Podcast appearances and mentions of Molly Burke

In part two of this two-part episode, Brain & Life podcast host Dr. Daniel Correa is joined by Molly Burke. Molly shares how her journey of navigating life with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) has led her to create online content and write a book. She shares more about her mental health journey and the importance of finding joy. Dr. Correa is then joined by Dr. Brittni Scruggs, a vitreoretinal surgeon and physician-scientist at Mayo Clinic. Dr. Scruggs dives into the importance of advocacy and exciting research for people living with RP.   Additional Resources At a glance: Retinitis Pigmentosa Customers and Professionals Weigh in on How to Make the Beauty World More Accessible What Causes Color Blindness? Molly Burke - Official Website   Brain & Life Podcast Episodes on Similar Topics Exploring Accessibility and the Arts at the Lincoln Center Making the Years Count with Brooke Eby, Influencer Living with ALS Parenting and Writing While Disabled with Jessica Slice   We want to hear from you! Have a question or want to hear a topic featured on the Brain & Life Podcast? ·       Record a voicemail at 612-928-6206 ·       Email us at BLpodcast@brainandlife.org   Social Media Guests: Molly Burke @mollyburkeofficial; Dr. Scruggs @mayocliniceye Hosts: Dr. Daniel Correa @neurodrcorrea; Dr. Katy Peters @KatyPetersMDPhD

In part one of this two-part episode, Brain & Life podcast host Dr. Daniel Correa is joined by Molly Burke. Molly shares her journey of navigating life with retinitis pigmentosa (RP), and how it led her to create online content and write a book. She shares the importance of representation, advocacy, and rethinking societal perceptions of disability to create a more inclusive world. Dr. Correa is then joined by Dr. Brittni Scruggs, a vitreoretinal surgeon and physician-scientist at Mayo Clinic. Dr. Scruggs explains inherited retinal diseases and how they are diagnosed and treated. Come back next week for part two to learn about the importance of advocacy and upcoming research!   Additional Resources At a glance: Retinitis Pigmentosa Customers and Professionals Weigh in on How to Make the Beauty World More Accessible What Causes Color Blindness? Molly Burke - Official Website   Brain & Life Podcast Episodes on Similar Topics Exploring Accessibility and the Arts at the Lincoln Center Making the Years Count with Brooke Eby, Influencer Living with ALS Parenting and Writing While Disabled with Jessica Slice   We want to hear from you! Have a question or want to hear a topic featured on the Brain & Life Podcast? ·       Record a voicemail at 612-928-6206 ·       Email us at BLpodcast@brainandlife.org   Social Media Guests: Molly Burke @mollyburkeofficial; Dr. Scruggs @mayocliniceye Hosts: Dr. Daniel Correa @neurodrcorrea; Dr. Katy Peters @KatyPetersMDPhD

