Podcast appearances and mentions of brian charlson

Our Chairman, Dave Wiliams, was thrilled to have addressed the American Council of the Blind (ACB) at their 64th Annual National Conference & Convention held in Dallas, Texas. On 10 July 2025, Dave delivered the keynote speech at the annual Convention banquet to a sold out audience. He called for greater investmentt in braille as a proven literacy tool that can transform the lives of blind people around the world. He was introduced by ACB Treasurer and Master of Ceremonies, the Reverend Michael Garrett, from Missouri City, Texas. Sponsorship With thanks to Dot Inc. for sponsoring Dave's attendance. Find out more about Dot Pad X and the Raising the Dots Podcast. Dot is proud to have played its part in the Monarch, in partnership with the American Printing House for the Blind (APH) and HumanWare. Links Related to the Braillists National Braille Press (NBP) Touch of Genius Prize for Innovation Points of Light award 1982, 8 February 2023 Links Related to Braille The International Council on English Braille (ICEB) Links Related to RNIB RNIB, the Royal National Institute of Blind People RNIB Tech Talk Links Related to ACB ACB Media Braille Revival League Links Related to the World Blind Union and European Blind Union World Blind Union (WBU) European Blind Union (EBU) Living Braille, the website of the EBU Braille Working Group Links Related to Running Parkrun UK Couch to 5K (C25K) Abbott World Marathon Majors Full Text of Dave's Speech Good evening ACB President, friends, advocates, everyone here and online. Thank you for your hospitality! I am grateful for your invitation to share in ACB's “Big Dreams and Bold Ideas”, not only this week here in Dallas, but over many decades in many places far beyond your shores. It is a privilege to stand before you tonight, as someone whose life has been profoundly shaped by this movement. Let me begin with a deeply personal truth: for a long time, I resented my blindness. Like many, I struggled to accept blindness as part of my identity. Through you, I learned to think differently, to dream boldly, and to act decisively. That shift in perspective changed everything. It is why I am here tonight—to celebrate what is possible when we embrace who we are and empower others to do the same. Our blindness stories break down barriers and build bridges. They turn isolation into community, fear into action, and doubt into confidence. Together, I believe we can ignite that transformation for countless others. When I talk about blind people, I intend “blind” in the broadest sense. Whether you identify as blind, low vision, vision impaired, we are all valued in this community and our voices carry equal importance. And if you are a sighted person who works to elevate the voices of blind people, we thank you for your solidarity. Before I share how it was you in this movement who taught this northern English lad to feel differently about my blindness, becoming a passionate braille advocate and Six-star World Marathon Majors Finisher, we must extend our gratitude to our friends at Dot, who's support means I can be with you here tonight. I know many of you took the opportunity this week to get your hands on Dot Pad X, a highly versatile multiline braille and tactile display portable enough to be carried in a schoolbag. Dot's technology is disrupting the braille display industry. Using Dot Pad and the Dot Canvas app, I recently supported my sighted 16-year-old son's math revision and got to touch his signature for the first time. Dot and partners are delivering new educational and employment opportunities we could only dream of just a few years ago. Do we have any first timers here? My first ACB Convention was Birmingham, Alabama. Your Birmingham in July is a bit warmer than our Birmingham near my home in England. We simply do not have anything like these blindness conventions in the UK. I jumped in at the deep end with you. 2003 was an eventful year for ACB. General Session ran over into an extra day. As Director of ACB Radio, I was responsible for making sure ACB's membership, and listeners tuned in from offices and homes in countless countries, could hear our coverage. And while we were very well looked after by ACB's Alabama affiliate, the internet connectivity at convention that year was especially problematic and seamed to get even more challenging during the liveliest debates. My purpose then, as it is today, is to empower as many blind people as possible by increasing our access to the information and tools we need to live our best lives. A year before Birmingham, ACB Radio's founder and mentor to many of us decided to move on. I took the call. My predecessor, Jonathan Mosen, would be an impossible act for anyone to follow. But he believed in me. Long before ACB Radio, as a young blind man, I avoided the tools and skills that could have empowered me. I resisted the cane. I dismissed braille. I thought these things marked me as “different” in a way I was not ready to accept. I mistakenly believed specialist skills separated me from sighted people. These days we would say “othering”. I cast those skills aside for a long time. It took me years to recognise that confidence can come from a cane or guide dog, and enjoying bedtime stories with our kids can come from braille. The voices I heard on ACB Radio via my dial-up modem—leaders like Marlaina Lieberg and Paul Edwards—challenged me to rethink what it meant to be blind. They taught me that tools like braille and the white cane do not separate us from society—they connect us to the people and world around us. Their advocacy lifted me up, and I realized I could be part of something bigger. When I took on the role of ACB Radio