Disability Podcasts

Since I’ve got podcasting on the brain these days, I thought I would take inventory of the disability-related podcasts I listen to. There are really only three I listen to regularly. It amazes me a bit how few active podcasts there are by people with disabilities, on disability topics. True, podcasting requires more equipment and technical skill than blogging. However, it’s a lot easier now to develop your own podcast than it was just two or three years ago. These are the three I follow at the moment:

Ouch! Disability Talk Show

BBC hosts Rob Crossan and Kate Monaghan both have disabilities. Each of their “Ouch!” shows covers a couple of disability topics and disabled people in depth, usually with interviews. They also run through shorter disability news stories, with the help of topical “correspondents” … ordinary disabled people who listen to the show, and call in with brief bits on topics that particularly interest them. This makes “Ouch!” an impressive combination of professional radio and grassroots podcasting. Rob and Kate have a lovely, hilarious chemistry together, which helps keep the show from falling into sentimentality. Most of the content is centered on the UK, but they occasionally talk about disability trends in other countries, including the United States.

Criptiques Podcast

Cheryl Green interviews disabled writers and thinkers who contributed essays to her disability culture anthology, “Criptiques”. This is an occasional podcast that’s only had three interviews so far, but each of them was amazing. Cheryl is a terrific interviewer, with a great sense of humor. I get really excited when I see a new interview has been posted.

Stories From The Brainreels

I just started listening to this one, another podcast by Cheryl Green. I’m pretty convinced it will become part of my regular lineup, because I love Cheryl’s interviews, the topics align with things that interest me most, and because it’s in iTunes, so I’ll get new episodes automatically.

I just did an iTunes search, to see if I am missing anything new. I found a few podcasts that have been inactive for months or years, and a few on side topics only slightly related to what I’m looking for, but nothing I’m likely to add to my podcast-listening routine. I would love to hear about any new disability-related podcasts. I need more good stuff to listen to, and most of all, I need disability podcasting role models to help me develop Disability.TV.

***

Correction:

As you will see from Cheryl Green's comment below, I confused her with Catilin Wood. Caitlin is the author of Criptiques, and produces the Criptiques Podcast. Cheryl Green does the Stories From The Brainreels podcast. My apologizes to both Cheryl and Caitlin!

Weekly Wrap-Up

Sunday, July 27, 2014

• Recommended: Hashtag & Podcast
• T-Shirt Of The Day

Monday, July 28, 2014

• The Guaranteed Income Idea
• Recommended: Excellent CRPD Information

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

• What Are We Arguing About?
• Coming Soon ... "Disability.TV"

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

• "Exile" of "Wrong"
• Welcome Ramps!

Thursday, July 31, 2014

• "20 States On Wheels" Update
• Video Of The Day: Mannequins 2, JCP Edition

Friday, August 1, 2014

• The New Symbol

Saturday, August 2, 2014

• Acting!
• Buy It: "The Man He Became"
• Disability.TV Podcast - Ep. 1, Introduction

Disability.TV Podcast - Ep. 1, Introduction

Here it is, at long last … my first podcast episode!

This introductory episode is different than most of the regular episodes will be. For one thing, I plan on making each episode a more casual, less scripted discussion. And, as I mention in this introduction, I hope several episodes will include guests, so we can have real conversations. This first episode lays out my plans for the podcast, and starts to explore some of the themes and ideas I hope to talk about.

As promised in the episode, I have pasted a tentative schedule of TV shows and characters I plan to discuss below. Please do send feedback, on the podcasts themselves, and on episodes and topics to come. Most importantly, if you have a favorite disabled character or show … or least favorite … and would like to co-host a discussion about it with me, let me know.

One other technical note … In the podcast I mention using SoundCloud. I had some trouble with it, so for now I have switched to a different hosting service, Podbean. I still plan on submitting to iTunes for easy subscribing.