On this episode of National Disability Radio, we sit down with award-winning recording artist, advocate, and author Lachi for a powerful conversation about disability pride, music, and unmasking. Lachi shares her journey, from navigating the music industry as a blind artist, to founding RAMPD, a coalition amplifying disability culture across the industry. We talk about what it means to say “I identify as blind,” move beyond the medical and social models of disability into a cultural model rooted in identity and joy, and remind listeners that no one can defeat someone who hasn't given up. From glam canes to Grammy stages, this episode is about claiming space, rejecting internalized ableism, and turning perceived flaws into flexes. Transcript: Alden Blevins: It’s Lachi? I feel very- Lachi: Lachi like Versace. Alden Blevins: Lachi like… Oh, I love that. Michelle Bishop: That is the best way to explain it. Lachi: I mean, but you know what I’m saying? Come on. Alden Blevins: Well, we’re really excited about having you today because we’re all music lovers in this group here. Michelle Bishop: Yes. Alden Blevins: We talk about music all the time. Michelle Bishop: So much. Lachi: Good, good, good, good, good, good, good. I’m in the right place. Michelle Bishop: Hi everyone. Welcome back to National Disability Radio, the official podcast of the National Disability Rights Network. I am Michelle Bishop, 1/3 of your podcast hosting team. Stephanie Flynt McEben: And I’m Stephanie Flynt McEben, public policy analyst here at NDRN. Alden Blevins: I am Alden. I am a communication specialist at NDRN and I am so excited today, like I mentioned, we’re all lovers of music, so we got a guest that I’m really excited about. Lachi is an award-winning recording artist and a recording Academy Grammy’s national trustee. She’s also a disability advocate who’s been breaking barriers in the music industry and beyond. She’s the founder of RAMPD, which by the way, is such a fun play name. I really love that. And the author of the upcoming book, I Identify as Blind. So without further ado, Michelle, you’ve got some questions to kick us off, I think. Michelle Bishop: Yes. We’re so excited to have you with us. As Alden said, we are. We’re huge music lovers. I’m pretty sure we spend most of our meetings where we allegedly plan this podcast just talking about music. So you’re absolutely in the right place today, but to get us started, I mean, you’ve been open about the fact, and I’m just really interested in this as a disability rights podcast. You’ve been really open about the fact that it took you some time to really embrace your identity as a blind and disabled woman, especially in the industry that you’re in that often really rewards conformity. Can you tell us a little bit more about that journey for you, both as an artist and as someone navigating just the world with a disability? Lachi: Okay. Yeah, for sure. Hey, everybody. Lachi here, Lachi like Versace. I am a Black woman with cornrows, chilling here in New York in my studio. I also identify as blind, I identify as neurodivergent, and I identify as an Aries. So do with that what you will. Michelle Bishop: All the important points right there. Lachi: All the important points like name, age, sign. Thank you. Okay. Yeah, but I’m really glad to be here. And thank you for that question, and thank you for having me. So music has always been a very integral part of my life of growing up. Where other babies would kick in the womb, when she was pregnant with me, I was playing the piano in the womb. I don’t know how she got a piano in there, but she’s not a liar, so I’m going to take her word for it. When I was super-duper young, I didn’t really have a lot of friends, especially because of the fact that I had differences and this and that. And so I would take to music to, I guess, understand the world better and have the world understand me better. I just knew how to express myself through song and it just said the things I needed to say. It was the prayer I needed. And because of music, I started to find confidence in how to speak and how to behave and how to act. And as I got older, when I was growing up, disability was not necessarily a thing people talked about a lot in schools and teachers didn’t know what to do. My parents didn’t really know what to do. And so I would always just turn to music. It’s actually right now I’m working on a children’s album because I think that kids need to hear music that has to do with disability and neurodivergence, as well as their parents as they grow up. When I got into college, I started wanting to do music, but I studied business and finance because when I told my parents I wanted to do music, they were like, “That’s not how you spell doctor.” because they are Nigerian immigrants and everybody else in my family went to either med school and blah, blah, blah. And I was like, “No, I want to do music.” But I did get a day job after school, after college, and didn’t love it because this girl is not going to exist behind a desk. So I ended up going to South by Southwest and I got signed actually from playing the guitar at a hole in the wall spot that nobody was at, except for this A&R apparently. So we got signed to an imprint under EMI, which was a major label back then, and we started touring and music then became my life. Now today, why wouldn’t I pay my respects back to music? I mean, it’s because of music that I was able to really lean into who I am, my disability, my confidence, et cetera. So because of that, because of how much music has given to me in my life, I’m here using music to give back to other people with disabilities. Now, your question was essentially, how do you sit here and try to bring about change for disability in an industry that is not only about conformity, but also about like, “Hey, pick me to exploit.” is essentially what the music industry is. You’re raising your hand to be exploited and that’s what kind of authenticity is that? But at the end of the day, music is some of the truest forms of storytelling. And I think to myself, just the way that hip hop has amplified Black culture and the way that country music has amplified rural culture and the way that different global musics have represented different global cultures. I want to use music to amplify disability culture. I want to use music to amplify disability stories and feelings that are difficult to put words to, that are words of the soul, which is essentially what music is. And so I started going to studios and realizing things weren’t as accessible as they should be. I started speaking with organizations and realizing things weren’t as inclusive as they should be. And the response I kept getting was like, “Oh, well, there’s nobody with a disability in the music industry, so why would we make these measures?” And so I have made it my life’s goal through RAMPD, which by the way, the best thing we ever accomplished was our acronym, not us working with the Grammys to get sign language on the red carpet, not us getting these partnerships with title, Live Nation, Spotify. I mean, we’ve done so much, not just for artists, but also for professionals. And we’ve started to realize something really interesting with the work we’ve done with RAMPD. We are getting people joining our membership who are director level folks, who are label owners, who are like the big wigs that write the checks, and they’re like, “I’m neurodivergent. I’m actually hard of hearing. I have a TBI.” And so when I originally set out, they said, “We don’t do disability inclusion because nobody’s disabled.” That was three years ago. Now I’m like, not only are there neurodivergent and disabled music professionals out here, but we all are. So really to conclude, it’s just that everyone is navigating trying to make it out in this world, but everyone’s masking. Everyone feels that they have to change some part of themselves to be as close as they can to what success looks like, be as close as they can to what “beauty” looks like, what winning looks like. But really all it is internalized ableism. And I say, as soon as we drop that internalized ableism and we really start to sit in who we truly are and we start to recognize our perceived flaws as flexes, that’s when we truly start to win. And so that’s what we’re finding out with RAMPD, that people are like, “You know what? I’m tired of navigating this difficult industry with the added layer of having to mask.” And so that’s why I do what I do. Michelle Bishop: Yes. And honestly, as ridiculous as it sounds that they say to you, “Oh, there aren’t any people with disabilities.” When I tell you, we see that in everything that we do. I do voting work at NDRN and we’ll have elections officials tell us, “This polling place isn’t accessible, but there aren’t any people with disabilities that vote here.” And it’s like, “What? You realize we’re everywhere and we do all sorts of things.” Maybe the reason they think there’s no people with disabilities here is because they’re stuck outside and they can’t get in because you didn’t make it accessible, just a thought. But I mean, it sounds like coming up against all that is really, correct me if I’m wrong, helped you to develop that identity and that disability pride in the industry. When did you first say, “I identify as blind.” and what did that mean for you? Lachi: Well, so when I first came into really doing the disability thing, really leaning in, I wanted to find out more influencers or thought leaders and such with disabilities. I didn’t really know that many people. This is pre COVID, 2018, 2019, that kind of thing. And so I came across an influencer, her name is Molly Burke, and we’re great friends now, but I didn’t know her back then. I had just seen her tagline and it had said, “I’m Molly Burke and I’m a YouTuber who happens to be blind.” And for some reason I was like, “I don’t know if I love the happens to be blind thing.” I was like, “Well, I’m proud of being blind. Blindness is part of my identity. I don’t just happen to be a woman. I don’t just happen to be a Nigerian. I don’t just happen to be all of the things I am.” And so I would go to… I was touring… We’re always touring and every time I tour and do a show, I do a comedic open where I just introduce myself, I do a quick self-description, et cetera. And in my self-description, I would say, and I don’t just happen to be blind. My blindness is part of my identity, has given me all of the opportunities I have, and it’s really made me a deeper blah, blah, blah. It was just too long. So I had punched it up to be, “My name is Lachi like Versace. She, her, I’m a Black woman with cornrows and I identify as blind.” And the interesting thing about that is people took onto it. They were like, “Oh, that’s cool, nice and punchy.” But whenever I would say it in front of a large crowd or like I’ve said it on interviews or during commercials, I would get this weird, I don’t know, pushback of like, you can’t identify as blind. Blindness is an identity. It’s a medical condition. Or they’ll be like, “Do you read braille or not?” Or they’ll be like, “We don’t want people to think trans blindness is a thing where you just have a blind identity.” And then you can be like, “Well, I’m blind today, so that’s my identity.” And I thought that was really fun. I was like, “Look, everybody’s upset. They’re talking about blindness though.” So I really leaned all the way into it. And I have to say, I am super proud of my disability identity. Was it music that brought me there? I think in a sense and in a way, like today I have a few songs, you guys are music lovers, I have a few songs out that really talk about my disability pride. I think that a lot of the times as we navigate the world, masking our disability, masking our chronic condition, our difference or whatever, we end up overcompensating. We end up building up this really, really thick problem solving muscle or this really, really thick how to get around things muscle and we overcompensate. When we’re finally accommodated, when we finally get to a place where we’re accommodated or we have the tools we need, we’re coming in like bulk as hell. We’re coming in with problem solving muscles. We’re coming in with all of these things that we had to build up because of navigating the world differently, because of every day working through this very difficult maze that is living a life unaccommodated, then when we finally are accommodated, then we are killing it and crushing it. And how could you not be proud of that? How can that not give you a sense of pride? So the songs that I would love for you guys to check out that are mine is I have a song called Life on Hard, which has gone viral several times on Instagram. I’m known as an Instagram rapper, which is like, what? Hello, I do disability advocacy. Look at that stuff. But anyway, so I have a song called Life on Hard, which is essentially about just winning the game of life, playing it on the hardest setting out here while people are still trying to consult the manual. I have another song called Professional, which is oftentimes when I walk on the stage, people see the cane and they’re like, “Aw, she’s going to do a song for us. Is this from Make a Wish Foundation?” And then I bust out these raps or I hop on the piano and I go ape on this piano and then they’re like, “Oh, snap. What? Okay.” And I’m like, “Bro, I’m a professional artist. I’m not object for pity to make you feel good because you felt weird on a Monday and you didn’t feel like getting up for work, but it’s like, she could do it. So can I.” I’m like, “No, I can do it. You most likely probably just can’t.” So that’s what that song’s about. And then there’s The Bag, and The Bag is just essentially like, I’ve been told no so much like, “No, you can’t. No, you’re not good enough. No, we don’t want you.” And I’m like, “You know what? Yes, I am good enough and I deserve everything. So I’m going to throw everything I deserve in the bag, which is everything.” I don’t know. I would not be the person I am if I didn’t love all parts of myself. And that includes my disabilities, that includes my neurodivergences and all of the other wacky, weird body jazz that I bring with me everywhere I go. Michelle Bishop: Lachi, can we maybe, do you and I just FaceTime each other every morning and hype each other up? Stephanie Flynt McEben: I was literally about to say the same thing. I would like in on a true call. Michelle Bishop: I don’t know if you know. Actually, I want to say quickly, I know some of those songs actually from social media, but they’re real. They’re so real. So people haven’t heard music, go check it out. I don’t know if you know one of our co-hosts, Stephanie is blind. You’re speaking directly to her soul right now. Stephanie Flynt McEben: I literally just texted them in our podcast group text and I was like, she’s totally speaking to my soul RN, but of course I don’t want to interrupt anything. Michelle Bishop: No, I know you’re dying to talk to her about the book, Stephanie, and take it away. Stephanie Flynt McEben: Yeah, no, absolutely, for sure. And as somebody who is blind and who also identifies as a blind person and definitely does not identify with the medical model of disability, clearly gotten to more of a social model. But yeah, in terms of going through that journey of accepting all of who you are and everything about yourself, for me, I mean, it took a minute, especially when you’re talking about your experiences as a child and I totally feel that. I was that girl playing the harmonica on the jungle gym by herself. Anyway, this is about you. This is not about me, but I’m just saying that I totally relate to you on a spiritual level. And given that, I would love to know, were there any particular moments when it came to writing the book that were particularly hard or healing? Because I mean, I think that we all know that it’s not always a linear journey. Some days are going to be harder than others. And so would love to get your perspective on that. And I think that our listeners would be interested. Lachi: Yeah, absolutely. The journey for me has been one of constantly unwrapping this amazing gift. I always try to use that as the visual, if you will, of you have this big present and you get to unwrap it and then you just keep getting something cooler inside and then you get to unwrap that and you get something cooler inside and you just keep unwrapping this beautiful gift that is yourself. But you don’t realize that when you first get the box, the amazing stuff that’s going on inside, and it takes time to get to it. So a lot of times growing up, I would kick myself in the butt of, I wish I had come to this when I was so much younger. I wish there were people out there when I was younger, role models that I could look up to when I was eight years old and pointing on the TV and saying like, “Okay, well, I mean, I understand that Ray Charles existed, but that’s not going to…” Stephanie Flynt McEben: Stevie Wonder is here, Ray Charles is here, but we need more of us. Hello. Lachi: We need more of us. Hello. Exactly. And so this time and place where I am right now is where I needed to be for this to work. So I can’t really kick myself in the butt of like, “I wish I had this. I wish I knew this so much earlier. I would’ve been so much further.” That kind of thing. You have to be where you got to be where you need to be. Even right now, this conversation we’re having right now is going to have been necessary for the next thing that is happening in our lives. And just the other day, I was hanging out with Queen Herby, who’s been one of my favorite more modern rappers. I just did a thing with Apl.de.ap. I have done some stuff with Black Caviar. Folks that I’ve looked up to, I’m having the opportunity to Snoop Dogg. I’m having the opportunity to work with these days because of the fact that I am here at the right time now. So when I was writing my book, we were peeling back all the layers. I’m a generally very positive and energetic, social butterfly type of person today. But it’s interesting, I wasn’t always this person and I had to unpack all the layers to get there. One of the biggest things that happens to me, so I’ve always been low vision. So I was born with relatively low vision and it stayed the same throughout my teens and early 20s. But one day I woke up and my sight was just gone. Boom. So the interesting thing is anybody listening would be like, “Oh my God, if I woke up and my sight was gone, I would just die or I would not know what to do. My life would be over.” Stephanie Flynt McEben: Yep. Heard that a million times. Yes. Lachi: But for me, it was weird because I was already low vision, so I was going from level one to the underwater level or whatever. So it wasn’t like that life changing of a thing. I was already using screen readers or Zoom text. I was already doing stuff of that nature. So I wake up blind and I’m just like, “Okay, I guess this is it. This is the day that they told me was coming.” What had ended up happening was my corneas had erupted. And so I went to the doctor and he was like, “You’re going to become completely blind. You’re going to go from this much worse vision than you’ve had to complete blindness over the course of time.” So here you go, here’s a coupon. Bye.” or whatever. So I’m like, all right. So I had decided at that moment that I wanted to start a bucket list. So I was like, okay, what are all the things I’ve always wanted to do before completely going completely blind? So I was like, let me go skydiving, let me go spolunking, let me go meet with people, meet with celebrities and just do all of the things I’ve always wanted to do before I lose my vision. So I went out and I did it. This is still me doing it. This is still me doing it. And so I say that because to people who say if I ever went blind, I would just die. Well, when I went blind, it made me want to live. And that’s what opened me up into being this person that I am today. Stephanie Flynt McEben: That is amazing. I genuinely love that. Lachi: We talk about charity model and propping disabled folks up as tools of pity. We talk about medical model, which is really just waiting around for cure, making the cure the hero. We talk about social model, which is a really good place to live in the sense of things are impairing if they’re not accessible. Society is impairing if it’s not inclusive. But honestly, if I have all of the things, like if I have all my tools, if I have all that I need and if folks are inclusive, then I’m still blind, but I’m not impaired. But I like to go a little step further into what is the cultural model. And so the cultural model is it’s not just a discussion of what society should and shouldn’t do. It’s actually a celebration of what you gain as a person who identifies with their disability or their neurodivergence, the things they need to overcompensate because they’re navigating the world a little differently, leaning into that. So let’s say for instance, deaf culture, sign language, and the fact that folks can have complete discussions outside of what we’re talking about, there is so much deaf pride out in these streets, that is a celebration of culture that comes out of disability. And for me, let’s say for instance, I have ADHD and it powers my one million and counting ideas. I have diagnosed OCD, which helps me carry out all those one million and counting ideas. I have diagnosed general anxiety disorder, which gives me my empathy and my excitement. And then I am blind, which when I have the tools I need, it gives me drive. It keeps me determined, it keeps me focused, and it gives me my dope ass glam canes. There was a girl and her mom, and she came up to me after a show and she was like, “Oh my God, your music was great.” I was like, thank you. She’s like, “Mommy, can I get one of those canes?” And then her mom was like, “Ugh, well, you have to be blind.” And I’m like, “Yeah, girl, you better want to be me.” Stephanie Flynt McEben: Yeah. We drive sticks. Anyway, sorry. Lachi: Yes. You know what? I speak softly and I carry a big old stick. Thank you. Stephanie Flynt McEben: Yes. Amen to that. Exactly. As somebody who considers themself a lifelong disability advocate, I never really thought about it in the sense of going beyond the social into the cultural. So thank you so, so much. We all learn something new every single day on this podcast, but I’d love to know a little bit more about, obviously you were very, very, very good at talking through these experiences in such a way that they are very relatable and easy to understand and that thing. So I’d love to pick your brain about the intended audience of your book. Who did you write it for? Other blind folks? Did you write it for, was it written for multiple audiences? Lachi: Yeah, honestly, I wrote it for the person who is masking. I wrote it for anyone who is tired of… Listen, let me put it like this. Let’s face it, disability is boring, a lot of the time it’s sad and it’s compliancy. We have to go the extra mile to make it fun because the actual truth of it is that the only reason it’s boring, sad, and compliancy is because society has kept it that way through its collective internalized ableism. And so my book is actually a humor book. It’s a pop culture book. It’s a comedy book. In fact, when we were talking to the publisher, it’s like, we should be putting this up against other comedic books, not necessarily disability books because it’s a book. I got so many jokes. I have dad jokes, they’re corny jokes, I have rap bars. I rap in a lot of the book just because I was like, “Hey, this rhymes.” I’m going to say it like a rap. We’re doing the audiobook right now, so I actually get to wrap it, which is really fun. Stephanie Flynt McEben: Oh, that is so cool. Oh my gosh. Lachi: Which is really, really fun. But really, honestly, what the book is what everything I do is it is using joy, soul, pop culture, jokes, humor, fashion, and just a really good time to celebrate disability, as well as community. So what you’ll find in this book is my story through my story, through historical deep dives, through interviews with some really, really cool popular figures and a really big deep dose of disability joy. And so a lot of folks who have disabilities, they will read this book and they’ll be energized. It’ll be like, “This is really great. I’m glad that I finally get to read a book that talks about disability in a positive way.” For blind specific folks, they might relate to a few of my stories because I talk about the day I woke up blind, I talk about when I went skydiving blind, I talk about just some of my interesting blind moments. But then I also talk about how I would go to red carpets and not know how to talk to anybody. So I’m in this amazing room with all these celebrities I can’t see and I’m just sitting on the wall. So I talk about some of the hard times too as well. But at the end of the day, really what the book is is an invitation in for somebody who feels a little different, a little awkward, has to mask, and just needed that invite in to talk about disability in a fun, joyful, celebratory way, to recognize that yes, that thing in you that’s different, that thing in you that society has told you you should view as a weakness and hide, you should be proud of. And I say this to people all the time. I say it in the industry, I say it to all my friends, I say it to anyone who will listen. I say it to my local barista and they come back and they say things like, “Oh my God, I’m so glad you said it that way. It turns out I have a titanium hip and I’ve never told anybody about that.” And that’s the vibe. The vibe is someone who was like, “I really needed this to be said to me this way, and now I am able to step all the way into my disability identity.” Alden Blevins: I love, especially what you said about joy. I feel like for me as an autistic person, my experience in the arts is that it is really a space where people who maybe don’t belong in other spaces or don’t feel like they belong in other spaces or are made to feel like they don’t belong in other spaces. I think that a lot of them really do find a safe space in music, in the arts, in theater. And I just wanted to ask, why do you think the music space is such a special one for you and why do you think it’s a place where other people with disabilities seem to flock together as well? Lachi: I mean, you hit the nail on the head. Counterculture, I mean, music often rewards counterculture. And then it eventually becomes mainstream and then we got to rebel against that. So music is a place where your soul can speak. And I think a lot of the times with disabilities, especially autism for me, I’m ADHD, OCD, a different neurodivergence situation, but a lot of the issue is communication. We don’t know how to say exactly what we need or whoever we’re talking to just doesn’t know how to hear what we’re saying. And so I think that what music does is it allows a soul to speak to a soul. A lot of the times music does this thing where you’ll be listening to a song and you’ll just be like, “That, that right there. That’s what I it me. That’s the thing I’m feeling.” type deal. Music has the ability to do that. And so for me, right now, this children’s album that I’m working on, the kids’ album, which is an album that is essentially R&B, pop, electronic, sort of the genres that I dance in for kids centered on disability and neurodivergence. Because what I want to do is be able to say, “Hey, I want you to point at that and say, that’s me.” And I think the easiest and quickest way to point at something and say, “That’s me also.” has been music. And so it’s why it’s been my strongest medium. Again, it’s not my only medium. I’m talking to folks through the book, I’m talking to folks through fashion, et cetera, et cetera. But again, music has been just the quickest, easiest point A to point B conversation easer, if you will, about disability. Another thing I also love to use is humor and comedy. So I make jokes all the time. They’re all bad. They’re all very not good jokes. I need to probably get a joke writer, but the fact that I’m having such a good time telling the jokes, I think I think is all that really matters. So I think both music and humor are just really, really great spaces for two people to get to relate to something that may be difficult to talk about. Stephanie Flynt McEben: Yo, if you need a joke writer, I’m your girl. I actually do a joke every single episode of this podcast. Michelle Bishop: Her jokes are not better than yours, Lachi. Don’t hire her. Stephanie Flynt McEben: My jokes are pretty bad. They’re worse than dad’s jokes. They’re like granddad jokes. Alden Blevins: Yeah. Stephanie is the queen of the jokes on our podcast. She always brings one through. Didn’t know that you were working on a children’s music album, and I think that’s really interesting. I actually used to be a teacher, so children’s music is something that’s near and dear to my heart. So I just wanted to ask, what would you want to tell to younger people with disabilities, younger disabled creatives about claiming space and being able to tell their own stories? Lachi: Well, one thing that I heard from someone else, I don’t remember who it was. I think it was- Michelle Bishop: Jordan? Lachi: Yes, Jordan. He’s the one that said this. Michelle Bishop: I love him. Lachi: Yeah, he’s so funny. I met him at a… What did I meet him at? The Webby Awards or something. But anyway, no one can ever defeat someone who hasn’t given up. And for some reason that hit me, and I don’t even think he was trying to say it that deep. He was just saying a joke or something. But I took that and it was like, no one can ever defeat someone who hasn’t given up. So at the end of the day, you are really the only one who can end whatever you’re trying to get. Because as long as you are still going for it, it is still still there. It’s like a Schrodinger’s cat. It’s like as long as you’re still running for it, that opportunity is still there for you to have. The opportunity is never lost as long as you’re still going for it. And people can tell you, people can take your shoulders and tell you to go right. People can take your shoulders and tell you to go left. But until you take your own shoulders and go in the direction that your heart, your soul, your passion, your fire, desires, that is when you truly begin to live. And so I say personally, lean into that. I hear from a lot of younger, especially creators with disabilities. I mentor a lot of folks, tons and tons of folks. It’s one of the things I love to do the most. But what I love to tell folks is you are going to be the best you. And that you is going to include all of the different parts of who you are, but it is especially going to include you leaning in to the things that make you different and unique as unique selling points. Earlier I talked about how people try so hard to be the “definition of beauty”, definition of success, definition of whatever. Everyone’s trying to be this reference man. Everyone’s trying to be as close as they can to the reference man. And if I’m as close as I can to the reference man, then I’ll be successful or then I’ll get this job or then I’ll get this gig. But the truth of the matter is when we look at all of the people that are doing all of the big things, they’re “eccentric”. They’re “weird”. They did some big different idea that no one was thinking about and everybody fell into their trend. The further away you are from the reference man, that is when you start to win. That is when you’ll start to see success. That is when you’ll start to feel much better about yourself. That is when you can wake up in the morning, look in the mirror and say, “I am fine.” When you are able to accept all of those different freckles of yourself that are as far away from the reference man as possible, because guess what? There is room outside of the barrel for everyone to win if they are all being their unique self and running their unique purpose. That’s what I would tell to young disabled creators. Michelle Bishop: That’s amazing. Almost feel like we should stop there, but I have so many follow-up questions. Lachi: Listen, I’m here to drop as many mics as they will let me keep breaking. Michelle Bishop: I was wondering how you see the conversation around disability and inclusion and evolving these days. And a lot of our listeners are people with disabilities or people who have other even multiple intersecting identities in which they experience barriers as well. What does allyship look like to you? Lachi: This is one of my favorite questions. So yes, we have folks with disabilities and we have folks who want to work with people with disabilities, want to help a friend with a disability, want to make sure they don’t say the wrong thing to a person with a disability, neurodivergence, chronic condition, mental health condition. That’s not an ally. Wanting to help a person with a disability is not an ally. To me, wanting to support someone with a disability, that’s an ally in the very basic definition of allyship. Here’s what I think an ally is. To answer the question, I got to do two things. One, talk about the disability umbrella. So the disability umbrella encompasses so many forms of disability. It is neurodivergence, which is ADHD, dyslexia, OCD. It is mental health conditions like anxiety, depression, bipolar. It is someone who learns a little differently. It is someone who has explosive situations like anger management. It is someone who has substance abuse disorder, maybe somebody who drinks too much or uses different substances. It is chronic back pain. You know what I’m saying? It is asthma. It is EDS. It’s POTS. It is long COVID. It is different complications that you gain after pregnancy. It is different complications that you gain as you age. It is different complications you gain through menopause. It is temporary. It is breaking your arm and wearing a cast. It is seasonal depression. There is nobody on this earth that is not within the disability umbrella. And I don’t mean that you’re going to grow into it. I don’t mean in the future. I mean right now. Whether you identify as a person with a disability or not, you have disability identity because you have experience in your body disability. And when you figure that out, then you’re an ally. Allyship is seeing yourself through the other person because you can’t look through someone else’s eyes unless you can see yourself in them. And you can’t see yourself in disability until you recognize the disability identity within yourself. All of a sudden, and I say this and people are like, “What? I say this, but I’ve seen this. I’ve seen it happen. I’ve seen people who did not associate themselves with any form of disability or anything and they’re just like, Oh, them. Oh, I’ll help them. We have a conversation and then we have a follow-up conversation and then we’re drinking and then all of a sudden they’re telling me all their disabilities and then they’re walking a little different when they encounter disability. It’s no longer a them thing. And so that’s what an ally is. People with disabilities are also allies. I am an ally to the deaf community because I recognize though I’m not deaf, I see the having to navigate the world differently in you of myself. So that’s how I define an ally. An ally is someone who understands their own disability identity and can see it in others. Michelle Bishop: Don’t mind me over here just taking notes. Stephanie Flynt McEben: Literally. Oh my gosh. Lachi, thank you so, so, so much for being with us and taking time. I know that your website, lachimusic.com is one of the places where folks can stay up to date on all of the latest and greatest things that you’re up to. Is there anything else in particular you would like to plug for our listeners? Lachi: Like you said, LACHI, L-A-C-H-I M-U-S-I-C. I’m on the internets everywhere. Instagram, Spotify, check out the old music. If you’re a creator, a music creator or professional with a disability, check us out at RAMPD, R-A-M-P-D.org. Or if you want to donate or if you want to partner with us over at RAMPD, please do. If you are a cane user, whether you’re a blind cane user or you use Mobility Cane, check out glamcanes.com, get your canes bejeweled. I Identify as Blind, our book is out on Penguin Random House, imprint called Tiny Reparations by Phoebe Robinson, who is also a comedian. So we’re out here all writing very funny books. So please check it out. And lastly, listen, try to find moments in your day of disability joy. And when you find that moment, take a picture of it or write it down so that you can go back to it and live for those moments. So thank you guys so much for having me on this podcast. It’s really been a blast getting to talk at you about all things I identify as blind. Alden Blevins: I love it. I was over here taking notes too because I just found so much of myself in what you were saying and so many things were poignant and empowering. I, as an autistic person, try to be an ally to other parts of the disability community myself. And that’s something where I’m always trying to put myself in the shoes of another person and what they might experience. So I think that’s really powerful. We were so grateful to be able to connect and learn more about you, Lachi. Lachi: Yes, yes, yes. So honored to be here, guys. Michelle Bishop: Before you head out, Lachi, do you want to hear one of Stephanie’s grandpa jokes? Lachi: I was going to say, I was like, “Let’s hear one of these granddad jokes.” Let me see. Stephanie Flynt McEben: Okay. This might be- Michelle Bishop: Okay, do it. Stephanie Flynt McEben: … a granddad joke. Okay. Where do spiders like to get their information? Lachi: The web? Michelle Bishop: That would be something to do with web. Stephanie Flynt McEben: But what kind of web? Lachi: Wow. Really? You are fired from being my comedy writer. You are fired to be my comedy writer. I was rooting for you too. I was like, let’s just… Please. Stephanie Flynt McEben: I wouldn’t even get to the punchline yet. Michelle Bishop: Worldwide web? Stephanie Flynt McEben: It is the worldwide web. Michelle Bishop: Oh. Stephanie Flynt McEben: It’s fine. It’s fine. My wife warned me not to tell that joke this month and I didn’t lose it. Michelle Bishop: Oh my gosh. I’m so glad you stuck around for that part. Lachi: As I live and breathe. Thank you guys so, so much. This has been so much fun and I will see who else I can tell that joke to. And go ahead and just to help you out, Stephanie, I’ll go ahead and embarrass myself by telling that joke to others. Stephanie Flynt McEben: Not my best work, but that is allyship. Yes. Michelle Bishop: Oh my gosh, Lachi, thank you so much. And everyone, please lachimusic.com. Check it out. Listen to the music, read the book. Alden Blevins: Speaking of the worldwide web, this has been National Disability Radio. We celebrate stories, leadership, and talent of people with disabilities. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe, share, and continue the conversation with us on that worldwide web at ndrn.org or anywhere you get your favorite podcasts. Thanks for listening and until next time. Stephanie Flynt McEben: Bye.