Director, I was terrified. Could a young man from a small town in the UK really lead an initiative that connected blind people across the globe? But I said yes. Why? Because this movement showed me the power of taking risks. And because I knew that by sharing our stories, we could empower others to do the same. One of my first tasks as ACB Radio Director was to convince Marlaina to host her own talk show. She was so humble and asked me what if nobody listened? What would we even call it? I told her I was sure everyone would listen, and the name of the show would be Marlaina. Like many of you, I miss her lots and think of her often. I also knew Paul Edwards was a natural broadcaster and must have his own show. He teamed up with Brian Charlson, and Tuesday Topics was born. You certainly kept me busy. When I was not producing audio or trying to secure sponsors, my email and phone rang 24/7. If it were not a server in California needing a reboot, it was listeners frustrated they had missed the latest episode of Main Menu, Blind Handyman or Cooking in the Dark, and would I please send it to them? I convinced our tiny team of volunteer software developers to build us a listen again on-demand service, an early form of podcasting. ACB Radio did not just stream content; it brought blind people together online, long before Zoom calls and virtual conventions became the norm. We created opportunities for storytelling, advocacy, and community that spanned continents. From broadcasting ACB conventions to global events like the World Blind Union General Assembly, we ensured that the voices of blind people could be heard. The impact did not stop there. ACB Radio became a launchpad for careers, a platform for innovation, and a catalyst for change. It inspired similar initiatives worldwide. It proved that when blind people lead, we redefine what is possible. That legacy continues today through ACB Media, and its ripple effects are felt in every corner of our community. We will never know how many blind lives this priceless service has transformed. When it was my turn to pass on the ACB Radio baton, it was to join a team working on one of the first mobile screen readers with touch support. Talks, Mobile Speak and Pocket Hal pioneered many of the concepts we now take for granted in VoiceOver on iPhone and Talkback on Android. Following the early success of ACB Radio, blind people in many nations started their own online radio stations. In 2003, the Royal National Institute of Blind People in the UK launched Europe's first station for the blind community, now known as RNIB Connect Radio. I worked at RNIB for 6 years as their Inclusive Design Ambassador. We partnered with companies like Canon, Netflix, and Sony to advance their accessibility efforts. My ACB Radio experience meant I was also invited to host around 150 episodes of RNIB's flagship technology show, Tech Talk. We were recognised by the UK radio industry and were awarded community station of the year in 2024. As well as interviewing many movers and shakers from the technology world, including accessibility leaders from Microsoft and Google, I had the incredible honour in March 2024 of recording a short interview with legendary singer songwriter Stevie Wonder. As we were introduced, I recalled the awe with which Marlaina had interviewed Ronnie Milsap years earlier. She had taught me that it is ok to feel that child-like excitement even during the moments that define our careers. After shaking Stevie's hand, I asked if he would be willing to share some messages about accessibility and inclusion with our blind brothers and sisters in the UK. I held my breath. He said let us do that now. I began recording. He asked about my recording equipment, and he playfully imitated my English accent. You should hear his Bob Dylan. As we were talking, we were forced to move due to being jostled by the crowd. Before I could grab my cane, Stevie took my arm in his and proceeded to walk us both forward. Hold the phone, I am now being sighted guided by Stevie Wonder? He said, “don't worry Dave, in a moment I'll Walk you into a wall.” My other lasting memory of that moment, in the interview, Stevie said, “I could not have the career I enjoy were it not for braille.” He talked about how he uses braille to write and edit his many songs. And how he has an ambition to publish his catalogue in braille for blind musicians to study. Stevie is not alone. We can all think of high-profile blind people who would link their success to an ability to read braille. Leading journalists, educators, lawyers, politicians holding high office have all relied on braille to get the job done. As for many of you, spreading braille and tactile literacy is a subject close to my heart. Every day I continue to be amazed how combinations of just six little dots fitting neatly under our fingerprints represent every letter of the alphabet, numbers, punctuation, math, music, and other symbols for accessing any subject and any language. Incidentally, six is also the number of big city marathons you must run to complete the classic Abbott World Marathon Majors series. I may have mentioned that somewhere. I will come back to running later. Braille's invention meant for the first time blind people could independently read and author our own stories, find our voices, become educated, and employed, label household items, read our own greetings cards, identify medications, the list goes on. Whether you read braille or not, we can all recognise how deeply linked braille is with the emancipation of blind people. Of the many tactile reading systems developed in the 19th century, and there were many, it is no accident that the system that prevailed was one developed