Speech Tea

Speech Tea is a two-person conversation built by Lauren Hastings and Lauren Prather, speech-language pathologists who go by the Laurens and sign off to each other as LP and Lolo. The cold open in each excerpt states the mission directly: research and clinical practice, discussed within the Black community, with social media tea as the way in and an invitation to grab a mug. The excerpts also open with a LegalShield sponsor read that names Keith R. Prather, introduced as a LegalShield Senior Associate. After that, the talk can go almost anywhere. The clinical thread is solid. In Social Determinants of Health, one of the Laurens reads from an ASHA Leader article, Including social determinants of health and value-based care, credited to Rebecca Bowen, ASHA's director of health care policy. Calling herself a visual learner, she reads out patient scenarios. One describes a woman who lives alone in a rural community, 45 minutes from the closest outpatient clinic, and who waits until the first of the month to buy food and medicine. It is a practical way to show how circumstance shapes care. Whatchu Eatin'? moves from the clinic to the grocery aisle. There the discussion covers petroleum-based food dyes, yellow 6 and blue 1 among them, a study on male lab rats, possible hyperactivity triggers for people with ADHD, and the bans and labeling rules found in Europe and Canada. One speaker is careful to point out that the study was about rats, not humans, a useful distinction to hear said out loud. Politics comes up without apology. In Disappointment, yet Elevated: Reflecting on the US Election Results & 2024 ASHA Convention, the talk covers DEI, health care, the Department of Education, and parents who plan to pull children from public school; one voice says she is bracing herself but prayerful. That conversation closes on a single word, elevate, offered as a goal for personal and professional life. Pop culture and the social feed fill other stretches: Our Favorite Things includes news of Pee Wee Herman's death and a post from Zendaya mourning a friend. Personal milestones matter here too. Dr. LP covers becoming a doctor: there is talk of a faith-based journey, support from their Inbasla family, and a story about a membership meeting where LP was asked to reintroduce herself. The pair care about branding as well; one closing teases a new logo and pictures, and another mentions plans for a 50th episode. Several sign-offs leave a phrase to hold onto, from 'delay is not denial' to 'keep going'. Listeners get SLP reading, public-health questions and everyday news, talked through by two friends who clearly enjoy the conversation.