50 episodes

Join Kohrman Jackson & Krantz Student & Athlete Defense attorneys Susan Stone and Kristina Supler for some “real talk” regarding everything from consent, Title IX and #MeToo to mental health, autism, bullying and hazing, social media pitfalls, academic integrity, special education, student discipline and misconduct, navigating police encounters and staying out of trouble. They’re full-time moms and attorneys with extensive national experience when it comes to Title IX cases, and have been called on by various organizations and publications to share insight in this area, particularly in the context of the #MeToo conversation.

Real Talk With Susan & Kristina KJK

    • Education
    • 5.0 • 21 Ratings

Join Kohrman Jackson & Krantz Student & Athlete Defense attorneys Susan Stone and Kristina Supler for some “real talk” regarding everything from consent, Title IX and #MeToo to mental health, autism, bullying and hazing, social media pitfalls, academic integrity, special education, student discipline and misconduct, navigating police encounters and staying out of trouble. They’re full-time moms and attorneys with extensive national experience when it comes to Title IX cases, and have been called on by various organizations and publications to share insight in this area, particularly in the context of the #MeToo conversation.

    Do Trigger Warnings Really Work?

    Do Trigger Warnings Really Work?

    In this episode, KJK Student Defense attorneys Susan Stone and Kristina Supler talk with Professor Amna Khalid, an associate professor of history at Carleton College in Minnesota. Topics they discuss include the impact of trigger warnings on education, why teaching history needs to be done in context, and some strategies on handling difficult material in the college environment.
    Links:
    Professor Amna Khalid: https://www.carleton.edu/directory/amkhalid/
    Banished Blog: https://banished.substack.com/
    Show Notes:
    (02:36) What is the real definition of a Trigger Warning?
    
(03:45) Do Trigger Warnings really work?

    (04:35) How Trigger Warnings compromise learning
    
(06:26) Why universities need to teach tough topics

    (08:09) What professors can do to teach tough topics
    
(09:49) Do universities have a responsibility for students with mental health issues?
    
(11:39) What Professor Khalid teaches in her classes
    
(15:18) Why the “customer approach” to higher education compromises learning

    (18:07) How Professor Khalid handles difficult material in her classes

    (19:41) Why learning about history is important
    
(22:09) Cancel Culture: Is there a connection with Trigger Warnings?
    
(24:21) What are the two biggest threats to higher education?

    Transcript:
    Susan Stone: Okay, listeners out there, I am gonna give you a trigger warning that we're gonna talk about trigger warnings. So I expect some of you might, send in some comments. We want your comments. But frankly, we're diving in on this sensitive topic, cuz I'll tell you what, recently Cornell University rejected a resolution requiring faculty members to provide trigger warnings about classroom contact that students might find traumatic.
    And I'm done with that. I agree. What about you, Kristina? 
    Kristina Supler: I agree as well. as Susan, we have this conversation a lot. outside of higher ed, like in the real world, life doesn't come with a trigger warning, does it? 
    Susan Stone: I gotta, I wish it did. I wish it did. We're seeing it and come into play in our practice when we're trying to help students who've been accused of some form of misconduct or have hired us to help i. pursue their claim of misconduct. And we wanna talk to them and work through difficult subjects. Difficult subjects. They're like, you're triggering me. I'm like, dude, I'm your lawyer. I'm not your mommy. We gotta work through the materials. 
    Where's the grittiness? 
    Kristina Supler: on that note, let's jump in today we're really pleased to be joined by our guest, Amna Khalid. Who is an associate professor of history at Carleton College in Minnesota.
    Having grown up under a series of military dictatorships in Pakistan, Amna has a strong interest in issues relating to censorship and free expression. She speaks regularly on academic freedom, free speech, and campus politics, as well as at professional conferences across the country. Her essays and commentaries on these issues have appeared in various outlets, the Chronicle of Higher Education inside Higher Ed, and she hosts a podcast herself, an accompanying blog called Banished, which explores censorship in the past and present. 
    Welcome. 
    Professor Amna Khalid: Thank you for having me. 
    Susan Stone: Could you start with the definitions of what is a trigger warning? I think it's self-explanatory, but just let's set the terms. 
    Kristina Supler: For people maybe who don't know and what's all this talk?
    Yeah. So give us 
    Professor Amna Khalid: the basics. 
    Yeah. It's a good question actually, because even for people who know, I think they get a little bit confused between what is the trigger warning and what is providing context. So a trigger warning is really just basically a label, if you will, saying whatever you're going to see or read next is going to include certain things that might be disturbing. And then it'll enumerate the things. It'll say sexual harassment, sexual violence, racism, et ceter

