In this week’s episode I sat down with Steve Serio. Steve is a Team USA wheelchair basketball player, 3 time Paralympian, and 2x gold medal winner. We discuss the role sports has played in our lives, what it means to him to be an inspirational athlete, and the importance of seeing disability representation both on and off the court.

Read the transcription HERE

Follow Steve: Instagram: @steveserio11 Facebook: Steve Serio

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast Twitter: @jillx3456 Website: https://www.jillianilana.com Email: [email protected] 

This episode was edited and produced by Ben Curwin

In this week’s episode I sat down with Carly Ruhnke. Carly is a little person with Morquio A syndrome and founder of the Little Carly Foundation. We discuss the moment when we realized we were a little person in an average-sized world, what it is like to attend an LPA national convention, and what it means to us to be with our community whether it is for a weekend or a week.

Follow Carly: Instagram: @carlyjruhnke

Follow Little Carly Foundation: @littlecarlyfoundationinc Facebook: @LittleCarlyFoundation

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast Twitter: @jillx3456 Website: https://www.jillianilana.com Email: [email protected]

This episode was edited and produced by Ben Curwin

In this week’s episode, I sat down with Lisa Cox. Lisa is a multi-awarded writer, presenter and consultant based in Australia. She has written for numerous media outlets including HuffPost, The Sydney Morning Herald, and Sky News Australia. We discuss the guilt we sometimes feel with being disabled, the fact that there is more than one right way to be a disability rights advocate, and what disability pride means in the U.S. and Australia.

Read the transcription HERE

Follow Lisa: Instagram: @lisacox.co Twitter: @LISACOX_CO Website: https://www.lisacox.co

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast Twitter: @jillx3456 Website: https://www.jillianilana.com Email: [email protected]

This episode was edited and produced by Ben Curwin  

To start I would like to issue a warning. This episode does use offensive language in context of recent events that took place prior to recording. Myself and my guest do not condone the language used nor do we use it in our every day life.

In today's episode I sat down with Samantha Rayburn-Trubyk. Samantha is the newly elected advocacy director of LPA, Little People of America. This episode was recorded approximately 24 hours after Jerry Jones, the owner of the Dallas Cowboys, in a press conference used the “m”-word. We go over exactly what he said along with LPA’s response, explain why the “m”-word is a derogatory slur and question why it is so ingrained in society’s vocabulary, talk about the backlash little people have received when trying to educate about the “m”-word, and discuss how this one instance reflects how little people are often dehumanized by society and the changes we would like to see.

Read the transcript here

Read the story as reported by TMZ here

Read LPA's statement to ablolish the "m" word here

LPA website: https://www.lpaonline.org 

Contact Samantha: [email protected] 

Follow Samantha: Instagram: @sam.trubyk Twitter: @RayburnTrubyk

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast Twitter: @jillx3456 Website: Email: [email protected] 

This episode was edited and produced by Ben Curwin

In this week’s episode, in honor of disability pride month, it is just me and the microphone. I discuss what it was like being the only little person in my family, at school, in my town, feeling like I’m balancing between three different worlds - the nondisabled, little person, and disabled, and where I think my place is within the disabled community.

Read the transcript HERE

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast Twitter: @jillx3456 Website: https://www.jillianilana.com Email: [email protected] 

In this week’s episode I sat down with Zane Landin. Zane is a mental health and disability advocate, queer rights activist, entrepreneur, and positive change maker who identifies as Hispanic, Queer, and Disbaled. He is the founder of Positive Vibes Magazine, which is a digital magazine dedicated to telling authentic stories about mental health, wellness, and inspiration. We discuss the intersectionality of disability, coming to terms with our disabled identities, and the importance of being both an ally and an advocate in the disabled community.

Read the transcription HERE

Follow Zane: Instagram: @zanelandin LinkedIn: Zane Landin

PositiveVibes Magazine: Website: https://positivevibesmag.com Instagram: @positivevibesmag Facebook: @positivevibesmag

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast Twitter: @jillx3456 Website: https://www.jillianilana.com Email: [email protected]

This episode was edited and produced by Ben Curwin.

In this week’s episode I sat down with Emily Ladau. Emily is a disability rights activist and author of the book Demystifying Disability: What to Know, What to Say, and How to be an Ally. We discuss finding our disabled identities, ableism in the media across both sides of the aisle, and what it means to say we are proud to be disabled in 2022.

Read the transcript of this episode HERE

Follow Emily: Instagram: @emilyladau Twitter: @emily_ladau Website: https://emilyladau.com 

Demystifying Disability: What to Know, What to Say, and How to be an Ally: Read here

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast Twitter: @jillx3456 Website: https://www.jillianilana.com Email: [email protected] 

This episode was edited and produced by Ben Curwin

In this week’s episode I sat down with Nicole Newnham. Nicole, along with Jim LeBrecht, is the co-director and co-producer of the Oscar nominated documentary Crip Camp. We discuss how the idea for the film came to be, what it was like for her, a non-disabled person, to see the footage, the importance of telling the story of the disability rights movement, and how that movement is a blueprint for activism.

Follow Nicole: Twitter: @NicoleNewnham

Follow Crip Camp: Instagram: @cripcampfilm Website: https://cripcamp.com 

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast Twitter: @jillx3456 Website: https://www.jillianilana.com Email: [email protected]

This episode was edited and produced by Ben Curwin. 

In this week’s episode I sat down with Jim LeBrecht. Jim, along with Nicole Newnham, is the co-director and co-producer of the Oscar nominated documentary Crip Camp. We discuss his time at Camp Jened, what it was like seeing the footage and putting the documentary together, the impact of the film, and why it is so important to know our past in order to change our future.

Follow Jim: Instagram: @jimlebrecht Twitter: @JimLeBrecht

Follow Crip Camp: Instagram: @cripcampfilm Website: https://cripcamp.com

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast Twitter: @jillx3456 Website: https://www.jillianilana.com Email: [email protected]

This episode was edited and produced by Ben Curwin 

In this week’s episode I sat down with Jenna Bainbridge. Jenna is an actor, singer, disability rights advocate, and ambulatory wheelchair user. She most recently appeared as Harry T. Burn and others in the Off-Broadway production of Suffs at The Public Theatre. We discuss the concept of accidental accessibility, why conversations around authentic representation can no longer exclude disability, the fact that those who are breaking boundaries may not yet feel seen, and imagine what shows we would re-cast with disabled actors.

Follow Jenna: Instagram: @bainbridgejenna Website: https://www.jennabainbridge.com/home

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast Twitter: @jillx3456 Website: https://www.jillianilana.com Email: [email protected]

This episode was edited and produced by Ben Curwin