My Nightstand.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.comAlso visit the website for the latest from our host Laura Cathcart Robbins like live events, appearances, featured articles and more.We love hearing from you in the comments on iTunes and while you're there don't forget to rate us, subscribe and share the show! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 23, 2021 • 1h 1min
Irina Gonzalez Is The Only Bisexual Woman in a Heteronormative Marriage Episode 78
What if while growing up, the messaging you got as a girl was that either you were “normal” and were attracted to boys, or you were a lesbian and were attracted to girls? Nothing in between.Editor, freelance writer, and podcaster, Irina Gonzalez, knew from an early age that either the messaging was wrong or there was something wrong with her because she was just attracted to people, regardless of their gender.So what would you do if after discovering that you were bisexual, the person with whom you fell in love happened to be a man? Would you be relieved to feel “normal” and put your bisexual identity aside? Or would you realize that normal is just a setting on a dryer and live out loud in your truth?More from Irina Gonzalez:Visit her website: http://irinagonzalez.comListen to her podcast Pandemic MamaFinding Irina Gonzalez:Twitter & Instagram: @msirinagonzalezBe sure not to miss Scott Talks on Wednesdays, our Sunday release called Sunday Edition & our brand new series On My Nightstand releasing on Fridays 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 for this series. Also visit the website www.theonlyonepod.com for the latest from our host Laura Cathcart Robbins like featured articles and more.We love hearing from you in the comments on iTunes and while you're there don't forget to rate us, subscribe and share the show!All of us at The Only One In The Room wish you safety and wellness during this challenging time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 21, 2021 • 36min
SUNDAY EDITION: Mia Hemstad Is The Only One That Doesn’t Like Being A Stay At Home Mom
“Here’s the thing, I’m not hating on anyone who decides that homeschooling, Catholicism, or being a stay-at-home-mom is their path. What I’m hating on is how so many people, women included, impose on other women how they’re supposed to live. It’s like there’s only one good way to mother and everything else falls in the “not good enough” category.” -Mia HemstadMia Hemstad is a mom of two little kids, a full-time paid family leave advocate, mental health advocate, and self-care coach. She began creating content online because in 2013 she was facing a mental health crisis, and had no idea who or where to turn to for support as mental illness was never discussed in her family, so she decided to be a voice in this space by sharing her own experiences of overcoming Postpartum Depression and Postpartum Anxiety, as well as living with diagnosed PTSD, anxiety, and depression.https://www.miahemstad.com/Instagram: @miahemstad Check out her YouTube channel: Mia HemstadBe sure not to miss our weekly full episodes on Tuesdays, Scott Talks on Wednesdays and our brand new series On My Nightstand on Fridays 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 for this series. Also visit the website www.theonlyonepod.com for the latest from our host Laura Cathcart Robbins like featured articles and more.We love hearing from you in the comments on iTunes and while you're there don't forget to rate us, subscribe and share the show!All of us at The Only One In The Room wish you safety and wellness during this challenging time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 19, 2021 • 15min
On My Nightstand: Heavy by Kiese Laymon
Today’s On My Nightstand-read is from the chapter titled, Terrors from the New York Times best-selling memoir, Heavy, by Keise Laymon. Kiese Laymon is a Black southern writer from Jackson, Mississippi. Laymon’s bestselling memoir, Heavy: An American Memoir, won the 2019, Andrew Carnegie Medal, for Excellence in Nonfiction, the 2018 Christopher Isherwood Prize for Autobiographical Prose, the Austen Riggs Erikson Prize for Excellence in Mental Health Media, and was named one of the 50 Best Memoirs of the Past 50 Years by The New York Times. The audiobook, read by the author, was named the Audible 2018 Audiobook of the Year. Heavy was a finalist for the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award in Nonfiction and the Kirkus Prize in Nonfiction. It was named a best book of 2018 by the New York Times, Publishers Weekly, NPR, Broadly, Buzzfeed, The Washington Post and Entertainment Weekly. You can listen to Kiese’s episode of The Only One In The Room here (once the link is live) and find more of Kiese’s work on his website here https://www.kieselaymon.com/ Be sure not to miss our weekly full episodes on Tuesdays, Scott Talks on Wednesdays & Sunday Edition every Sunday by subscribing to the show wherever you listen to podcasts. We love hearing from you in the comments on iTunes and while you're there don't forget to rate us, subscribe and share the show!All of us at The Only One In The Room wish you safety and wellness during this challenging time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 17, 2021 • 15min
Scott Talks To Kiese Laymon
Scott Slaughter co-host and producer of The Only One In The Room has a short and casual, yet deep conversation with our guest Kiese Laymon right after the show.Don't miss our new Friday series On My Nightstand.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.comAlso visit the website for the latest from our host Laura Cathcart Robbins like live events, appearances, featured articles and more.We love hearing from you in the comments on iTunes and while you're there don't forget to rate us, subscribe and share the show! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 16, 2021 • 53min
Kiese Laymon Is The Only Black Southern Writer In The Room Episode 77