On this episode of National Disability Radio, we sit down with award-winning recording artist, advocate, and author Lachi for a powerful conversation about disability pride, music, and unmasking. Lachi shares her journey, from navigating the music industry as a blind artist, to founding RAMPD, a coalition amplifying disability culture across the industry. We talk about what it means to say “I identify as blind,” move beyond the medical and social models of disability into a cultural model rooted in identity and joy, and remind listeners that no one can defeat someone who hasn't given up. From glam canes to Grammy stages, this episode is about claiming space, rejecting internalized ableism, and turning perceived flaws into flexes. Transcript: Alden Blevins: It’s Lachi? I feel very- Lachi: Lachi like Versace. Alden Blevins: Lachi like… Oh, I love that. Michelle Bishop: That is the best way to explain it. Lachi: I mean, but you know what I’m saying? Come on. Alden Blevins: Well, we’re really excited about having you today because we’re all music lovers in this group here. Michelle Bishop: Yes. Alden Blevins: We talk about music all the time. Michelle Bishop: So much. Lachi: Good, good, good, good, good, good, good. I’m in the right place. Michelle Bishop: Hi everyone. Welcome back to National Disability Radio, the official podcast of the National Disability Rights Network. I am Michelle Bishop, 1/3 of your podcast hosting team. Stephanie Flynt McEben: And I’m Stephanie Flynt McEben, public policy analyst here at NDRN. Alden Blevins: I am Alden. I am a communication specialist at NDRN and I am so excited today, like I mentioned, we’re all lovers of music, so we got a guest that I’m really excited about. Lachi is an award-winning recording artist and a recording Academy Grammy’s national trustee. She’s also a disability advocate who’s been breaking barriers in the music industry and beyond. She’s the founder of RAMPD, which by the way, is such a fun play name. I really love that. And the author of the upcoming book, I Identify as Blind. So without further ado, Michelle, you’ve got some questions to kick us off, I think. Michelle Bishop: Yes. We’re so excited to have you with us. As Alden said, we are. We’re huge music lovers. I’m pretty sure we spend most of our meetings where we allegedly plan this podcast just talking about music. So you’re absolutely in the right place today, but to get us started, I mean, you’ve been open about the fact, and I’m just really interested in this as a disability rights podcast. You’ve been really open about the fact that it took you some time to really embrace your identity as a blind and disabled woman, especially in the industry that you’re in that often really rewards conformity. Can you tell us a little bit more about that journey for you, both as an artist and as someone navigating just the world with a disability? Lachi: Okay. Yeah, for sure. Hey, everybody. Lachi here, Lachi like Versace. I am a Black woman with cornrows, chilling here in New York in my studio. I also identify as blind, I identify as neurodivergent, and I identify as an Aries. So do with that what you will. Michelle Bishop: All the important points right there. Lachi: All the important points like name, age, sign. Thank you. Okay. Yeah, but I’m really glad to be here. And thank you for that question, and thank you for having me. So music has always been a very integral part of my life of growing up. Where other babies would kick in the womb, when she was pregnant with me, I was playing the piano in the womb. I don’t know how she got a piano in there, but she’s not a liar, so I’m going to take her word for it. When I was super-duper young, I didn’t really have a lot of friends, especially because of the fact that I had differences and this and that. And so I would take to music to, I guess, understand the world better and have the world understand me better. I just knew how to express myself through song and it just said the things I needed to say. It was the prayer I needed. And because of music, I started to find confidence in how to speak and how to behave and how to act. And as I got older, when I was growing up, disability was not necessarily a thing people talked about a lot in schools and teachers didn’t know what to do. My parents didn’t really know what to do. And so I would always just turn to music. It’s actually right now I’m working on a children’s album because I think that kids need to hear music that has to do with disability and neurodivergence, as well as their parents as they grow up. When I got into college, I started wanting to do music, but I studied business and finance because when I told my parents I wanted to do music, they were like, “That’s not how you spell doctor.” because they are Nigerian immigrants and everybody else in my family went to either med school and blah, blah, blah. And I was like, “No, I want to do music.” But I did get a day job after school, after college, and didn’t love it because this girl is not going to exist behind a desk. So I ended up going to South by Southwest and I got signed actually from playing the guitar at a hole in the wall spot that nobody was at, except for this A&R apparently. So we got signed to an imprint under EMI, which was a major label back then, and we started touring and music then became my life. Now today, why wouldn’t I pay my respects back to music? I mean, it’s because of music that I was able to really lean into who I am, my disability, my confidence, et cetera. So because of that, because of how much music has given to me in my life, I’m here using music to give back to other people with disabilities. Now, your question was essentially, how do you sit here and try to bring about change for disability in an industry that is not only about conformity, but also about like, “Hey, pick me to exploit.” is essentially what the music industry is. You’re raising your hand to be exploited and that’s what kind of authenticity is that? But at the end of the day, music is some of the truest forms of storytelling. And I think to myself, just the way that hip hop has amplified Black culture and the way that country music has amplified rural culture and the way that different global musics have represented different global cultures. I want to use music to amplify disability culture. I want to use music to amplify disability stories and feelings that are difficult to put words to, that are words of the soul, which is essentially what music is. And so I started going to studios and realizing things weren’t as accessible as they should be. I started speaking with organizations and realizing things weren’t as inclusive as they should be. And the response I kept getting was like, “Oh, well, there’s nobody with a disability in the music industry, so why would we make these measures?” And so I have made it my life’s goal through RAMPD, which by the way, the best thing we ever accomplished was our acronym, not us working with the Grammys to get sign language on the red carpet, not us getting these partnerships with title, Live Nation, Spotify. I mean, we’ve done so much, not just for artists, but also for professionals. And we’ve started to realize something really interesting with the work we’ve done with RAMPD. We are getting people joining our membership who are director level folks, who are label owners, who are like the big wigs that write the checks, and they’re like, “I’m neurodivergent. I’m actually hard of hearing. I have a TBI.” And so when I originally set out, they said, “We don’t do disability inclusion because nobody’s disabled.” That was three years ago. Now I’m like, not only are there neurodivergent and disabled music professionals out here, but we all are. So really to conclude, it’s just that everyone is navigating trying to make it out in this world, but everyone’s masking. Everyone feels that they have to change some part of themselves to be as close as they can to what success looks like, be as close as they can to what “beauty” looks like, what winning looks like. But really all it is internalized ableism. And I say, as soon as we drop that internalized ableism and we really start to sit in who we truly are and we start to recognize our perceived flaws as flexes, that’s when we truly start to win. And so that’s what we’re finding out with RAMPD, that people are like, “You know what? I’m tired of navigating this difficult industry with the added layer of having to mask.” And so that’s why I do what I do. Michelle Bishop: Yes. And honestly, as ridiculous as it sounds that they say to you, “Oh, there aren’t any people with disabilities.” When I tell you, we see that in everything that we do. I do voting work at NDRN and we’ll have elections officials tell us, “This polling place isn’t accessible, but there aren’t any people with disabilities that vote here.” And it’s like, “What? You realize we’re everywhere and we do all sorts of things.” Maybe the reason they think there’s no people with disabilities here is because they’re stuck outside and they can’t get in because you didn’t make it accessible, just a thought. But I mean, it sounds like coming up against all that is really, correct me if I’m wrong, helped you to develop that identity and that disability pride in the industry. When did you first say, “I identify as blind.” and what did that mean for you? Lachi: Well, so when I first came into really doing the disability thing, really leaning in, I wanted to find out more influencers or thought leaders and such with disabilities. I didn’t really know that many people. This is pre COVID, 2018, 2019, that kind of thing. And so I came across an influencer, her name is Molly Burke, and we’re great friends now, but I didn’t know her back then. I had just seen her tagline and it had said, “I’m Molly Burke and I’m a YouTuber who happens to be blind.” And for some reason I was like, “I don’t know if I love the happens to be blind thing.” I was like, “Well, I’m proud of being blind. Blindness is part of my identity. I don’t just happen to be a woman. I don’t just happen to be a Nigerian. I don’t just happen to be all of the things I am.” And so I would go to… I was touring… We’re always touring and every time I tour and do a show, I do a comedic open where I just introduce myself, I do a quick self-description, et cetera. And in my self-description, I would say, and I don’t just happen to be blind. My blindness is part of my identity, has given me all of the opportunities I have, and it’s really made me a deeper blah, blah, blah. It was just too long. So I had punched it up to be, “My name is Lachi like Versace. She, her, I’m a Black woman with cornrows and I identify as blind.” And the interesting thing about that is people took onto it. They were like, “Oh, that’s cool, nice and punchy.” But whenever I would say it in front of a large crowd or like I’ve said it on interviews or during commercials, I would get this weird, I don’t know, pushback of like, you can’t identify as blind. Blindness is an identity. It’s a medical condition. Or they’ll be like, “Do you read braille or not?” Or they’ll be like, “We don’t want people to think trans blindness is a thing where you just have a blind identity.” And then you can be like, “Well, I’m blind today, so that’s my identity.” And I thought that was really fun. I was like, “Look, everybody’s upset. They’re talking about blindness though.” So I really leaned all the way into it. And I have to say, I am super proud of my disability identity. Was it music that brought me there? I think in a sense and in a way, like today I have a few songs, you guys are music lovers, I have a few songs out that really talk about my disability pride. I think that a lot of the times as we navigate the world, masking our disability, masking our chronic condition, our difference or whatever, we end up overcompensating. We end up building up this really, really thick problem solving muscle or this really, really thick how to get around things muscle and we overcompensate. When we’re finally accommodated, when we finally get to a place where we’re accommodated or we have the tools we need, we’re coming in like bulk as hell. We’re coming in with problem solving muscles. We’re coming in with all of these things that we had to build up because of navigating the world differently, because of every day working through this very difficult maze that is living a life unaccommodated, then when we finally are accommodated, then we are killing it and crushing it. And how could you not be proud of that? How can that not give you a sense of pride? So the songs that I would love for you guys to check out that are mine is I have a song called Life on Hard, which has gone viral several times on Instagram. I’m known as an Instagram rapper, which is like, what? Hello, I do disability advocacy. Look at that stuff. But anyway, so I have a song called Life on Hard, which is essentially about just winning the game of life, playing it on the hardest setting out here while people are still trying to consult the manual. I have another song called Professional, which is oftentimes when I walk on the stage, people see the cane and they’re like, “Aw, she’s going to do a song for us. Is this from Make a Wish Foundation?” And then I bust out these raps or I hop on the piano and I go ape on this piano and then they’re like, “Oh, snap. What? Okay.” And I’m like, “Bro, I’m a professional artist. I’m not object for pity to make you feel good because you felt weird on a Monday and you didn’t feel like getting up for work, but it’s like, she could do it. So can I.” I’m like, “No, I can do it. You most likely probably just can’t.” So that’s what that song’s about. And then there’s The Bag, and The Bag is just essentially like, I’ve been told no so much like, “No, you can’t. No, you’re not good enough. No, we don’t want you.” And I’m like, “You know what? Yes, I am good enough and I deserve everything. So I’m going to throw everything I deserve in the bag, which is everything.” I don’t know. I would not be the person I am if I didn’t love all parts of myself. And that includes my disabilities, that includes my neurodivergences and all of the other wacky, weird body jazz that I bring with me everywhere I go. Michelle Bishop: Lachi, can we maybe, do you and I just FaceTime each other every morning and hype each other up? Stephanie Flynt McEben: I was literally about to say the same thing. I would like in on a true call. Michelle Bishop: I don’t know if you know. Actually, I want to say quickly, I know some of those songs actually from social media, but they’re real. They’re so real. So people haven’t heard music, go check it out. I don’t know if you know one of our co-hosts, Stephanie is blind. You’re speaking directly to her soul right now. Stephanie Flynt McEben: I literally just texted them in our podcast group text and I was like, she’s totally speaking to my soul RN, but of course I don’t want to interrupt anything. Michelle Bishop: No, I know you’re dying to talk to her about the book, Stephanie, and take it away. Stephanie Flynt McEben: Yeah, no, absolutely, for sure. And as somebody who is blind and who also identifies as a blind person and definitely does not identify with the medical model of disability, clearly gotten to more of a social model. But yeah, in terms of going through that journey of accepting all of who you are and everything about yourself, for me, I mean, it took a minute, especially when you’re talking about your experiences as a child and I totally feel that. I was that girl playing the harmonica on the jungle gym by herself. Anyway, this is about you. This is not about me, but I’m just saying that I totally relate to you on a spiritual level. And given that, I would love to know, were there any particular moments when it came to writing the book that were particularly hard or healing? Because I mean, I think that we all know that it’s not always a linear journey. Some days are going to be harder than others. And so would love to get your perspective on that. And I think that our listeners would be interested. Lachi: Yeah, absolutely. The journey for me has been one of constantly unwrapping this amazing gift. I always try to use that as the visual, if you will, of you have this big present and you get to unwrap it and then you just keep getting something cooler inside and then you get to unwrap that and you get something cooler inside and you just keep unwrapping this beautiful gift that is yourself. But you don’t realize that when you first get the box, the amazing stuff that’s going on inside, and it takes time to get to it. So a lot of times growing up, I would kick myself in the butt of, I wish I had come to this when I was so much younger. I wish there were people out there when I was younger, role models that I could look up to when I was eight years old and pointing on the TV and saying like, “Okay, well, I mean, I understand that Ray Charles existed, but that’s not going to…” Stephanie Flynt McEben: Stevie Wonder is here, Ray Charles is here, but we need more of us. Hello. Lachi: We need more of us. Hello. Exactly. And so this time and place where I am right now is where I needed to be for this to work. So I can’t really kick myself in the butt of like, “I wish I had this. I wish I knew this so much earlier. I would’ve been so much further.” That kind of thing. You have to be where you got to be where you need to be. Even right now, this conversation we’re having right now is going to have been necessary for the next thing that is happening in our lives. And just the other day, I was hanging out with Queen Herby, who’s been one of my favorite more modern rappers. I just did a thing with Apl.de.ap. I have done some stuff with Black Caviar. Folks that I’ve looked up to, I’m having the opportunity to Snoop Dogg. I’m having the opportunity to work with these days because of the fact that I am here at the right time now. So when I was writing my book, we were peeling back all the layers. I’m a generally very positive and energetic, social butterfly type of person today. But it’s interesting, I wasn’t always this person and I had to unpack all the layers to get there. One of the biggest things that happens to me, so I’ve always been low vision. So I was born with relatively low vision and it stayed the same throughout my teens and early 20s. But one day I woke up and my sight was just gone. Boom. So the interesting thing is anybody listening would be like, “Oh my God, if I woke up and my sight was gone, I would just die or I would not know what to do. My life would be over.” Stephanie Flynt McEben: Yep. Heard that a million times. Yes. Lachi: But for me, it was weird because I was already low vision, so I was going from level one to the underwater level or whatever. So it wasn’t like that life changing of a thing. I was already using screen readers or Zoom text. I was already doing stuff of that nature. So I wake up blind and I’m just like, “Okay, I guess this is it. This is the day that they told me was coming.” What had ended up happening was my corneas had erupted. And so I went to the doctor and he was like, “You’re going to become completely blind. You’re going to go from this much worse vision than you’ve had to complete blindness over the course of time.” So here you go, here’s a coupon. Bye.” or whatever. So I’m like, all right. So I had decided at that moment that I wanted to start a bucket list. So I was like, okay, what are all the things I’ve always wanted to do before completely going completely blind? So I was like, let me go skydiving, let me go spolunking, let me go meet with people, meet with celebrities and just do all of the things I’ve always wanted to do before I lose my vision. So I went out and I did it. This is still me doing it. This is still me doing it. And so I say that because to people who say if I ever went blind, I would just die. Well, when I went blind, it made me want to live. And that’s what opened me up into being this person that I am today. Stephanie Flynt McEben: That is amazing. I genuinely love that. Lachi: We talk about charity model and propping disabled folks up as tools of pity. We talk about medical model, which is really just waiting around for cure, making the cure the hero. We talk about social model, which is a really good place to live in the sense of things are impairing if they’re not accessible. Society is impairing if it’s not inclusive. But honestly, if I have all of the things, like if I have all my tools, if I have all that I need and if folks are inclusive, then I’m still blind, but I’m not impaired. But I like to go a little step further into what is the cultural model. And so the cultural model is it’s not just a discussion of what society should and shouldn’t do. It’s actually a celebration of what you gain as a person who identifies with their disability or their neurodivergence, the things they need to overcompensate because they’re navigating the world a little differently, leaning into that. So let’s say for instance, deaf culture, sign language, and the fact that folks can have complete discussions outside of what we’re talking about, there is so much deaf pride out in these streets, that is a celebration of culture that comes out of disability. And for me, let’s say for instance, I have ADHD and it powers my one million and counting ideas. I have diagnosed OCD, which helps me carry out all those one million and counting ideas. I have diagnosed general anxiety disorder, which gives me my empathy and my excitement. And then I am blind, which when I have the tools I need, it gives me drive. It keeps me determined, it keeps me focused, and it gives me my dope ass glam canes. There was a girl and her mom, and she came up to me after a show and she was like, “Oh my God, your music was great.” I was like, thank you. She’s like, “Mommy, can I get one of those canes?” And then her mom was like, “Ugh, well, you have to be blind.” And I’m like, “Yeah, girl, you better want to be me.” Stephanie Flynt McEben: Yeah. We drive sticks. Anyway, sorry. Lachi: Yes. You know what? I speak softly and I carry a big old stick. Thank you. Stephanie Flynt McEben: Yes. Amen to that. Exactly. As somebody who considers themself a lifelong disability advocate, I never really thought about it in the sense of going beyond the social into the cultural. So thank you so, so much. We all learn something new every single day on this podcast, but I’d love to know a little bit more about, obviously you were very, very, very good at talking through these experiences in such a way that they are very relatable and easy to understand and that thing. So I’d love to pick your brain about the intended audience of your book. Who did you write it for? Other blind folks? Did you write it for, was it written for multiple audiences? Lachi: Yeah, honestly, I wrote it for the person who is masking. I wrote it for anyone who is tired of… Listen, let me put it like this. Let’s face it, disability is boring, a lot of the time it’s sad and it’s compliancy. We have to go the extra mile to make it fun because the actual truth of it is that the only reason it’s boring, sad, and compliancy is because society has kept it that way through its collective internalized ableism. And so my book is actually a humor book. It’s a pop culture book. It’s a comedy book. In fact, when we were talking to the publisher, it’s like, we should be putting this up against other comedic books, not necessarily disability books because it’s a book. I got so many jokes. I have dad jokes, they’re corny jokes, I have rap bars. I rap in a lot of the book just because I was like, “Hey, this rhymes.” I’m going to say it like a rap. We’re doing the audiobook right now, so I actually get to wrap it, which is really fun. Stephanie Flynt McEben: Oh, that is so cool. Oh my gosh. Lachi: Which is really, really fun. But really, honestly, what the book is what everything I do is it is using joy, soul, pop culture, jokes, humor, fashion, and just a really good time to celebrate disability, as well as community. So what you’ll find in this book is my story through my story, through historical deep dives, through interviews with some really, really cool popular figures and a really big deep dose of disability joy. And so a lot of folks who have disabilities, they will read this book and they’ll be energized. It’ll be like, “This is really great. I’m glad that I finally get to read a book that talks about disability in a positive way.” For blind specific folks, they might relate to a few of my stories because I talk about the day I woke up blind, I talk about when I went skydiving blind, I talk about just some of my interesting blind moments. But then I also talk about how I would go to red carpets and not know how to talk to anybody. So I’m in this amazing room with all these celebrities I can’t see and I’m just sitting on the wall. So I talk about some of the hard times too as well. But at the end of the day, really what the book is is an invitation in for somebody who feels a little different, a little awkward, has to mask, and just needed that invite in to talk about disability in a fun, joyful, celebratory way, to recognize that yes, that thing in you that’s different, that thing in you that society has told you you should view as a weakness and hide, you should be proud of. And I say this to people all the time. I say it in the industry, I say it to all my friends, I say it to anyone who will listen. I say it to my local barista and they come back and they say things like, “Oh my God, I’m so glad you said it that way. It turns out I have a titanium hip and I’ve never told anybody about that.” And that’s the vibe. The vibe is someone who was like, “I really needed this to be said to me this way, and now I am able to step all the way into my disability identity.” Alden Blevins: I love, especially what you said about joy. I feel like for me as an autistic person, my experience in the arts is that it is really a space where people who maybe don’t belong in other spaces or don’t feel like they belong in other spaces or are made to feel like they don’t belong in other spaces. I think that a lot of them really do find a safe space in music, in the arts, in theater. And I just wanted to ask, why do you think the music space is such a special one for you and why do you think it’s a place where other people with disabilities seem to flock together as well? Lachi: I mean, you hit the nail on the head. Counterculture, I mean, music often rewards counterculture. And then it eventually becomes mainstream and then we got to rebel against that. So music is a place where your soul can speak. And I think a lot of the times with disabilities, especially autism for me, I’m ADHD, OCD, a different neurodivergence situation, but a lot of the issue is communication. We don’t know how to say exactly what we need or whoever we’re talking to just doesn’t know how to hear what we’re saying. And so I think that what music does is it allows a soul to speak to a soul. A lot of the times music does this thing where you’ll be listening to a song and you’ll just be like, “That, that right there. That’s what I it me. That’s the thing I’m feeling.” type deal. Music has the ability to do that. And so for me, right now, this children’s album that I’m working on, the kids’ album, which is an album that is essentially R&B, pop, electronic, sort of the genres that I dance in for kids centered on disability and neurodivergence. Because what I want to do is be able to say, “Hey, I want you to point at that and say, that’s me.” And I think the easiest and quickest way to point at something and say, “That’s me also.” has been music. And so it’s why it’s been my strongest medium. Again, it’s not my only medium. I’m talking to folks through the book, I’m talking to folks through fashion, et cetera, et cetera. But again, music has been just the quickest, easiest point A to point B conversation easer, if you will, about disability. Another thing I also love to use is humor and comedy. So I make jokes all the time. They’re all bad. They’re all very not good jokes. I need to probably get a joke writer, but the fact that I’m having such a good time telling the jokes, I think I think is all that really matters. So I think both music and humor are just really, really great spaces for two people to get to relate to something that may be difficult to talk about. Stephanie Flynt McEben: Yo, if you need a joke writer, I’m your girl. I actually do a joke every single episode of this podcast. Michelle Bishop: Her jokes are not better than yours, Lachi. Don’t hire her. Stephanie Flynt McEben: My jokes are pretty bad. They’re worse than dad’s jokes. They’re like granddad jokes. Alden Blevins: Yeah. Stephanie is the queen of the jokes on our podcast. She always brings one through. Didn’t know that you were working on a children’s music album, and I think that’s really interesting. I actually used to be a teacher, so children’s music is something that’s near and dear to my heart. So I just wanted to ask, what would you want to tell to younger people with disabilities, younger disabled creatives about claiming space and being able to tell their own stories? Lachi: Well, one thing that I heard from someone else, I don’t remember who it was. I think it was- Michelle Bishop: Jordan? Lachi: Yes, Jordan. He’s the one that said this. Michelle Bishop: I love him. Lachi: Yeah, he’s so funny. I met him at a… What did I meet him at? The Webby Awards or something. But anyway, no one can ever defeat someone who hasn’t given up. And for some reason that hit me, and I don’t even think he was trying to say it that deep. He was just saying a joke or something. But I took that and it was like, no one can ever defeat someone who hasn’t given up. So at the end of the day, you are really the only one who can end whatever you’re trying to get. Because as long as you are still going for it, it is still still there. It’s like a Schrodinger’s cat. It’s like as long as you’re still running for it, that opportunity is still there for you to have. The opportunity is never lost as long as you’re still going for it. And people can tell you, people can take your shoulders and tell you to go right. People can take your shoulders and tell you to go left. But until you take your own shoulders and go in the direction that your heart, your soul, your passion, your fire, desires, that is when you truly begin to live. And so I say personally, lean into that. I hear from a lot of younger, especially creators with disabilities. I mentor a lot of folks, tons and tons of folks. It’s one of the things I love to do the most. But what I love to tell folks is you are going to be the best you. And that you is going to include all of the different parts of who you are, but it is especially going to include you leaning in to the things that make you different and unique as unique selling points. Earlier I talked about how people try so hard to be the “definition of beauty”, definition of success, definition of whatever. Everyone’s trying to be this reference man. Everyone’s trying to be as close as they can to the reference man. And if I’m as close as I can to the reference man, then I’ll be successful or then I’ll get this job or then I’ll get this gig. But the truth of the matter is when we look at all of the people that are doing all of the big things, they’re “eccentric”. They’re “weird”. They did some big different idea that no one was thinking about and everybody fell into their trend. The further away you are from the reference man, that is when you start to win. That is when you’ll start to see success. That is when you’ll start to feel much better about yourself. That is when you can wake up in the morning, look in the mirror and say, “I am fine.” When you are able to accept all of those different freckles of yourself that are as far away from the reference man as possible, because guess what? There is room outside of the barrel for everyone to win if they are all being their unique self and running their unique purpose. That’s what I would tell to young disabled creators. Michelle Bishop: That’s amazing. Almost feel like we should stop there, but I have so many follow-up questions. Lachi: Listen, I’m here to drop as many mics as they will let me keep breaking. Michelle Bishop: I was wondering how you see the conversation around disability and inclusion and evolving these days. And a lot of our listeners are people with disabilities or people who have other even multiple intersecting identities in which they experience barriers as well. What does allyship look like to you? Lachi: This is one of my favorite questions. So yes, we have folks with disabilities and we have folks who want to work with people with disabilities, want to help a friend with a disability, want to make sure they don’t say the wrong thing to a person with a disability, neurodivergence, chronic condition, mental health condition. That’s not an ally. Wanting to help a person with a disability is not an ally. To me, wanting to support someone with a disability, that’s an ally in the very basic definition of allyship. Here’s what I think an ally is. To answer the question, I got to do two things. One, talk about the disability umbrella. So the disability umbrella encompasses so many forms of disability. It is neurodivergence, which is ADHD, dyslexia, OCD. It is mental health conditions like anxiety, depression, bipolar. It is someone who learns a little differently. It is someone who has explosive situations like anger management. It is someone who has substance abuse disorder, maybe somebody who drinks too much or uses different substances. It is chronic back pain. You know what I’m saying? It is asthma. It is EDS. It’s POTS. It is long COVID. It is different complications that you gain after pregnancy. It is different complications that you gain as you age. It is different complications you gain through menopause. It is temporary. It is breaking your arm and wearing a cast. It is seasonal depression. There is nobody on this earth that is not within the disability umbrella. And I don’t mean that you’re going to grow into it. I don’t mean in the future. I mean right now. Whether you identify as a person with a disability or not, you have disability identity because you have experience in your body disability. And when you figure that out, then you’re an ally. Allyship is seeing yourself through the other person because you can’t look through someone else’s eyes unless you can see yourself in them. And you can’t see yourself in disability until you recognize the disability identity within yourself. All of a sudden, and I say this and people are like, “What? I say this, but I’ve seen this. I’ve seen it happen. I’ve seen people who did not associate themselves with any form of disability or anything and they’re just like, Oh, them. Oh, I’ll help them. We have a conversation and then we have a follow-up conversation and then we’re drinking and then all of a sudden they’re telling me all their disabilities and then they’re walking a little different when they encounter disability. It’s no longer a them thing. And so that’s what an ally is. People with disabilities are also allies. I am an ally to the deaf community because I recognize though I’m not deaf, I see the having to navigate the world differently in you of myself. So that’s how I define an ally. An ally is someone who understands their own disability identity and can see it in others. Michelle Bishop: Don’t mind me over here just taking notes. Stephanie Flynt McEben: Literally. Oh my gosh. Lachi, thank you so, so, so much for being with us and taking time. I know that your website, lachimusic.com is one of the places where folks can stay up to date on all of the latest and greatest things that you’re up to. Is there anything else in particular you would like to plug for our listeners? Lachi: Like you said, LACHI, L-A-C-H-I M-U-S-I-C. I’m on the internets everywhere. Instagram, Spotify, check out the old music. If you’re a creator, a music creator or professional with a disability, check us out at RAMPD, R-A-M-P-D.org. Or if you want to donate or if you want to partner with us over at RAMPD, please do. If you are a cane user, whether you’re a blind cane user or you use Mobility Cane, check out glamcanes.com, get your canes bejeweled. I Identify as Blind, our book is out on Penguin Random House, imprint called Tiny Reparations by Phoebe Robinson, who is also a comedian. So we’re out here all writing very funny books. So please check it out. And lastly, listen, try to find moments in your day of disability joy. And when you find that moment, take a picture of it or write it down so that you can go back to it and live for those moments. So thank you guys so much for having me on this podcast. It’s really been a blast getting to talk at you about all things I identify as blind. Alden Blevins: I love it. I was over here taking notes too because I just found so much of myself in what you were saying and so many things were poignant and empowering. I, as an autistic person, try to be an ally to other parts of the disability community myself. And that’s something where I’m always trying to put myself in the shoes of another person and what they might experience. So I think that’s really powerful. We were so grateful to be able to connect and learn more about you, Lachi. Lachi: Yes, yes, yes. So honored to be here, guys. Michelle Bishop: Before you head out, Lachi, do you want to hear one of Stephanie’s grandpa jokes? Lachi: I was going to say, I was like, “Let’s hear one of these granddad jokes.” Let me see. Stephanie Flynt McEben: Okay. This might be- Michelle Bishop: Okay, do it. Stephanie Flynt McEben: … a granddad joke. Okay. Where do spiders like to get their information? Lachi: The web? Michelle Bishop: That would be something to do with web. Stephanie Flynt McEben: But what kind of web? Lachi: Wow. Really? You are fired from being my comedy writer. You are fired to be my comedy writer. I was rooting for you too. I was like, let’s just… Please. Stephanie Flynt McEben: I wouldn’t even get to the punchline yet. Michelle Bishop: Worldwide web? Stephanie Flynt McEben: It is the worldwide web. Michelle Bishop: Oh. Stephanie Flynt McEben: It’s fine. It’s fine. My wife warned me not to tell that joke this month and I didn’t lose it. Michelle Bishop: Oh my gosh. I’m so glad you stuck around for that part. Lachi: As I live and breathe. Thank you guys so, so much. This has been so much fun and I will see who else I can tell that joke to. And go ahead and just to help you out, Stephanie, I’ll go ahead and embarrass myself by telling that joke to others. Stephanie Flynt McEben: Not my best work, but that is allyship. Yes. Michelle Bishop: Oh my gosh, Lachi, thank you so much. And everyone, please lachimusic.com. Check it out. Listen to the music, read the book. Alden Blevins: Speaking of the worldwide web, this has been National Disability Radio. We celebrate stories, leadership, and talent of people with disabilities. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe, share, and continue the conversation with us on that worldwide web at ndrn.org or anywhere you get your favorite podcasts. Thanks for listening and until next time. Stephanie Flynt McEben: Bye.

