BODY BANTER

Welcome to Body Banter, a podcast where we explore different perspectives of the human body in all its forms! Our hosts, Dr. Claudia Krebs and Dr. Segun Oyedele, are joined by an amazing line up of guests to share their expertise and thoughts about what the human body means to them. Our guests come from all over the world and include researchers, clinicians, anatomy instructors, scholars of language and culture, and people with lived experiences navigating the healthcare system. Anatomy is for everybody and every body, and we are here to get the body banter going!

#28 | Chloё Angus: Beyond the Runway: Fashioning a Future for Spinal Cord Injuries with Wearable Technology

10 April 2024 | 32:24

In this week's episode of Body Banter, Vancouver-based fashion designer and spinal cord injury advocate Chloë Angus shares her unique perspective on the human body through the lens of fashion design. Chloë reveals how her experiences in the fashion industry as well as her own experience of living with a spinal cord injury have deeply influenced her understanding and appreciation of the body. She talks about her involvement with Human in Motion, supporting the development of innovative wearable exoskeleton technology, and her vision for a future where this technology can empower folks with motion disabilities to move freely and independently.

#27 | Lara Boyd: Choosing to Change Your Brain

06 March 2024 | 31:35

In this episode of Body Banter, Dr. Lara Boyd joins us to talk about neuroplasticity, aka the brain’s capacity to change, from her perspective as a physical therapist-turned-neuroscience researcher. We discuss the inseparable relationship between the brain and the body, as well as how the sweet spot for changes in the brain occurs when we engage in activities that are challenging yet achievable. Lara also shares her 'recipe for brain health and longevity' (surprise, it’s really quite simple!) and how we all have the agency to change our brains.

#26 | Jen Gunter: The Science, Medicine, and Mythology of Menstruation

24 January 2024 | 40:35

We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Jen Gunter, the internationally known gynecologist and author of the newly released book "Blood: The Science, Medicine, and Mythology of Menstruation" on this week's episode of Body Banter. Dr. Gunter discusses the profound influence of the patriarchy on women's perceptions of worth regarding their bodies, particularly concerning menstruation and the so-called "reproductive years". She challenges long-standing myths and misconceptions, the importance of debunking widely accepted beliefs that lack scientific evidence, and sheds light on the truths about women's health often obscured by hearsay and mythology. Join us for a fascinating discussion that redefines the narrative around menstruation, menopause, and the menstrual years. Dr. Gunter's new book "Blood" is now available in bookstores, and Claudia and Segun give the practical, empowering guide to all things menstruation a combined four thumbs up review.

#25 | Margaret Moss: What I Never Learned in Nursing School

12 January 2024 | 43:26

For our first episode of 2024, we are joined by Dr. Margaret Moss to discuss the importance of Indigenous cultural safety and awareness in healthcare. Dr. Moss shares insights from her role as a consultant on the investigation team for the In Plain Sight Report (2020). She explores both the devastating impact of anti-Indigenous racism in BC's healthcare system and the system's shortcomings in supporting Indigenous cultural practices or ways of knowing. We delve into the importance of trust, humility, and our responsibility to understand the context and needs of those we care for.

#24 | Sunit Jadhav: The Anatomy Singer-Songwriter

20 December 2023 | 33:10

For the second of our two-part series on "The Body of Music" and our final episode of 2023, we explore the potential of music in the anatomy classroom. Dr. Sunit Jadhav, during his recent visit to Canada, joins Claudia and Segun to talk about his passions for anatomy education and music—and how he combines these two passions to make learning anatomy more fun and engaging for his students. Sunit also treats us to a mini concert where he plays us a song he wrote, inspired by a lecture on the visual system he attended in Claudia's neuroscience course.

#23 | Tara Gaertner: The Musical Brain

06 December 2023 | 43:58

In this episode of Body Banter, we're joined by Dr. Tara Gaertner—a neuroscientist and music educator—to delve into the fascinating relationship between our brains and music. We talk about Tara's rich background ranging from music education, to neuroscience in the context of occupational therapy, and now psychiatry as a resident doctor. Tara shares how music can be used to better understand our brains and to support our health and wellbeing, as well as the bridge between the realms of science and music.