by a young person who knew what we really needed because he was blind. Braille is an early example of that modern disability mantra, “nothing about us without us”. And it is blind people who today, through organisations such as the International Council on English Braille, continue to maintain our code. Blind people around the world have been celebrating two hundred years since braille's invention. I have been communicating braille's value in national broadcast and print media, meeting with hundreds of braille ambassadors at libraries across the UK. On January 4, the Braillists Foundation delivered the UK's first face-to-face World Braille Day Conference. I recognise that in the US, Braillists refers to a braille producer. But in the UK, Braillists often describes any blind person who relies on braille. We formally established the Braillists Foundation in early 2020 to promote braille and tactile literacy. The aims of the Braillists Foundation are: Promote the value of Braille as a proven literacy tool that enriches the lives of blind people. Support efforts to make affordable Braille and tactile reading technologies available to all blind people irrespective of education and employment status. Provide an open forum for the exchange of ideas about the development of future Braille technology. When social distancing forced everyone online, we began offering classes to introduce braille to beginners, supportive reading groups for practicing braille skills, drop-in sessions where readers can get braille questions answered, and masterclasses covering more advanced braille topics. The work of the Braillists Foundation, to spread braille literacy, especially during the pandemic, was recognised by your National Braille Press Touch of Genius Prize for Innovation, a UK Prime Minister's Point of Light Award, and in May this year I was honoured to accept an invitation to a Royal Garden party celebrating learning and skills at Buckingham Palace. You are invited to join the international community celebrating Braille 200 for the rest of this year. The European Blind Union Braille Working Group encourages everyone to share creative experiences celebrating braille. You can do that through their website at LivingBraille.eu. You can follow the hashtag #Braille200 on social media. There's still time to organise your own braille two hundred events. And always you can elevate the voices of braille readers by connecting with ACB's Braille Revival League. And next year, 2026, APH will open the Dot Experience in Louisville to celebrate braille's rich heritage. Braille's profoundly personal connection with written language cannot be underestimated. Braille enabled me to write my proposal of marriage on a braille scrabble board. I waited, heart pounding, while my then girlfriend rummaged in the bag to find letters to compose her answer. She wrote blank e s. Next week we will celebrate our 14th wedding anniversary. I was also deeply moved, shortly after I crossed the finish line at the Tokyo Marathon this March, to discover braille featured on the finisher medal. I had run an exceptionally long way to get to that point, and reading that braille for myself, rather than having to ask a sighted person to read it to me, that really did feel like inclusion. Completing the much sought-after Abbott World Marathon Majors series was some journey. Blind since birth with Leber Congenital Amaurosis, I never saw myself as a runner. Seven years ago, I weighed over 220lb and could not run a bath. I had an idea of converting a guide runner into a pilot for my tandem bike gathering dust in my garage. I signed up for the England Athletics' “Find a Guide” database, a bit like your United in Stride. I soon met Steve and, later, Bex, my first real guide runners, who had no interest in piloting my tandem. What started as huffing and puffing to reach a mile turned into weekly runs and a community of support. I hated physical education at school: ill-fitting kit, smelly changing rooms, PE teachers. During those early attempts at something you could not describe as running, I thought about a blind lady I knew with asthma who ran marathons. I was reminded of Erik Weihenmayer, the first blind person to climb Everest, also interviewed by Marlaina. Just exactly what was my excuse? I decided I was going to get fit and set an example for my son, Arlo. With lots of encouragement, especially from other blind runners sharing their stories, I dragged myself from couch to 5K. While no guide runner seeks recognition for themselves, they really are amazing people. Some blind runners told me how they wanted their guides to appear in results and officially receive a finisher medal at London Marathon. It was the advocacy skills I learned from this movement that enabled me to support that campaign by producing a package for BBC Radio. Our combined efforts changed London Marathon's policy. In my excitement about this small win for guided running, I returned home from the pub one night and went online. Alcohol and the internet are always a winning combination, you know? I found myself filling in a ballot entry form for a place in the New York City Marathon. What was I thinking? I had barely run six miles at this point, and here I was entering a lottery to run 26.2 miles. Not to mention the thousand miles you need to run in months of training. Surely, I would not get a place? I would not need to tell anyone, right? Wrong! “Dear Mr Williams” the email read. “Congratulations, you have a place in the 2019 New York City Marathon”. This had to be a joke. I checked my bank. Oh shoot. New York Road Runners had taken $270. Now I would have to tell my wife. I had nine months to train. And