Music scholar Alex Lubet is the author of “Music, Disability, and Society” (2011). Topics include Lubet’s concept of “social confluence,” jazz musicians with disabilities, and a symphonic orchestra made up of blind women based Cairo, Egypt. Hosted and produced by Eddie Ytuarte The post Musicians with Disabilities – Alex Lubet (1) appeared first on KPFA.
Who only wishes for you to succeed? Who only wants to fulfill your every need? Who will be there through thick or thin? Your mother? Think again. It’s those guide dogs and service dogs, People. When you’re down they lift you up When you’re lost they know the way (or aren’t too macho to ask for help!) They’re your eyes, your ears, your nose Harness off. . . Anything goes. It’s those guide dogs and service dogs, People. Leah Gardner and her new guide dog Vander talk about the trials and delights o...
Workers from the bay area rapid transit (BART) system went on strike this week causing massive disruptions and major media attention. Strangely, news reports have had no discussion of how, and to what extent, the strike is affecting people with disabilities and seniors. Today we begin to rectify that problem by opening our phones. At what point have transit officials dropped the ball for people with disabilities around this strike? Have the unions done anything to protect and serve us during thi...
In a little over a week, thousands of short-statured people will be gathering for the annual Little People of America national convention in Washington D.C. For them, this convention is excitement squared. Many little people spend most of their time in the company of average-sized people and the convention is a precious chance to romance, meet up with friends, show off art and talent, and strategize politically. Today we get a jump on the national convention with a discussion of the hot topics f...
Jazz Musicians with Disabilities. Eddie Ytuarte and Josh Elwood present well known musicians who had significant disabilities. They include Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk, Chick Webb and Rosemary Clooney……we play them not because they are “supercrips” or are “inspirational’ stories. We play them because they also helped develop the course of the wonderful world of jazz music. The post Pushing Limits – June 7, 2013 appeared first on KPFA.
‘What is SHE having for dinner? “ “How can you be happy- you’re disabled” “Where’s your friend , surely you can’t ride BART by yourself ” Everyday people with disabilities hear funny, ignorant and hurtful comments such as these from folks in society who often don’t have a clue about how offensive they sound . Wouldn’t you like to laugh and complain about their ignorance? We will be sharing our experiences at dealing with the ignorant comments people make about our disability. We invite you to ca...
It began in living rooms and grew to the international stage. The Disability Arts Movement came out of the disability movement of the 70s and 80s with brilliance and fire. We revisit the origins, remember important performance groups and individuals, and talk about contemporary disability arts. Pamela Kay Walker’s memoir, “Moving Over the Edge, Artists with Disabilities Take the Leap” chronicled the disability arts movement and her role as an integral part of the Berkeley wing of that movement. ...
Corporate pharmaceuticals are ethically challenged in multiple ways. But, many people with disabilities owe their lives to the drugs provided by Big Pharma. We illustrate some of the problems with excerpts from the film, “Selling Sickness,” directed by Pat Scott. Then, disability advocates Caroline Harby and s.e. smith help us pull apart the many strands of our community’s relationship with prescription medication. With time out to talk about the value of community radio, the quality you hear on...
Cuts: Subsidized Housing & A Plan for Social Security Major cuts to the HUD housing voucher program are leaving people on the streets and threatening the homes of the very poor. Today, we give you the dirty details of how Federal sequestration is playing out in central and northern California. The Democrats said these cuts would cause enormous pain, even death. The Republicans said government programs could be cut even more. As we begin to see the effects of these massive across-the-board cu...
Fat body activist Amanda Levitt speaks with co-hosts Eddie Ytuarte and Adrienne Lauby why being fat does not mean she is a person with a disability However, do the two communities share similar characteristics or experiences? Do us disabled share common barriers like facing various forms of discrimination or ….or being victimized by negative and ugly stereotypes. Are we being silly when we are told that one of the reasons people are fat is that we eat to much fast food in contemporary USA. What ...