#22 | Anthony Saraco & Ursula Krebs: Unveiling the Mind's Eye: Aphantasia, Synaesthesia, and the Inner Experience of Visualization

22 November 2023 | 33:29

This week, Anthony Saraco and Ursula Krebs join us on Body Banter to explore their very different experiences of inner visualization and what they "see" in their mind's eye. Anthony shares how his inability to visualize shapes mentally, also known as aphantasia, impacts his day to day experiences, as well as his approach to teaching anatomy in what is usually considered a highly visual field of study. Conversely, Ursula reveals the colourful world of synaesthesia and discusses how she experiences sound and other sensory inputs as inherently linked with colours. Tune in for a captivating conversation that challenges the traditional views of what happens in the mind's eye and the role of visualization for different lived experiences.

#21 | Ni-ka Ford: Embracing Variation in Medical Illustration

01 November 2023 | 31:34

On this week's Body Banter, Certified Medical Illustrator Ni-ka Ford joins us to discuss the role of medical illustration in addressing bias in healthcare education and creating more inclusive and diverse representations of the human body. Ni-ka shares why she decided to enter the profession of medical illustration, her experience over the last two years as the Chair of the Association of Medical Illustrators (AMI) Diversity Committee, and the importance of community coming together to address inequities in anatomy and medical visualizations.

#20 | Jeffrey Hunger, Natalie Loschiavo, Rebecca Pearl: Inclusive Care For All Bodies: The Impact of Weight Stigma

18 October 2023 | 44:12

This week on Body Banter, we have an expert panel joining us to discuss the impact of weight stigma on healthcare and patient outcomes. Claudia and Segun first met our guests—Dr. Rebecca Pearl, Dr. Jeffrey Hunger and Natalie Loschiavo, RD, LDN, RYT—at the 2023 Anatomy Connected conference in Washington, DC where they were panelists on a roundtable discussion on weight stigma in health education and practice. In our conversation on the podcast, we discuss our three guests' perspectives on weight stigma in their different roles and how we can challenge these harmful narratives.

#19 | Sarah Purcell: Metabolism... It's Complicated

04 October 2023 | 32:14

This week on Body Banter, Claudia and Segun connect with Dr. Sarah Purcell whose research focuses on nutrition and metabolism. We talk about the individual and population differences in energy balance and how our food environment—which includes geography, food insecurity, access, and other systemic considerations—has an impact on our metabolism. Sarah also discusses how the simplified equation of "energy in = energy out" doesn't quite capture such a complicated concept.

The Hosts

Claudia Krebs

Dr. Claudia Krebs, MD, PhD, has been teaching neuroanatomy and gross anatomy to MD undergraduates, biomedical engineering and allied health professions at UBC for over a decade. She focuses on integrating technology and novel visual approaches in the classroom, particularly with AR and VR. In 2017, Dr. Krebs created the HIVE (Hackspace for Innovation and Visualization in Education), a multidisciplinary space for innovation in biomedical education, such as the creation of educational xR apps. Along with local and global collaborators, Dr. Krebs is creating a library of open educational resources, including videos, e-books and interactive web materials.

Olusegun Oyedele

Dr. Olusegun Oyedele, MD, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Teaching in the UBC Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, as well as in the UBC Faculty of Medicine, Southern Medical Program (SMP), at the UBC Okanagan campus in Kelowna, BC. He also teaches and oversees the case-based learning curriculum at SMP. Over the past decade, Dr. Oyedele has taught anatomy and all its subdisciplines to pre-clerkship students in the UBC MD Undergraduate Program. His research focuses on medical education, particularly on small group learning pedagogies, and on how case-based learning equips medical students for clinical decision-making during clerkship and beyond.

Anatomy is for everybody and every body.