Emily Bridges(R) at LA Comic Con. with Denzel and Kevin Conroy We delve into the world of people with disabilities who identify as nerds and geeks. While some might think the term is insulting, our guests today wear these titles as a badge of honor. Rachael Davis Disability advocates Emily Bridges and Rachael Davis talk about the different aspects of nerd culture and why they find the community accepting of those with disabilities. Max McClure Max McClure talks about the challenge of making geek...
Jan 27, 2023•30 min
Andjela H. Kaur. Photo courtesy of Penn State, Lehigh Valley We feature an overview of the Vocational Rehabilitation system in the United States with guest Andjela Kaur. The system by which people with disabilities are employed began in colonial times; and it has not always been a pretty history. Part of the story includes the fact that most states in the U.S. still allow employers to pay disabled employees a sub-minimum wage. Andjela H. Kaur is an Assistant Teaching Professor, Rehabilitation an...
Jan 20, 2023•30 min
Bliss Cameron This week we spend time in a community of low-income seniors, many who live with a disability. We ask how they are handling the days of this major storm. Are they huddled in fear? Making serious plans for a sudden evacuation? We find human beings facing physical limitations with a small measure of resource and support. And, we find stories laced with good humor and insight. Reports on the downside of community society, tales of companionship and a surprising offer from a neighborho...
Jan 13, 2023•30 min
Josh Elwood Many people with disabilities get their income from Social Security. But what happens when they go to work? A thicket of regulations puts many people in danger of losing Social Security when they begin working. And, that can spill over into other benefits like Medi-Cal. What should be the thrill of getting and starting a job can easily become a disaster. Today, Pushing Limits’ own Josh Elwood discusses his Social Security situation with Adrienne Lauby. Photo at a rally in Senate Park...
Jan 06, 2023•30 min
We bid farewell (we‘ll let you decide if it’s fond or not) to 2022, by talking about the past year with activists from throughout North America. Cyndi Soto In Los Angeles, Cynde Soto successfully advocated with others to get an accessible bus stop at Dodger Stadium. Kaden Hirsch In Brooklyn, Kaden Hirsch became better at expressing their needs to roommates regarding safety during the pandemic. In Toronto, Canada, we catch up with Aerik Woodams who talks about their interest in building care netw...
Dec 30, 2022•30 min
Reyma McCoy Hyten Two or three times a year, a celebrity makes an ignorant comment or joke about a person with a disability. Whether it’s TV show host Jenny McCarthy promoting the widely debunked idea that vaccines cause autism or the many comedians who mock people with disabilities, these actions hurt. Do these ignorant and painful comments warrant a response from disability activists? Should we take time from our focus on survival issues like housing and homecare to push back and educate celeb...
Dec 23, 2022•30 min
A half-hour radio show providing critical coverage of disability issues and bringing the insight of the grassroots disability movement to the general public. The show alternates weekly and airs on even weeks Friday 2:30pm. The post Pre-empted for Fund Drive – Pushing Limits – December 16, 2022 appeared first on KPFA.
Dec 16, 2022•30 min
A half-hour radio show providing critical coverage of disability issues and bringing the insight of the grassroots disability movement to the general public. The show alternates weekly and airs on even weeks Friday 2:30pm. The post Pre-empted for Fund Drive – Pushing Limits – December 9, 2022 appeared first on KPFA.
Dec 09, 2022•30 min
Dr. Sarah Taylor In October, a new Center for Disability Justice Research opened with great fanfare at Cal State University – East Bay. One of the Center’s focus areas is radically inclusive dance, which was celebrated in the opening ceremony with a performance by the AXIS Dance Company and Cal State’s own Wandering Ensemble. The Center has a broad purpose that includes health, equity, education and creativity. And, it’s set to play a large role in the Bay Area disability community. Today, host ...
Dec 02, 2022•30 min
Ashton Applewhite We explore alliances between senior and disability communities. From the outside, it seems both groups would be perfect partners in advocating for social change. Both groups are affected by challenges such as accessing accessible housing, healthcare, and transportation. Yet two systems of oppression, Ageism and Ableism, often impedes those alliances from being created. We talk to people who have navigated these systems to build strong partners between these two communities. Ash...
