Always Looking Up

In this week’s episode I sat down with Blaze Foster. Blaze is a Team USA Para-Powerlifting Athlete who has competed around the world and is training to compete at the Paralympic Games. We discuss how he got into the sport of powerlifting, what it means to be a person with dwarfism in the disabled community, why being a dwarf is not just being short and much more.

Follow Blaze: Instagram: @blazelifts_32

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast 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 Katy Sullivan. Katy is a Paralympian, one of the first bilateral amputees to compete in the Games in ambulatory track, US record holder, and an actress of stage and screen. Katy was most recently on Broadway in the play Cost Of Living which examines two pairs of relationships between disabled and able persons. We discuss the differences between performing at the Paralympics and performing on Broadway, the importance of telling a story like Cost Of Living authentically, and a new, potential version of the Bechdel test.

Read the transcript HERE

Follow Katy: Instagram: @realkatysullivan FaceBook: Katy Sullivan TikTok: @katybsullivan

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast 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 Nitika Chopra. Nitika is a chronic illness advocate, content creator and entrepreneur who has been featured in Vogue India, Forbes, Allure, and Newsweek, and founder of Chronicon, an inclusive community-building event focused on those living with chronic illness. We discuss the power and responsibility of being a content creator in the chronic illness and disability space, the right we all have to tell our stories, the notion that representation is everything, and what we can expect to see and experience at Chronicon 2023.

All Things Chronicon 2023

Get your tickets HERE

Follow On Instagram: @chroniconofficial Website: https://chronicon.co

Listen and subscribe to Thriving Together with Nitika Chopra

Follow Nitika: Instagram: @nitikachopra 

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

This episode was edited and produced by Ben Curwin.

This week there is no new episode. Last month we lost Judy Heumann. Judy was a lifelong disability rights activist, international leader in the disability community, and someone I always have and always will look up to. It’s not often that you get the opportunity to speak with your hero, but almost exactly a year ago, to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the 504 Sit Ins, I was able to do just that. I would not be the advocate I am today, nor the person I am today, if it wasn’t for Judy and having the opportunity to speak with her, learn from her, is something I will be forever grateful for. She changed the world for the better. I am re-releasing that conversation because her story is one that should be told, celebrated, and remembered. I am re-releasing our conversation to serve as a reminder that it is up to us, not just the disabled community, but all of us and future generations to carry on her legacy. May her memory be a blessing.

Follow Judy: Instagram: @theheumannperspective Twitter: @judithheumann Website: https://judithheumann.com 

Listen to The Heumann Perspective: Apple Podcasts , Spotify , YouTube

Buy her memoir: Being Heumann  

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

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

This episode was edited and produced by Ben Curwin.

In this week’s episode I welcomed back Jenna Bainbridge. Jenna is an actor, singer, disability rights advocate and ambulatory wheelchair user. She is the co-founder of ConsultAbility, a consulting firm that provides advice and expertise on accessibility in theatre, focusing on creating a safe and inclusive environment for disabled actors and technicians. We discuss the word “cripple” and how it is being reclaimed by the disabled community, the structural barriers preventing authentic disability representation on Broadway, and what roles we believe would be enhanced if they were portrayed by disabled actors. And yes, SPOILER ALERT as we may or may not reveal some plot points of some of these Broadway shows.

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

Follow ConsultAbility: Instagram: @consultability Facebook: ConsultAbility Website: https://www.consultability.org

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 Milette Millington. Milette is a disability advocate and reporter at Caribbean Life News where she covers disability, as well as local and world news, politics, sports, and entertainment from a Caribbean American perspective. We discuss her research on the impact of COVID on the disabled community in regards to employment, questions we would like to ask employers about the hiring process, the success rate of ableism, and how it cannot just be on the disabled community to fight disability discrimination.

Read Milette's Capstone: Working in New York City With a Disability: Nowhere Near Easy

Read Milette's articticles published in Caribbean Life HERE

Follow Milette On Social Media 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 

To start, I’m issuing a trigger warning. This episode talks about sexual harassment and sexual assault. If these are triggers for you, please feel free to skip this episode.

In this week’s episode I welcomed back Shelby Holloway. Shelby is a content creator on TikTok, dwarfism advocate, and one of my best friends. This conversation, ignited by a recent TikTok Shelby posted where she called out those who on social media who disrespect little person bodies, was a raw and real discussion about the fact that our bodies are often infantilized, dehumanized, and objectified online and in person, the fact that people think it’s okay to do so, and why it’s important to us that we use our platforms to raise awareness and call this behavior out.

Watch Shelby's TikTok HERE

Follow Shelby: Instagram: @shelbyhollowayy TikTok: shelby_holloway)

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 Amanda Duberman. Amanda is the senior director of news and activism at Betches Media, and is the editorial director of the Betches Sup, the News and Politics brand of Betches. We discussed why certain disabled stories will go viral on social media, and yet be ignored by traditional news outlets, the fact that the disabled community is often either dehumanized or infantilized by the media, what it means to approach the news from an activism lens, and highlight some recent disability stories that you may not have heard your favorite news anchor cover.

Read the transcription HERE

Follow Amanda: Instagram: @amandaduberman Twitter: @AmandaDuberman

Follow The Betches Sup: Instagram: @betchessup Twitter: @Betches_Sup

Listen to the Betches Sup:

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Apple Podcasts

Listen to the Morning Announcements:

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Apple Podcasts

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 Elizabeth Jameson. Elizabeth is an artist and writer who explores what it means to live in an imperfect body as part of the universal human experience. Her essays have been published by The New York Times, British Medical Journal, WIRED magazine, and MIT’s Leonardo Journal and she was included in The New York Times book About Us. We reflect on our own past ignorance regarding what disability is, define what it means for us to be always looking up, and discuss seeing disability as and turning it into something beautiful.

In this week’s episode I sat down with Sami Sage. Sami is the Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Betches Media - a female-founded and led media and entertainment brand that provides a space for all women to get real about life and is funny, honest, and unfiltered. We discuss how Governor Ron Desantis’s efforts to eliminate DEI initiatives will impact the disabled and other marginalized communities, why disabled stories, or the impact political decisions have on the disabled community aren’t often covered in the media landscape, how mental health fits into the disability rights movement and conversations, disability representation in scripted and reality-based content, and much, much more.

Follow Sami: Instagram: @sami TikTok: @samisagesays Twitter: @samisagesays

Listen to the Morning Announcements:

Spotify

Apple Podcasts

Listen to the Betches Sup (@betchessup)

Spotify

Apple Podcasts

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