the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to show my then 10-year-old son that us blind dads could do things. Through the summer, I ran up and down hills in Worcestershire to prepare for the five massive bridges you must cross in the NYC marathon: Verrazano-Narrows, Pulaski, Queensboro, Willis Avenue, and Madison Avenue. I was doing my homework. I even joined a gym. It was a beautiful autumnal morning at Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island as we lined up with 53,000 other runners to take on my first marathon. Helicopters hovered overhead and canons blasted as earlier waves set off. Nobody more surprised than me to be a part of it. Sinatra's New York, New York and Jay-Z's Empire State of Mind were on high rotation. New York would be the first of six starts that also included London, Boston, Berlin, Chicago and Tokyo: six big city marathons that have come together to make the classic Abbott World Marathon Majors series. These big city marathons are 26.2-mile street parties. The atmosphere is electric. You really feel the heartbeat of a city when the crowds turn out in force. Complete strangers yell your name to encourage you on. Not only do you get to feel like a rockstar, but you run the same course on the same day as the best athletes in the world. 1st Avenue in New York City and Tower Bridge in London are exceptionally loud. The shrill piercing screams of Wellesley's students in the Boston Marathon put me in mind of Beatlemania. I need to channel that energy especially when the running gets tough, as it always does. When the course is hilly and the weather is hot, I can find myself contemplating my life choices. There have been many times when I have gulped down buckets of Gatorade and walked for a while. Ultimately, drawing on that positive energy from all those people willing me on, and the power of the marathon to bring people together, is replenishing. Some of these cities have deeply divided histories. But they come together to support the runners. Your life, your marathon, has the power to bridge division. It is that sense of hope that drives me on through the exhaustion running to the finish line every time. Shout out to Chicago, London and Tokyo who gave me a medal that featured braille. Berlin, Boston and New York City, you can do this too. But it is not over. In 2024 Abbott announced that the Majors series will be extended to include a seventh, eighth and nineth star. Next month I am heading to Sydney for my first marathon in the Southern hemisphere. If you have ever taken a risk, bitten off a little bit too much, felt like an imposter, found yourself winging it, you are among friends. I certainly feel a little bit of that every time I go out for a run or stand up to deliver talks like this one. As blind people we know we must push the boundaries and take a chance. None of us got here by always taking the easy path. While I live thousands of miles away, you and I have a shared history. Some of which is written in People of Vision, ACB's story, a copy of which I have at home. Braille is also part of our shared history. Braille is a tool of liberation. It has empowered generations of blind leaders. Yet, we know that braille literacy is not where it should be. Too many blind children and adults lack access to the tools they need to thrive. This is a call to action for all of us. If we believe in independence, in dignity, in opportunity, then we must invest in braille. We must champion its teaching, ensure its availability, and celebrate its value as the cornerstone of blind empowerment. Let us dream bigger. Today, blind people are excelling in fields once thought inaccessible—technology, arts, business, politics, sports. But there is so much more to achieve. Imagine a world where every blind child has access to quality education, where workplaces are universally inclusive, and where we lead not as exceptions but as examples. Technology is a critical piece of this puzzle. But innovation is not enough. We must advocate for systemic change. We require policies that prioritize accessibility in every industry. We must have blind leaders at the decision-making table, shaping the future of inclusion. And we need allies—sighted people who amplify our voices, speaking with us, not for us. Tonight, I challenge each of you: How will you contribute to this movement? Will you mentor a blind youth, helping them see their potential. Will you advocate for better policies in your community. Or will you share your story, inspiring someone else to embrace their blindness as a source of strength. Whatever it is, do it boldly. Do it with the knowledge that your actions ripple outward, creating change far beyond this room. At the same time, let us not forget the power of collaboration. ACB, RNIB, the Braillists Foundation—together, we are stronger. Let us share strategies, pool resources, and align our goals to create a global network of blind advocates. The challenges we face are too big for any one organisation to tackle alone. But united, there is nothing we cannot achieve. As I stand here tonight, I am reminded of a truth that has guided me throughout my journey: stories change lives. Whether it is a marathon medal, a braille book, or a conversation with a stranger, every story we share chips away at prejudice and builds a more inclusive world. Thank you, ACB, for teaching me to think differently about blindness. Thank you for showing me what is possible when we embrace our identities and lift each other up. Let us keep running—toward inclusion, toward equality, and toward a future where every blind person has the tools and opportunities to live their best life. Let us find each other at the next starting line. Thank you, and good night.