What does society get wrong about blindness—and how does accessibility actually affect everyone?In this episode of Post Run High, creator, author, and speaker Molly Burke breaks down the real barriers blind people face, why disability is a design problem (not a personal one), and how small shifts in mindset and environment create massive change. Molly shares the resilience practices that helped her rebuild her life after losing most of her sight at 14, plus lessons on movement, wellness, confidence, and advocating for yourself in an inaccessible world. Follow & ConnectPost Run High Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/postrunhigh/Kate Mackz Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katemackz/Kate Mackz YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KateMackz See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This might be our favorite episode of 2025! Jessi and Jason reveal their Spotify Wrapped Lists- but whose is more humiliating? Jessi watched ‘Heated Rivalry' for the hockey. And stayed for the male bums. Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau are Instagram Official and officially creeping people out. Plus, why the Golden Globes owe K Pop Demon Hunters an apology. Then, blind activist, content creator, author and generally inspiring woman Molly Burke answers Jessi's STUPIDEST questions about what it is like to live without sight. How does she do her makeup? Choose her clothes? Is she insecure about her appearance? Has she ever seen a Kardashian!? This conversation will change the way you see (pun intended) disabled people forever. SHOP JESSI'S MERCH FOR THE HOLIDAYS: https://6oh4clothing.com/collections/jessi-cruickshankWe're ending the year with an ALL-VOICEMAIL EPISODE!! Leave your questions or comments about ANYTHING on Jessi's answering machine, HERE: 323-448-0068 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Purchase on Bookshop: https://bit.ly/46X6EzVShare, rate, & review the podcast, and follow Zibby on Instagram @zibbyowens!** Follow @totallybookedwithzibby on Instagram for listening guides and more. **(Music by Morning Moon Music. Sound editing by TexturesSound. To inquire about advertising, please contact allie.gallo@acast.com.) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Molly Burke's highly anticipated memoir “Unseen: How I Lost My Vision but Found My Voice” is set to hit bookstore shelves this October 14!Host Jacob Shymanski discusses the memoir in a special preview interview with Molly.  She reflects on her success, challenges and personal growth as a social media influencer and public speaker who is blind.  You don't want to miss this vulnerable, honest and darkly humorous memoir!  This episode was produced by Andrika De Lanerolle.  Audiobook Café is broadcast on AMI-audio in Canada and publishes two new podcast episodes a week on Saturdays and Sundays.Follow Audiobook Café on Instagram @AMIAudiobookCafe We want your feedback!Be that comments, suggestions, hot-takes, audiobook recommendations or reviews of your own… hit us up! Our email address is: AudiobookCafe@ami.ca About AMIAMI is a media company that entertains, informs and empowers Canadians with disabilities through three broadcast services — AMI-tv and AMI-audio in English and AMI-télé in French — and streaming platform AMI+. Our vision is to establish AMI as a leader in the offering of accessible content, providing a voice for Canadians with disabilities through authentic storytelling, representation and positive portrayal. To learn more visit AMI.ca and AMItele.ca.Find more great AMI Original Content on AMI+Learn more at AMI.caConnect with Accessible Media Inc. online:X /Twitter @AccessibleMediaInstagram @AccessibleMediaInc / @AMI-audioFacebook at @AccessibleMediaIncTikTok @AccessibleMediaInc Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Now is Found Chairloom operates at the intersection of art and sustainability, shifting the conversation around vintage furniture and design. On today's podcast I have the pleasure of interviewing Molly Burke and Tracy Jenkins of Chairloom.     The Sew Much More Podcast is sponsored by;     Klimaka Studios   The Workroom Channel   Scarlet Thread Consulting   The WCAA   The Curtains and Soft Furnishings Resource Library   Merril Y Landis, LTD   Angel's Distributing, LLC   National Upholstery Association   Workroom Tech    

