On the Road With POD Access

On March 3rd, before dawn, Cheryl grabbed her little airplane pillow and headed across the country. The next day, Thomas hit the road for a short drive. Well, technically, at least until self-driving cars are a real option, he was a passenger. They met up at the University of Maryland College Park to present for the Disability Cultural Initiative, meet the UMD community, and enjoy some delicious gluten- and dairy-free snacks.

On the first day, we talked about the origin of POD Access, did a live demo of narrative podcasting, and talked about some interviewing techniques. Then, participants practiced interviewing each other. We had the amazing opportunity to run a live “Crip My Podcast” intervention, helping someone refine her ideas for a new podcast focused on experiences of ADHD. The audience had great questions about increasing podcasting accessibility and the desire to bring new stories to the space.

The second day covered equity-based media accessibility for films and podcasts at a brown-bag lunch facilitated by Dr. Sara M. Acevedo, Disability Cultural Initiative Lead.

We heard repeatedly that certain voices and stories are missing from the mainstream, and the audience was eager for more disability-centered podcasts and more culturally-responsive accessibility. We loved hearing both things.

[Image description: The human members of the POD Access team look dashing in nearly-matching black and white dress shirts and very-matching smiles. Cheryl wears a blue N95 and white cat-eye glasses, and Thomas wears dark shades. They sit at a small table, each holding a microphone, their laptops open. In front of Thomas's laptop is a retro-style speaker.]

These presentations are a wonderful chance to really engage with the community. That’s at the heart of what POD Access stands for. Many of us produce and distribute our podcasts alone. Having the opportunity to talk to the community is really a cool thing. We hope to do it a lot more! Thank you to Dr. Acevedo for bringing us out there to meet with your colleagues and students.

If you want to bring an interactive POD Access workshop to your campus or group, hit us up at ThePodAccess@gmail.com.

Submit your podcast. Share with all the d/Deaf and disabled podcasters you know so we can grow the pod library! And join our Skill Share if you have skills podcasters are looking for like editing, graphic design, transcribing, marketing, or branding.

Cheryl, Thomas, and RouRou the PODCat

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