The Blind Chick

By AftersightSociety & Culture Education

The Blind Chick episodes

August 06The King of the Dark: Chris Felder’s Unstoppable Purpose
Episode Summary
Chris Felder was 21 years old, working toward a future as an EMT and raising his young son when he was shot twice in the head and once in the shoulder during an attempted robbery. He survived, but the shooting took his sight and sent him into an eight-year struggle with depression, isolation, anger, and the loss of the independent life he once knew.
Chris joins Penn and Moses for an honest, funny, and unfiltered conversation about the long road from fighting blindness to building an identity around it. He explains how podcasting helped him finally accept who he was, reclaim the word “blind,” and become The Official Blind Steppa—a motivational speaker, mental-health advocate, entrepreneur, and source of encouragement for people around the world.
The conversation explores the stereotypes Chris faced as a young Black man and later as a blind Black man, the family and humor that helped him heal, and the difference between merely surviving trauma and learning how to live with purpose. Chris also discusses employment discrimination, the need for honest mental-health support for people who are newly blind, the importance of blind representation, and why more people with disabilities are creating their own businesses and platforms.
Through laughter, difficult truths, and unmistakable confidence, Chris offers a message for anyone walking through a dark season: do not stop in the middle of hell. Keep walking. Your moment is coming.
Content note: This episode includes candid discussion of gun violence, depression, suicidal thoughts, trauma, and recovery.
Contact Information
Christopher “The Official Blind Steppa” Felder
Website: Official Blind Steppa
Instagram: @official_blindsteppa
Podcast: Blind But Now I See
Booking email: [email protected]
Booking phone: 347-653-0076
Aftersight
Website: aftersight.org
Email: [email protected]
Main office: 303-786-7777
Listener feedback: [email protected]
Feedback line: 720-712-8856
Producer
Jonathan Price
Email: [email protected]
Office: 303-786-7777, extension 4110
Cell: 720-370-9302
Show Credits
Show: The Blind Chick
Hosts: Penn Street and Moses Street
Guest: Christopher “The Official Blind Steppa” Felder
Producer: Jonathan Price
Presented by: Aftersight
(00:10) - — Welcome and the Upcoming Aftersight Hike
(02:38) - — Meet Chris Felder, The Official Blind Steppa
(05:50) - — The Night That Changed Chris’s Life
(09:50) - — Confronting Stereotypes Without Trying to Prove Himself
(13:14) - — Eight Years of Fighting Blindness
(14:28) - — The Birth of The Official Blind Steppa
(17:42) - — Depression, Suicide, and the Years Chris Needed to Heal
(18:52) - — Family, Tough Love, and Finding His Humor Again
(22:13) - — Discovering Vision Beyond Physical Sight
(28:13) - — Hotel Bottles, Missing Doors, and an Electric-Bike Experiment
(30:06) - — Trading Car Keys for a White Cane
(32:41) - — Reclaiming Independence and Walking in Purpose
(35:34) - — Building the Blind But Now I See Podcast
(38:34) - — Telling the Full Truth and Becoming a Motivational Voice
(40:49) - — Books, Film, Media, and Blind Representation
(43:16) - — Reaching Young People Without Sugarcoating Reality
(45:17) - — Why Newly Blind Youth Need Mental-Health Support First
(47:21) - — Employment Discrimination and Blind Entrepreneurship
(53:55) - — Dance in the Rain and Keep Walking
(56:14) - — Where to Follow Chris and Closing Thoughts
58 min
July 23 The Blind Chick: Life Doesn’t End - The Blind Outdoorsman
Episode Summary
Jeff Skoglund, better known online as The Blind Outdoorsman, joins Penn and Moses for an honest conversation about vision loss, resilience, relationships, recovery, and the importance of continuing to live fully.
Jeff shares how retinitis pigmentosa gradually changed his vision, why he made the difficult decision to stop driving, and how posting ordinary moments from his life became an unexpected source of purpose. Whether he is hiking, gardening, cooking, traveling, working on a project, or spending time with his guide dog, Natty, Jeff shows that Blind and Low-vision people are not performing magic. They are simply living their lives and finding different ways to do what matters.
The conversation also explores grief, alcohol misuse, divorce, returning to school, finding love again, and rebuilding after seasons when Jeff felt he had lost his direction. He also recounts the recent heart attack he initially mistook for heartburn and explains why he hesitated to call 911.
Jeff is now using his platform to build community and encourage Blind and Low-vision people to spend more time outdoors. His message is not that everyone must move at the same pace or accomplish the same things. It is that life does not end when vision changes. We keep learning, adapting, and figuring it out together.
As Jeff puts it, there is always more room around the campfire.
Contact Information
Website:
BlindOutdoorsman.com
Social media:
Search Blind Outdoorsman on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
Email:
[email protected]
Outdoor community email:
[email protected]
Community group:
Blind and Low Vision Outdoors Minnesota
Show Credits
Show: The Blind Chick
Hosts: Penn Street and Moses Street
Guest: Jeff Skoglund
Producer: Jonathan Price
Organization: Aftersight
1 hr 21 min
July 16 When Good Intentions Become Dangerous
Episode Summary
Penn’s difficult 24 hours begins while filming a mobility video for a new guide-dog application. An inaccessible intersection, a vehicle blocking the crosswalk, and a driver trying to “help” leave her confused, shaken, and in danger. Penn explains why blind pedestrians rely on predictable traffic patterns and why drivers should follow the law instead of stopping unexpectedly, honking, waving, or yelling directions.
The next morning, an Uber driver leaves Penn stranded as she tries to get to work. Penn and Moses discuss accessible transportation, guide-dog grief, pedestrian safety, universal design, and the exhaustion of repeatedly fighting for basic access. They also share updates about Aftersight’s summer social and the annual accessible hike in Winter Park on September 12.
Show Credits
Show: The Blind Chick
Hosts: Penn Street and Moses Street
Producer: Jonathan Price
Presented by: Aftersight
Contact Info
Website: aftersight.org
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 720-712-8856
Learn more about the Aftersight hike and other upcoming events at aftersight.org.