    • 26 min
    What Are Your Rights? Parents of Children with Disabilities

    What Are Your Rights? Parents of Children with Disabilities

    In this episode of Real Talk, KJK Student Defense Attorneys Susan Stone and Kristina Super are joined by Marbella Cáceres, Tammie Sebastian, and Lisa Lutz from the Ohio Coalition for the Education Of Children with Disabilities.  Topics that they discuss are the rights of parents with children with disabilities have.  The conversation includes how the coaliation empowers parents when getting their children assistance, how parents can get their children with disabilities services, and how to find out if your child has hidden gifts under their disabilities.
    Links:
    https://www.ocecd.org/
    Phone Number: 1-844-382-5452
    Show Notes:
    (03:00)  The Coalition: Fighting for Parent’s Rights with Their Children with Disabilities
    (05:03)  How the Coalition Empowers Parents
    (08:04)  Empowered Parents: Resolving Conflict Resolution with Agencies
    (08:50)  How the Coalition Connects Parents with Disability Rights organizations
    (09:58)  On Your Side:  The Coalition Also Has Children with Disabilities
    (13:42)  Cover Up:  How Schools Focus on Disabilities But Miss Gifts
    (14:44)  First Step:  What Parents Can First Do if They Suspect Their Child Has a Disability
    (15:23)  The Three Tiers: What Every Parent Needs to Know
    (17:28)  How the Coalition Helps Families Who Don’t Speak English
    (19:21)  What are the Parents Rights
    (21:35)  How the Coalition Helps Parents with Disabilities
    (23:46)  Why Schools are Required to Have a Language Access Plan
    (24:49)  What Over-Identification is and How It Can Hinder a Child
    (27:16)  Parents Best Bet: How the Coalition Interfaces with Other Agencies to Provide Families with More Services
    (29:59)  How Parents Can Work with the Coalition without Hiring Attorney
    Transcript:

    Susan Stone: Today we are gonna talk about the darling of our practice, and that is special education law.
    And I say it's the darling because even before you and I were law partners, I started the practice only dreaming about doing special ed. I still, oh, 
    Kristina Supler: How could there be life before us together? 
    Susan Stone: What there was,there was you and my three kids. Everyone says that. But there was. And it started with special education and one of our guests here today who you'll introduce, Tammie.
    I remember reaching out to her years ago when I was just a newbie. Trying to break in and create a name for myself and saying, can I come talk about special education? And you were so gracious, Tammie, to host me to give a primer. And I look back then and I think, wow, what I, I wish I had the knowledge and the mileage of life experience and working with clients that I do today.
    But you gotta start somewhere, right? Supler? That's right. So today we're gonna do a little special ed work. Why don't you introduce it. 
    Kristina Supler: Today we're joined by Tammie Sebastian, Louise Lutz and Marbella Cáceres, who are all with the Ohio Coalition for the Education of Children with Disabilities, which is a statewide nonprofit organization that serves families of infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities in Ohio.
    And they also provide services O C E C D. That's a mouthful. That is a mouthful. Much all of special ed alphabet soup we say, right? Yep. They work through a coalition effort with parents and other professional disability organizations. They have individual members. It's been around since 1984 to help with parent training, and we are really pleased to be joined by three fabulous women today.
    Welcome. 
    Tammie Sebastian: Hi, how are you guys? 
    Susan Stone: We're doing great. We actually just finished recording a whole speech for milestones for their conference. We did a virtual lecture. So we are just back to back today. But to start out, could one of you lovely guests, explain what the Ohio Coalition for the Education of Children with Disabilities.
    O C E C D is 
    what you do and what your given roles are within the organization. That's a mouthful. But you guys can