Nov 25, 2022•30 min
Emily DiMatteo Are there things about the connection between reproductive rights and the disability community that the reproductive rights movement has not yet latched on to? We interview Emily DiMatteo, the lead author of a paper called “Reproductive Justice for Disabled Women: Ending Systemic Discrimination.” The paper details considerations that should be factored into the debate over reproductive rights or reproductive justice. Emily DiMatteo is a policy analyst for the Emily DiMatteo is a p...
Nov 18, 2022•30 min
Robert Bouvard, aka Robbie Ross Is that old neighborhood guy a wheelchair-using amputee? Or a man in an impeccably tailored formal gown with Oscar-caliber make-up and hair? Robert Bouvard is both. Robert Bouvard Robert Bouvard worked with the pioneering Jewel Box Revue, a female impersonation show that toured the Chitlin Circuit in the 1940s. The Jewel Box played New York’s Apollo Theater while Black Muslims on the sidewalk outside yelled, “Get the faggots out of Harlem.” Later Bouvard worked in...
Nov 11, 2022•30 min
Lilian Aluri, American Association of People with Disabilties, Civic Engagement Coordinator The election is right around the corner. What role will people with disabilities play in the national contest, both as voters and as candidates? Pennsylvania Senate candidate John Fetterman has faced a barrage of attacks on his competency after having a stroke in May. Many other potential disabled candidates are simply passed over by their respective parties. And disabled voters face vote suppression simi...
Nov 04, 2022•30 min
Nick Feldman arrested in a 2009 protest with a sign “Feel the Power of the Disability Vote.”. Photo by Steve Rhodes, courtesy of Disability Rights California and UDWA The weather’s getting colder, November’s drawing near, and you know by your full mailbox the SPOOOOOOOOKY season is here! Today, the Pushing Limits crew sketches some state and local issues with a LEETLE Federal spice, and tell you which measures are naughty and which nice. Our web site has goodies to make you more wise, and inocul...
Oct 21, 2022•30 min
A half-hour radio show providing critical coverage of disability issues and bringing the insight of the grassroots disability movement to the general public. This program returns October 21.. The post Pre-empted for Fund Drive – Pushing Limits – October 7, 2022 appeared first on KPFA.
Oct 07, 2022•30 min
A half-hour radio show providing critical coverage of disability issues and bringing the insight of the grassroots disability movement to the general public. The show alternates weekly and airs on even weeks Friday 2:30pm. The post Pre-empted for Fund drive – September 23, 2022 appeared first on KPFA.
Sep 23, 2022•30 min
Patty Berne The clamor about the Supreme Court’s decision to revoke Roe v. Wade and allow the states to make their own rules about a woman’s reproductive right to abortion has been loud. The women-led backlash to this decision may actually allow the Democrats to keep control of the House of Representatives next year. But, in all the noise and anguish, voices of women with disabilities have generally been absent. In this program, we are going to shout truth into that wall of silence – because thi...
Sep 09, 2022•30 min
Bonnie Elliot, facilitator We talk about names- the labels people give people with disabilities and the labels we choose for ourselves. Sometimes labels are a result of able bodied discomfort with talking to someone who looks or acts differently from them. You know the question: “What do I say? How do I approach a person with an obvious disability.” There’s a simple answer: “Say ‘Hello, My name is _____’” But, historically and individually, the issue of names and labels is quite complex. We reco...
Aug 26, 2022•30 min
Aaron Carruthers For many years the unemployment rate of people with disabilities has hovered around 70%. It seems that every few years, a public official announces initiatives to address this statistic by hiring ten people, or thousands of people with disabilities for public service. Do these programs lead to more of us obtaining government employment? Today Pushing Limits talks to three people about the reality of being hired by the State of California while living as a person with a disabilit...