Brian Charlson and Deborah Armstrong explain why you need a public library card; From the Library Users of America at the ACB 2024 national convention Find out more at https://sound-prints.pinecast.co This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

One of the hosts of Tuesday Topics is famous for his culinary prowess. Brian Charlson recently presented to the Greater Louisville Council on the subject of barbecue. There are shows on ACB Community that feature cooking. One is hosted by Florida's own Sheila Young. In the past Cooking with the Hazelnuts was a regular program on ACB Radio and a gentleman who often hosts Tuesday Topics for Clubhouse, Herbie Allen, is currently doing a cooking show. We clearly have some resources at our disposal and I haven't talked about perhaps our most popular cooking show with Sheryl Cummings and the gentleman from Blind Mice Mart. Are there new devices that cooks are using? Do people like being able to be connected via wifi to the phone? Are there devices that are relatively inexpensive that can do cool things? We hear lots about small kitchen appliances and there is, I think, still a show and a list that explores air fryers and other such devices. Where do folks find their recipes? Are there areas where there aren't enough instructions? Are new stoves making accessibility possible? We hope we can persuade some of the culinary cream of the crop to be with us next week to tell you about what they do and how they do it!

First are upcoming convention highlights, followed by Cooking with Brian Charlson from the June 16 ACB Families programming. Includes tips for grilling both indoors and outdoors, plus gadgets and techniques to prepare delicious meals. Find out more at https://sound-prints.pinecast.co This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Last week we asked you to come up with topics we could consider for future programs. I have to say that the participation of our regular listeners was just a mite limited. Let me thank those who were there and who participated in our show. Brian Charlson actually came up with the idea for our next Topic and I think it is an interesting one. Initially, the topic emerged because Brian was concerned that so many plays where we ask that audio description happen are so poorly attended. Why is that? Does it have to do with COVID? Does it have to do with the income of people who are blind or low vision? Does it have to do with discomfort with paratransit or other ways of getting around? Are theaters the only place where we have become tortoise-like? Are we content to wait at home till accessible movies hit the television screen? Have we lessened our social outings now? Will our chapters more and more meet via Zoom? Do we use accessible pedestrian signals enough to justify their expense. How about announcements on buses? Where do Uber and Lyft fit into the system? At the heart of this issue is whether it matters! Should we be concerned that we are asking for more and involving ourselves less? If the answer is yes, what should we do about it? Do our chapters have a responsibility to work on these issues? Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co

Right at the end of Tuesday Topics there was a brief discussion of audio description. It has been a while since Tuesday Topics has spent some time talking about this most powerful equalizer for people who are blind. During our discussion there were a couple of questions that came up. First, do descriptions actually describe what is most important? Second, how different would different audio description files be from one another. There are some opportunities to find out with the arrival on HBO Max of new descriptions which describe the same shows as were described in England. There are beginning to be several podcasts about audio description. Brian Charlson and Carl Richardson do one called "picture This" which we have already discussed here. However, it might be good to hear more about their first full year and where they are going in the future. Are there other podcasts? If so, what are they? Should we be subscribing to some of them? Our hand raiser Marianne Grignon knows about one which she will tell us about. It offers a unique idea and allows listeners to have input into what it does which is pretty unique! Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co

