You Should Know About: The Diss(ability) Track Podcast
A Podcast by Wedaeli Chibelushi and Steph Wilderspin
This week, we’re featuring a podcast out of the UK that you should know about.
The Diss(ability) Track is created by two disabled podcasters; they cover disabled issues in the UK—issues that are relevant to anyone interested in disability rights.
First we interview Wedaeli and Steph, and then we provide all the links you might need to learn more about The Diss(ability) Track after the interview.
Just FYI: I listened to their podcast and can tell that it is excellent. They’re total professionals and a delight to listen to.
Why did you start the podcast? What is it for? What need are you seeking to meet?
In the UK, there is a severe lack of discussion about living with a disability, and what does exist seems to exist only in the news and in policies made by the government. So we started the podcast to both add to and change that discussion, doing so in a more accessible and (hopefully) enjoyable format. Addressing serious topics but also just having a good time, talking about more positive aspects. We’d like to give a platform for people with disabilities, but also educate abled people on the lives of people living with disabilities.
Why are you two so well-suited for this project?
We both have unconventional disabilities. In fact, most people might not class them as disabilities and it certainly took us both a long time to consider ourselves disabled. We also have skills that lend us to podcasting: Wedaeli is a very experienced journalist and her skills in research and interviewing really show. Steph is a performer and comedian so she brings her skillset to the recording process itself. Plus, we’re just really good friends. Honestly, the podcast is so similar to our normal conversations and we hope that just makes the whole thing way more accessible to everyone.
If we could break that stigma, or even just make someone living with a disability feel a little less alone, then we’ve done what we wanted.
What are your long-term goals for the podcast?
Mainly to raise awareness of disability issues in the UK. We’re hoping to interview loads of different people, as well as introduce people to media that portrays disabled people. Honestly, we’re just excited to see where it all goes.
How do you want to make the world better for disabled people?
The podcast name is a word play on “diss track” for a reason: there’s a lot of stuff that goes undiscussed and a lot of government policies and social stigmas that are being placed on disabled people against their will. So we want to give a voice to disabled people and get their stories told. If we could break that stigma, or even just make someone living with a disability feel a little less alone, then we’ve done what we wanted.
The Dissability Track is a fun, yet informative exploration of life with a disability/long-term health condition (LHC) in the UK. Our aim is to highlight overlooked issues faced by people with disabilities and LHCs. You can listen to episode one on iTunes (https://t.co/NBWDprfvih) or Soundcloud (http://ow.ly/xzVf50iD9u3 ).
Each episode Steph and Wedaeli chat about the latest disability-related news stories and pop culture representation of disabled people. They also include interviews with disabled people such as deaf poet Raymond Antrobus and autistic author Laura James.
Find them on Facebook at facebook.com/DissabilityT/ and on Twitter at twitter.com/dissabilityT.
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