Do people really hate the disabled community? Oh, absolutely.Molly Burke podcast episode hereGet your voting questions answered at vote.orgSupport the Show.Join the Mailing List: Subscribe NowApply to be a guest: Guest ApplicationBecome a Member: ko-fi.com/badattitudespod Email badattitudespod@gmail.comFollow @badattitudespod on Instagram, Facebook, and TwitterAll available platforms hereWatch my TEDx talkBe sure to leave a rating or review wherever you listen!FairyNerdy: https://linktr.ee/fairynerdy

Molly Burke is raising awareness for people who are blind! She is an amazing woman who loves to educate people on what exactly it means to be blind, what her days look like, and to show the world that she is still just a person. There are so many underrepresented communities in the world, many including disabilities, and Molly is putting in the world to help fill that gap and help the world become a more inclusive place for people with blindness everywhere. Follow Rebecca: @rrogersworld To watch the podcast on YouTube:  https://bit.ly/RebeccaRogersYouTube Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast for free wherever you're listening or by using this link:  https://bit.ly/WouldYouBelievePodcast If you like the show, telling a friend about it would be amazing! You can text, email, Tweet, or send this link to a friend:  https://bit.ly/WouldYouBelievePodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Molly Burke and Tyler Oakley joined YouTube more than a decade ago and built their respective online followings by advocating for the causes and communities of people that were important to them — even if it wasn't always the easiest way to rapidly grow given the platform's algorithm. Since then, Burke and Oakley both expanded to additional platforms, like Patreon and Twitch, to continue garnering meaningful relationships with their followers. While Burke said she's been able to learn a lot about her viewers personally through Patreon, Oakley said that two-way direct communication on Twitch has been instrumental in how he creates content in the moment. In the fourth and final episode of the Digiday Podcast's Creators series, Burke and Oakley discuss why advocacy and speaking from the heart has always been central to their strategies as long-form video content creators, and why that's helped grow their audiences and businesses.

Guys, we are back after a few weeks of unplanned leave from the podcast! I have been so so tired and ill but we are so happy to be bringing you this episode with Molly Burke. It's so exciting we chat so much in this episode about dating as a blind woman as well as a few other things that are very close to my heart and Molly's too. At the end there is a dilemma as always and we try and understand why someone would not invite their best friend's Guide Dog to their wedding and we really do hope you enjoy this one and can't wait to see you next week for a new one, lots of hugs xxxRemember to send your own Disabled Dilemmas to help@lucyedwards.comProduced and presented by Lucy Edwards and Ollie Edwards-Cave.Music composed by Alice Edwards and produced by Ollie Edwards-Cave.Find us online at:YouTube: @LucyEdwardsTikTok: @LucyEdwardsTwitter: @LucyEdwardsInstagram: @LucyEdwardsOfficial & @ButIdNeverMarryABlindWomanFollow Molly at:Youtube: @mollyburkeofficialTikTok: @mollyburkeofficialInstagram: @mollyburkeofficialBuy Lucy's new book 'Blind Not Broken' here: blindnotbroken.cmpgn.page/LGZ6f6 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A real, raw and f*cking hilarious conversation that everyone needs to hear! This week we're joined by content creator, speaker, author and advocate Molly Burke to talk about the progressive condition that caused her to lose her eyesight at 14 years old, dating while blind, online trolls, Monster Molly, and how to recognize your internalized ableism. At the top of the show, we discuss the Relationsh*t-Show of the Week: Who TF did I Marry? To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, I talk about someone that I think everyone should follow on Instagram, YouTube and Facebook. This person's name is Molly Burke, and she is someone who has been blind since a young age. I think a lot of people should follow her because she is someone who provides a lot of insight into things that only as blind or visually impaired people have to deal with on a day-to-day basis, so I think it's important for sighted people to learn, what being blind or visually impaired is like. Hope you guys enjoyed learning a little bit about her.

Our cities are inherently unequal by design. They were often designed by tall, white, able bodied men. So what have they overlooked? Can we reduce inequality by designing a better world? In this episode Gail and Loyiso explore the Global Goal to reduce inequality (Goal 5) and are joined by famous youtuber Molly Burke, who happens to be blind and has a load of helpful tips for designing better accessibility offline and online. And architect turned big thinker Indy Johar calls for a fundamental overhaul of an old system that perpetuates inequalities in all its forms. Guests:Molly Burke, Speaker, Digital Creator, Author, and Advocate. Indy Johar, Architect, co-founder of project00 and Dark Matter Labs.For more information go to www.globalgoals.org Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The conversation featured in this episode was recorded a few weeks before Judy Heumann passed away on March 4th, 2023. This is the first of 5 final episodes of The Heumann Perspective that will be published over the next few weeks. All episodes of The Heumann Perspective will remain available indefinitely at judithheumann.com. The transcript for this podcast episode is available here. This episode is also available in video format on YouTube. Molly Burke is a speaker, YouTuber, content creator, and disability advocate. At the age of four Molly's world changed forever when she learned that she would eventually go blind. Less than a year later she decided to empower herself by public speaking to raise awareness about blindness. Later, she not only competed for the title of Miss Teen Canada International, but won. Hungry to uplift young women worldwide, she chose to give up her crown to speak and advocate on stages around the world such as  the United Nations Headquarters and Davos World Economic Forum. She's spoken about empowerment, inclusivity, and equality alongside figures like Malala, Meghan Markle, Richard Branson, Demi Lovato, Martin Luther King III, and Justin Trudeau. Molly decided to share her message in a more universal way. She thus started her YouTube channel as one of the platform's first disabled creators. Over time she amassed over two million subscribers. She then decided to expand even further, and started creating content across platforms including TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Snapchat where she has already built communities of millions more followers. Molly has appeared in commercials that have aired during the Academy Awards, The Super Bowl, and more. She has been featured in leading press such as the Today Show and People Magazine and she has been both a nominee and recipient of numerous Shorty and Streamy Awards. Molly's Links: Website YouTube TikTok Instagram Stay tuned for the next of the 5 final episodes of The Heumann Perspective dropping next Wednesday. Intro music by Lachi. Outro music by Gaelynn Lea.

Jenny, Dr. Cathy, and Paige reflect on reading “For the Benefit of Those Who See”, by Rosemary Mahoney. Topics that come up include learning about the world using all our senses and blind content creators. Jenny touches on how the students at Braille Without Borders (the school where Mahoney teaches) validate her experiences. Purchase and learn more about “For the Benefit of Those Who See” book: https://www.rosemarymahoney.net/for-the-benefit-of-those-who-see Blindsight Documentary on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/508621901 Video: A Journey from Germany to Kerala: Sabriye Tenberkenat TEDxTrivandrum: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yy4FvPAEtJ0 Book - “Echolocation and FlashSonar” by Daniel Kish and Jo Hook https://www.aph.org/product/echolocation-and-flashsonar/ Just a few blind content creators we follow: Molly Burke: https://www.mollyburkeofficial.com/ Lucy Edwards: https://www.lucyedwards.com/ Anthony Ferraro: https://asfvision.com/ Christine Ha: https://www.youtube.com/user/ChristineHaTube Dan Mancina: https://www.instagram.com/danthemancina/?hl=en James Rath: https://jamesrath.la/ Catarina Rivera: https://www.catarinarivera.com/ Sam Seavey: “The Blind Life”: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheBlindLife https://www.perkinselearning.org/technology/posts/popular-blind-youtubers Please give us your feedback using this survey link: https://educationutah.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_39OmBvMih6MlgNw Make a Donation to- VIPS: https://secure.vips.org/np/clients/vips/donation.jsp?forwardedFromSecureDomain=1&campaign=495 Anchor Center: https://www.anchorcenter.org/get-involved/donate/ Get in touch with us! Follow us on Facebook @Feelingthislifepodcast and Instagram @Feelingthislife Email: feelingthislife@vips.org Jenny: jcastenir@vips.org Paige: pmaynard@vips.org Dr. Cathy: csmyth@anchorcenter.org www.anchorcenter.org www.vips.org

In this episode of Real Pod, Victoria sits down with Molly Burke a blind YouTube personality and motivational speaker. She shares her journey from public speaking at 5 years old to creating a YouTube channel with over 1.9M subscribers. Molly gets real about her mental health journey, burnout at a dream job, and the truth about ableism in our culture. (It's shocking, there's a lot you probably haven't even realized!) This episode is one for the books and an absolute must-listen!   Molly Burke:  YouTube Instagram @mollyburkeofficial TikTok @mollyburke   Produced by Dear Media This episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct, or indirect financial interest in products, or services referred to in this episode.

Now that we have gotten past our massive 100th episode celebration, it is back to podcasting as the entire That Real Blind Tech Show gang gets together to recap the latest tech news.   We start off with a mention that the All Blind Fantasy Football League Mini Documentary has an imdb page.   We start off with a congratulations as one of us lives in the filthiest talking city in the world. And its not NYC!   Wasn't the whole point of streaming no ads? Well get ready for ads coming to AppleTV. Is anyone surprised that Apple's crash detection is not working as it is suppose to?   Big Googlie Eyes may save pedestrians from silent vehicles, but what about us blind peeps?   Medical experts say it is healthy for you to disconnect from your phone. Is it possible for blind peeps to disconnect?   Google IO featured Molly Burke, but seriously selfies? We then discuss the newly announce Pixel 7 phones. Next up was the Google Pixel Watch, not quite ready for prime time. And shockingly Google Face Recognition is very far from secure. On the plus side all Google devices will be getting new TTS voices in the coming weeks.   Samsung and Google showed off how their devices will interact once the Matter Standard has launched. It's going to be pretty cool.   Facebook hosted meta Connect all about VR and AR, but will any of this tech be useful to the blind? Facebook launched the MetaQuest Pro, but what is it and who is it for? Zuckhead says the Metaverse should be open to everyone, but read closer. Meta also announced future wristbands which would allow you to control things in the Metaverse with muscle movement.   Microsoft held an event in which they announced that Apple will be bringing more services to their devices. Of course, the accessibility of them is in question. Microsoft then announced three new Surface devices with one of them starting at the low low price of $4300.   Did you notice that another Amazon Prime Day came and went?   And it is more Voicemails, What's Pissing Off Brian, and Watcha Streaming, Watcha Reading.   To contact That Real Blind Tech Show, you can email us at ThatRealBlindTechShow@gmail.com, join our Facebook Group That Real Blind Tech Show, join us on the Twitter @BlindTechShow , or leave us an old school phone message at 929-367-1005.

Join Steven and Shaun as they watch along with the Made By Google Event and react live to what is announced. On stage, the staff of Google showcase the new Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro smartphones as well as the new Pixel Watch. There's also a special mention of accessibility features with Canada's own Molly Burke, the social media influencer who is blind (and AMI contributor), talking about a new camera feature to help people who are blind take selfies. What did you think of the event? Send us your feedback by emailing feedback@doubletaponair.com or calling 1-877-803-4567. You can also find us across social media @DoubleTapOnAir.

This week Natalia decided to stick with the theme of "heads" (???) and so we're hopping over to Colorado and the western US. The Colorado Hammer Killer went on a 12 day killing spree which included a home with an entire family, and no one knew who he was for 40 years... until now. The Bennet Family: Sources: People Magazine, July 2022, The Colorado Hammer Killer by K.C. Baker Denver Post (Online) By KIRK MITCHELL - PUBLISHED: August 25, 2018 https://www.denverpost.com/2018/08/25/1984-aurora-hammer-killer-fbi-profile/ Denver Post article by Molly Burke 4/7/22 Channel 9NEWS (online)- Article by Kevin Vaughan 2/3/2020 Serial Killer Database Wiki https://skdb.fandom.com/wiki/EWING_Alex_Christopher ABC channel 7 in Denver, article By: Blayke Roznowski https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/judge-sentences-1984-aurora-hammer-killer-to-multiple-life-sentences --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/tildeathdouspartpodcast/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/tildeathdouspartpodcast/support

Two Hot Takes host, Morgan, is joined by guest co-host Molly Burke! We start off by talking a bit about Mollys experience of being a blind woman, disabled vs. differently abled, and taking some time to really learn. Reddit stories start at the 15:53 minute mark with Molly responding to stories related to disability, and working our way to some familiar drama ;) towards the end.    Partners: Everlywell: Everlywell.com/tht Hello Fresh: Hellofresh.com/tht16 Promo Code: tht16 Casetify: Casetify.com Promo Code: 15TWOHOTTAKES or http://cst.fyi/lMOz0 to get 15% off on your CASETiFY order Faherty: Fahertybrand.com/THT Promo Code: THT Patreon // & BONUS CONTENT https://www.patreon.com/TwoHotTakes Our SubReddit to Submit YOUR Stories!!! https://reddit.app.link/twohottakes Full length Video episodes available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TwoHotTakes

I was totally obsessed with Selling Sunset (and Selling Tampa), so naturally I was excited to see another Oppenheim office opening up in Orange County with new real estate agents to love (or hate). This week I not only watched the entire season, but went down a rabbit hole learning everything I could - and some stuff I almost wish I didn't - about each of the new agents. Warning: there are some Selling the OC spoilers in this episode, but I think you'll still enjoy watching after listening. Plus, my “Late to the Party” segment is totally someone you'll want to check out: Molly Burke.If you want to see the highlights of my beautiful Nova Scotia trip, I saved them here on instagram.And if you want to fall in love with Molly Burke like I have, be sure to follow her on instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.Finally, our podcast music composer, Mike, has released his first song! It's called “Talk About It” by Lørday and is available on Spotify and Apple Music.I am so grateful for your time each week. I hope this podcast brings you some joy, maybe gets you on a walk, and introduces you to someone or something you didn't know about before. Stay connected on instagram @findingsparklechasinglight, and be sure to leave a review if you haven't already. Thank you so much!

Episode 070 | Yuh! I'm back with another SOLO episode! In this one, I cover a variety of topics that are relevant to the disability community. I discuss the potential harmful side effects of erectile dysfunction medication for men living with Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP). I give my opinion on Molly Burke's recent appearance on "The Daily Show" with Trevor Noah. I go DEEP on how I believe inclusive + accessible language targeted towards the disability community is misunderstood and unfairly grouped in as part of the "woke" agenda. On the topic of inclusive language, I discuss recent controversies involving Kamala Harris, Beyonce, and Matt Walsh. I also answer some amazing audience questions! I took some risks with this episode, but I had FUN in the process. Stay Transparent! -------- For bonus episodes + exclusive content, join the SEE-THROUGH FEW over on Patreon. Visit: https://patreon.com/seethroughpod Have a question for me? Want your question to be featured + answered in an episode? Email me (theseethroughpodcast@gmail.com) or DM me a video of your question and it may end up in an episode! Watch Molly Burke's appearance on "The Daily Show" with Trevor Noah: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbNDmY1-vSs -------- Subscribe: https://bit.ly/3JRSPEO Website: https://www.seethroughpod.com/ Instagram: https://instagram.com/seethroughpod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@seethroughpod Twitter: https://twitter.com/seethroughpod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seethroughpod

Pope Francis apologizes for Catholic abuse of Indigenous people, Molly Burke discusses her advocacy for the disabled community, and actor Brian Cox talks about his role on "Succession."See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hyram talks with Molly Burke, famously known online for sharing her life as a Blind woman, as they explore topics like the impact she's made, the struggle to achieve dreams, how the world can be more accessible to Disabled people, and what the future holds for both of them. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Molly Burke-Mattocks experienced something that no parent wants to go through. The death of their child.