We’re the ones making the jokes these days, with comics coming out and proud about their disabilities. This has changed the state of comedic art in relationship to disability. But, how much? And, what remains the same? Two comics with disabilities, Nina G and Andy Arias, join our hosts and able-bodied comic Karen Ripley to talk about audiences, lines that shouldn’t be crossed, and their personal gray areas. Some jokes will be traded, no doubt. Jokes about disabled people have been a cornerstone ...
Fund Drive Special Mark O’Brien who lived most of his life in an iron lung is the focus of the new movie, “The Sessions.” We talk to Jessica Yu, the director of the Oscar-winning “Breathing Lessons.” David Steinberg, photos of sexual intimacy between persons wit disabilities. Dr.Rafe Eric Biggs and his partner Ligia Andrade, both sex educators with disabilities. The post Sex and Disability appeared first on KPFA.
Come and give and take with Pushing Limit hosts Eddie Ytuarte and Shelley Berman about the current controversy over gun control….that is if they put their differences aside and want other folks with disabilities to speak about this biting topic. Not all people in the disability community are that enthusiastic about President Obama’s and New York State governor Cuomo’s plans to stem gun related homicides. If you are disabled and need a gun tell us why you should legally have one. If you think gun...
“The Invisible War,” a film about military sexual abuse of women, has been nominated for an Oscar for best documentary feature and one in five women in military service who have been the victim of sexual assault. Incredibly, women who’ve been sexually abused in military service have a higher incidence of PTSD than men who’ve been in combat. This week, Pushing Limits tells one of these stories with an interview of Pat O’Daly, the first Air Force woman to work airplane mechanics on a flight line. ...
What is the Systems Change Network in California and how does it support the disability community. Teresa Favuzzi, executive director of the California Foundation of Independent Living Centers will give details about this network which invloves 28 state Independent Living Centers. Favuzzi’s CFILC administers the federal grant that maintains the project. How will any changes in the Network affect the capacity of the Independent Living Centers to continue the work? Will the continuing work of the ...
Veterans Healing PTSD Together. “They taught me that I could hurt somebody and I don’t want to hurt anybody.” Veteran Jim Swazye. Six white Vietnam Vets, disabled by their military service, talk about PTSD. They discuss anger and helping each other, as well as reaching out to other vets trapped in rage and shame. As the national discussion of the 26 senseless killings in Connecticut seethes on, these men continue to walk their winding and often arduous path to peace. Guests: Sunny Campbell, Larr...
Head trauma and emotional trauma. . . this week we take a look. . . with hope and humor. We feature: “Healing Homes”, a feature-length documentary film directed by Daniel Mackler, chronicles the work of the Family Care Foundation in Gothenburg, Sweden — a program which, in an era of multi-drug cocktails and psychiatric diagnoses-for-life, helps people recover from psychosis without medication or labels. “Tumor Boy” is the story of John Healy’s experience of being diagnosed with a brain tumor at ...
People receiving MediCal are required to use a managed care plan for health care. Now, California is sending another quarter of its poorest and most vulnerable citizens into the for-profit system. Those whose health care is paid for by both Medicare and MediCal, the so-called dual eligibles, are being hustled down the road toward managed care. Many see this as a state-mandated nightmare. And, there are many affected who, for better or worse, know nothing about it yet. Today, we’re going to pull ...
Three women take a frank look at a fitness challenge geared towards fat people. They talk about how weight interacts with their disabilities. How does the judgment and disdain of society toward fat people get in the way of heath and fitness? Leti Flores, Cora Neal and host Shelley Berman share their personal “Biggest Loser” moments — the good, the bad and the hopeful. The post Fatness and Fitness appeared first on KPFA.
Are you someone with a speech impairment who relishes sharing gossip with friends in public, knowing that those nearby can’t understand you? Do you love using a wheelchair when you speed past walkies to catch a bus? Are you a shy person whose happy when your guide dog breaks the ice with a new friend? Whatever your disability, Pushing Limits is opening the phones so you can tell the world what’s great about it. October is homecoming month so let’s have a pep rally for our disabilities! Call us a...
