Amendments to the Elections Bill are making their way through Parliament at the moment. They are not yet set in stone, but they include some significant changes to our rights to a fully independent and secret vote at polling stations. The RNIB have raised their concerns surrounding the wording of these proposed amendments; they think it will water down our protections and assurances to a secret vote and they have issued an online petition. We speak to the Chair of the RNIB, Anna Tylor and also t...
Feb 08, 2022•19 min
The recent amendments to the Highway Code give, among other things, priority to pedestrians. This sounds like seemingly good news if you're blind or partially sighted; but charity Guide Dogs have raised concerns that, especially in the early stages, these changes could be dangerous as road users take time to get used to the new rules. We ask Guide Dogs' head of canine affairs, John Welsman to outline their concerns and what this all means for blind or partially sighted pedestrians. You may be a ...
Feb 01, 2022•19 min
There are many types of eye conditions that can cause blindness or low vision and we often get requests to cover some of them in more detail. Tonight we're discussing Retinal Vein Occlusion with medical retina consultant Luke Nicholson from Moorfield's Eye Hospital. We discuss how the condition affects the eyes, the causes and the treatments. What techniques do you have for reading the room in social situations? Perhaps you listen out for the rustling of clothes or pick up on a hefty exhale when...
Jan 25, 2022•19 min
Like many things in the art and performance sector, there isn't much that blind and visually impaired people haven't been involved in. And drag is no exception. It is thought to have been around in the UK since Shakespearean times and the first recorded drag queen is thought to have been in 1732. It has a long and rich history here in the UK. Today, drag reaches far beyond just drag queens. There are drag kings, performers experimenting with androgyny, celebrity impersonators, and much more. We ...
Jan 18, 2022•19 min
We're discussing three audiobooks: Cold In Hand by John Harvey and narrated by Nick Boulton, Lost for Words by Stephanie Butland and narrated by Imogen Church and The Pigeon Tunnel by John le Carré and narrated by... John le Carré. Peter reviews the stories and themes and, most importantly, the narration with guests Richard Land and Fiona Dunn. Presenter: Peter White Producer Beth Hemmings Website Image Description: the image shows a stack of multicoloured books on a wooden table. Next to them i...
Jan 12, 2022•19 min
Kerry Burke, Eilidh Morrison and Reece Watt are all from Scotland and are members of the youth forum Haggeye. Haggeye first began in 2007 as part of RNIB Scotland. Its a place where young people from all over Scotland can meet to socialise and campaign on issues such as accessible transport, the need for more educational material in formats such as braille and audio and more. We speak to the three youngsters about their involvement in Haggeye and their lives more generally. We ask for their thou...
Jan 04, 2022•19 min
Back in 2007, Craig Lundberg was a decorated British Army soldier. He was one of the army's youngest junior leaders and was frequently being used by special forces. However during a roof top fire fight, Craig was hit with an RPG and was blinded instantly. Shortly after this happened, Peter visited him in Liverpool to hear about how he'd coped with his sudden sight loss. Back then, Craig's determination to lead a 'normal' life and the maturity in which he faced the realities of becoming blind mad...
Dec 28, 2021•19 min
We visited St Vincent’s School in Liverpool where the children have been dubbed Climate Heroes for their work toward climate action. The visually impaired pupils have been doing their bit to ease the environmental crisis, by planting and growing their own produce and handing it out to their local community, by writing stories to encourage and influence discussions about climate change and they've been thinking up ways technology can reduce our carbon footprint. They've undergone various climate ...
Dec 21, 2021•19 min
The Life in the UK test allows people to apply for British citizenship and its a test that requires substantial revision and preparation. Brian Alyward is originally from the Republic of Ireland, and he explains what happened when he initially found that the revision and preparation materials were not provided in his preferred format; braille. When it comes to enjoying art work, it can be dependent as much on texture as it is on visual effect. There have been many blind or partially sighted arti...
Dec 14, 2021•19 min
All further education colleges are legally obliged to develop accessible websites, learning, teaching and assessment materials to students who need them. But new research suggests that eight out of ten colleges in the UK are not doing this. The research was conducted by disability consultancy company, All Able on behalf of Thomas Pocklington Trust. It tested the pathways blind and partially sighted students may use to find out about support a college may provide. On this, we speak to co-Director...
