In this inaugural episode of our rebranded podcast, Disability Deep Dive, hosts Keith and Jodi introduce the new format and address the importance of discussing innovative ways to educate about disability through pop culture. Guest Kyle Romano, a professor at the University of South Florida, shares his experience teaching a unique course on disability and pop culture, sharing with us the impact of representation in media on public perceptions of disability. The episode also features a new segment, "This Week's Deep Cut," which spotlights the Hulu show Ramy for its authentic portrayal of disability through the character Steve Way, a disabled actor who brings genuine representation to the screen. The episode emphasizes the importance of real, lived experiences in shaping disability education and advocacy.

If you’ve been a listener of You First, you might notice things sound a little different. That’s because we’ve rebranded! Welcome to Disability Deep Dive! The same podcast, but with a new name, a fresh perspective … and a brand new co-host.

Keith Casebonne and Jodi Beckstine from Disability Rights Florida continue to bring you the stories, voices, and ideas that matter to the disability community. So whether you’ve been with us for years or you’re just diving in—we’re glad you’re here.

New Disability Deep Dive episodes are coming soon!

Welcome back to You First, where we’re taking a small break from producing new episodes and instead are sharing some older episodes you might have missed. There’s a good chance you missed this episode, our last of four encore episodes, as it didn’t perform as well as most of our other ones. But we think the content is compelling and the guests are engaging, so we're putting it back out there. This episode is called "By and For People with Disabilities," and it was initially released in September of 2021. Elizabeth Wright and Jennifer Price are the guests, and they talk about how people with disabilities are creating their own content, controlling the narrative, and helping to create platforms where their stories, in their words, can be shared. And we're happy to share this encore episode with you.

Resources:

• Conscious Being Magazine
• Disability Review Magazine
• EmpowerEd: Using Real Case Examples to Look Deeper into IEP Management
• Disability Media Network

Welcome to another encore episode of You First. We’re taking a little break from making new episodes and are re-sharing some past episodes that we feel are worth another listen. This is the third of four encore episodes, initially released in July of 2023, and it’s called "Paving a Way Disabled in STEM." We interviewed Dr. Anita Marshall to learn more about her work to make STEM education more accessible for students with disabilities. Anita created GeoSPACE, the first-ever disability-accessible planetary geoscience field course and mentoring program, and is the Executive Director of The International Association for Geoscience Diversity. We also debunk myths about academia, and wish we were back in school to be a part of this really cool work Anita is doing. Hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed recording it!

Show Notes and Resources:

• Dr. Anita Marshall's Website
• GeoSPACE Program
• The International Association for Geoscience Diversity

Today we have another encore episode of You First. This is the second of four encore episodes as we’re taking a bit of a break from producing new episodes. Now this episode, "The Intersection of Disability and Reproductive Justice," is by far our most popular episode – and by a significant margin! But in case you missed it back in August of 2022, count your lucky stars because here it is again.

Roe v Wade was overturned not long before we recorded this episode, and we wanted to take a deep dive into how the overturning affects the disability community. Maddie hosted this episode and led an incredible conversation with activists Morénike Giwa Onaiwu, Rebecca Cokley, Keith Jones, and Heather Watkins about how the ruling affects them, the disability community as a whole, and other marginalized groups, especially in ways that you may not have considered. And it’s all just as relevant today as it was when we recorded it.

Please note that this conversation discusses heavy themes and references systems of oppression such as racism and ableism, infanticide, abortion, and forced sterilization.

Links:

Morénike Giwa Onaiwu

• https://morenikego.com/
• https://twitter.com/morenikego

Keith Jones

• http://dasoultoucha.com/About/
• https://twitter.com/dasoultoucha

Heather Watkins

• https://slowwalkersseemore.com/
• https://twitter.com/hwatkins927

Rebecca Cokley

• https://rebecca-cokley.medium.com/
• https://twitter.com/rebeccacokley

We’re taking a break from producing new episodes of You First for a bit, so we’ll be re-releasing four older episodes that we feel are worth another listen. We’re starting things off with an episode that is from February 2021 called "Disability Media Representation." We spoke with Beth Haller and Jeff Preston, both of whom are university professors, authors, and experts on disability in the media. We had a great discussion about what’s been done both right and wrong with the portrayal of people with disabilities in both film and TV and the impact of streaming platforms on the movement. We kicked things off with an interesting discussion about what a disaster a movie called Music was that has been released not long before we recorded the episode.

Referenced in the episode:

• Routledge Companion to Disability and Media
• Representing Disability in an Ableist World: Essays on Mass Media
• The Fantasy of Disability: Images of Loss in Popular Culture
• Disability and Social Media: Global Perspectives
• Salon: Sia's directorial debut "Music" is a baffling and patronizing cringefest of ableist minstrelsy
• LISTEN: Film by CommunicationFIRST
• NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity

In this episode of You First, hosts Keith and Maddie interview Matthew Cortland, a Senior Resident Fellow at Data for Progress. Matthew shares insights about their work in public opinion research and advocacy focused on disability issues and social policies. They discuss their personal journey, including challenges with the healthcare system, and explain how data is used to influence policy decisions. The conversation covers topics like the importance of accurate demographic data, the role of public opinion in advocacy, and effective messaging strategies for long-term care support and COVID-19. Matthew emphasizes the need for systemic interventions and supportive legislative efforts to better address the needs of disabled people.

Relevant Links

• Follow Matthew on social media: https://linktr.ee/matthewcortland
• Data for Progress: https://www.dataforprogress.org
• Disability Rights program at the Ford Foundation: https://www.fordfoundation.org/work/challenging-inequality/disability-rights
• Disability Scoop article "Census Rethinking How To Count Disability Population”: https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2024/08/15/census-rethinking-how-to-count-disability-population/31009
• Data for Progress Message Testing on Home and Community-Based Services Coverage: https://www.dataforprogress.org/datasets/message-testing-on-home-and-community-based-services-coverage
• Long COVID Research Moonshot Act of 2024: https://www.sanders.senate.gov/in-the-news/sanders-proposes-moonshot-bill-to-combat-long-covid-crisis