After a visit to BLENNZ, which I finally figured out what that stood for in this episode, I met up with student Roman Parahi, who lost his sight at age 17, which sparked him on a journey to become a damn good rapper and advocate for the community.
It's not too often that you meet someone on vacation during a Blind Citizens Association meeting, but I had the honour of exactly that this month. Matthew Horspool is his name, and luckily, he had time in his travels to chat with me about Braille, adaptive technology, and the very interesting strategies he uses to read texts - including something I had never considered - reading music. I loved this episode, hope you enjoy it too.
In this episode, I talk with crime writer Vanda Symon about her current eyesight issues - and how central vision loss did not stop her from entering a fencing competition! Plus, we talk about writing books, and reminisce about meeting of the TV show The Traitors. I love this episode!
I was lucky enough to attend the premiere of Able NZ's new web series Sight Unseen, which demonstrates the wonders of Audio Description to the world. I met the show's host Ari Kerssens and immediately connected over art, comedy, and life. I knew I had to get Ari on the show and hear some of his sound artistry. If you don't know what that is, don't worry - I didn't either.
As a Dad with Low Vision, I constantly wonder whether I am stepping up to the mark in my kids' eyes. I decided to find out once and for all by chatting with my sons Charlie and Harry, and find out how life with a Low Vision parent affects them.
In this episode, I chatted with David Shaaf, a brilliant Kiwi who makes a living as an editor and filmmaker who just happens to be legally blind. If you're looking for creative inspiration, David is the man to talk to. Have a listen to his great insights into filmmaking.
In this episode Sam chats about all things Peanut Butter with Bruce "Pic" Picot, the man behind the world-famous Pic's Peanut Butter. They recollect fond memories of their shared hometown of Nelson, Pic's eclectic history, and how vision loss lead to the iconic Peanut Butter World.
In this episode Sam sits down with journalist Paddy Gower to discuss their eyesight problems, Paddy very kindly takes us through his emotional journey and opens up like never before. This is an episode you will NOT want to miss.
In this episode, Sam chats with Jordan Langley, who works with the team to create the Hāpai Access card - a wonderful accessibility card that helps remove access barriers to people all all walks of life. Get YOUR card at https://www.hapaiaccesscard.org.nz/
Host Sam Smith sits down for a deep dive with the winner of The Traitors New Zealand, Sam Smith who is legally blind. The highs, the lows, the strategy, the emotion, Sam bears all. And just to be clear, yes he is interviewing himself.
This time Sam sits down to chat with Karen O'Leary, the star of Wellington Paranormal, Paddy Gower Has Issues, What We Do In The Shadows, and many more things as well. But what you might not know is that Karen is low vision!
In this episode, we team up with the Big Fact Hunt podcasters Thom Adams, Jen Jewell, and Nathan Kenny to find fun facts against the clock. We had just 30 minutes to find the most fascinating facts about blind animals and as you can expect, we got wildly off course. Listen, learn and laugh along with this great episode.
Peter D Tutty and I have been online friends for a while now, so it was great to chat with him about his incredible work ethic, his philosophy on life as a blind author, and his blossoming TikTok career. You won't want to miss this episode!
In this episode, Sam Smith discusses podcasting, the arts, and finding your way in the world with low vision with the host of the Bean Break podcast Blake Sebastian. They connect over the theatre and show that with a bit of drive, anyone can make a podcast.
Josh Davies is a great kiwi comedian doing wonderful work in the comedy community, and in his role with the fundraising team at BLVNZ. I'm always impressed by how funny and smart Josh is, he never fails to put a smile on my dial - so have a listen, he might do the same for you.
In this episode Sam sat down with author and illustrator Richard Fairgray, a kiwi now living in Hollywood.
In our summer episode, we join forces with the Everything You Didn't Need To Know About podcast. Sam sat down with zoologist Dr Nathan Kenny, lawyer Jen Jewell, and science communicator Thom Adams to discuss all the little things you didn't know about Braille. Be warned- there are a LOT of hilarious tangents! You'll laugh and you'll learn. Check out EYDNTKA on YouTube and Spotify.
In our spring episode, we talk to Julie Woods who is taking the world by storm with her positive spin on life and not letting blindness slow her down. From writing a million names in braille to refereeing nude rugby, our chat with Julie was an absolute delight.
We have revised the name for our podcast and will now be known as ReVISION. Also, Blind Low Vision Awareness Week kicks off on October 18th, and to get you in the mood for our next episode we have a few snippets of our chat with the fantastic Julie Woods.
Did you know your TV can describe the visual aspects of the shows you watch? I visited the team at Able NZ who showed me exactly how to improve the TV viewing experience for blind and low vision viewers.
From Blind Low Vision NZ comes a podcast aimed at celebrating all the great people doing great things in the world despite having vision loss. Every quarter, host Sam Smith will talk with members of the Bling Low Vision community to entertain, educate, and inform. If you are a great person doing great things or know of someone - please get in contact at podcast@blindlowvision.org.nz
In our first episode, Sam learns how to cook meat, tell jokes, and introduce life-changing legislation with special guests Dianne Rogers, Taryn Banks, Andrew Law, and Josh Davies.