Disability.TV - Tentative Schedule

August 15 - Ironside (Original Series)

August 29 - Ironside (New Series)

September 5 - Friday Night Lights

September 19 - Game Of Thrones - Tyrion Lannister

October 3 - Game Of Thrones - Jaimie Lannister, Bran Stark, and Others

October 17 - Glee

October 31 - My Gimpy Life

November 14 - Big Bang Theory

November 28 - Parenthood

December 12 - Sherlock

December 26 - Red Band Society (New Fall Series)

January 9 - Breaking Bad

January 23 - Star Trek - The Menagerie 1 & 2

February 6 - Star Trek: The Next Heneration - Ethics

February 20 - Star Trek: Deep Space 9 - Melora

March 6 - American Horror Story

March 20 - ER - Dr. Kerry Weaver

April 3 - ER - Mental Illness on ER

April 17 - Downton Abbey

May 1 - The West Wing - President Josiah Bartlett

May 15 - The West Wing - Joey Lucas

May 29 - Life Goes On

June 5 - I, Claudius

Buy It: "The Man He Became"

This book is great history and biography. At the same time it offers scores of insights into what it is like to experience new disability, both the pain and fear of the conditions themselves, and the social dimensions that become even more important. I found my admiration for Franklin Roosevelt deepen and take unique shape after reading this book.

Earlier this year, I wrote a three-part review which you can read at the links below:

Part One: "Virus and Host"

Part Two: "He's Through"

Part Three: "Resurrection", and Conclusions

Acting!

Disability Is Not Just a Metaphor

Christopher Shinn, The Atlantic - July 23, 2014

I’m not too bothered by non-disabled actors in disabled roles. By which I mean that seeing non-disabled actors play disabled roles doesn't spoil the experience for me, as long as they do it well. What matters most to me is whether portrayals are believable, and that depends mostly on writing and acting talent.

This article describes an interesting idea ... that audiences prefer seeing non-disabled actors in disability roles because it sort of protects them from seeing too much of a feared reality. I don’t think I quite buy it, though. I feel like most audiences are pretty game for raw authenticity, including seeing real disabled people playing disabled characters in TV, movies, and plays. If anything, I suspect it’s writers and directors who maybe fear the reality check their work will be subjected to by disabled actors.

"What if a real paraplegic tells me that my writing of the paraplegic character is crap? What if they notice that I only know, like, three story ideas for disabled characters?”

1. Bitter cripple drives away the people who love him.

2. Inspiring cripple teaches selfish non-cripple a valuable lesson about gratitude.

3. Cripple takes a chance on an experimental treatment and is cured.

On the other hand, I sometimes worry that casting disabled actors in disability roles can become too much of a “trick” in itself, when understood and promoted in a sensationalistic way. Not that disabled actors might do a poor job of it ... most disabled actors I’ve seen who have made it into mainstream productions are terrific ... but that viewers will pay more attention to the “wow factor” of casting a disabled person, than to the quality of their performance.

Of course, once you consider how most people feel today about white actors portraying African-American characters ... or a male actor playing a woman ... it's hard to escape the idea that it's pretty outrageous that most disabled characters are played by non-disabled actors. Here's a great article from that point of view at the RogerEbert.com website.

I wonder if I would feel differently about, say, Daniel Day-Lewis playing disabled Irish poet Christy Brown, if the situation were reversed ... if most disabled characters were, in fact, played by disabled actors, and non-disabled people playing them were the exception rather than the rule?

I’m sure a lot of these issues will come up, as I get into my Disability.TV podcast.

The New Symbol

I approve of the new wheelchair symbol design, though I hope everyone gives it a chance to replace the old one gradually naturally, before making some big expensive push for it. It’s possible that non-disabled people … including people who own and arrange parking lots … will embrace the new symbol with some enthusiasm, just because it looks so great.

From the Disability History Tumblr blog, via Licking The Road.

