For some of us, puppets are lifelong friends; characters from our youth that teach, comfort, and entertain. For others, puppets are mysterious and even unsettling, represented only by strange, disorienting voices. Today, Christine works through her discomfort with the art form by asking questions about the visuals of puppets and puppeteering. How does Kermit's mouth move? Can a marionette really evoke an emotional response? And what are water puppets and shadow puppets?! Visual descriptions of o...
Apr 09, 2022•37 min•Season 4Ep. 99
Ready to break free of winter and endless pandemic lockdowns? Us too! Inspired by the fresh spring air, and egged on by listener requests ("egged on", get it?!), Christine and JJ indulge in descriptions of emergence in nature: hatching chicks, caterpillars transforming into butterflies, and bulbs blooming in garden beds. Happy Spring, everyone! Send us a quick note! Support the show...
Apr 02, 2022•45 min•Season 4Ep. 98
On a recent trip to Vancouver, Christine met up with some of the great folks at VocalEye, a not-for-profit organization that does amazing and innovative work in the Description world. After a full day of exploring, Christine got a ride home with longtime Describer, and all-around lovely Vancouverite, Ingrid Turk. Full of questions about Vancouver's much-hyped landscape, and not willing to pass up a golden opportunity, Christine switched on her mic and recorded this impromptu episode. Special tha...
Mar 26, 2022•26 min•Season 4Ep. 97
When Russia invaded Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy began connecting with his people, and the rest of the world, through selfie videos and video addresses. This week, Christine and JJ discuss Zelenskyy's social media savvy, and describe the visuals of his regular releases. Then the conversation turns to public art and graffiti that demonstrates international support for the Ukrainian people, and profound anger toward Vladimir Putin. Send us a quick note! Support the show...
Mar 19, 2022•30 min•Season 4Ep. 96
For many sighted movie fans, posters aren't just ads; they're a tease, a lure, the first glimpse of an eagerly-anticipated film. This week, Christine and JJ discuss and describe favourite and famous movie posters. From Star Wars to The Graduate , Frankenstein to Pretty Woman, Bill and Ted to Godzilla, if you're a movie fan, Talk Description has you covered. Send us a quick note! Support the show...
Mar 12, 2022•33 min•Season 4Ep. 95
Christine is fascinated by gestures, body language, and non-verbal communication. In this fun, chatty episode, the Queen of Curious Questions asks JJ to describe facial expressions, eyebrow acting, and a variety of shrugs. Then the pair discusses the language of subtle eye movements, directional signalling, and everyone's favourite, rude gestures! Send us a quick note! Support the show...
Mar 05, 2022•38 min•Season 4Ep. 94
Charts and graphs can be useful for recognizing patterns and comparing data sets. Today, Christine and JJ explore visualizations of case numbers, deaths, and vaccinations from the COVID era. Then, the pair checks in on the Ottawa "Freedom Convoy". When police moved in to shut down the occupation, cell phone cameras were rolling! What they captured were disturbing and contentious images of children on the front lines, and mounted officers clashing with protestors. Christine and JJ try to sort thr...
Feb 26, 2022•35 min•Season 4Ep. 93
In this Breaking News episode recorded the morning of Friday February 25th, 2022, Christine and JJ describe news images and video clips from the first 36 hours of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Send us a quick note! Support the show
Feb 25, 2022•25 min•Season 4Ep. 92
The Underground Railroad was a complex, clandestine network of people, secret routes, and safe houses that helped enslaved African American freedom seekers reach Northern states and Canada. This week, Christine and JJ describe some of the surviving visuals of this extraordinary network, including route maps, hideouts, and code quilts. Send us a quick note! Support the show...
Feb 19, 2022•31 min•Season 4Ep. 91
As we all know, Christine is a woman with many questions! What's the appeal of a dramatic view? Do clouds look the same from above and below? What does lightning look like from an airplane? Can you tell if you're being watched by an animal? Or through a camera? This week, Christine lets loose with her best view-related queries. But the question remains: Can JJ keep up?! Send us a quick note! Support the show...
Feb 12, 2022•36 min•Season 4Ep. 90
On Saturday January 29th, a self-described "Freedom Convoy" of big rigs rolled into Ottawa to protest cross-border vaccination rules for Canadian truckers. The protestors have parked their trucks in front of the Parliament buildings, taking over streets and dominating the city's soundscape with a constant barrage of horn blasts and rally cries. Within the crowd, protestors have been waving flags and raising hand-drawn signs, some featuring hateful, violent, and racist messaging. Today, Christine...
