Phil and Simon are ripping it up, pushing the conversation, and exploring the boundaries of where we are today when it comes to disability. There’s fun, seriousness, thoughtfulness, respectful disagreement, celebration and controversy

We ask why does the ‘life stops after becoming disabled’ idea remain so strong? Phil explores his concerns about Ellie Simmonds going on BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, and Simon vehemently disagrees. We highlight the worrying crisis for disabled people in being able to recruit PAs and support workers. If that wasn’t enough, Phil has an idea for some merch. 

Right at the end, we have a packed inbox of brilliant and interesting comments from you. 

Links

Going blind and travel

Guardian article on the Canadian family travelling the world

Travel Eyes for blind travellers 

Strictly Come Dancing

Strictly Come Dancing

John Whaite brilliant Instagram video about difference on Strictly

Ellie Simmonds Instagram 

Nikita Kuzmin Linktr.ee (Ellie’s dance partner)

Crisis in care workers

Guardian article Staffing crisis in care homes

Personal tweet Baroness Jane Campbell on recruiting a PA

Video of House of Lords Care Crisis Q&A 7 Sept 2022

Professor David Turner is a social and cultural historian with expertise in disability, medicine, gender and the body. He is our guest this month. 

David’s current research explores the history of disabled people’s political activism in Britain since the eighteenth century. In an accessible and illuminating conversation, he tells us of the earliest known recorded documentation of disability rights and political activism. This includes the book 'Biography of the Blind’, first published in 1821, written by the remarkable James Wilson. 

We learn why what was said to the British Government by disabled people way back in 1832, still resonates today. With David’s expertise and insight, we learn how 200 years of disability history can inform us today and into the future.

Links

Home page including publications list 

James Wilson’s Biography of the Blind, pub. 1821 on Google Books. 

On Twitter @DrDavidMT

Disability History pod and video with Prof Turner 

Disability History: Thinking Differently About the Past resource page

Blog about how Prof Turner helped put disability in the teaching curriculum with one teacher 

Historic England History of Disability Year 1050 to present

Tom Shakespeare Collection: Disabled Lives

Our guest is Gordon McCullough, the Chief Executive Officer of the Research Institute for Disabled Consumers (RIDC). If you’ve not come across the RIDC, they are a well-established research organisation with a panel of more than 3500 disabled people. As Gordon has said, "No business would actively exclude a fifth of its potential customer base, yet many do by not being accessible to disabled people, and this is where the RIDC comes in". 

Gordon explains how they carry out their qualitative and quantitative research through the fantastic panel they have created. Carrying out valuable research for organisations is part of their role; they also carry out research they have identified from the panel.

We talk with Gordon about the biggest issues for disabled people during Covid and why electric vehicles might leave disabled people behind. He also talks about being a non-disabled person in a user-led organisation - what did he have to learn, and what does it mean to the people RIDC work with?

Phil is the Chair of RIDC, so he leaves some of the questions to Simon this time. We suspect by the end of the show, you’ll want to join the panel and add your voice to bring about change, you can by clicking the link below. 

Links

RIDC website 

Join the panel   Online or telephone 020 7427 2460 or email [email protected]

Selected research projects 

Twitter  RIDC

Some people fear disability and comedy. Not so our guest this month. Steven Verdile created the satirical website The Squeaky Wheel to create and publish funny stories with disability as a theme. 

Steven explains how the site came about, what inspired the name and how the growing team of writers write the material. An expanding and loyal readership means the site is thriving. It’s even been the answer to a US newspaper crossword clue.   

Making it sustainable is a wish of Steven’s. Making sure they push the boundaries of comedy but don’t step over the line of appropriateness is a frequent consideration. Making it professional and paying people is in the plan.   

Take a dive into some of the funniest headlines and then listen to the pod and find out what The Squeaky Wheel is all about.   

Website https://the-squeaky-wheel.com

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thesqkywheel/

Twitter @TheSqkyWheel

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TheSqkyWheel

Steven https://www.stevenverdile.com

Private Eye https://www.private-eye.co.uk

The Onion https://www.theonion.com

BBC Access All https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02r6yqw

If disability and television are your thing, you will have noticed some significant improvements of late. On-screen, we know #RepresentationMatters but behind the camera is equally important.