Dec 07, 2021•19 min
Parliament has revealed their plans to recruit a National Clinical Director for Eye Care, which could help transform services for patients. Until now, there's been no national clinical representation for eye care within NHS England and NHS Improvement, despite ophthalmology being the biggest out-patient department in the NHS. Last week, Minister Maria Caulfield announced that recruitment is now underway. We speak to the Chief Executive of the Macular Society, Cathy Yelf about this important deve...
Nov 30, 2021•19 min
We had an inbox brimming with your questions and investigation requests, and so this program is dedicated to getting you some answers. On the program, we speak to the BBC News at 10's Executive News Editor, Paul Royall about the lack of English audio translations on their reports from Afghanistan. We speak to Virgin Media O2's Chief TV and Entertainment Officer, David Bouchier about their lack of a talking Electronic Program Guide on their latest set top box. And from access to pictures on the T...
Nov 23, 2021•19 min
Gender dysphoria is a condition where a person experiences discomfort or distress because there's a mismatch between their biological sex and gender identity. It's sometimes known as gender identity disorder, gender incongruence or transgenderism. On this episode of In Touch, three visually impaired people tell us about their experiences with their gender transitions. We discuss why they've chosen this path, what have been the effects on their relationships with their family and friends, and how...
Nov 17, 2021•19 min
Recently, a number of In Touch listeners have told us they're finding more touch screen card machines in their daily lives. These are the machines that do not have any raised buttons or tactile feedback. Supposedly, this type of machine is the future because most are operated by a similar technology as what is inside a smart phone. This gives a business a wider variety of payment options, and they can often be quicker and more reliable than the traditional machines we're all used to. But just ho...
Nov 11, 2021•19 min
In this music special, we'll be speaking to three visually impaired musicians about how they navigate their careers, what part their visual impairments play in that, and to what extent they buy the common misconception that blindness and good musicianship are linked. You'll be hearing from: Chris Campion, a heavy metal session guitarist from London. We talk about his career, spanning across many different genres of music, and about his solo tracks that were released over the lockdowns. Katriona ...
Nov 02, 2021•19 min
In the first interview since the problem occurred, Channel 4's chief marketing officer and executive lead for inclusion and diversity, Zaid Al-Qassab explains what has happened to their audio description and signing services. Neither has been working since the end of September. We ask why there were no back up services, what measures will be put in place to avoid it happening again, and most importantly when these services will be back up and running. We all know that global action is needed to ...
Oct 26, 2021•19 min
When you first register for a certificate of visual impairment and you have informed your local authority that you may need care and support, they have a legal duty, under The Social Care Act, to carry out an assessment. This assessment is designed to evaluate what kind of extra support you need, perhaps it is help around the home or navigating the outside world. But problems seem to occur when a local authority does not have the specialist knowledge of visual impairments in order to diagnose th...
Oct 19, 2021•19 min
We are 60 years old! Peter White shares his fondest memories and experiences of presenting In Touch and we hear something of the programme's history from one of the original producers. Also, cornea and retina specialists have begun to notice eye-related complications in people who have recovered from COVID 19. Some people have experienced blurred vision while ill with the disease, but it appears that for some, the effect can remain, long after they've recovered. In some cases, it's thought that ...
Oct 12, 2021•19 min
Figures by the consumer group Which? show that, over a six year period, the number of bank branches across the UK have decreased by around 44%. The number of cash machines have also decreased; in just two years, we've lost nearly 11 thousand of them nationwide. But what does this mean for people who may prefer to use cash or visit their local branch? We speak with the Head of Money at Which?, Gareth Shaw about their findings on this. We also talk to the UK's largest provider of cash machines, LI...
Oct 05, 2021•19 min
It can be a common occurrence to hear your doctor say 'if only we'd caught this sooner'. Well, the reading department at Moorfields Eye Hospital have created a way to detect signs of one of the most common causes of blindness, all in under 30 seconds. They've done this using artificial intelligence technology and it can detect Dry Age Related Macular Degeneration, or AMD. There is currently no treatment for this condition, unlike the 'wet' form of the disorder, but it is an exciting development ...