“I can only show up and do my best every time. And sometimes my best will be the best. And other times it won't. And that's fine. I think.” Welcome to the first Ask Ali episode of 2022! This time, instead of answering listener voicemails, I've enlisted Molly Burke to facilitate, and we're answering questions I received before and after the 2022 State of the Ali on the Run Show episode. It's a lot of behind-the-scenes-of-the-podcast stuff, a lot of questions about my goals for the show, and a good amount of self-reflection. Also a surprising number of bear references. SPONSOR: goodr. Click here and use code ONTHERUN15 for 15% off your entire goodr order! For more, check out out: Molly Burke on Episode 455 of the Ali on the Run Show The 2022 State of the Ali on the Run Show Follow Molly: Instagram @mollysburke Twitter @mollysburke Follow Ali: Instagram @aliontherun1 Join the Facebook group Twitter @aliontherun1 Support on Patreon Blog Strava Listen & Subscribe: Apple Podcasts Spotify SoundCloud Overcast Stitcher Google Play SUPPORT the Ali on the Run Show! If you're enjoying the show, please subscribe and leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Spread the run love. And if you liked this episode, share it with your friends!

“We all just decided, we need to keep moving. We can't just stay here and wallow in this. Obviously we'll still be grieving, but we all made the decision that we had to just do the best we could.” Today's episode in the Everyday Runner series is extra special: Molly Burke is here, and she is the newest member of the Ali on the Run Show team! (Merch! Events! A retreat! A live show tour! All in the works, thanks to Molly!) Molly's story — both on the run and off — is a powerful one. On this episode, Molly talks about her family, about her dad (Brian Burke, president of hockey operations for the Pittsburgh Penguins) being big time in the NHL, and about the close bond she shares with her siblings. She talks about the impact her dad's very public career had on her and her siblings growing up, and shares the story of her brother, Brendan, privately and publicly coming out as gay, and being the first NHL-affiliated person to do so. Tragically, Brendan was killed in a car accident just three months later. Molly talks about leaning into running as a way to help cope with her grief, and talks about being an advocate and ally for the LGBTQ+ community. (Come for the inspiration. Stay for the story about 19-year-old Molly getting kicked out of a Bruins game for standing up to a group of men using homophobic slurs.) Plus, Molly talks about her career working at Edelman and TripAdvisor, and talks about why she was hesitant to join a run group or group fitness class — and how she got over it. SPONSOR: COROS — Use code ONTHERUN for a free keychain watch charger with the purchase of any watch! What you'll get on this episode: What running looks like for Molly right now (4:45) What Molly's childhood was like (14:30) How Molly is like her dad, and how she's like her mom (23:10) All about Molly's brother, Brendan (25:00) How Molly found running (42:00) On being an advocate and ally for the LGBTQ+ community (49:30) What it was like running the virtual Boston Marathon last year, and raising more than $11,000 for You Can Play (54:00) Molly's running and racing highlights (1:01:30) Check out: Katie Burke on Episode 327 of the Ali on the Run Show Katie Burke on Episode 252 of the Ali on the Run Show Katie Burke on Episode 84 of the Ali on the Run Show Katie Burke on Episode 70 of the Ali on the Run Show MyStryd Boston "We love you, this won't change a thing." You Can Play Project Follow Molly: Instagram @mollysburke Twitter @mollysburke Follow Ali: Instagram @aliontherun1 Join the Facebook group Twitter @aliontherun1 Support on Patreon Blog Strava Listen & Subscribe: Apple Podcasts Spotify SoundCloud Overcast Stitcher Google Play SUPPORT the Ali on the Run Show! If you're enjoying the show, please subscribe and leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Spread the run love. And if you liked this episode, share it with your friends!

At 4 years old, Molly Burke was diagnosed with a genetic disorder that causes a gradual loss of vision. At 14 she lost most of her sight, and suffered through vicious bullying on top of dealing with this life-altering disorder. Her teachers even said she was faking it! (you won't believe what they said to her parents!) After years of feeling unheard and broken, Molly harnessed the power of perseverance. She took to public speaking and social media to spread awareness and inspiration about her condition, amassing millions of supportive followers! As one of Youtube's first disabled influencers, Molly recognizes the weight of her voice and uses her platform to educate and lift others up… while making people laugh along the way! She is spreading the word that we all have the power inside of us to overcome obstacles. Her message will truly lift you up and make you want to start living your life to its fullest. This story is one of perseverance, perspective, and inspiration. A must-listen!!! More info at www.ivegotasecretwithrobinmcgraw.com Claim a FREE sun scarf at www.ripskirt.com/SECRET Go to GreenChef.com/secret100 and use code “secret100” to get $100 off at GREEN CHEF, including free shipping! Episode Resources: Molly's Website: www.mollyburkeofficial.com/ Molly on Youtube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCwf9TcLyS5KDoLRLjke41Hg Molly on Instagram: www.instagram.com/mollyburkeofficial/ Molly's Foundation GoFundMe: www.gofundme.com/f/help-the-mira-foundation-train-guide-dogs Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"Moll Burke a typical sushi and makeup loving millennial girl who just so happens to be blind!I was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa at just 4 years." "Dhar mann -is a mission-driven entrepreneur with 50 Million social media followers and one of the highest viewed content creators in the world today with over 21 Billion views. Dhar focuses on developing ideas that have a massive impact and have helped change the lives of people all across the globe." I have CRPS and more . I just want to educate peeople on these things and talk about it. My disability - intellectual disability high functioning , characterized by difficulties in reasoning, problem-solving, comprehending complex ideas, and other cognitive skills; its diagnosis is based on an intelligence quotient (IQ) of 70 or less. Autism, on the other hand, is defined primarily by social difficulties, communication issues and repetitive behaviors." ADHD- s a neurobehavioral condition that interferes with a person's ability to pay attention and exercise age-appropriate inhibition. A person with ADHD is so inattentive or impulsively hyperactive-or both-that daily functioning at home, school and work is compromised. ADHD usually becomes apparent in children during preschool and early school years." Dyscalculia- difficulty performing mathematical calculations," --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/theysusannamaeohagan/support

00:00 Cold open - where our Mighty Mug00:30 Theme song02:30 What color is your cane - introductions05:00 It's someones birthday - Who is drinking what11:00 school days - 14:00 Losing vision early vs later - The Blind Nurses18:00 Blindness wasn't her identity - Xhy's story 22:00 Friends are cool - Bullies aren't - Kids are mean 28:00 what was your conception of blindness before you were blind? - Social mocking videos suck32:00 Are disabilities karma? - Manifestation 34:00 would you date a blind person - Social skills matter more 38:00 some y'all weird - finding where you fit doesn't diminish your role in the chain43:00 3 minute story times - yes or no? - TIKTOK fame47:00 The Molly Burke - struggle is a spectrum53:00 Good people stories- People are really cool some timesclosing music by Scarlett Deering https://www.scarlettdeeringmusic.com/The live streamhttps://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNnFKrVnUzHWH8VxGbA3BIcQQf2TAhaG-Official Instagram https://instagram.com/inspirationsbeyonddisabilitys_?igshid=1i720xb02puawFeaturing our hosts: Instagram  @KateWack: https://www.instagram.com/katewack/?hl=en@NotSoXhy__: https://www.instagram.com/notsoxhy__/?hl=en  @PublicAccessAmerica: https://www.instagram.com/publicaccessamerica/?hl=en@___BlindBeauty_: https://www.instagram.com/___blindbeauty_/?hl=enFollow our hosts on: TIKTOKKatelyn: https://www.tiktok.com/@katelynwackerman?lang=enBrittney: https://www.tiktok.com/@___blindbeauty_?lang=enXhy: https://www.tiktok.com/@notsoxhy?lang=enmariezaknoun0 https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMetcwa68/

help the show & rate us 5 stars on Spotify & Apple - we'll video DM you! chat 1:1 on our discord! https://discord.gg/2gW4fEu9mn The Bottle Club Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebottleclubpod join our newsletter: https://www.thebottleclubpod.com subscribe to the youtube channel: https://bit.ly/Sub2BottleClub Welcome to the tenth episode of this comedy podcast where Andrew and Jonathan talk thrift shopping, a story where Jonathan has a blind date with a blind girl (Molly Burke), Andrew's uber eats debacle, one-star amazon reviews, and so much more! Enjoy!

Molly Burke sits down with the guys to talk about how her life has changed since losing her eyesight at 14. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

¿Qué los hace diferentes? y ¿Por qué los recomendamos? En el episodio de hoy platicamos de nuestros youtubers favoritos! Creadores que consideramos especiales por distintas razones. Youtubers mencionados: Christina Randall, Good Mythical Morning, Coolirpa, MKBHD, Molly Burke, Top5s, Mr. Kate, Linus Tech Tips, Moriah Elizabeth y Flossy Carter. Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

The gang is back with a brand new episode. Today they sit down with Dianna with two N’s, an up-and-coming YouTuber, who shares a look into the ups and downs of living as a blind woman. Make sure to go check her out on YouTube and social media and show her some support. Today she’s talking to the gang about Molly Burke and her thoughts about how Molly represents the blind community. This episode is very specific to the blind community, if you know somebody or are somebody in this community make sure to share your thoughts and tell us what you think about what was discussed in this episode. You can always call and leave a voicemail at 844-997–0775 or use #ComfortablyPoor. Follow Dianna at, @Diannawithtwons, and the rest of the gang at, @CPPod100. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cppod100/support

Are you ready for a YouTube lesson?  Molly Burke launched her YouTube channel with make-up tutorials and fashion content, growing it into the massive platform it is today with over 2 million subscribers. Molly also happens to be blind. I’m so excited for Molly to share her story -- Why did she start her YouTube channel? What did she want to do with the platform when she was starting out? How does she continue her mission while creating video content people can’t help but watch? And what are the behind the scenes secrets to content that does really well on that platform? Hit play! GOAL DIGGER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/goaldiggerpodcast/ GOAL DIGGER INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/goaldiggerpodcast/ GOAL DIGGER SHOWNOTES: http://jennakutcherblog.com/mollyburke/

Marathe, Marathe, Marathe. patreon: patreon.com/relevanceofliterature -- IJ and Race: https://theoutline.com/post/5543/david-foster-wallace-conference-profile?zi=io37hlck&zd=2 JOI Filmography: https://pooryorickentertainment.tumblr.com/ The Minimalists Podcast: Episode 242 Toxic People "It's Not What It Looks Like" by Molly Burke (audible audiobook) -- Terminology for this chapter: https://www.relevanceofliterature.com/infinite-jest-1 .pdf of the Novel (page numbers different): https://raisuman123.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/david-foster-wallace-infinite-jest-v2-0.pdf Comments or questions? Leave them here: www.relevanceofliterature.com/reading-lists/comments-and-questions-for-infinite-jest-1 Music by: Chad Crouch Our website: www.relevanceofliterature.com/

Kitty and Gina give an update to last week's episode "Nuggets of Waffle", Kate Speer actually reached out to us and let us know what it is exactly that Waffy detects to alert to her PTSD flashbacks and OCD rituals.    Since we love service dogs so much, Gina and Kitty discuss Molly Burke and her guide dog, Gallop this week. Molly is a YouTuber, motivational speaker, as a disability rights advocate. She lost the majority of her sight by age 14. Molly has so many amazing videos on her channel that show what life is like with her disability and guide dog.    Send us your dating stories involving dogs! @thatssofetchpodcast How Guide Dogs Guide a Blind Person:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJ9g4kmaXxg 10 Worst Things About Having a Guide Dog: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVPTwDjT9Ek

Holly Kyte introduces us to the Roaring Girls – eight women who broke the mold and paved the way for modern feminism. (Starts at 1.10)   Ursula and Alasdair Buchan describe the recording of ‘Beyond The Thirty-nine Steps: a biography of the father of the modern thriller. (17.00)   Jeremy Paxman reveals a family tie to World War 1 that compelled him to write his book ‘Great Britain’s Great War’. (28.10)   Bringing us right up to date, blogger Holly Tuke reviews ‘It’s Not What It Looks Like’ by YouTube sensation Molly Burke. (42.50) Find Holly at Life of A Blind Girl (https://lifeofablindgirl.com/) And a return to Holly Kyte for the books of her life. (49.15)

In a special episode sponsored by FACEBOOK DATING, Kimmy and Liza are joined by YouTuber and motivational speaker, MOLLY BURKE to discuss how she's thinking about dating in 2020. Molly shares her worst first date, her experience dating while blind, and what she likes about the new Facebook Dating feature, which allows you to match with people who share the same common interests and much more. #NewYearNewDates Sign up for Facebook Dating here: http://bit.ly/2sVoDpK. Follow Molly @mollyburke and follow us @51firstdatespod on Instagram. Send your worst first date stories to 51firstdatespod@gmail.com and don't forget to join the secret Facebook group!

Dear Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. I would like to thank you all for listening to the show. The first ever person I interviewed was a disability rights advocate from Alberta named Chris Koch. I also talk about the author, YouTuber Matthew Santoro who is a mental health advocate and Molly Burke who is a YouTuber disability rights advocate and a motivational speaker. As of 2012 3.8 million Canadians have a disability and no one from Canada has been on the show which your country the first country to view this show without a citizen appearing on it. Thank you all very much. Josh Downey

Follow us on the social medias!Instagram:@Skye_The_Pirate@perspectivezpod Twitter:@RBartholomew094@katrina_mck_ ‏@Perspective_Z_Join our Facebook group! facebook.com/groups/perspectivezQuestions? Comments? Concerns? Suggestions?Shoot us an email!perspectiveofz@gmail.comSpotify Playlisthttps://open.spotify.com/playlist/4qQAFnCvyEV4usNt4amg9J?si=YtaBIbabTNCS3yw78qLYLw Artwork by Graphite - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/graphite.vmb/ PATREON?? www.patreon.com/perspective_z Our sponsors: Bacon and Eggs   Buzzfeed Quiz of the Week: https://www.buzzfeed.com/merimae/build-a-thanksgiving-dinner-and-well-reveal-which-76f92tzb1a YouTube Trending Billie Eilish: Same Interview, The Third Year | Vanity Fair - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YltHGKX80Y8 This phone makes me unreasonably mad (JackAsk #97) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyUyF2UhCL0& [OFFICIAL VIDEO] A Very Short Animated Pentatonix Christmas Film - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Evt3PWx57WY    Favorite Songs:Katrina - No Roots - Alice MertonRachel - Most Girls - Hailee SteinfeldFavorite ThingsKatrina - Road TripsRachel - Be The Village/George to the RescueIntro and exit music from https://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music/

This week. assistant principal, Anthony Pacitto hears from 6th Grade ESL ELA teacher, Molly Burke.  

Molly Burke is on the podcast this week! Molly is the Co-Founder and CEO of Cycle Connect—a company that connects clients in Uganda with the necessary tools to propel themselves forward out of extreme poverty. They do this through giving their clients the opportunity to continuously invest in their futures through Cycle Connect’s portfolio of products that are proven to increase income. She leads a team of 30 full-time employees that serve their 5,000+ clients in Northern Uganda. Follow Cycle Connect online and on Instagram. If you really love what they're doing, give today!  ___________________________________ Follow Let’s Give A Damn on Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter to keep up with all that is going on. We have so much planned for the coming months and we don’t want you to miss a thing! And if you want to follow our host Nick Laparra on Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter. Support Let’s Give A Damn by giving $5 per month on Patreon. 100% of the money you contribute will go to making more podcasts. Not a dime goes into our pockets! Or you can leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts! Every little bit helps. Thanks for all your help. Have an amazing week, friends! Love y’all! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In honour of children skipping merrily back to school, The Blindnamic Duo is all about books this week!   From narration to braille or productions with sound effects to text-to-speech, there are several ways for the blind to enjoy a good book. Marc and Jan explore their experiences with certain formats, services and explain the situations each one creates. What do both prefer and why?   How does Marc enjoy comic books and what happens when he has to explain them? How can his reading habits spoil a book for Jan? When do things become more challenging and why should Thanos read children's books? We also digress into talking about church and the size of Marc's head somehow.   Listen and subscribe today for all this and more! We also  introduce a brand new member of the team as they kick off phase one of the Blind Luminations Podematic Universe! (Be sure to listen to the end of this episode as well... unless you are still trying to avoid Avengers: End Game spoilers for some reason.) We'll be back next week to talk about podcasts.   Links We Mentioned This Week   - Graphic Audio - A Movie In Your Mind - It's Not What It Looks Like by Molly Burke on Audible.ca   Oh yeah, follow us on social media if you haven't already! We're on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/blindluminations/, along with Twitter at https://twitter.com/blindlumination/ and Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/blindluminations/. While you're at it, why not visit our website at https://blindluminations.podbean.com too?   (Episode Art: On the left of the image, Marc chants "Egghead likes her bookie wook!" On the right side, Jan throws a book at Marc with the word "Bitten" written on the cover. As it flies at him, she yells, "ReadTHIS, blind man!" The words "Book Smarts" are written above the scene.  The sketch was drawn by Marc, who is completely blind.)