Our guests this month are two of the people who are instrumental in changing the landscape of disability and television. Nichola Garde is the Project Manager of Elevate. This is the BBC’s mid-career-boosting scheme for behind screen talent who have a disability. Allan MacKillop is Disability Team Leader covering both creative and workforce strategy at the BBC. A massive brief with high expectations. 

We asked Allan and Nichola why so much change now? What do they think are the best methods for the improvement of disability and television? We talk pan-industry as Channel 4, ITV, Netflix, and others push this forward. Indeed, Netflix has a genre of disability-related programmes now.  We ask Allan and Nichola’s advice on getting in and getting ahead in the industry. Finally, we offer them a magic wand to see what else is on their wish list. Naturally, we ask how they got to where they are and what adjustments they need to be the best they can be. 

Links 

Twitter   @NicholaGarde   @AllanMacKill

BBC Elevate 

BBC Extend

ITV Disability 

Channel 4 Disability

Netflix and BBC

Netflix Disability shows 

It’s a fantastic show this month - insight, depth, nostalgia, vulnerability, power and the future.  

The BBC recently broadcast a docudrama telling the story of the disability rights campaigners of the early 1990s in the UK. Using the love story between two key protagonists, Then Barbara Met Allan is a landmark piece of television. Not only because of the story it told but the number of creative disabled people who made it. It allows Phil and Simon to take a joyful and triumphant walk and wheel down memory lane to talk about their memories of this time and the impact it had on the country as well as so many individuals. 

Slips trips and falls are a common occurrence for some with a disability. Unfortunately, Phil recently took a tumble. When you’re campaigning for social justice, you’re seemingly invincible but in reality, we can all experience moments when things don’t go as planned. What can you do, what can you change and does the fall or the shame hurt the most? 

We talk about what is happening to disabled people in Ukraine. We have a remarkable update from Sarah, one of our immunocompromised guests from the previous show and a lovely Listener's Corner on the impact it made. Geoff tells us all about Yellow Jackets and there’s a shout out for your help on a future show. 

Links

Then Barbara Met Alan 

Wikipedia 

BBC iPlayer 

Disabled people’s Direct Action Network 

Disability Rights, a history as a wallchart

BBC article When disabled people took to the streets to change the law

Barbara Lisicki aka Wanda Barbara

Johnny Crescendo aka Alan Holdsworth 

Disabled people in Ukraine 

Sophie Morgan book 

Yellow Jackets 

Coronavirus restrictions are easing here in the UK and around the world. We are said to be on the road to freedom; masks are dropping, hand sanitiser solidifying, and we're willing to take a chance again. 

For many, this is excellent news, but not for all. For those who are immunocompromised (500,000 people UK) or clinically extremely vulnerable (3.7m people UK), the road to freedom has many potholes. They have a greater risk of catching Covid, and they are more likely to go to a hospital, more likely to be admitted to ICU, and face an increased risk of dying. Life for this minority is still restricted. As the majority move on, is there a risk of people being left behind?

We reached out to some affected listeners and spoke with them about the impact and their current lives. Sarah Baxter, who works for a UK bank and Gareth Berliner, is an actor and comedian. Both are immunocompromised. They tell us about asking a fellow train passenger to put on their mask, of donating work clothes to charity in March 20202, realising future office visits will be few. There's even a fortuitous career change as the new workplace adheres to strict Covid protocols. As well as Sarah and Gareth, we hear from Christina Clegg in the UK and Denise Rei and Jen Risser in the USA. All five of our guests talk of the early days of the pandemic, when for a few months, we were unified when we all faced a significant health risk.  

The stats might not lead the news bulletin, but Covid-19 is still here. What can society and individuals do to avoid a twin-track society? How do we consider the needs of the few whilst allowing the many to continue?

Links

Join Zoe Covid info, trackers and stats

Guardian Jan 2022 first article "More people will die fears."

Guardian Jan 2022 second article "Disabled people Plan B restrictions."

Colin Angus on Twitter Sheffield University | Health inequalities | COVID-19 | Data visualisation 

Selected info 

• Those with underlying health conditions are not also at death's door. 
• One-third of the UK adult population have hypertension (high blood pressure)
• Just under a third are obese.
• Once you get past your mid-50s, chances are you have a long-term health condition. By the time you reach your 70s, you have to be extremely lucky not to.