Paul Edwards and Brian Charlson will begin a discussion that we fervently hope our listeners will help us continue. It is on a subject that may make some of you uncomfortable. ACB is an organization of people who are blind but it is also an organization of just plain people. Some of these folks are conservative and some are liberal. Some come from the South of this country while some are from the North. Is ACB a liberal organization? Do we make enough room for conservatives? Is ACB a conservative organization? Do we make enough room for liberals? Are we somewhere in between? How should ACB handle political difference? Should extreme views be discouraged? Should we seek to limit the expression of political views because they do not directly relate to blindness? What are conservative views of how blindness should be dealt with? What would liberals say? Surely, given their differing views on the role of government, their notions of how the nation ought to treat people who are blind should differ as well. We hope you will join us to explore the political character of ACB and what it might mean for how we interact with each other. Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co

It has been too long since our last Tuesday Topics program appeared for your delectation. However, we are back. My producers Rick Morin and Larry Gassmann are ready to go and my new co-host and i can hardly wait to once more foster good conversation and the exchange of ideas. I am overjoyed to let everyone know that, from now on, Brian Charlson is my co-host for TT. We were partners in the past and I am delighted to be partners again! Of course, we are going to talk about the convention. I had actually thought that we might not but Brian convinced me that, in spite of the fact that some of you may be conventioned out by the time we get to Tuesday, there would still be value in what we plan to do. We have discussed the convention and we think that our approach will lead us to look at some elephants that may be in the room and some ways of making sure they don't step all over our next convention. Did ACB do enough with regard to Covid? How can we improve the debate process? Is there a better way to handle resolutions? How different is debate in person and only on Zoom? These are just some of the questions we will explore. There will be lots of opportunities for your input. We do not intend to bash the convention! We want to focus on the pluses and minuses surrounding it! Truly, a hybrid convention is quite an accomplishment! Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co

This week I would like to propose three ideas for your delectation. If you find none of them delectable, we will be in serious trouble. However, you have not let me down yet! First, I thought it might be of interest to explore our experiences with books that feature blind people. My experience suggests that literature has contributed some to the attitude of society to those of us who are blind. How are we depicted? What are the worst depictions you remember? Have there been any good ones? What would make a depiction good! You can talk about TV shows or movies, if you like! My real intention is to talk about how we are perceived by those who get rich writing about us! Second, Easter is coming along fairly early this year! What customs do you follow? Do you do Easter eggs? What special stuff do you eat? Would you like to talk about Passover instead? What about Ash Wednesday and Good Friday? Third and hopefully last, I want to begin to look at another element of non-verbal communication. We are going to do a whole show relatively soon. I want to explore blind people and pictures. As a child I saw lots of pictures particularly in books produced by the Royal National Institute for the Blind as it was then. I was remarkably unimpressed with them. My friend Brian Charlson shamed me by being able to identify pictures of different animals that were tactile drawings shown at a convention we attended together! He lost his sight at eleven, I think. Can we do more to make pictures accessible to people who are blind? Is it worth the effort? Can people born blind benefit much? How would we explain such things as perspective? How do paintings that are flat convey three dimensions? We need to at least understand what we don't know if we are to decide whether we want to know it or not! Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co

Accessible prescription labeling solutions from En-Vision America; Brian Charlson presents "A New Me: Reclaiming My Health with Talking Technology, Diet and Exercise."

Accessible prescription labeling solutions from En-Vision America; Brian Charlson presents "A New Me: Reclaiming My Health with Talking Technology, Diet and Exercise."

My guests on this week's Tuesday Topics have recently lunched a new podcast called "picture this". Brian Charlson, current President of the Bay State Council and immediate past President of Library Users of America and former First Vice-President of ACB, has been an active advocate for audio description since it began. Carl Richardson is Co-Chair of ACB'S audio Description Project Committee. He knows more than most of us ever knew about audio description. Both of them will talk about their podcast and be grilled about other aspects of audio description. What are the current options that are out there? What is in our immediate future where description is concerned? What are the problems we face? How can we solve them? What can ACB and its members do?