Fund Drive Special The post Pushing Limits – Fund Drive Special appeared first on KPFA.
We take you to two harsh environments, where people with disabilities only exist through the joys of peer support and imaginative thought. First, we go to Black Rock City in Nevada where, during the week of Labor Day, the annual Burning Man Festival took place. We talk to three people with disabilities, the force behind the Black Rock City Department of Mobility, a volunteer camp for people with disabilities who provide free and barter disability services for others who are attending the festiva...
Pushing Limits speaks with Center for Independence Yomi Wrong about the current controversy over the appearance of Governor Jerry Brown to the organization’s fortieth anniversary gala. Despite Brown’s early support of disability rights in his first go around as governor, disability activists (like those from Communities United in Defense of Olmstead) are down on him for the way he is conducting himself this go around. And they do not like it that CIL has showcased him for this fundraiser. CIL bo...
Due to a technical error, this program was a rerun of our 8-17-12 program. Influential personalities like bioethecist Peter Singer have called for the aborting of disabled fetuses and have gone farther in saying it is o.k. to kill infants with serious disabilities like spinal bifida. We want to pursue this topic again but not in the usual way. We think it is fair and also necessary for us “to turn the table” and come to this topic from the other direction. This is a call in program so we want ou...
Influential personalities like bioethecist Peter Singer have called for the aborting of disabled fetuses and have gone farther in saying it is o.k. to kill infants with serious disabilities like spinal bifida. We want to pursue this topic again but not in the usual way. We “turn the table” and come to this topic from the other direction. This is a call in program so we want our listeners with disabilities to pick a living and known person whose mothers should have been more enthusiastic practiti...
Last year, in 2011, a switch happened. People living in San Francisco with HIV/AIDS had birthdays, and the majority of them were over 50. In the years to come, other cities will follow, and the country will have to consider how to best provide services to seniors living with HIV or AIDS. Pushing Limits gives us a heads up on all this with the rebroadcast of Raphaella Bennin’s thoughtful exploration of Aging with HIV or AIDS. Very little planning has been made to address the needs of this populat...
“Hey man, are you crazy?” “Sister Friend, I think you need some counseling.” “Are you off your medicine bro?” Many of us hear those phrases everyday. They can be said teasingly by friends, or rudely shouted from a car waiting for you to cross the street. Many people hear these phases from doctors and government leaders in ways that are neither cute or funny. What happens when someone with a mental disability smashes into the institutions and services of state and county government. How much help...
It’s a show about which of us might have been aborted were we born today and about beautiful insects that can destroy your garden. It’s a show about people with disabilities who become greeters at Wal-Mart and what it’s like to live with (central) auditory processing disorder. In other words, it’s a program as untamed and enlightening as the internet itself. With two disability bloggers: Mike Ervin of Smart Ass Cripple or, (as the FCC requires) “Smart Patootie Cripple” and Andrea Ray of Andrea’s...
Fireworks. Parties. Ceremonies. A day off work for many. These are the various shades of Independence Day. Friday June 29th on Pushing Limits, hosts Leah Gardner and Jacob Lesner-Buxton ask our listeners and other program contributors to share their stories of independence. While we celebrate freedom, we also discuss those things that may threaten our sense of independence. We open the phone lines for your personal thoughts. It’s Independence Day! The post Stories of Independence – Call In appea...
Beginning this January, a groundbreaking law requires the teaching of disability history — and the history of lesbians, gays, bi-sexuals and transgendered people — to be integrated into social studies class work. It’s called the FAIR Education Act. We talk to two women who work with school boards and others to make the requirements of the law just another part of the standard school day. Guests: Dolores Tejada, community organizer for Community Resources for Independent Living (CRIL). Judy Appel...