The guys open the show congratulating the winners of the 31st Annual Lambda Literary Awards. They also discuss the podcast’s inclusion in Apple Podcasts’ Pride Month recommendations. Jeff also talks about some of the past week’s happenings with his Codename: Winger series and Will asks him what it was like wrapping up the series. Jeff and Will discuss the new Tales of the City series on Netflix. Will reviews the first two books in Piper Scott & Susi Hawke’s Redneck Unicorn Series. Aidan Wayne is interviewed about their three new books out this year: Hitting The Mark, Play It Again and the forthcoming Stage Presents. They also talk about how they decide what goes into the books, how they got started writing, author influences and what’s coming next. Complete shownotes for episode 192 along with a transcript of the interview are at BigGayFictionPodcast.com. Interview Transcript – Aidan Wayne This transcript was made possible by our community on Patreon. You can get information on how to join them at patreon.com/biggayfictionpodcast. Jeff: Welcome, Aidan, to the podcast. It’s great to have you here. Aidan: Thank you. I’m excited to be here. It’s an interesting experience for me. Never done this before. Jeff: Oh, cool. First podcast. Always fun to have people doing their first podcast with us. Now, you’ve had a busy few months of releases and we wanna talk about the most recent one first, which is “Hitting the Mark.” Tell us a little bit about that book and what inspired it. Aidan: Okay. So “Hitting the Mark,” in a nutshell, it’s about a famous movie star named Marcus Economidis, who used to train in martial arts when he was really young and really shy. And that helped him come out of a shell and then he moves. And being in martial arts actually helps him become more confident and he ends up getting a movie role, and that spirals, and then becomes a famous…10 years later, he’s a famous movie star who is also famous for doing his own stunts. Meanwhile, in Marcus’s hometown essentially, his original school – Choi’s Taekwondo Academy – is now run by Taemin Choi. Taemin was Marcus’s kind of assistant instructor growing up. They’re about 10 years apart. So Marcus was 10, Taemin was, like, in his early 20s and Taemin runs the school now. And Marcus happens to be coming back into town for a shoot and he decides to pay a visit to his old school… kind of nostalgia. He lost contact with Taemin when he moved. And so, he kind of wants to bridge the gap again, just like say hi, see what happens. And then they do meet with Marcus being an adult and, you know, there’s kind of an instant connection. The entire book is essentially about them navigating, first, relearning each other because they knew each other for several years, but it’s been several more years since they actually talked again. So they’re relearning who they are as people, especially Marcus as he’s grown into his own self, and that turns into a romantic relationship. And they’re just figuring out how to be in one considering that, you know, Marcus is this famous person and Taemin is a very busy man who runs his own school and takes care of a lot of things. And just, that’s the story basically. I do a lot of character-based stories where the plot is kind of, like, playing the course as opposed to, like, a person antagonist sort of. So it’s kind of like another one of those things for me. Jeff: Okay. And it ticks so many boxes because there’s friends to lovers, and second chances, and an age gap. Aidan: I tend to, when I write, sometimes I have several different things that I wanna include in various ideas. And so, sometimes when I have, like, the base, I’m just like, “Let’s just squish them all together. Let’s just push them all in one thing and see what happens, and if I can pull it off.” Jeff: And you mentioned when we were emailing to set this interview up that this is one of the books you didn’t have to do a ton of research on because… Aidan: Thank God. Jeff: …movies and martial arts, you had the knowledge there. What aspects of your background, you know, play into that? Aidan: Well, I’ve been involved in martial arts for about 20 years now, primarily Taekwondo and that’s the style that I had Taemin doing because I know the most about Taekwondo in Korean style. I technically have my black belt in two disciplines. One is Taekwondo and the other is a mixed type of martial art that I actually ended up teaching. I used to run a school. So a lot of my experience did transfer over into Taemin’s experiences in running a school and dealing with students and various endeavors that are required. And with movies, I actually majored in media production in college. I was on movie sets a lot both behind the camera and also growing up, I kind of dabbled in acting and I’ve been in front of the camera a lot too including on some big sets. Michigan used to be a pretty big movie hub before the tax thing happened and a lot of places moved away from it. And I was actually on a few different, like, SAG films. So I got to kind of be both in front of the camera and behind the camera. So learning about that aspect was…It was fun to basically shove as much knowledge as I could, especially the martial arts into one book because I have such a love for martial arts that it was like, “Let’s include inside jokes and inside knowledge. And I’ve never had to spell this Korean word in English before. So I have to probably look that up.” And fun fact actually, I’m not gonna spoil anything, but one of the plot points is Taemin working towards the Olympics. He’s qualified for the qualification and that entire piece is actually based on a co-worker of mine I used to work with who did qualify for the Olympic matches. Jeff: Incredible. You did stuff a lot in here in terms of all of your knowledge kinda went into this book. Aidan: Yeah. It was kinda, it was a nice break. I still had to do research obviously because I had to, like, fresh some things and again, like, Korean, making sure that I got that right. But for a lot of it, like, I have another book that I released late last year, “His Two Leading Men,” which takes place in New York with a Broadway star, and I’m like, “I like Broadway, I can just write about plays, that’s fine.” No, I ended up having to map out the entire city to figure out distances to whichever…I’m crazy…whichever restaurant he’d like to go to, which is closer, where is laundromat was. Like, I’m absolutely ridiculous when it comes to stuff like that. Nobody is gonna notice but me. But, like, I care. Jeff: But the native New Yorkers might. And so, it matters. Aidan: Yeah, yeah. Jeff: I have stopped myself of books going, “That’s not right. I know where that is and that doesn’t work that way.” So you do work Michigan into a lot of your books. “Hitting the Mark” is in Michigan. “Play It Again,” which we’ll dive more into in just a second, has a Michigan element simply because you have somebody sending Dovid, the main character, some Faygo Red Pop and some other Michigan treats, some Mackinac fudge included. Obviously, you live in Michigan. Is it something you try to work into the books, a little Michigan angle? Aidan: Kind of. Half of it is ‘write what you know’ because I’m thoroughly uncreative when it comes to that and it’s way easier to just, like, I don’t have to make something up, I don’t have to do more research. I just can set it in Farmington Hills or wherever it is. But sometimes it’s because I have, like, certain places in mind or I want to include certain things like, with Dovid receiving a care package, I wanted to make sure that I had a care package that at least was state-based and was really cool and could include especially a lot of food because a lot of…Dovid being blind, a lot of his things are food-based, it’s part of his schtick. So he reacts to taste and stuff. So knowing that I have my own experience with various Michigan cuisines and snacks and stuff, I could include that pretty easily and know that it would ring true but also be kind of funny. And even if the person didn’t necessarily know what things were, it would still, like, be something that they could get. Jeff: Speaking of “Play it Again,” that I reviewed back in episode 186 and really, really loved it. It was like the book I didn’t know I needed at the time. Aidan: Thank you. Jeff: And it’s quite different from “Hitting the Mark.” What was the inspiration behind this tale of two YouTubers who managed to find love even though they live half a world apart? Aidan: Well, going back to my ‘I have various ideas, but squish them all together into one sometimes.’ I really, really wanted to showcase a blind character. A lot of the characters that I do showcase are disabled in some way or have, you know, different aspects of their life that aren’t typical, you know, part of normative parts of society, etc., etc. And I apologize if my verbiage isn’t the best. And I really want to showcase a blind character, but obviously, I didn’t wanna fetishize that I wanted him to be successful and happy, and not be just blind as his character if that makes sense. And I thought YouTube would be a fun angle for that. And on the other side, I really wanted to focus on, like, a Let’s Player because I thought that it would be fun to try to, like, figure out how to write that because it’s so much narration and video-audio-based. And I like playing and like, “Can I do this? I will see if I can.” So making it a long-distance relationship was also kind of something that sort of happened because long-distance relationships, specifically internet-based ones, are very important to me because I have several relationships that started being internet-only and I consider a lot of these people some of my closest friends and I’ve met many of them in person now. One of my friends, I’ve only ever met them once, and it was in our first meeting ever…we then spent two weeks together, but our first meeting ever was in Narita Airport in Tokyo where we both flew separately and then spent two weeks in Japan together. So, like, yeah, there’s a lot that can come from internet relationships and I really wanted to showcase something like that too. Jeff: And I’d imagine here that the research was more than “Hitting the Mark” because you needed to make sure that Dovid was portrayed in the way that you wanted to where, you know, he wasn’t necessarily defined by the blindness. Aidan: Oh, yeah. I do extensive research whenever I write, especially disabled characters, because, you know, there’s so much misinformation out there and it’s so easy to fall into the trap of what the media has portrayed a person to be like or to do as opposed to actually reading experiences and watching experiences about, you know, real people. I kind of posed this question to myself on Twitter a while back, but it was basically, how does one write about a successful blind YouTuber? Watch a lot of successful blind YouTubers basically. So I watched a lot of, like, “The Tommy Edison Experience” is a man who is blind and he has a lot of Q&As; on YouTube. A lot of his videos are older and he’s an older gentleman. But it was still, you know, very informative. He has, like, an episode about cooking, which Dovid is the chef of his little family where he lives with his sister, Rachel. So it was interesting to, like, make sure that I was, you know, portraying his ability to do that correctly and, like, different tools that he’d use. Molly Burke is also a YouTuber that does makeup and fashion. But how she interacts, you know, with her audience and interacts with herself, and the things that are important to her – her experiences – because she does talk about that as well. It was very important. There’s a Tumblr called “Actually Blind” that did Q&As; and did a lot of commentary on different things and responded to different situations where, you know, there’s one impairment affected daily life that was not considered. And “Actually Blind” was a huge help in doing a lot of research because even when I didn’t actually ask the question myself, sometimes they just talked about things that I hadn’t thought about before. So that was a really good thing to notice. Like for instance, they had a post about the fact that the face touch thing in so many books and so many movies is absolutely ludicrous and no blind person really does that. And because it was made up by a sighted person who thought that it was kind of like romantic and intimate to have the blind person, like, touch the other person’s face to see what they look like and “Actually Blind” was like, “No, no. Uh-uh.” So it was something that I didn’t include then and I might have if I hadn’t read something like that. Jeff: The research is oh, so important. Aidan: Absolutely, absolutely. And I do a lot of sensitivity readers too. I have a short story that is going to be coming out probably in October, because I’m spacing it out a little bit, where one of the main characters is in a wheelchair. So luckily, I’m like, “Hey, sibling, I’m gonna ask you some wheelchair questions.” And know about how my experiences in, you know, living with somebody who uses a mobility aid and all that. So proper portrayal is really important to me. Jeff: And you have still yet another type of story coming out with your upcoming YA novel, “Stage Presents.” And I’m fascinated by this way because you’re taking us to Disney College Program. Do you have experience in that or was that a ton more research? And of course, what is this book about because it sounds just delightful? Aidan: Oh, well, thank you. I hope it is delightful. I hope people enjoy it. And to your question, yes and yes. I did experience, I did do the Disney college program many years ago, but I also did do a lot of research for the story in part because, you know, Disney updates and changes things. So some of the things I had to look up were the current menus and stuff because, again, it’s like a tiny little detail that only I will notice but I cared about. But I also had to make sure that I was getting details right in terms of characters because one of the main characters, Ashlee, with two Es, is a Disney princess literally. I did a lot of research into behind the scenes of that a little bit. I watched a lot of ex-princess interviews and posts about the experience of being a character performer. I didn’t have a lot of experience in that capacity. I knew some people who are friends with characters while I was in the program and I did ask, you know, I did learn about it that way. But princesses, I had to learn a little bit more. And, oh, yeah, what the book is about. Two girls who both get onto the Disney College Program and end up his roommates. One, Dana is a kind of, you know, calm, cool, collected, very down to earth, logical girl who is going into international business, she’s excited about working in a Fortune 500 company. She’s looking forward to living away from home. She’s trans. So, you know, that’s just another aspect of who she is as a person and she’s kind of like not sure about how she’s gonna get along with people. But she kind of has the mindset of ‘judge people before they judge you’ sort of thing because of past experiences. Meanwhile, on the other side, Ashlee, with two Es, loves Disney…I know, it’s a very important detail. She loves Disney, she’s a Disneyphile, she loves all the movies, she loves all the songs. She gets cast as an actual Disney princess. This is her dream come true. She’s been dancing since she was little. So one of her goals is to be a parade performer Disney princess, essentially, and she’s super excited. She’s from good old Southern Georgia and has never really, you know, met somebody who’s not exactly like her and her little clique, you know, popular, excited, happy group. So she doesn’t really know what trans means and she was born around…she knows what the internet is, but still, it’s different from knowing and meeting and, like, actually talking to somebody and interacting. And then so, Ashlee is kind of ignorant and Dana is kind of standoffish, and they hate each other. A good portion of the book is just them hating each other, and eventually, of course, a couple of different things happen and it turns into a begrudging friendship, which turns into actual friendship, which turns into more. And it was, you know, writing the evolution of enemies to lovers, which is something that I hadn’t done before really, and integrating different aspects of their situation and being roommates and living in such close quarters and, like, what constitutes that kind of relationship too, especially while you do not like each other and then as friends, and then, you know, once you’re more intimate as well. So that was, like, a whole encompassing aspect of the story itself. Jeff: And now, it sounds even more delightful than when I read the blurb. Aidan: Okay. Good. I had a lot of fun. I like my stories, which is, you know, a fun thing to be able to say because a lot of them I think, just kind of get defined as ‘fun’. There are obviously elements of angst and stuff and, you know, negativity that happens, but I have fun, you know, writing them. I hope that people have fun reading them. Jeff: What got you into writing and M/M romance in particular? Aidan: Well, I’ve always been a storyteller. My dad also, when we were kids, he would make up bedtime stories. We got read to a lot too, but he would make them up. So I grew up with the elements of imagination as something that you could play with and figuring out different elements of what characters could do. Really, you know, being totally honest, fan fiction. I was really, really interested in “Elfquest” as a kid. It is a fantasy novel by Wendy and Richard Penny. And man, I was an “Elfquest” fan. I read and actually own, I’ve collected almost all of the books and volumes and made up as a tiny little 9-year-old, self-inserts in my head as being an elf with such and such power, and being part of that self-insert stuff. And as I got into more media growing up, I really enjoyed reading and writing fan fiction because it was a way to interact with something that I enjoyed so much past where the media itself went. And sometimes things happen that you didn’t like. So you could make them better by writing it yourself or reading it by other people who did a good job or further exploring the world that had already been created with characters you already liked. And from there, it was kind of like, “Oh, I could do this with my own characters and make whatever I want to happen, happen. What? Oh.” And the kickoff was when I was, I don’t know, like, 15, I participated in my first NaNoWriMo and that was the first, like, write a lot of words and also write them really quickly. So you can’t think too much about what you were doing, you know, “wrong.” I wrote 50,000 words in the 30 days. And man, I still have it and it really portrays what I was into, what I was learning, and what I was experimenting with as a 15-year-old because it is a lot of stuff. And I really enjoyed doing that and I kind of just kept at it. And eventually, I had a friend who I really admired, Mina MacLeod, who was also a writer that I was friends with at the time. And she talked about an anthology and encouraged me to also, you know, submit a story, a piece, and I did. And we both got in and I still have the copy of the book, but we’re both in the anthology, both me and this writer that I really admire. And, like, that was really cool. And from there, I went, “Oh, wait, publishing is possible, that this is a thing that actually can happen to, like, real human people as opposed to just authors who are these untouchable people on pedestals.” So my next book that I wrote was written with publishing in mind. That was “Loud and Clear.” And it was technically my first original, original piece. Speaking of smooshing everything together at once, that book is about a man who is so dyslexic, he is essentially illiterate and a businessman who has a stutter so bad that he is a selective mute, falling in love and entering into a relationship. So you got someone who can’t read and someone who communicates through writing and I was like, “Let’s just make this as complicated for myself as possible. That’s a good idea.” But, you know. Jeff: Yeah. For a first book, you took on a lot there. Aidan: You know, it suffers from an overuse of italics, but it’s still something that I really appreciate that I did as a writer. I really like it. I had a lot of people really like the fact that I, you know, portrayed people that way, and of course, it does focus on non-normative people with disabilities and challenges in, you know, typical normal society. The illiteracy was actually based on a friend of mine who is illiterate. His dyslexia is so bad, he is effectively illiterate. He’s also an engineer. So, you know, it doesn’t stop you. It doesn’t have to stop you as long as you have the right elements and encouragement and resources. And that’s what a lot of people do struggle with. Like, he had to be homeschooled because his school that his parents had put him in originally were like, “We don’t know what to do with this child.” So being homeschooled allowed him to learn and actually grow and actually learn. Jeff: I have a suspicion a little bit where this next question at least will go a little bit given the “Elfquest” things, but what authors and genres do you tend to read? Aidan: Basically everything, but gore horror to be honest. I really enjoy contemporary pieces. I like fantasy. I really like nonfiction. I love learning stuff. This is probably not a surprise considering my need for research, my favorite author in the entire world is Terry Pratchett. That probably will never change. The man was absolutely brilliant and his ability to tell stories, and well-rounded characters, and development in plot, and his care in structure, and how he’s able to tie things up neatly with, you know, no questions except for like, what could happen next? He’s absolutely amazing. I really admire him. If I like a tenth of his ability to just, like, story weave, I’d be content in my ability to create. One of the other authors I really enjoy, he’s a very lesser known author, but Barry Hughart. He wrote “Bridge of Birds.” That is a Chinese fantasy mythology story, which basically happens in a historical China, but is written as if mythology was real. And he’s also, like, a very unknown and should be more known author for what he’s able to do with creativity. Other books that I appreciate, I enjoy a lot of Tamora Pierce’s work, especially the “Keladry” series because I really enjoyed her portrayal of a woman, a girl growing up and wanting to be a knight and fighting and dealing with a lot of the prejudices that come from, you know, girls trying to do anything that boys like to do. So, those pieces and she also is essentially…she’s written as not really interested in amorous connections, so to speak, and Tamora Pierce did end up saying that she did write her as asexual even though she didn’t, like, really know the term at the time. So that was really appreciated. Oh, that dovetailed a lot. M/M romance, yes, okay. There is a lot of het romance out there and that’s fine, you know, it’s got a market for a reason. It can be very well done. Me personally, it’s done by other people well and I gravitated more towards queer characters. M/M romance was easier for me to write because it was easier for me not necessarily to identify with the characters, but write about them in ways I wanted to, you know, with gentler portrayals and different effects. I wouldn’t say that I particularly write, like, alpha man male sort of things because it’s not really something that appeals to me personally as an author or as a person. I like people who are settled into themselves and know who they are and may be confident, maybe inconfident. For instance, in “Play it Again,” Dovid is a very confident individual who knows who he is and is really happy with himself. And Sam is much shyer and he’s wracked with anxiety all the time. But they’re both human. I like portraying clear people as human and I think that’s why I gravitated towards it first. I’m not super sure why I write M/M mostly. It’s just because it is a little bit easier for me to…I guess, it does come back to identification. I’ve written one…I have one published female-centric romance, which I do really like. It’s called “Making Love,” which I think is one of my favorite titles ever. It’s about a succubus and cupid falling in love. I was very proud of that, and it’s adorable. It’s very cute, it’s very loving, it’s really soft. And Carla, the cupid is just, like, made of cotton candy and love, sweet, and is really happy and bubbly. And Leeta, the succubus, is kind of cool and had reason to put up a lot of walls. Carla melts her heart and it’s so cute. It’s very silly, a lot of my reviews were like, “It’s cute, but cheesy.” And I’m like, “Yes, that was exactly what I was doing.” It’s called “Making Love,” what were you expecting? And then, same thing with “Stage Presents,” both the main characters are female. Dana is trans. I really enjoy portraying again, like, different aspects and different facets of queer people being human. They make coffee and they’re grumpy, and they might have disabilities or other challenges in life. And they also like stuff and are bad at things, and aren’t just, like, one cutout of a representation that, you know, people have one idea about. I like character-driven stories. Queer people deserve happy endings too. That’s the other thing. Jeff: Yeah. Absolutely on that one for sure. So we know “Stage Presents” is coming up here soon. What else is coming for you this year? Aidan: Well, I’ve mentioned it briefly, I have a short story that I had been kind of working on off and on. I was calling it “Baker Story” on Twitter and I did name it “Not So Cookie-Cutter” or something terrible like that because every single one of my titles…you may or may not know this, every single one of my titles are puns or play on words because I’m ridiculous and I love it. Yeah. So the book, “Bakery Story,” is called “Not So Cookie-Cutter.” I’m probably going to release it around October. It’s about two POC characters, which I did get sensitivity readers for because that was important to me. Jerel who is a baker at like, a cafe/coffee shop and Rafi who is a client who falls in love with Jerel’s pumpkin cheesecake essentially, and romance. They’re cute, it’s cute. One of my favorite things about the story is Rafi uses a wheelchair and Jerel is so smitten by Rafi that he doesn’t notice for, like, two chapters because Rafi is sitting down when he’s, you know, at the cafe and Jerel is just like, “Oh, my gosh, this handsome, amazing human being who is talking to me, like, he thinks I’m cute, okay.” And then, like, when Rafi actually, like, moves in front of him and he rolls away, Jerel’s like, “Oh, my God. I’m an idiot. This is fine. I’m an idiot.” So… Jeff: Nice. That will be one to look forward to this fall. Aidan: Yeah. I think, you know, it’s cute, cute and dumb. That’s kind of my mode. Jeff: What’s the best way for everyone to keep up with you online? Aidan: Twitter is mostly what I use, @aidanwayne is my Twitter handle, user name thing, and that’s primarily where I am. I have a website too and if you go to my website, there’s an option to sign up for my mailing list and mailing list is kind of how I send out information about releases to people. But I don’t like inundate people with mail. It’s just like, “I have a release, yay. Here it is, yay.” Jeff: Cool. We will link to those as well as all of the great stuff that we’ve talked about in this interview. Aidan: Cool. Jeff: Aidan, thank you so much for hanging out with us. It has just been a delight talking to you. Aidan: Yeah. Absolutely. Thank you for having me. Again, I’m ridiculous. So I appreciate being able to be ridiculous on a podcast. That’s cool. And, yeah, this was a lot of fun. Thank you so much. Book Reviews Here’s the text of this week’s book reviews: Seriously Horny (Redneck Unicorns #1) by Piper Scott & Susi Hawke and Dangerously Horny (Redneck Unicorns #2) by Piper Scott & Susi Hawke. Reviewed by Will.Seriously Horny Unicorn shifter Isaiah is pure white trash. How do we know? We’re introduced to him as he’s settling in for the evening, in his trailer with a bottle of his pappy’s moonshine – but he’s also an expert tracker. He’s tasked with finding a missing teenage dragon shifter. He runs into the kid’s college age brother, Eric, an irresistible dragon omega. They go to search together for Eric’s brother. One night, in a motel room they give in to their desire, and trust me, the scene lives up to the book’s title. Eric has the power of second sight, kind of like Faye Dunaway in Eyes of Laura Mars, and he ‘sees’ where his brother lays injured. Isaiah and Eric find him and bring him back to the dragon compound where he can heal from his injuries. Eric is with child after his night with Isaiah, and months later we find our heroes happily in love with the beginnings of a new family. In Dangerously Horny, Unicorn shifter Bo Luke finally gets up the nerve to tell Mitch just how he feels. But broken-down dragon is a less than ideal match for someone so young. The rejection hits Bo Luke hard and he runs off, straight into the clutches of a crazed woman who has uncovered the secret of the unicorn clan, and desperately wants to touch Bo Luke’s horn – and yes, that euphemism means exactly what you think it means. Mitch and some of his dragon buddies are sent to find Bo Luke. They rescue him and subdue his kidnapper. Because this is a paranormal shifter Mpreg romance, omega Bo Luke finds himself in an uncomfortable situation, and alpha Mitch is the only one who can scratch his particular itch. They fuck and it’s hot and amazing and (of course) totally magical. Mitch’s misgivings were unfounded, they are now fated mates. While waiting for their child to be born, Bo Luke’s stalker escapes custody and attempts to kidnap her unicorn obsession once more. In an action sequence that I thought was particularly bad-ass, Mitch and the entire dragon clan literally reign down fire upon her, rescuing Bo Luke once again. The story wraps up with a hilarious scene in which our heroes experience a very memorable wedding/birthday. The covers of these books tell you everything you need to know. The hot cover models clue you into the sexy times ahead, while the titles, which are decidedly camp, tell you that these romances also about the humor – humor with heart. I loved both of these stories and think they’re a fantastic way to kick off the new series. While ‘Redneck Unicorns’ is a continuation of the author’s previous dragon series, they stand alone just fine.