Sep 28, 2021•18 min
September marks the start of the new university term. We hear from some visually impaired students who are returning to their studies. They tell us about their experiences with university life so far, and what they're expecting from this new academic year. We also hear from a former disability student advisor about what support is available for visually impaired students and from Rachel Hewett from the Vision Impairment Centre For Teaching and Research at the University of Birmingham, about all ...
Sep 21, 2021•19 min
Audio Description has been around for over 30 years: it is filling in the silences on TV, films and the theatre so that blind and partially sighted people can follow the action easier. The current legal requirements for audio description, for all of the major broadcasters, is set at 10% but there are currently no legal requirements for on-demand streaming, such as Netflix and Amazon Prime etc. We speak with one of the Principals in Ofcom's Content Policy team, Cathy Taylor about Ofcom's plans fo...
Sep 14, 2021•19 min
It is claimed that social media is so popular these days, that there are now more people using it across the globe than are not. But how easy is it to navigate and participate in when you're blind or partially sighted? We'll be speaking to two social media influencers, who are using different platforms to educate people about sight loss. We'll also be speaking to Facebook and Instagram's head of accessibility, Mike Shebanek, about what they are doing to ensure ease of use for visually impaired p...
Sep 07, 2021•19 min
Over the weekend, Team GB's visually impaired athletes won multiple medals: including gold across the cycling, swimming and judo. We check in with our reporter Mani Djazmi who brings us details of those medal wins and interviews with some of our gold medallists. And there could be many reasons why you'd be put off visiting the gym. It could be perceived attitudes or thinking that gyms may not provide the necessary adaptations for you. Well, under the Equalities Act, it is a legal requirement for...
Aug 31, 2021•18 min
Recently, there has been some criticism about the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic games going ahead, due to a rise in coronavirus cases in Tokyo. Despite this, the games have commenced and on the show, we hear about how they were justified from the President of the International Paralympic Committee, Andrew Parsons. And our reporter Mani Djazmi is in Tokyo and will be telling us who to look out for and about the atmosphere within the Tokyo site, given the pandemic restrictions. And it may seem unlikely th...
Aug 25, 2021•18 min
It may not come as a surprise to you that, for many years, unemployment rates amongst blind and visually impaired people have been consistently high. This is despite government efforts to combat this. Well, the recent release of two reports has put disability employment back on the agenda. We ask the Minister for Disabled People Justin Tomlinson about this government's plans, outlined within their new disability strategy, to get more blind and visually impaired people into work. And the sight lo...
Aug 17, 2021•19 min
During the lockdown period, we all added an extra 40 minutes a day, on average, onto our TV watching time; whether that was watching live TV or via streaming platforms. But are there sufficient levels of audio description available able to accompany this increase? We'll be asking this of some TV consumers and looking into the minimum legal requirements for audio description, set by the UK's regulator of communication services Ofcom. Goalball is the sport designed to be played by blind and visual...
Aug 10, 2021•19 min
Home learning can be difficult for blind and visually impaired children. But the charity Guide Dogs is aiming to change that with their new Tech for All scheme. Within the pilot of the scheme, Guide Dogs are aiming to provide free iPads to around 3,500 children to help them with their school work and overall independence. We talk to the charity's Director of Operations, Peter Osborne about the background to the scheme and we hear from a family who have benefitted. If you've not heard of him alre...
Aug 03, 2021•19 min
There has been more than a year of uncertainty about whether the Olympic and Paralympic games will actually go ahead in Tokyo this year. The Olympics are already in full swing and the Paralympic games will start on the 24th of August. Ahead of the games, we hear from two visually impaired para athletes, Alison Peasgood of triathlon and Elliot Stewart of judo, about how the past year has been. We hear about their training and fitness levels and how they're feeling about heading to Tokyo to compet...
Jul 27, 2021•18 min
Plans to require voters to show photo ID at polling stations were recently introduced in Parliament under the Elections Bill. But The RNIB are concerned that this will make the electoral process even less accessible for blind and partially sighted voters, who are seemingly disproportionately less likely to hold a passport or driving licence. We talk to the RNIB's Director of Development Keith Valentine about the charity's concerns surrounding this. And we get some answers from Network Rail's Hea...
Jul 20, 2021•19 min