Video Of The Day: Mannequins 2, JCP Edition

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

'We're all different': JCPenney shows unique mannequins in New York storefront

Jane Weaver, Today, NBC - July 15, 2014

Via Words I Wheel By.

I am glad to see this, but I am surprised they didn’t mention the similar project done in Zurich, Switzerland last Fall. The video for that made me cry for real, not out of pity, but because of a strong feeling of identification with the participants. One thing I like about this project is that they don't focus on disability per se, but on differences ... including weight and height.

"20 States On Wheels" Update

20 States On Wheels

I decided to check in on the 20 States On Wheels project … four college students, one of whom uses a wheelchair, traveling from San Francisco to Boston and blogging about the accessibility they find, or don’t find, along the way. Today they are in Denver!

It looks like they have found a fair amount of full accessibility so far, with the biggest problems being when promised accessibility and accommodations fail to materialize. This seems most notable with car rental and hotel reservations. Restaurants and tourist attractions seem to be mostly accessible and accommodating.

That all sounds familiar to me, and highlights one of the best aspects of architectural accessibility. For the most part, a physically accessible feature can't disappoint. People frequently do, as do their policies and practices.

Browse the blog. The group has posted lots of great photos, along with descriptions of their accessibility experiences.

Welcome Ramps!

ConvertaStep

Via the Cripple Fabulous: Hell On Crutches Tumblr blog.

It’s accessibility day, I guess. These ramp / welcome mat things go well with the article on cardboard furniture.

"Exile" of "Wrong"

Using Cardboard to Bring Disabled Children Out of the Exile of Wrong Furniture

Jim Dwyer, The New York Times - July 29, 2014

It’s the phrase, “the Exile of Wrong Furniture” that hooked me. I can think of so many variations on it that would describe living with disabilities, in a world of full of barriers. The Exile of Wrong Entrances … The Exile of Wrong Sidewalks. Fantastic.

The subject is terrific, too … using cardboard to make custom furniture for disabled kids. It should work for disabled adults as well. I could sketch out a piece or two that would help me out a lot. Like maybe a computer desk, and a properly proportioned chair.

Coming Soon ... "Disability.TV"

I have been toying with the idea of starting a podcast on TV depictions of disability for quite some time, but I think I’ve finally reached the point where a vague idea is ready to turn into reality. If all goes well, I’ll have an introductory episode of “Disability.TV” out on August 1st. I will probably post it initially on SoundCloud.com, but eventually it should be added to iTunes as well, so people can download episodes to their computers and mobile devices.

Each episode will focus on a single TV show and its disabled characters. My main goal throughout will be to answer the question, “What do we want in TV depictions of disability?” In the process, I hope listers will enjoy a tour of past, present, and even future TV shows featuring disabled characters and themes. To get a good head start, here is a tentative list of episode topics: 

Ironside - Original Series - Chief Robert Ironside

Ironside - New Series - Detective Robert Ironside

The Michael J. Fox Show / Growing Up Fisher - Mike Henry / Mel Fisher

Friday Night Lights - Jason Street

Game Of Thrones - Tyrion Lannister

Game Of Thrones - Jaimie Lannister, Bran Stark, and Hodor

Glee - Artie Abrams, Becky Jackson

Big Bang Theory - Sheldon Cooper

Parenthood - Max Braverman

Red Band Society - (New Fall Show)

Breaking Bad - Walter Jr. “Flynn” White

Star Trek - The Menagerie 1 & 2 - Captain Christopher Pike

Star Trek: The Next Heneration - Ethics - Lt. Worf

Star Trek: Deep Space 9 - Melora - Ensign Melora Pazlar

American Horror Story - “Freak Show”

ER - Dr. Kerry Weaver

ER - Mental Illness

Downton Abbey - Mr. Bates, Thomas Barrow, Matthew Crawley

The West Wing - President Josiah Bartlett

The West Wing - Joey Lucas

Life Goes On - Corky Sherwood

I think I have everything I need to get started … except for one thing. I need ideas, insights, and most of all, some co-hosts! If you are tuned in to disability issues and popular culture, have a look at this list, and if you see something that interests you, let me know. Hopefully, we can work out the technical side of long-distance podcasting and make these episodes real discussions rather than monologues. Two viewpoints are almost always better than one!