Cecilia Choy from ASUS drops in to talk laptop innovation.Cybersecurity expert and ESET ambassador Tony Anscombe tells us how to avoid fraud.Molly Burke, YouTube's first blind star, talks about her success and the tech she uses.Babbel’s Claire Larkin shares dating differences around the globe.

What is it like dating as a disabled person and as a personality in the public eye? Dating can be challenging not just because of my disability but they also have to deal with my public image. Never see your disability as a flaw. How do you date when you constantly travel? Meeting amazing people can be easy during social events and working on the road. People in your industry will understand your lifestyle more and can be easier to connect. Online dating is not really an option because of her travel schedule and the safety issue as a blind person. How has your success affected your dating life? It was a challenge that Molly never thought would happen. There are some men who are intimidated by her success. It is more important to be able to share your life and all of your success with no matter who is more “successful” than the other. ------- Hey Offbeat Family, I really your listening to this episode. I would love to hear more from you and what you think of the podcast. Contact me: hello@theoffbeatlife.com

Molly Burke, a YouTube star and motivational speaker who is blind, joins us to share how she helps to empower the next generation with the use of technology. Also, we talk to the Director of Business Development with Brave Software about their new browser that seeks to fix the web. Plus, we discuss what tech exists to ease you into the deepest slumber. In Socially Speaking, we delve into the power of Marie Kondo and question how she will continue her brand.

This week I speak with Molly Burke who is a  Youtube sensation and motivational speaker. At the age of four Molly was diagnosed with diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa, a rare retinal disease causing loss of vision. Despite this obstacle, Molly chose to share her story and inspire others to fight stereotypes and find strength from adversity. Over the years,  Molly's vision deteriorated but her confidence and optimism only got stronger. As a student she was bullied, and struggled with depression and anxiety. It wasn't until she found the strength to face her challenges, and the courage to ask for help, that she came to find her purpose - bringing hope to others.

To celebrate the 80th anniversary of the original War of the Worlds broadcast, Arcana Imperii invited the Boxborough Out of the Box Thespians to perform a parody of the War of the Worlds updated to modern times. The radio play stars Gabrielle and Arianna Roberts, Molly Burke, Nicole Bell, and Harini Ganapathy and was directed and produced by Arianna and Gabrielle.  "The War of the Worlds" original broadcast was an episode of the American radio drama anthology series The Mercury Theatre on the Air. It was performed as a Halloween episode of the series on Sunday, October 30, 1938, and aired over the Columbia Broadcasting System radio network. Directed and narrated by famous filmmaker Orson Welles, the episode was an adaptation of H. G. Wells' novel The War of the Worlds (1898). The program caused a widespread panic when it was broadcast 80 years ago.  We hope you enjoy our Halloween special.  Arcana Imperii is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 License. This means that you are free to copy and reuse any of the material (noncommercially) as long as you tell people where they're from

AT&T and Aira Present: Molly Burke #ExperienceMore   About Molly Burke: At just four-years‐old, Molly Burke’s world became a little bit darker: she was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa, a rare retinal disease causing loss of vision. Despite this, and the ensuing obstacles and hardships she faced, it wasn’t long before she began bringing light into the lives of others. Molly began public speaking at the age of five as an ambassador for The Foundation Fighting Blindness Canada. Since then, she has inspired hundreds of thousands with her story. Over the years, as Molly’s vision deteriorated, her confidence and optimism only strengthened; but not without struggle or adversity. As a student she was tormented by bullies, and struggled with depression and anxiety. It wasn’t until she found the strength to face her challenges, and the courage to reach out to others, that she came to find her purpose - bringing hope to others. Find out more about Molly on her web site MollyBurkeOfficial.com AT&T Experience More is an innovative social project that celebrates how blind/low vision individuals Experience More – through their actions, passions, use of technology and more. Join us in the movement and share how you, a friend or family member Experience More using the hashtag #ExperienceMore. Check out our video and podcast series showcasing some extraordinary individuals and their ongoing pursuits to Experience More as well as our commitment to accessibility. You can find out more about the #ExperienceMore Campaign on the web. Aira's goal is to develop leading technology and services that help remove remaining barriers for the visually impaired, expanding their possibilities to live with greater confidence and independence. Check out Aira on the web and find out more about gaining instant access to information!   Thank you for listening. You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Store.  

Two unrelated stories, but on the same vibe. What if you recognized the thing you've been missing out on, is something you could facilitate yourself. And what if you had to rely on everything but your eyes to get you around in LIFE, could you do it? This is a short Ghost Note Episode www.TheBalanceRoom.com CaseyNeistat Video w/Molly Burke: http://bit.ly/2uE21IN Molly Burke Vlog, talking about meeting Casey: http://bit.ly/2tOLcvL www.ingridwoode.com www.instagram.com/theBalanceRoom www.twitter.com/TheBalanceRoom www.facebook.com/TheBalanceRoom www.instagram.com/ericseats/ www.twitter.com/ericseats Send your #AskESeats questions to Eric@TheBalanceRoom.com Send Questions and/or Comments to ingrid@TheBalanceRoom.com Buy "Going LiVe In FiVe w/Ingrid Woode & The Woode Tribe Orchestra" here ingridwoode.bandcamp.com/album/going-…be-orchestra Purchase Project Sidiooo Vol. 1 here itunes.apple.com/us/album/project…l.-1/id906748608 Purchase "Too Weak's Notice" here itunes.apple.com/us/album/too-wea…tice/id423133492

Molly Burke has been a Motivational Speaker since the age of 5.She travels to relay her story to others, not just the blindness community, talking about blindness and bullying -- Two major road hazards that she has over come along her journey and while living out her dream career. Join Jeff Thompson as he has a conversation with Molly Burke while she is in transport after a full day of meetings. You have to be flexible if you want to schedule Molly for a chat. You can follow Molly on a variety of platforms: Facebook: http://facebook.com/mollyburkeofficial Twitter: http://twitter.com/mollybofficial Blog: http://mollyburke.ca/blog/ You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Store.

Molly Burke is a young Canadian motivational speaker who uses her own story of vision loss to give hope and inspire other young adults. Molly believes her story as a person with a disability being bullied in high school is not unique and that is why it needs to be told. Molly discusses her life as a 22 year old sharing her story speaking to thousands of people, where she finds her strength to tell her story and her hopes and plans for the future. Also on the program: Applications for Vision Australia's 2017 graduate program Career Start open in early October. Program coordinator Melissa Curulli and 2016 graduate Chris Paige discuss criteria for applicants, the rewards of being a part of the program and how people can become involved.

Tommy Edison, who’s been blind since birth, and Molly Burke, who lost her sight at age 14, challenge each other to determine who can walk a straighter line using a cane.

Join Kelly Lovell for insights from motivational speaker and youth advocate for the blind, Molly Burke. After being diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa and losing her sight before the age of 14, Molly has used her struggles as a platform to inspire others. In this podcast, Molly shares her story and offers insight related to bullying and overcoming adversity.

We're back!! Yes those two fun-loving women are back and ready to impart their traveling knowledge with you. Today we are talking about NEW ZEALAND! Yes, we are heading down under and over a bit to the beautiful country of New Zealand where you will hear all about some of the amazing things to see and do in this compact country.  For more information about New Zealand please go to: Have2CruiseNZ.com or to set up a FREE 1-hour no obligation planning session for a New Zealand vacation please go to Have2GoNewZealand.com To follow Kasey Kiwi's Adventures go to Facebook.com/KaseyKiwi

Join Helen Brahms and Molly Burke as we tackle some of the traveling chalenges out there to take you from a tourist to a traveler with confidence to help you get off the beaten path. Today we are going to look at Cultural Awareness when traveling. What things should you be aware of when traveling. What may be okay for you to do or say at home could be offensive in another country and land you with a hefty fine or jail time.

Molly Burke joins us for an hour of fun where anything can happen and usually does. This episode we talk about Everything Disney. To contact us or for more information about Disney please click the link and fill out the form. http://ttps://login.mothernode.com/webform.php?f=DTHxGn

  For fast track success, Molly Burke, CPCC MSU, Queen of Confidence and creator of WarpSpeed™ Coaching Solutions, brings profitable paradigm shifts, practical transformation and critical guidance for every forward-thinking entrepreneur and innovator. A proven success, known for her ability to reliably deliver actionable content and uncanny insights tempered with a deft touch of irreverent wit, it is said that she never gives the same speech twice. She’s generous, funny and smart. Molly’s hallmark message of radical self-acceptance for the success of “star-shaped people in a round-hole world” has been enchanting audiences for more than 25 years with her relatable, candid and audacious style. Her versatile work as a speaker and international trainer has made money for consultants and entrepreneurs serving Google, Hewlett Packard, Starbucks, AT&T, Coca Cola, eBay, The Tides Foundation, Hallmark, Radio Shack and American Express. Molly is also an author of 5 books so far and is an award winning entertainer, touching millions through her stage work, CDs, videos, radio and television appearances. A strong proponent and long-time ardent practitioner of solo international travel for women, she’s here today to share her wisdom and advice for Traveling with Confidence, which by the way is the name of the article series and book she and I are collaborating on. Are you ready to encourage yourself to shake off your fetters and experience the world first hand? Would you rather be a traveler than a tourist? Do you want to tools for adventuring with confidence? Then, you are ready for Molly Burke - Queen of Confidence!