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!

#13 | Tessa & Sean McWatt: "An Anatomy of Race and Belonging"

01 February 2023 | 44:53

Today marks the start of Black History Month and to celebrate Black contributions to anatomy we are excited to share this week's episode with Tessa McWatt and Sean McWatt. In this episode, we talk about storytelling, the anatomy of racial identity, and a sense of belonging in a fractured world. Tessa is the author of the book Shame on Me: An Anatomy of Race and Belonging and Professor of Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia. Sean is a Professor of Anatomy at Western University and founding member of Black in Anatomy—and he's also Tessa's nephew!

#12 | Jeffrey Laitman: What’s So Special About the Human Larynx?

18 January 2023 | 44:09

To continue this month’s discussion about comparative anatomy of the head and neck, Jeff Laitman joins us this week to *talk* about the larynx and what makes our voice box different from other primates’. Professor Laitman takes us on a journey, starting with the inspiration to pursue a lifetime of anatomical inquiry originating from a troupe of mischievous monkeys, all the way to the wonder of how our own bodies change through different stages of life. Before you listen, be aware that this episode contains brief discussion of sudden infant death syndrome.

#11 | Wayne Vogl: We’re More Closely Related to Whales Than You Think

09 January 2023 | 36:54

For our first episode of 2023, Professor Emeritus Wayne Vogl joins us to discuss the similarities and differences between whale and human anatomy of the head and neck, as well as how the study of comparative anatomy enables us to better understand the evolutionary history of vertebrate anatomy. Dr. Vogl is co-author of several of the well-known Gray’s Anatomy textbooks and spent many years as director of the UBC Gross Anatomy program.

#10 | Gordon Findlater & Leena Alkhammash: Tales from the Edinburgh Anatomy Department

13 December 2022 | 32:13

On this week’s episode of Body Banter, PhD student Leena Alkhammash and her former graduate supervisor Professor Emeritus Gordon Findlater reconnect to talk about how they fell in love with teaching anatomy. With Claudia, they discuss the value of human body donation programs to anatomy education program and their immense gratitude for the donors themselves.

#9 | Michelle Lazarus: Embryology is the Origin Story of Adult Anatomy

29 November 2022 | 40:13

This week, Dr. Michelle Lazarus joins Claudia and Segun to discuss the topic all anatomists love to hate: embryology! Michelle talks about why thinking about embryology as the story of how adult anatomy came to be is a more effective and approachable way of learning anatomical structures. We discuss how when we learn about anatomy, we are learning about ourselves, as well as how important it is to have an inclusive language and understanding of our bodies.

#8 | Ben Haseen: The Nuances of Transgender Health

15 November 2022 | 36:45

On this week’s episode of Body Banter, Ben Haseen joins Segun and Claudia to share his perspective on the nuances of transgender health and lived experience as a South Asian trans man. Ben is in his final year of medical school and is passionate about trans health advocacy and health disparities research, using his YouTube platform to create trans and queer health education resources.
November 13-19 is Transgender Awareness Week which leads up to Transgender Day of Remembrance on November 20th. We are honoured to be able to learn from Ben about trans health and share his story this week, but acknowledge that trans health is important every week of the year.

#7 | Leonard Shapiro: Deep Observation of the Human Body

01 November 2022 | 38:18

This week on Body Banter, Leonard Shapiro joins us to discuss how art and observation through touch can be used to develop a deeper understanding of anatomy. Leonard developed and teaches the Haptico-visual observation and drawing (HVOD) method to medical students in Cape Town, South Africa as well as to learners around the world virtually.

#6 | Melissa Carroll: Where Are The Anatomists Who Look Like Me?

18 October 2022 | 33:58

It’s Black in Anatomy’s 2nd anniversary this week! To celebrate this amazing organization and movement that amplifies Black contributions to the anatomical sciences, we are honoured to have Dr. Melissa Carroll, Founder of Black in Anatomy, join us on Body Banter. Melissa, Claudia, and Segun chat about what it means to be an “expert” in a field that we still don’t know everything about, how a tolerance for ambiguity is key as an educator, and why it’s important to have diverse representation and BIPOC mentors in anatomy.

#5 | Lori Brotto: Words Matter - How Inaccurate Anatomy Impacts Sex Education

04 October 2022 | 42:46

This week on Body Banter, Claudia, Segun and Dr. Lori Brotto share their three different experiences with sex education and chat about why accurate and non-judgmental sex ed is so important. We dive into the impact of shame-based language surrounding sex and sexual health, as well as discuss where pleasure exists in the body and the mind.

#4 | Sue Black: Anatomy is Also a Responsibility

21 September 2022 | 52:23

Professor Dame Sue Black joins Claudia and Segun this week on Body Banter to chat about her incredible career in forensic anthropology and anatomy. She discusses her work investigating war crimes, as well as her research in forensic recognition using hand vein patterns - which has directly contributed to the conviction of over 30 child abusers. Before you listen, be aware that this episode of Body Banter contains discussion of sexual assault, child abuse, and violence.

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.