Aug 12, 2022•30 min
A half-hour radio show providing critical coverage of disability issues and bringing the insight of the grassroots disability movement to the general public. The show alternates weekly and airs on even weeks Friday 2:30pm. The post Pushing Limits – July 29, 2022 appeared first on KPFA.
Jul 29, 2022•30 min
Another in our occasional series of programs about musicians who have disabilities. Lets see… …this time, artists from Brazil, from Hawaii, a famous film/ theatrical musical composer, and perhaps one or two rock and rollers. Eddie Ytuarte hosts. The post Musicians with Disabilities – Pushing Limits – July 15, 2022 appeared first on KPFA.
Jul 15, 2022•30 min
Our governor is racing through the legislature with a bill that will bring huge changes in how homeless people are treated in California. The so-called Care Court bill is quickly moving through the committees in both senate and assembly without a single “no” vote. The people who are saying “no” are disability and homeless advocates who are united in calling this an unacceptable racist and classist plan that will harm the very people it claims it will help. Vanessa Ramos In this program, two of t...
Jul 01, 2022•30 min
Ted Jackson Disability Activists in Berkeley made history in 1972 when they opened the first Independent Living Center in the country. All U.S. states and territories now have multiple Independent Living Centers. Numerous people have served as Executive Directors of the Berkeley Center as the organization weathered ups and downs, grown and survived. In April of this year Ted Jackson was appointed the new Executive Director. Ted Jackson is a disability advocate, LGBTQ activist, accessibility cons...
Jun 17, 2022•30 min
Neil Marcus leaning against a dark reflective background, on which we see his reflection. Courtesy of Neil Marcus and Gary Ivanek. Today we celebrate the life of actor and playwright, Neil Marcus who died last November. Born with dystonia, a neurological disorder that causes involuntary muscle contractions and affects speech. Marcus thought of his disability as an art. Neil Marcus is best known for his play “Storm Reading”, a piece that deals with his day-to-day experiences as a person with a di...
Jun 03, 2022•30 min
Micah Peace White disabled activists combating racism against the non-white disabled community is the topic of this edition of Pushing Limits radio program. Producer/host Eddie Ytuarte will interview Micah Peace, a co-coordinator of Disability SURJ, a chapter of the national organization Showing Up For Racial Justice. SURJ is “a national network of groups and individuals organizing white people for racial and economic justice.” SURJ Activists Photo from https-//surj.org/our-work/surj-disability/...
May 06, 2022•30 min
A half-hour radio show providing critical coverage of disability issues and bringing the insight of the grassroots disability movement to the general public. The show alternates weekly and airs on even weeks Friday 2:30pm. The post Pushing Limits – April 22, 2022 appeared first on KPFA.
Apr 22, 2022•30 min
A half-hour radio show providing critical coverage of disability issues and bringing the insight of the grassroots disability movement to the general public. The show alternates weekly and airs on even weeks Friday 2:30pm. The post Pushing Limits – April 8, 2022 appeared first on KPFA.
Apr 08, 2022•30 min
Christine Fitzgerald, Advisory Committees for VTA, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority Many nursing homes, transportation agencies, senior services, housing authorities and other groups that heavily impact people with disabilities have Advisory Committees. And, low income and disabled people are often asked to serve on them. Are these committees just window dressing? Is a committee member like a wedding planner who’s only allowed to plan the reception centerpieces? How can a disabled...
Mar 25, 2022•30 min
A half-hour radio show providing critical coverage of disability issues and bringing the insight of the grassroots disability movement to the general public. The show alternates weekly and airs on even weeks Friday 2:30pm. The post Pushing Limits – February 25, 2022 appeared first on KPFA.
Feb 25, 2022•30 min
On February 11, Pushing Limits radio program will present an interview with Cara Reedy who is the Director of Disability Media Alliance Project (DMAP) at DREDF where she is working to change the way media represents little people, and the general disability community. Ms. Reedy has previously worked is a journalist and producer for CNN producing documentaries; as well as writing for Eatocracy and CNN Business. In 2019, she produced her most recent short documentary for The Guardian entitled Dwar...
Feb 11, 2022•30 min