50 min
July 09 Blindness Can Be an Adventure: Canes, Baseball, and Disability Pride
Summary
Penn and Moses are catching listeners up on a full summer of memories, baseball, travel, disability pride, and the small choices that can make life feel bigger. Penn shares how a monocular has helped her follow baseball games more fully, while Moses takes the usual scenic route through history, Hemingway, and childhood Pirates stories.
Listener Johnny Johnson's email opens a conversation about Innervision, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, and the power of connection in the Blind and Low-vision community. The conversation then turns to Blind Pilots, the upcoming Winter Park hike with No Barriers USA, and a Camp Abilities experience where the right cane—and the right story—changed how kids saw mobility.
Penn and Moses also talk about Braille, disability pride, accessible technology, and why difference should not be treated as something to hide. It is a funny, wandering, deeply human episode about choosing memories, using the tools that create freedom, and believing that blindness can still be an adventure.
Hosts: Penn and Moses Street
Produced by: Jonathan Price
Show: The Blind Chick
Network: An Aftersight Original Podcast
Contact Info
Innervision: innervisionrecords.org | innervisionnonprofit.org
Aftersight: aftersight.org
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (720) 712-8856

50 min
June 25Accessibility: It's not Charity. It's the law.
Summary
In this episode of The Blind Chick, Penn and Moses talk about digital accessibility, the ADA, and the recent delay of federal web accessibility deadlines. Penn shares her frustration over accessibility being treated like an optional kindness instead of a basic civil right, while Moses connects the issue to larger historical fights for equal access, voting rights, public infrastructure, technology, and independence.
Together, they remind listeners that accessibility benefits everyone. Whether it’s websites, voting machines, medical forms, sidewalks, restaurants, or digital platforms, equal access is not a luxury. It is part of living with dignity, freedom, and full participation in society.
Contact Info
Have an accessibility story, a website that needs to be called out, or a company that deserves praise for doing it right?
Email: [email protected]
Credits
Hosted by Penn Street and Moses Street
Produced by Jonathan Price
An Aftersight Podcast
(00:00) - — Welcome back to The Blind Chick
(00:23) - — Summer, gardening, and Colorado life
(02:52) - — Penn introduces the accessibility issue
(03:37) - — ADA web accessibility deadlines and government websites
(04:36) - — Why accessibility helps everyone
(05:25) - — DOJ/HHS deadline delays
(06:30) - — What digital accessibility means in daily life
(08:41) - — Voting machines and equal access
(09:52) - — Penn’s soapbox: accessibility should not be an afterthought
(10:35) - — Why advocacy still matters
(11:00) - — Supporting accessible companies and calling out barriers
(12:01) - — Moses connects accessibility to women’s voting rights
(16:18) - — Digital access, employment, and independence
(18:16) - — Blind people, employment, and technology
(20:17) - — Ways listeners can take action
(21:00) - — ADA rights and why we cannot go backward
(22:19) - — Historical examples of access changing society
(25:21) - — Speak out when you see injustice
(26:12) - — Contacting companies about inaccessible websites
(27:27) - — Accessibility is not charity
(28:11) - — Real-world accessibility failures
(29:10) - — Celebrating companies that do accessibility well
(29:28) - — Accessibility and the freedom to leave your house
(31:30) - — Closing thoughts and listener call to action
33 min
June 18 Aaron Hale: Getting Back Up!
1. Episode Summary