    • 36 min
    Talking to Your Kids About Online and Offline Sexual Predators

    Talking to Your Kids About Online and Offline Sexual Predators

    In this episode of Real Talk, KJK Student Defense Attorneys Susan Stone and Kristina Super are joined by Dr. Elizabeth Jeglic, an internationally renowned expert on sexual violence prevention, sexual grooming, child sexual abuse, and sexual assault.  Topics that they discuss are about protecting children from sexual abuse.  The conversation includes how to spot signs your child might be abused, the best ways to educate your children against sexual abuse, and simple strategies parents can use to monitor children’s online activities.
    Links:
    Dr. Elizabeth Jeglic's Website
    Show Notes:
    (04:11)  Behaviors to look out for if a younger child has been abused.
    (04:48)  Shocking statistic about sexual abuse by strangers versus known persons
    (06:52)  Normal sexual exploration versus abuse.
    (08:55)  Signs a developmentally challenged child might be abused
    (10:44)  How to Investigate if You Suspect Your Child Might Be Abused
    (11:48)  A Parent’s Best Strategy to Teach Kids About Protecting Themselves
    (12:40)  A Study on Why Sexual Predators Avoid Certain Children
    (13:04)  Why Some Kids Wait Until Adulthood To Report Abuse
    (13:28)  How Parents Teach Kids to Critically Think About Sexual Abuse
    (15:16)  Why Encouraging Early Detection and Reporting is Critical
    (16:27)  What Types of Kids are More Likely to Be Abused
    (17:24)  The Three Levels of Sexual Violence Prevention
    (18:38)  How Erin’s Law Helps School Educate Kids on Sexual Abuse
    (19:29)  Does Speaking with Kids about Sex Encourage Sexual Behavior with Kids?
    (21:46)  Dangers of Online Chatting Apps and Kids
    (22:40)  A Simple Strategy Parents can Use to Monitor Kids Using Devices
    (24:54)  Rules Parents Can Put In Place to Protect Their Children
    (26:45)  How to Encourage Children to Share Mistakes They Might Make
    (27:15)  Patterns to Spot When It Comes to Grooming Children
    (28:31)  Recommendation for Parents to Take Action Today
    Transcript:
    Susan Stone: Kristina, it's really interesting to watch how our practice evolves. We talk a lot about how we started out in special education and then morphed into our college practice and our research misconduct. And for the past couple years we've been dipping our toes into representing victims of sexual abuse. And more recently young children who have been abused at school.
    Kristina Supler: It's really fascinating this area of law because so many people I think would say, what? What are defense attorneys doing here? But this is been a natural extension of what we've done across the country. And what is really particularly interesting about this work is just the idea of sort of parsing through, determining when children report allegations,what's real, what's play, what's bullying and abuse.
    And the more we dig in, the more you realize the complexity of the issues. And how many people out there are truly desperate for legal support. 
    Susan Stone: And what I really like is how the narrative has sh has shifted because when I was a little girl, a lot of sexual exploration, whichwhich today we would call abuse, was just tossed up in the air as playing house.
    And it wasn't just playing house. Young children don't know how to process sex, and that's why we really have to establish good boundaries to protect our children because what might seem like normal exploration might be very damaging to the actual child. And I think we're more willing to admit that it's damaging.
     Guest today is really gonna help us parse through that a good Kristina word, parse. 
    Dr. Elizabeth Jeglic: Yes. What 
    Kristina Supler: My favorites. today we are joined by Dr. Elizabeth Jeglic, who's an internationally renowned expert on sexual violence prevention, sexual grooming, child sexual abuse, and sexual assault. She's a licensed clinical psychologist and professor of psychology at John J College of Criminal Justice, at City University of New York.
    She's also the author of Protecting Your Child from Sexual abuse, Sexua

    • 29 min
    Why Young People Don't Want to have Kids?

    Why Young People Don't Want to have Kids?

    In this episode of Real Talk, KJK Student Defense Attorneys Susan Stone and Kristina Supler are joined by Dr. Christine Whelan, and academic researcher in helping people find purpose and meaning in life.  Topics that they discuss are around a growing portion of young people not wanting to have kids.  The conversation includes how young women view having families versus having a career; Did Covid impact young adults on wanting to have kids; and how young adults can find purpose and meaning with or without having children.
    Links:
    Dr. Christine Whelan's Website
    Show Notes:
    (02:40)  The Ups and Downs of a Declining Birth Rate
    (03:43)  Historical look at Women in the Home
    (05:42)  How young women started looking at their careers versus family
    (07:42)  A different but accurate viewpoint of young girls looking at motherhood
    (09:26)  How women look at satisfaction from something meaningful and purposeful
    (11:34)  How Dr. Whelan balances work with raising a family
    (13:59)  Looking at the costs of raising a child
    (16:16)  Did Covid negatively impact young adults on wanting children?
    (17:58)  College students are becoming more socially awkward
    (20:04)  Is finding purpose in life done through having children?
    (21:12)  Are adults without kids happier?
    (22:36)  How one Harvard Study defines happiness
    (24:32)  How Dr. Whelan teaches kids about purpose and meaning
    (27:25)  Dr. Whelan’s perspective on how her kids shaped her life after 25 years
    (28:34)  How parents can talk to their adult kids about parenting
    (31:45)  Teaching young adults who don’t want kids about being pro-social
    (33:46)  Changing from young adults into older adults: the evolution of our nature
    (34:50)  A simple exercise for parents to use to help their kids find purpose and meaning
    Transcript:
    Susan Stone: Around a year ago, I started hearing high school and college kids tell me that they don't want kids. When the first college student told me this, I thought that the sentiment was particular to that student. However, since that time, I've been hearing this from a lot of different kids. Kristina, what the heck is growing up?
    I mean, I remember when I was a little girl, fantasizing, what? What am I gonna name my babies when I have them? And now nobody wants babies. 
    Kristina Supler: I don't know. It's a really interesting question, Susan, and I'm really excited to explore today. I understand wanting to put off having children to develop a career, to launch yourself professionally, but I'm still sort of struggling with hearing from young adults who just say, I, I don't wanna have a family at all.
    Susan Stone: This seems to become more prevalent since Covid. And I'm wondering if it's just a coincidence. I'm hoping our guest today is gonna help us explore why students don't want children. Is it new or has the thought only been? Has it thought been around for a long time and I we're just noticing? It might be new to us.
    Kristina Supler: We're pleased to be joined today by, Dr. Christine Whelan, a clinical professor in the School of Human Ecology at the University of Wisconsin Madison. She's the author of Why Smart Men Marry Smart Women, and Marry Smart, the Intelligent Woman's Guide to True Love. She also wrote another book called The Big Picture, A Guide to Finding Your Purpose in Life.
    And it's really a small steps program to help young adults figure out what matters and how to make it happen. And I just have to mention, there's one other piece in Dr. Whelan's that I love. And that is that at the age of eight, she hosted a nationally syndicated radio show called No Kidding, A Health Talk Show for Kids by kids. 
    Susan Stone: Today would be a podcast, not a radio show. 
    Kristina Supler: Welcome, Dr. Whelan. We're happy to have you with us. 
    Susan Stone: Oh, and I love that you wrote about purpose in life. I'm gonna be 57 and I keep telling everybody that after my last goes to college, I wanna find my purpose at life.

    • 38 min
    What Role Do Institutions Have In Sexual Assault and Abuse Cases

    What Role Do Institutions Have In Sexual Assault and Abuse Cases

    Description:
    In this episode of Real Talk, KJK Student Defense Attorneys Susan Stone and Kristina Supler are joined by fellow attorney Brian Kent, a 15-year expert in seeing civil damages for victims of sexual abuse and assault.  Topics that they discuss are related to sexual abuse and assault in students.  The conversation includes how trauma can be used to serve others, the bodies reaction to assault when there’s no physical evidence, and what roles institutions play in being held responsible in assault cases.
    Links:
    Brian Kent's Profile
    Show Notes:
    (03:14)  Why Brian Kent teams up with attorneys from across the US
    (04:43)  How Brian channeled his own tragedy into helping other victims of sexual absue
    (08:20)  How people can use trauma to serve others
    (10:47)  A Simple way to explaining emotional injury to a jury
    (11:49)  The physical impact emotional injury has on the brain (Neurobiology of Trauma)
    (15:27)  Can you spot trauma or assault if there’s no physical evidence?
    (16:24)  The importance of having open communication with your children about abuse
    (18:41)  How Susan builds empowers her kids to speak up
    (22:43)  What role do institutions play in protecting students
    (25:23)  Are high schools worse for hazing than colleges?
    (28:33)  How cancel culture damages students in school
    (29:42)  How not taking action can make organizations legally responsible for assault
    (33:07)  Under what conditions can victims can seek damages perpetrators
    (35:39)  How helping people with the civil process helps the healing process
    (37:35)  Why sexual predators commit acts of assault
    Transcript:
    Susan Stone: So Kristina, we have a really bizarre practice. 
    Kristina Supler: Why's that? 
    Susan Stone: I'm going to tell you because we don't do just one thing. You can't put us in a box. It's like that line from dirty dancing. Nobody puts baby in a corner. 
    When I think about what we deal with on a given day, we're everywhere. 
    Kristina Supler: Well, and I think that just like you can't put our practice in a box, you really can't put our clients in a box either. Because we're dealing with so many different types of legal issues and people all over the country, students with problems that they want help with. 
    Susan Stone: Yeah. And I, I noticed that starting a couple years ago, our first sadly wrongful death case came to us. And then we started working in a couple personal injury cases and that's forced us to grow into an area that I would've never identified as. 
    Kristina Supler: Yeah, and it's interesting too, I mean, we're so passionate about getting the best result possible for our clients. We team up with so many different professionals all over the country. 
    Susan Stone: What's interesting about our client or our podcast today is that we're actually having someone that we worked with on a case and hope to work with in the future.
    And a lot of people would be like, why are you putting another lawyer on your podcast? I mean, aren't you worried about drawing business away from yourself? I mean, that's the question. 
    Kristina Supler: Yeah, and I think that the answer is no. We're not afraid of that. We are passionate about what we do, and we wanna get, again, the best result possible.
    So we're really pleased to be joined today by Brian Kent. Brian is a nationally recognized advocate for victims' rights. Brian has dedicated his career to seeking justice for survivors of abuse, assault, and exploitation. 
    As a former sex crimes prosecutor in Philadelphia, Brian's an advocate for justice for all crime victims. He's handled many high profile cases, including representing survivors of Jerry Sandusky, boarding and school boarding, school abuse, and also clergy abuse. 
    Now, Susan alluded to not too long ago, we paired up with Brian on a really interesting case and resolved it quite favorably.
    Welcome, Brian. 
    Brian Kent: Thank you both. 
    Susan Stone: Great, great meeting with y

    • 39 min
    Teaching Children the Power of Resilience

    Teaching Children the Power of Resilience

    In this episode of Real Talk, KJK Student Defense Attorneys Susan Stone and Kristina Supler are joined by Dr. Suzanne Schneps, a 30-year clinical psychologist who works with children, their parents and family units.  Topics that they discuss are related to resilience in children.  The conversation includes the relationship between resilience and success, how parents can teach kids resilience without over-parenting, and tips to model resilience for children to see and emulate.
    Show Notes:
    (03:05) How Dr. Schnep Defines Resilience
    (05:06)  How To Really Define Success
    (05:57)  Is Being Resilient Linked To Success?
    (06:58)  Are Kids Struggling More These Days Than In Previous Generations?
    (10:31)  How Parents Can Build Resilience Into Children
    (12:54)  Parents and Kids:  Collaborating Versus Setting Non-Negotiable
    (15:17)  Knowing When to Protect Your Child Versus Letting Them Find Their Own Way
    (18:05)  The Difference Between Your Child Being Bullied versus Not Just Being Liked
    (20:41)  How Educators Can Handle Bullying Or Mean Comments In Class
    (21:41)  A Great Example of Mediation Between Students in Conflict
    (24:49)  Resilience for Kids and Dealing with Grief of the Death of a Loved One
    (27:04)  What it Means to a Child When Parents Apologize For Their Behavior
    (29:11)  When Is It Ok to Hold Back From Kids
    (31:40)  How to Talk To Kids About Covid (RSV)?
    (34:19)  Set the Example: Model Resilience For Your Kids


    Susan Stone: Today's topic is really a very fundamental topic because as everyone knows, Kristine and I focus on helping students when they're in a crisis situation. But long after Kristina and I are able to help the student out of the. We hear back from parents and some kids bounce back and lead and go on to do better.
    Susan Stone: And some kids, the crisis defines them and it leads us to the question of resilience. So we wanted to have a podcast focused on that very topic because Kristina and I only see a small snippet of the crisis. We don't know the student before. And unless someone reaches back out to us, we don't know the after.
    Susan Stone: So our guest is really the expert on the topic.
    Kristina Supler: We're pleased today to be joined by Suzanne Schneps, who is a clinical psychologist in Cleveland, Ohio, who's been practicing for over 30 years. She works with children's parents and family units. Prior to her clinical work, Dr. Schneps' training, uh, was as an elementary school teacher and also a special education, uh, worker.
    Kristina Supler: She worked with children with cognitive challenges, learning differences, and a variety of mental health issues as well. This experience really informs Dr. Schneps' work with children and gives her a unique understanding of how academic and school issues impact a child's self-concept and overall wellbeing.
    Kristina Supler: Dr. Schnapps is just the best.
    Susan Stone: I would have to agree and I'll have to throw in. This is really scary. I met Dr. Schneps over 25 years ago already. Wow. Yeah. She is a consultant at my um, daughter's school, which is Hathaway Brown and All Girl School, and she really. Made a big impact on creating an environment for resilience.
    Susan Stone: So we have maintained our relationship all these years. And when you say she is the best, The best, but I also say her daughter, who is a psychologist, also the best, , also the best. So can we give a shout out that not only are you great working with students, but you raised one heck of a daughter in that Jenny Wolinsky?
    Dr. Suzanne Schneps: You know, I don't know whether I can handle all these positives. Ladies, . 
    Kristina Supler: Well, welcome. We're happy to have you today. Thanks for joining us. 
    Susan Stone: So before we launch into a big discussion on resilience, Dr. Schnapps, can you define the term so we're all on the same page? What we're really talking about? . 
    Dr. Suzanne Schneps: Well, well, well, Susan, I think you gave a good way

    • 38 min

Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5
21 Ratings

21 Ratings

Carly Boyd ,

Great content!

This podcast is very interesting and informative on both the legal and personal aspects! I really enjoy the different perspectives and stories you tell, specifically the latest episode “Every Parents Nightmare.” It was great to hear from a parent!

Christine Croissant ,

Down to earth advice on important topics

Really interesting! Susan and Kristina cover need-to-know topics for parents of teenagers. Great listening while I’m on my runs.

joanM216 ,

Real talk is real good

Informative topics in a well-produced format. Worth a listen!

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