Tuesday Topics is now old enough to drink and old enough to vote everywhere. It is fitting, therefore, that we talk a little about voting at ACB and its affiliates. It will happen at 7 PM on Tuesday August 25. If you are going to be participating with us be on our Zoom connection at 6:45 Eastern Daylight Time. We want to take a long view and look back at where ACB came from and how our voting approaches have evolved. My guests are going to be Brian Charlson who has been a long-time leader of ACB. Also Jeff Thom will be back. He is a former chair of the ACB Voting Task Force. Penny Reeder is immediate past President of Guide Dog Users Inc. (GDUI) and will, among other things, tell us about the remote voting system that GDUI has used for several years. We will not only be looking at the past but will try to look into the future to explore options we can use for voting. It seems easy to just say that remote voting should be implemented but, as we shall see, there are lots of issues. We will hear about California's approach and also that of BPI (Blind Pride International) who already use a remote voting system.

During our first Tuesday Topics we asked what advantages blind people had with the pandemic. We also asked what was not going well. Brian Charlson and I will co-host the seventh Tuesday Topics and will lead a discussion to see what's changed for people who are blind over the last seven weeks. Are we doing better or worse? Are there issues we didn't see coming?

Please join LUA Link for a conversation with ACB's representatives to the following NLS committees: Reading Technology Advisory Group (RTAG): Ralph Smitherman and Brian Charlson, and Collections Development: Susan Glass. Learn how these groups function, what they do and what LUA members can do.

ACB Radio was once again proud to broadcast live National Braille Press' “A Million Laughs for Literacy Gala” Thursday beginning at 6:30 PM Eastern, from the Museum of Science Blue Wing in Boston, MA where the full-size Tyrannosaurus rex model oversaw the festivities. For more than 15 years, the A Million Laughs for Literacy Gala has raised millions to support National Braille Press' Braille Literacy Programs which exist to ensure blind and visually impaired children are given an equal chance to read. Braille typically costs three times more to produce than the same materials in print, but NBP strives to make sure blind individuals do not have to pay more for the same information. Thursday's Gala features comedian Pat McGann. Pat is a stand-up comedian and television host from Chicago. In 2015, he made his second appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman. Pat created and hosted the Emmy-nominated television show The Chicago Stand Up Project. He has been invited to The Great American Comedy Festival, Laugh Fest, The Lucille Ball Comedy Festival and has been heard on the nationally-syndicated The Bob and Tom Show as well as seen on AXS-TV's Gotham Comedy Live. His debut comedy album Sounds Good can be heard on Sirius/XM radio. Brian Charlson and Rick Morin host the event.

Please take note: There are a lot of references to the Amazon Echo devices on this episode. If you are listening with devices nearby, please consider covering their ears -- AKA mute their microphones. We bring to you part one from the Information Access Committee presentation at the ACB Conference and Convention. You will hear Brian Charlson tell you a little about what the IAC does and how they do it. Then, Peter Korn and Josh Miele from Amazon talk about the latest devices and improvements in accessibility. Don't miss it!

Kentucky Council of the Blind Conference and Convention Sponsors; KCB banquet speech - Infinite Diversity with Infinite Combinations by Brian Charlson; KCB 2018 awards presentations

Kentucky Council of the Blind Conference and Convention Sponsors; KCB banquet speech - Infinite Diversity with Infinite Combinations by Brian Charlson; KCB 2018 awards presentations

ACB Families holiday membership drive; KCB conference and convention details; audio description and Hulu with Brian Charlson; Illinois program to test self-driving cars; California lawsuit over accessible formats

ACB Families holiday membership drive; KCB conference and convention details; audio description and Hulu with Brian Charlson; Illinois program to test self-driving cars; California lawsuit over accessible formats

Excitement is building about the ACB Radio Holiday Auction - interview with Brian Charlson; ACB President Kim Charlson visits the Greater Louisville Council Roundabout and reviews the very latest on how ACB is helping people who are blind and visually impaired

Excitement is building about the ACB Radio Holiday Auction - interview with Brian Charlson; ACB President Kim Charlson visits the Greater Louisville Council Roundabout and reviews the very latest on how ACB is helping people who are blind and visually impaired