Stay tuned for the first, introductory podcast!

What Are We Arguing About?

When you start reading around the disability blogs, as I did a year and a half or so ago, you get the impression that there are some pretty big arguments going on just under the surface of things. People with opposed views on disability topics rarely clash with each other directly, but there are obviously some high-stakes disagreements and misunderstandings sparking a lot of passion. The problem is that the terms of debate are almost never spelled out, and a newcomer to disability culture can become easily confused. What’s it all about?

I don’t want to fan the flames, but it might be useful once in awhile to try to articulate just what it is we are fighting about … or being passive-aggressive about as the case may be.

For example:

- Is disability a complex web of medical, social, and political factors that all affect how people with specific impairments live? Or, is all the social and political stuff a sort of mirage, distracting us from the pain and hardship of unpleasant medical conditions we should be trying to solve? This argument is at its most concentrated when there is a clash between efforts to eliminate certain disabilities entirely, and a view that doing this would be tantamount to genocide. However, a more moderate but similar argument goes on over where people prefer to direct their attention and money … to making life better for disabled people, or to ridding people, and society, of disabilities?

- What is autism? Is it a baffling and often debilitating brain dysfunction that kids and families suffer greatly from? Or, is it a very particular kind of brain and perception difference where autistic people are essentially ok if they’re allowed to be themselves and use their coping mechanisms, but parents and other “neurotypicals” make them miserable by trying to force them to “act normal”? It’s hard to stake out a middle ground here. It feels like one or the other side is not only wrong, but tragically, horrifically wrong. People disagree over the true nature of a few other specific disabilities, but autism seems to be the most divisive.

- Are most intellectually disabled people quite capable and fully self-aware, and just in need of some extra help and guidance to live satisfying lives? Or, are most of them severely impaired and in need of constant, life-long care and supervision? Most people would say some of both, and lots of in-between. But, one side tends to stress a more minimalist, positive view, while the other side focuses more strongly on needs and what they see as serious, insolvable deficits. The two sides seem to be looking at two different groups of people, while speaking as if to encompass them all.

- Are people with substantial care and assistance needs better served in their own homes with visiting nurses and paid personal assistants? Or, do they get better, safer care in specialized care centers like nursing homes and “assisted living facilities”? This argument is inseparable from the question of which model is more financially sustainable. Not to mention … whose needs are paramount, the person with a disability, family, or care providers?

- Which is more crucial to successful life with a disability … positive thinking and good behavior of the disabled person, or accessibility, accommodation, and respect from society, towards the disabled person? How we answer this question seems to depend a lot on which we believe is easier to change … ourselves or society. The answer to that is not obvious, either way.

- Is disability prejudice the result of ignorance or evil, confusion or hostility? Does it make a difference?

If you have read even just a little bit of this blog, and of other blogs by people with disabilities, you should be able to guess how most of us would answer these questions. Yet, they are questions, and the opposite answers are not so easily dismissed, once they are fairly laid out.

I have no grand point here. I just think it’s important that we remind ourselves of what we believe, and of what others believe who disagree with us.

Recommended: Excellent CRPD Information

A Time Line of the Campaign for U.S. Ratification of Disability Treaty (CRPD)

Andrea Shettle MSW, Rambling Justice - Updated July 22, 2014

This is by far the best thing I have seen so far explaining the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), and providing everything an advocate would need to help push for ratification.

I would also like to give a qualified, cautious endorsement of @FightingCRPD, a Twitter feed satirizing the beliefs that have prevented the CRPD from being ratified. It is satire, right? RIGHT?