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In our pick of the year's best interviews on Access All, we look back at a year of perceptive interviews by Emma Tracey with great people and their great thoughts on living this disabled life. We hear from author of The Vulpine, Polly Crosby, who has cystic fibrosis and tells us she writes "little and often" so she can write comfortably with the condition she has. Comedian Chris McCausland now feels he can talk openly about being blind after the emotional experience of winning Strictly Come Dancing. And comedian Harriet Dyer who is always really open about mental illness tells us about the night she nearly died twice - though it had nothing to do with what was going on in her head. There's even more than that, and each have their own great insights that we recommend wholeheartedly as a Christmas uplift. Yours sincerely, the Access All team Presenter: Emma Tracey Mixed by: Dave O'Neill Produced by Alex Collins Editor: Damon Rose
Do you know anything about disability beyond your own? We test three well-known disabled people. Featuring BBC Chief North America Correspondent Gary O'Donoghue, Coronation Street's Jack Carrroll and writer-comedian Juliette Burton. In this poignant parody game, blind, cerebral palsy and mental health are respectively their HOME impairments so will our brave contestants choose to answer questions about their HOME condition, or go AWAY and get more points for answering a question correctly about someone else's. Hosted by Emma Tracey who is consciously embracing this medical-sounding game to see what emerges. Listen, laugh and learn in the most self-aware episode of the year. email accessall@bbc.co.uk Mixed by: Dave O'Neill Produced by: Damon Rose, Alex Collins, Emma Tracey Series Producer: Beth Rose Editor: Damon Rose Say to your smart speaker: "Ask BBC Sounds for Access All" and the latest edition will play immediately. Subscribe to Access All on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.
We pay tribute to US writer and community-builder Alice Wong who died this week at 51. Known for her Disability Visibility project and #CripTheVote, we hear from her friend Nichola Griffith who collaborated with her on a writing project called #CripLit. She never actualy met her offline yet they made a big connection. If you didn't know of her in life, here's your chance for her to inspire you with the spirit she created.Journalist Alex Taylor fell foul of a TikTok prank when someone stuck out their tongue at him to get a reaction. He then chased them in his powerchair to try and delete the video before it got online. He believes he was targeted because he was disabled.Also, presenter Emma Tracey shoots the breeze about gyms, exercise and talks to award-winning podcaster Grace Gigi Ogun, who makes the funny rich audio podcast Journeys With Grace about living with kidney cancer, and has a talent for football and music. Presenter/producer Emma Tracey, mixed by Dave O'Neill, produced by Kevin Satizabal Carrascal, Alex Collins, series producer Beth Rose, editor Damon Rose. Email: accessall@bbc.co.uk with your thoughts and questions. And say "Ask the BBC for Access All" to your smart speaker and subscribe to us on BBC Sounds. We're here every week.
Comedian and author Cariad Lloyd says her "heart exploded" when she was invited to take part in her latest TV project, Playtime.The show sees neurodivergent comedians work alongside students who receive SEND support to come up with a play and perform it. Joining the conversation is Playtime's autistic director, Céin McGillicuddy, who explains the joy of making the programme in just one day.Emily and Olivia are sisters who run Wheely Good Ceramics. They tell Access All how they have worked together to create a successful business - Olivia throws and sculpts the products while Emily mouth paints the designs.Comedian, TV star and disability consultant, Simon Minty, joins Emma in the studio throughout.Presented by Emma Tracey with Simon Minty Sound mixed by Dave O'Neill Produced by Emma Tracey and Alex Collins Series producer is Beth Rose Editor is Lisa Baxter
Since appearing on Strictly Come Dancing last year, and winning, comedian Chris McCausland tells Access All that he's "more open" and hadn't appreciated that showing vulnerability and a struggle to achieve really connects with people. Tune in for a really insightful conversation between Chris and Emma Tracey, who is blind like Chris, and asks questions other interviewers would never think of. He also talks about how he sometimes does up to three shows a day on his current stand-up tour. Paul Carter presents in Emma's absence as we return to the ongoing worries about the Access to Work (ATW) scheme and how campaigners like Dr Shani Dhanda from pressure group the Access To Work Collective believe cuts are happening with no announcement. Disability Correspondent Nikki Fox brings us up to date with this week's ATW figures which have just been released to show how much the government has spent on the scheme this last year.Sound mixing by Dave O'Neiill, produced by Kevin Satizabal Carrascal and Alex Collins. It was series produced by Beth Rose with Damon Rose as editor. Share the podcast, please, subscribe on BBC Sounds or on your preferred podcast platform, or listen to us on your smart speaker by saying "Ask the BBC for Access All". Email Emma or Paul on accessall@bbc.co.uk.