Meet Dan Spoone, ACB First Vice President from Orlando, FL; Brian Charlson, Director of Technology at the Carroll Center for the Blind in Boston, talks accessible appliances and cooking gadgets; Calendar of Events

Meet Dan Spoone, ACB First Vice President from Orlando, FL; Brian Charlson, Director of Technology at the Carroll Center for the Blind in Boston, talks accessible appliances and cooking gadgets; Calendar of Events

Doug Powell, new member of the ACB Board, shares unusual jobs from his past, experiences as a triathlete and more; Brian Charlson, Director of Technology at the Carroll Center in Boston, introduces AIRA, a service to help read and navigate your environment

Doug Powell, new member of the ACB Board, shares unusual jobs from his past, experiences as a triathlete and more; Brian Charlson, Director of Technology at the Carroll Center in Boston, introduces AIRA, a service to help read and navigate your environment

Announcements about scholarships, audio description of inauguration day, and passing of Talking Book narrator Milton Metz; Alexa vs. Siri with Brian Charlson; calendar of events

Announcements about scholarships, audio description of inauguration day, and passing of Talking Book narrator Milton Metz; Alexa vs. Siri with Brian Charlson; calendar of events

In this special episode we share the New England Drupal Camp keynote speech from Brian Charlson.   Brian shares the struggles of a blind person using a good website and bad website.  Brian Charlson is a national authority on assistive technology for persons who are blind or visually impaired.  Brian has worked at the Carroll Center for the Blind as both a classroom instructor and as the Director of Technology over the last 30 years.  Blind himself, he has dedicated his career to ensuring that persons with vision loss have equal access to technology and the skills to independently use it in their daily lives. As Director of the Carroll Center for the Blind Computer Training Services program, and as the Chair of the Information Access Committee of the American Council of the Blind, he has worked with Sun Micro Systems, Adobe Systems, Microsoft, IBM and may other companies to improve the accessibility of mainstream products and services. While working with Freedom Scientific, GW Micro, AI Squared and Duxbury Systems, among others, to assure that access technology keeps up with the rapidly changing information technologies used in school, offices and places of public accommodation. Brian has presented at national and international technology, leadership and special education conferences including traveling to Spain, Israel, Greece, England, Canada and Australia.  He is often a guest speaker on subjects related to access to technology for those with disabilities at universities, library associations and other media events. Brian has taken leadership roles in local, state, national and international consumer groups including the Bay State Council of the Blind, Library Users of America, American Council of the Blind and the World Blind Union.  Brian is an advocate for quality services for people who are blind so that they can achieve their individual best.  Brian’s current passions include universal design so that mainstream technologies can be used by everyone; making access technology training available to everyone who needs it; Major League Baseball as a fan of the Boston Red Sox and internet radio as the co-host of the Yin Yang Show on ACB Radio Interactive.

This week it's all about the 4-1-1! First we hear from Derek Lane and Jessica Silva from the Cisco Academy for the Visually Impaired. They bring us details on CAVI's latest course offerings to make you and your audio sound great! Then it's time for more from the Information Access Committee as Brian Charlson talks corporations and what they've done for us lately.

This is part 1 of a 2 part series. The Bay State Council of the Blind is featured in this part. Debbie Hazelton talks with Brian Charlson about what the Bay State Council of the Blind is all about.

This is part 1 of a 2 part series. The Bay State Council of the Blind is featured in this part. Debbie Hazelton talks with Brian Charlson about what the Bay State Council of the Blind is all about.

The ACB Tupperware Party and what ACB does for you with Brian Charlson; new shows on ACB Radio with Debbie Hazelton; and coupons and shopping apps for the iPhone with Debbie Deatherage and Deanna Scoggins

The ACB Tupperware Party and what ACB does for you with Brian Charlson; new shows on ACB Radio with Debbie Hazelton; and coupons and shopping apps for the iPhone with Debbie Deatherage and Deanna Scoggins

2015 in review; top two Sound Prints features - Eric Bridges on the 25th anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and Brian Charlson demonstrating the new Apple Watch

2015 in review; top two Sound Prints features - Eric Bridges on the 25th anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and Brian Charlson demonstrating the new Apple Watch

Brian Charlson on the Apple Watch

Brian Charlson on the Apple Watch