In this powerful episode of The Blind Chick, Penn and Moses sit down with Aaron Hale for a conversation that is raw, funny, sobering, and deeply human. Aaron shares his journey from Navy cook to Army EOD technician, the Afghanistan blast that took his sight, the later illness that took his hearing, and the long road of rebuilding a life that refused to stay broken. Along the way, he talks about family, faith, cooking, running, entrepreneurship, adventure, and the mindset shift from “I have to” to “I get to.” This episode is not just about survival. It is about responsibility, purpose, grit, humor, and the holy stubbornness of getting back up when staying down would be easier.
2. Contact Info
Guest: Aaron Hale
Podcast: Point of Impact with Aaron Hale
Business mentioned: EOD Fudge

Aftersight
Website: Aftersight.org
Phone: (720) 712-8856
Email: [email protected]
Producer Contact
Jonathan Price
Podcast and Program Producer, Aftersight
[email protected]
3. Show Credits
The Blind Chick is brought to you by Aftersight.
Hosts: Penn Street and Moses Street
Guest: Aaron Hale
Producer: Jonathan Price
Presented by: Aftersight
Thank you for listening to The Blind Chick. Be kind to yourself this week, and find a way to be kind to somebody else. It’s good for your soul.

1 hr 11 min
June 11 Seeing Differently: Monet, Marriage, and the Art of Not Giving Up
1. Episode Summary

Penn and Moses Street return with their signature humor, honesty, and warmth after a full weekend at Cherry Creek State Park for Canes, Tails, and Trails, a collaborative walk with Foresight Adventure Guides for the Blind. They reflect on the joy of gathering with the blind and low-vision community, the exhaustion that follows meaningful work, and the possibility of making the event an annual tradition.

The conversation then turns personal as Penn and Moses answer a listener question about age-gap relationships. With a 20-year age difference between them, they share what has helped their marriage endure: communication, commitment, therapy, humility, and the willingness to keep choosing each other as life changes.
Later, Penn and Moses highlight Claude Monet, exploring how vision loss shaped some of his most powerful work. They reflect on creativity, low vision, identity, and the truth that limitation does not have to end a person’s purpose. The episode closes with encouragement for listeners to pursue their dreams, reject “stinking thinking,” and remember to be kind to themselves and others.
2. Contact Info
The Blind Chick / Aftersight
Website: aftersight.org
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (720) 712-8856

Mentioned in This Episode
Foresight Adventure Guides for the Blind
Ruckus in the Alley
Producer Contact
Jonathan Price
Podcast Producer, Aftersight
Email: [email protected]
3. Show Credits
Hosts: Penn Street and Moses Street
Podcast: The Blind Chick
Produced by: Jonathan Price
Presented by: Aftersight
43 min
June 04 Rewriting the Narrative with Shanell Matos
1) Episode Summary
In this episode of The Blind Chick, Penn and Moses Street welcome Shanell Matos for a powerful conversation about vision loss, motherhood, advocacy, and rebuilding life with courage and honesty. Shanell shares how she celebrated ten years of vision loss by completing a 44-mile tandem bike ride in New York City, reflects on losing her vision as a new mom, and talks about learning Braille, asking for help, finding resources, and stepping into advocacy through tools like RightHear and Discover Live. Her story is a reminder that success does not always start pretty, but showing up, doing the hard thing, and refusing to let fear write the story can change everything.
2) Contact Info
Guest: Shanell Matos
Featured Resources: RightHear and Discover Live
Aftersight
Website: aftersight.org
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (720) 712-8856
Producer Contact
Jonathan Price
Podcast and Program Producer, Aftersight
[email protected]
3) Show Credits
Hosted by: Penn Street and Moses Street
Guest: Shanell Matos
Produced by: Jonathan Price
Podcast: The Blind Chick
Presented by: Aftersight