It's not often the BBC has to debunk announcements made by presidents for public health reasons - but that's the case this week after President Trump claimed that taking Paracetamol during pregnancy may cause autism. We speak with Eric Garcia, an autistic political journalist in the US, who tells us what the autism community is saying and why focusing on the mother as the catalyst for autism has unpleasant echoes from the past. How would you feel if a major European football club took a video of you and seemingly used it for fun in one of their social media videos? We speak to Welsh TikTok creator, Jessie Yendle, who had thought she was teaching the world about stammering but got a hurtful surprise. Plus comedian Juliette Burton joins Emma Tracey to shoot the breeze about some of the disability stories around including Blue Badge fraud and what the new DWP chief told BBC employment correspondent, Zoe Conway. Sound mixed by Dave O'Neill, producers were Beth Rose and Emma Tracey, the editor is Damon Rose. Email accessall@bbc.co.uk and say to your smart speaker "Ask BBC Sounds for Access All"
Disabled people are reporting that their Access To Work grants are being cut back, and at a time when the government is encouraging disabled people to get back into the workforce. As the ATW grant is awarded to help you hold down a job, or enable self-employment, it's causing confusion and concern. Disability correspondent Nikki Fox joins us to share her findings and what government is saying.The Bengsons are a joyous folk-rock duo from the US currently on a mini tour of the UK. They're both autistic, and their show Ohio fascinatingly plots the hearing loss of Sean, the male half of the two married musicians. You'll love their interview.Presenter Emma Tracey is joined by neurospicy comedian Juliette Burton to take the temperature of the disability stories floating around the internet this week.And British TikTok celeb Nathan Wedge joins Emma to talk about how his life changed after having 17 seizures, and a diagnosis of FND - functional neurological disorder. Formerly a dentist, is his body telling him he'll be able to go back to fixing peoples smiles?Say "Ask the BBC for Access All" to your smart speaker. It's dead easy. And search for us on BBC Sounds, and subscribe.Recorded and mixed by Dave O'Neill, PRODUCED by Emma Tracey and Damon Rose, the editor is Damon Rose. Email Emma now on accessall@bbc.co.uk - how's your news?
Be kind to yourself, GCSE and A-Level results are on the horizon and some of us get much higher doses of anxiety and stress than others Emma Tracey, with BBC journalist Hayley Clarke, examine the experience for neurodivergent students and give some tips on the build up. They talk to Paddy who went through difficulties at school thanks to his OCD brain, and feared the very worst when his A-level results came around. They also chat with Dr Sarah Hughes, who never got her GCSE in maths, but is now CEO of Mind. The boss of a hugely respected charity! Parents, she has your back here too.We also have your feedback on what disability minister Sir Stephen Timms told us recently, a chip shop made from felt, and Lewis Capaldi's disability anthem.Access All has disability stories in the way you want to hear them. Mail us your experiences: accessall@bbc.co.uk or find us on social media MIXED BY: Dave O'Neill PRODUCER: Alex Collins SERIES PRODUCER: Beth Rose EDITOR Damon RoseSay to your smart speaker: "Ask BBC Sounds for Access All".
In this episode, we sit down with Dave Janis, a former top-producing real estate agent who walked away from 85 deals a year and a million-dollar GCI to chase something bigger: building homes from the ground up.Dave shares how he pivoted from cold calls and burnout to managing multiple $3.5M new build projects in Boulder, Colorado — while building a flipping and wholesaling machine that funds it all.We talk about the mindset shift that sparked the leap, how he built a rockstar team in just 8 weeks, and why he now makes as much on some flips as he does on custom homes.This is a raw and inspiring look at what happens when you stop waiting for "someday" and start building the life—and business—you actually want.