ICNARC Statistics and research Intensive Care National Audit and Research Centre. Levels of dependency prior to admission to acute care (Dec 2021) report shows 89.5% lived without assistance, 10.4% had some assistance, 0.4% had total assistance. 

Sarah Baxter on Twitter

Gareth Berliner on Twitter

We had a chat with regular guest Joanna Wootten and cultural critic Geoff Spink to ask them their disability or Deaf stand out moment from 2021 and what they’re excited about in 2022. We added our highlights in there too.

The stand out moments for us is very broad and includes Strictly Come Dancing, Abnormally Funny People comedy at the Royal Festival Hall, the next Lewis Hamilton racing in Bahrain, a William Boyd book, ’ Any Human Heart’ and the film Cyrano with Peter Dinklage. In addition, the UK Government’s Disability Strategy and the second reading of the British Sign Language Bill in the House of Commons make the list.

Let us know what are your favourite moments. Enjoy the show.

Links

Abnormally Funny People 

Abnormally Funny People sing ‘Stand By Me’ Lockdown version 2021

Any Human Heart print

Any Human Heart audio

British Sign Language Bill

Cyrano film IMDB

Cyrano film website

National Disability Strategy

Rotax MAX Challenge Grand Finals 2021 Kart Racing in Bahrain  Albert Friend 45:33 in

Strictly Come Dancing Rose and Giovanni YouTube

Succession season 4 Digitial Spy

Bristol recently advertised for a Commissioner for their Disability Equality Commission. You need skills and experience and be expected to be a spokesperson. Time commitment is up to seven working weeks a year. Salary, zero. How much do we value equalities work? What value do we give to different contributions? When should we get paid, and when is it voluntary? How do we value those who help achieve it?

There has been all-party support for some new play parks for disabled adults in Bristol again, coincidentally. So good news? Well, it might be, but why has this cropped up? A mum of a disabled adult said they were 'met with verbal abuse and complaints when using play areas in Bristol's parks. They want to create a safe, fun, accessible and life-changing disabled adult play park". Phil and Simon grapple with the conflict of why can't disabled adults play where everyone else does; why are those who are the abusers not being moved or educated? Is this a pragmatic and beneficial solution?

Geoff rocks up with his cultural pics: a book called Moving by Jenny Eclair and TV show Baron Noir, on Prime.

A bumper Listeners Corner with your brilliant emails and messages. We finish with a heartfelt Christmas message. See you next year and thank you for listening.

Links

Bristol Disability Equality Commission

Playing Parks in Bristol 

Moving by Jenny Eclair book

Moving by Jenny Eclair audiobook

Baron Noir IMDB

Two topics feature in this months podcast.  Gardners might use the term perennials to describe them. Others might say weeds that never quite go away. Two topics we discuss and we disagree on, but we have an enjoyable and explorative discussion getting there. 

Assisted suicide, aka assisted dying, is back in the spotlight as Baroness Meacher’s Assisted Dying Bill passed through the House of Lords at the end of October. Whilst this won’t directly change the UK legislation (currently, assisted suicide is illegal), it shows the debate is very much alive. Phil is opposed to changing the law, and Simon asks him why. 

Do positive action schemes, disability training, and targets work? In his MacTaggart lecture, scriptwriter Jack Thorne suggested that to get more disabled people on TV. It’s time for quotas. Mind you, it feels like a golden period for disability appearing on television. After years of encouragement, are TV execs commissioning and casting more? Have the schemes finally paid off? Or has the murder of George Floyd and that which followed rippled across the pond and changed everything? Simon thinks yes, Phil asks him why. 

Geoff tells us his latest cultural recommendations, including the return of Succession and what he thinks of John le Carre’s final book, Silverview. There’s a great Listeners Corner to finish. 

Links

Assisted Suicide 

Baroness Meacher bill on Assisted Dying

Not Dead Yet UK

Baroness Jane Campbell article 

Colin Low, Tom Shakespeare and Christie Arnsten article

Disability and TV

Jack Thorne MacTaggart Lecture Aug 2021

Royal Television Society panel discussion on disability and television

Cultural corner 

Succession 

Silverview - John le Carre

Here’s where to start reading John le Carre blog