Talk Description to Me

Moolah, bread, bucks, scratch ... cash by any name is always sweet! But what does the money you covet and carry actually look like? Today, Christine and JJ break down the visuals of banknotes: the art, the portraits, the security features, and even the cheeky graffiti that's scrawled onto bills and put into circulation.   

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May is the perfect time of year for listening to and watching birds. In this episode, we talk about the visuals of our fine feathered friends -- colours, patterns, shapes, nests, and flight. Then Christine asks why sighted people are so transfixed by hawks, and JJ gets picked up by a flashy bird with sweet dance moves!  

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This podcast began with the notion that the visuals of pandemic life around the world needed to be described. Many months have since passed, and those visuals have changed. This week, Christine and JJ check in on COVID and lockdown visuals around the world. From anxiety on the streets of Toronto, to India's infection rate graphs, and vacationing goats in North Whales, to vaccinated wales in New York museums, Talk Description to Me has you covered.

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If you go way way up, and look way way down, what you see can be surprising. In this episode, Christine and JJ describe satellite images and discuss the intriguing perspective they provide. From ecology to archeology to a view of ourselves, the big picture has an awful lot to offer!

To explore Google Timelapse, as discussed in this episode, visit: g.co/Timelapse

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This year’s landmark Audio Description of the Academy Awards got us thinking about a hallmark of Oscar night: glamour! What are the visuals of glamour? Is glamour about wearing the right gown and accessories, or is there more to it than just fashion? Has glamour changed over time? And just who gets to be glamorous, anyhow?

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On April 20, 2021, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty on all counts in the death of George Floyd, a murder which sparked protests across the U.S. and fuelled the Black Lives Matter movement around the world. In this episode, Christine and JJ discuss the visuals surrounding the trial's conclusion, then describe the wave of tribute art, which seeks to honour and memorialize George Floyd.

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In recent days the Caribbean nation of St. Vincent has been buried under ash by volcanic eruptions. Meanwhile, spectacular drone footage of the lava-belching volcano outside of Reykjavik, Iceland continues to intrigue and amaze. This week, Christine and JJ break down the terrifying and mesmerizing visuals of erupting volcanos. Then, set your creep-o-metre to high for a brief description of the aftermath from one of history's most famous volcanic disasters: the haunting ruins of Pompeii. 

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For a lot of us, architectural terms like Gothic and Art Deco conjure vague, incomplete mental pictures. Well not anymore! In this episode, Christine and JJ cover thousands of years of Western architectural styles, and describe and contextualize key design elements. Check it out, and prepare to wow them at your next dinner party! 

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Last week, the world stopped and gaped when a container ship the size of a skyscraper got stuck in the Suez Canal. Using descriptions of satellite images, news footage, and even memes, Christine and JJ tell the story of what happened, why it mattered, what was done about it, and how social media (as usual) found ways to poke fun.

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With the first of four monthly SuperMoons set to rise this weekend, we’re turning our attention to Earth’s little buddy. If you’ve ever wondered about the look of the moon, its phases, craters, or size, this is the episode for you! Plus, Christine poses questions asked by listeners about the Apollo moon landing, and of course, the famous Moonwalk by astronaut Michael “Buzz” Jackson. Wait, that doesn’t sound quite right…

For audio direct from the surface of Mars check out:  https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/multimedia/audio/

And for Visual Descriptions from the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, visit:https://chandra.harvard.edu/resources/podcasts/description_audio.html

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