hi hello hey, what do you mean 2025 is over??

We truly cannot believe another year (and season SIX of Rare with Flair) is coming to a close. Before we get sappy, we’re keeping up our longtime tradition of recapping the year. These episodes mean a lot to us—they’re like little time capsules of what our lives looked like at the end of each year.

It’s also a chance to pull back the curtain just a bit and let you in on what we were up to throughout the year (with boundaries, of course). Oh—and there’s a breaking announcement at the very beginning of this episode that we know you won’t want to miss!!

As we mention in the episode, we’re always intentional about how much we choose to share. By no means do we want y’all to think our lives were perfect—we simply try to strike a balance between openness and privacy. That said, we genuinely look forward to this episode every year, and it wouldn’t be complete without sharing our top artists from our Spotify Wrapped.

No matter what kind of year you had, we’re so grateful we got to be a small part of it. We hope you enjoy celebrating whichever holidays are meaningful to you, and we couldn’t be more thankful for such loyal listeners. Be sure to join us at the beginning of 2026 to find out what’s landing on our vision boards next year!

Check out other episodes we mention in this one for more fun from our 2025:

• 110. are we ready to thrive in 2025? what we put on our vision boards this year
• 117. few but many: hps conference 2025 our time at the Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome conference
• 120. still alive but barely breathing lmao: ats recap our time at the American Thoracic Society in 2025
• Our two-part series from when Cass went to guide dog training this year!
  • 127. guide dog training, part 1: meet cass’ new guide!
  • 128. guide dog training, part 2: come train with cass & mr. a!
• 132. yer a wizard, bestie: live from universal orlando! our trip to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter

If you’d like to binge our complete set of year-in-review episodes to see how we’ve changed over time, let us know if you take on the challenge!

• 109. our wildest vision board dreams came true! 2024 recap
• 83. getting personal: recapping 2023
• 59. recapping a wild & wacky year 2022 recap
• 36. 2021 wrapped: our year in songs & seasons
• 11. looking back & moving forward 2020 recap

hi hello hey — let’s chat about accessibility!

We’ve touched on accessibility throughout past episodes, but this week we’re giving it the spotlight it deserves. It’s a topic close to both our hearts — especially Cass’, since she works in digital accessibility! There’s a common misconception that making something accessible somehow makes it worse, but in reality, designs created for people with disabilities often end up benefiting everyone. In the accessibility world, this is known as the curb-cut effect: curb cuts were originally made to help wheelchair users navigate sidewalks, but they also help anyone rolling a stroller, suitcase, delivery cart — basically anything on wheels.

The reverse can happen too: products never intended for accessibility can unexpectedly become invaluable for disabled folks. We dive into some of our favorite examples of this “secret assistive tech,” from GPS to permanent bracelets.

Do you have your own examples of hidden assistive tech? Send them our way at hello@rarewithflair.com — we’d love to shout you out on the pod!

Check out some other episodes we mention!

• 87. the definitive ranking of all assistive technology
• 61. is reading an audiobook really reading?
• 34. shouting from the rooftops about assistive technology