Picture this: You have a book to write, a memoir which contains so much raw truth that you'd rather write a lie instead.Writer, author, and professor, Kiese Laymon, wrote about the weight: The weight of racism, the weight of obesity, and the weight of sex, gambling, and familial love. And addressed the whole thing to his mother.But what would you do if publishing your book would mean naming all the secrets you’d spent a lifetime avoiding? Would you put your life on blast and let the whole world in? Or would you take the easier, softer way and write a lie that you could live with?More From Kiese Laymon:Visit his website: https://www.kieselaymon.comBuy his book Heavy or check out some of his other booksFinding Kiese Laymon:Instagram & Twitter: @kieselaymonBe sure not to miss Scott Talks on Wednesdays, our Sunday release called SUNDAY EDITION & our brand new series On My Nightstand releasing on Fridays 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 for this series. Also visit the website www.theonlyonepod.com for the latest from our host Laura Cathcart Robbins like featured articles and more.We love hearing from you in the comments on iTunes and while you're there don't forget to rate us, subscribe and share the show!All of us at The Only One In The Room wish you safety and wellness during this challenging time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 14, 2021 • 31min
SUNDAY EDITION: Jill Schary Robinson Is The Only One Who Lost Her Memory
How many people can say that they grew up on studio lots and learned one of Hollywood’s best-kept secrets from their mother? We’re truly excited to bring this conversation with Hollywood/literary legend, Jill Schary Robinson.Jill Schary Robinson was born in Los Angeles, the daughter of two artists. Her father was Oscar and Tony winner Dore Schary, head of MGM during the ‘40s and ‘50s, the only writer to ever run a film studio. Her mother, the painter M. Svet, studied at the Art Students League in New York. During the ‘60s, she wrote on revolutionary women’s issues for Cosmopolitan and covered political trials for the Soho Weekly News. Her first memoir, With a Cast of Thousands, was a runaway hit. During the late fifties and sixties, she also interviewed political and film personalities on KPFK and had a talk show on KLAC. Jill was given a lifetime grant in 2005 to develop the non-profit Wimpole Street Writers program, which continues in London and Los Angeles, where she has run workshops for the Veteran’s Administration, working with Veteran’s with PTSD, encouraging them to release the stories they fear to tell. She also hosts workshops twice a week for all writers including playwrights and screenwriters. The only rule, “No pages, no dinner.” www.jillscharyrobinson.com www.wimpolestreetwriters.com Twitter: @JillSRobinson Instagram: @jillscharyFacebook: @jillscharyrobinson Be sure not to miss our weekly full episodes on Tuesdays, Scott Talks on Wednesdays and our brand new series On My Nightstand on Fridays 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 for this series. Also visit the website www.theonlyonepod.com for the latest from our host Laura Cathcart Robbins like featured articles and more.We love hearing from you in the comments on iTunes and while you're there don't forget to rate us, subscribe and share the show!All of us at The Only One In The Room wish you safety and wellness during this challenging time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 12, 2021 • 13min
On My Nightstand: Enter Racial by Laura Cathcart Robbins
Today’s On My Night Stand-read, Enter-Racial, was written by Laura Cathcart Robbins. It is the story of when she flew to Richmond, Virginia to meet her boyfriend Scott’s father for the first time, while he lay dying in the ICU. You’ll hear her talk about the fear of being a Black woman walking into the seat of the confederacy and meeting a man on his deathbed, who up until that moment, had no idea that she was Black.Laura Cathcart Robbins is an author, freelance culture writer, and host of the popular podcast, The Only One In The Room, living in Studio City, California. She has been active for many years as a speaker and school trustee and is credited for creating The Buckley School’s nationally recognized committee on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Her recent articles in Huffpo and The Temper on the subjects of race, recovery, and divorce have garnered her worldwide acclaim. She is a 2018 LA Moth StorySlam winner and currently sits on the advisory board for the San Diego Writer’s Festival and the Outliers HQ podcast Festival. Laura is also a founding member of Moving Forewords, the first national memoirist collective of its kind. Find out more about her on her website, or you can look for her on Facebook, on Instagram, and follow her on Twitter.Be sure not to miss our weekly full episodes on Tuesdays, Scott Talks on Wednesdays & SUNDAY EDITION every Sunday by subscribing to the show wherever you listen to podcasts. We love hearing from you in the comments on iTunes and while you're there don't forget to rate us, subscribe and share the show!All of us at The Only One In The Room wish you safety and wellness during this challenging time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 10, 2021 • 16min
Scott Talks To Rebecca Metz
Scott Slaughter co-host and producer of The Only One In The Room has a short and casual, yet deep conversation with our guest Rebecca Metz right after the show.Don't miss our new On My Nightstand series releasing every Friday.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.comAlso visit the website for the latest from our host Laura Cathcart Robbins like live events, appearances, featured articles and more.We love hearing from you in the comments on iTunes and while you're there don't forget to rate us, subscribe and share the show! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices


