Today’s subject is this podcast because it’s episode 100!! Whether this is the first time you’re listening or if you’re a longtime listener, this podcast is co-audio produced by three people and myself: Sarika Mehta, Geraldine Ah-Sue, and Cheryl Green. I’m proud to work with all three of them since the podcast started in 2017. You’ll hear us talk about the lack of disabled voices in radio or podcasts, our collaborative process, and the future of the podcast. And this is a supersized episode! After the conversation, you’ll hear some feedback from podcast listeners. In this post you can a ..read more

  Today I’m in conversation with my friends Andrew Pulrang and Gregg Beratan. The three of us are co-partners in #CripTheVote, an online movement encouraging the political participation of disabled people that we started in 2016. You’ll hear us talk about the origins of #CripTheVote, the differences between the 2016 and 2020 election on disability policies and engagement, and looking ahead with the Biden/Harris administration. Please note our conversation took place in December 2020, a few weeks after the Presidential election.  Transcript [Google doc]     [PDF] R ..read more

  Today I’m in conversation with Alena Morales, who will graduate with a Bachelor’s degree in Nutritional Sciences with a minor in Disability Studies at UC Berkeley in Spring 2021. Alena is a queer disabled advocate of color and the former Chair and Co-Founder of the Disabled Students Commission, and through loving interdependence and collective labor with her fellow crips, she co-created one of the few Disability Cultural Centers in the country at UC Berkeley. You’ll hear Alena talk about developing her disability identity, finding community, and getting involved in community organizing ..read more

  Today I’m in conversation with Mustafa Rfat. Mustafa is a graduate student in the Public Administration Program at West Virginia University. He’s also a trainee at Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) at the university. Mustafa came to the U.S. as a refugee from Iraq in 2011. You’ll hear Mustafa talk about his experience as a refugee and his adjustment to life in the United States. Mustafa will also describe the unique challenges and needs of refugees with disabilities. Transcript [Google doc]     [PDF] Related Links “Current Disability Laws ..read more

  Today’s episode is about art and technology featuring a conversation with Lindsey D. Felt and Vanessa Chang. Lindsey and Vanessa curated Recoding CripTech, a multidisciplinary art exhibition at SOMArts Cultural Center in San Francisco in early 2020. You’ll learn about how their collaboration and friendship started, what it was like curating this exhibit, some of the disabled artists that were part of the exhibit, and why CripTech, disability culture, and accessibility is more important than ever in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Transcript [Google doc]    &nb ..read more

  In today’s episode I’m in conversation with Dr. Justin Bullock. Justin is currently an Internal Medicine Resident in San Francisco, California. You’ll hear Justin talk about his experiences disclosing his disability at work, the process he had to go through to prove his fitness to serve as a physician because of his disability, the systemic ableism and racism in medicine and medical education, and the benefits and risks of telling your story and being visible. You’ll also hear Justin talk about article he wrote in the New England Journal of Medicine titled “Suicide—Rewriting my story” w ..read more

  It’s been over eleven months since the pandemic emerged in the United States and things are worse than ever. Hospitals across the country have reached full capacity and utilizing crisis standards of care, guidelines used when there is a shortage of resources and care. Today’s episode is about healthcare allocation in the time of COVID with Britney Wilson, a civil rights attorney with the National Center for Law and Economic Justice. This center, along with three other disability rights organizations, filed a class action complaint in October 2020 against the state of New York. The lawsu ..read more

  Today’s episode features an interview with Johnnie Jae who is from the Otoe-Missouria and Choctaw tribes of Oklahoma. Johnnie is a journalist, organizer, creator, and futurist and the founder of A Tribe Called Geek, an award-winning media platform for Indigenous Geek Culture and STEM, and #Indigenerds4Hope, a suicide prevention initiative designed to educate, encourage, and empower Native youth. Johnnie will talk about her experiences accessing healthcare and staying safe as an immunocompromised person, the pandemic’s impact on disabled Indigenous, the systemic inequalities facing Indig ..read more

  Today’s episode features an interview with Jen White-Johnson, an Afro-Latina disabled artist, photographer, educator, and designer. Jen is also an Assistant Professor of Visual Communication at Bowie State University. Jen will talk about how being the parent of a neurodivergent Black son politicized her and her work in the midst of racist violence and police brutality this year. You’ll hear her describe one of several graphics she created this year that features the raised solidarity fist in black with an infinity sign at the wrist with the words Black Disabled Lives Matter below. You c ..read more

  Today’s episode features an interview with Emily Ackerman, a doctoral candidate in chemical engineering at the University of Pittsburgh and a disabled activist. Emily will talk about how she got into chemical engineering, her advice for disabled students who want to be scientists, her experiences last year on campus with a delivery robot, and the importance of accessibility in the design and development of technology. Hi! I'm a 6th year chemE PhD candidate applying systems biology approaches to viral infections like the flu and COVID-19. I'm a wheelchair user and am passionate about, a ..read more