1 hr 13 min
May 28Growing, Giving & Getting Out There
1) Episode Summary

In this solo episode of The Blind Chick, Penn and Moses catch listeners up on life, travel, gardening, Memorial Day reflections, St. Louis adventures, and the power of learning to advocate for yourself. Moses opens with his “summer gym,” also known as the garden, before the conversation moves into honoring Memorial Day with the reverence it deserves. Penn shares highlights from the 2026 GiveCon conference in St. Louis, including a surprise live podcast appearance and visits to the zoo and Cardinals games. She also highlights Aftersight’s upcoming walk with Foresight Adventure Guides at Cherry Creek State Park in Aurora on Saturday, May 30th, 2026, inviting listeners to register, donate, and join the community for a five-mile walk, lunch, music, and connection.
The heart of the episode comes through Penn’s reflection on self-advocacy: how people often advocate fiercely for loved ones but struggle when it comes time to speak up for themselves. With humor, honesty, and their usual back-and-forth rhythm, Penn and Moses remind listeners that blindness, disability, age, or health challenges do not erase a person’s intelligence, personality, experience, or place in the world.
2) Contact Info
The Blind Chick / Aftersight
Website: Aftersight.org
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 720-712-8856
Mentioned in this episode:
Purpose and Profit Club podcast
Foresight Adventure Guides
Rocky Mountain Cyber Lions Club
Ruckus in the Alley
Producer:
Jonathan Price, Podcast and Program Producer at Aftersight
3) Show Credits
The Blind Chick is brought to you by Aftersight.
Hosted by Penn Street and Moses Street.
Produced by Jonathan Price.
For more information, visit Aftersight.org or reach out at [email protected].
(00:00) - — Welcome Back to The Blind Chick
(00:40) - — Moses’ Summer Gym: The Garden
(04:07) - — Memorial Day and Remembering Sacrifice
(05:47) - — Penn’s Trip to 2026 GiveCon
(07:48) - — Moses Reconnects with an Old Friend
(10:46) - — St. Louis, the Arch, and the Zoo
(14:52) - — Aftersight’s Cherry Creek Walk on May 30th
(17:26) - — Penn Is Apparently Out of Focus
(19:36) - — Learning the Skill of Self-Advocacy
(21:27) - — A Surprise Reunion with Paula
(24:25) - — Advocating for Others vs. Yourself
(27:21) - — The Space Between Action and Reaction
(31:34) - — Advocacy, Employment, and Entrepreneurship
(33:43) - — Learning to Pause Before Saying No
(35:43) - — Where Penn and Moses Want to Travel Next
(38:19) - — Famous Blind and Low-Vision Figures
(39:40) - — You Are Still You
(42:21) - — Closing: Be Kind to Yourself and Others
43 min
May 21 Elizabeth Long: Freedom Beyond the Tether
1) Episode Summary

In this episode of The Blind Chick, Penn and Moses Street welcome Elizabeth Long, an outdoor adventurer from Ridgway, Colorado, whose story moves through hearing loss, vision loss, spinal injury, adaptive sports, and the long process of learning how to stop hiding and start living fully.

Elizabeth shares how growing up around unspoken family attitudes toward disability shaped her early silence around hearing loss, and how learning ASL later became a doorway into community, confidence, and identity. She talks about moving from Michigan to southwest Colorado, falling in love with the mountains, rock climbing, ice climbing, skiing, and eventually discovering adaptive sports.

The conversation becomes especially powerful as Elizabeth describes how adaptive skiing, including mono-skiing, helped her rediscover freedom without pretending her body had no limits. Penn connects deeply with Elizabeth’s story, especially around the grief of possibly giving up skiing and the possibility of finding a new way forward.

At its heart, this episode is about not closing the door on your life when disability changes the rules. Elizabeth’s message is clear: you may have to do things differently, but differently does not mean lesser.
2) Contact Info
Guest: Elizabeth Long
Instagram: @sanjuanmtnchick
Spelled: S-A-N-J-U-A-N-M-T-N-C-H-I-C-K

Aftersight
Website: Aftersight.org
Phone: (720) 712-8856
Email: [email protected]
Producer: Jonathan Price
Podcast and Program Producer, Aftersight
3) Show Credits
Show: The Blind Chick
Hosts: Penn Street and Moses Street
Guest: Elizabeth Long
Producer: Jonathan Price
Presented by: Aftersight
1 hr 4 min

About The Blind Chick

From the publisher's feed

The Blind Chick is an Aftersight Original hosted by Penn and Moses Street. It’s a raw, real, and often funny conversation space where blindness isn’t a limitation—it’s part of the story. Each episode…