Feb 05, 2022•34 min•Season 4Ep. 89
Fire has been a game-changer in the story human evolution. It's mesmerizing and romantic, dangerous and terrifying, and utterly compelling. This week, Christine and JJ burn through a box of matches describing the mysterious visuals of fire, from humble candles to devastating wildfires. Send us a quick note! Support the show
Jan 29, 2022•35 min•Season 4Ep. 88
On January 15th 2022, an underwater volcano erupted in the Pacific Island nation of Tonga, sending an ash cloud 100,000 feet in the air. The massive eruption was clearly visible from space, and sparked a tsunami that rocked Pacific coastlines from New Zealand to Japan, Peru to Canada. Today, Christine and JJ describe satellite images of the blooming ash cloud, visualizations of the eruption's shockwave, and videos of the resulting tsunami. Send us a quick note! Support the show...
Jan 22, 2022•31 min•Season 4Ep. 87
It's been an exciting couple of weeks for space geeks like Christine. On Christmas Day, with help from the European Space Agency, NASA launched the James Webb Space Telescope, the successor to Hubble. Since then, the telescope has been busy unfolding, preparing itself for a million-mile mission and a lifetime of capturing infrared images of the oldest and most distant objects in our universe. JJ and Christine will have to wait a while before those images are available to describe, but that's ok ...
Jan 15, 2022•30 min•Season 4Ep. 86
"Hello out there! We're on the air! It's hockey night tonight!" - Stompin' Tom Connors. For some, winter means bundling up, locking the door, and hiding under weighted blankets 'til Spring. For others it means lacing up skates, taping up an old stick, and heading to the nearest patch of ice for a bit of shinny! This week, in a valiant, oh-so-Canadian effort to fight off the post-holiday blahs, Christine and JJ indulge in some nostalgic, description-rich chirping about the best game we can name -...
Jan 08, 2022•45 min•Season 4Ep. 85
Happy New Year everyone! To celebrate the season, Christine and JJ head to Toronto's Distillery District Christmas Market. Wandering the cobblestone streets of the Victorian neighbourhood, they describe the decorations and delicious treats, share a few stories, and some good laughs, too. All the best in 2022! Send us a quick note! Support the show...
Jan 01, 2022•25 min•Season 3Ep. 84
Merry Christmas everyone! To celebrate the season, Christine and JJ head to Toronto's Distillery District Christmas Market. Wandering the cobblestone streets of the Victorian neighbourhood, they describe the decorations and delicious treats, share a few stories, and some good laughs, too. All the best to you and yours! Send us a quick note! Support the show...
Dec 25, 2021•25 min•Season 3Ep. 83
Late in the night on December 10th and into the early morning of December 11th, a supercell thunderstorm ripped through four Mid-South American states. Multiple tornadoes within the storm devastated towns, cities, and rural areas, and took the lives of at least 90 people, with many more still missing. This week, in an effort to provide contextual information to those profoundly affected by these events, JJ and Christine describe the visuals of tornadoes, and photos of the storm's aftermath. List...
Dec 18, 2021•32 min•Season 3Ep. 82
Ever wondered how the surface of a round planet translates into a flat map? Christine has! This week, JJ answers questions about the visuals of maps, and how those visuals line up with reality. Then, with maps on the mind, JJ and Christine discuss the look of online tracking and navigation, from deliveries to Uber rides, container ships to Santa's Christmas Eve run! Send us a quick note! Support the show...
Dec 11, 2021•30 min•Season 3Ep. 81
Love 'em or hate 'em, personal vehicles are everywhere. These days, people are zipping across town on silent e-bikes, delivering takeout on electric kick scooters, and coasting through neighbourhoods on seemingly magic skateboards. In this episode, Christine and JJ describe the visuals of personal transportation devices, from mobility scooters to hover shoes! Send us a quick note! Support the show...
Dec 04, 2021•35 min•Season 3Ep. 80
Since our days as cave-dwelling hunter gatherers, humans have been creating and sharing art. Paintings by early humans still adorn the walls and ceilings of hundreds of caves around the world. Far from "primitive" sketches, many of these works of art demonstrate an evolving understanding of colour, form, symbolism, and pictorial communication. This week, Christine and JJ discuss Palaeolithic handprints, cave etchings, and figurative paintings: the earliest human-made art on the planet. Send us a...
Nov 27, 2021•34 min•Season 3Ep. 79
You just can't escape advertising in the modern world. Even if you've been living under a rock there's probably a tiny billboard there promoting a New and Improved rock cleaner! With Thanksgiving upon us and the Christmas shopping season right around the corner, Black Friday advertising is everywhere. This week Christine and JJ describe viral videos of Black Friday chaos, and discuss the impact of ads on our visual landscape. Send us a quick note! Support the show...
Nov 19, 2021•31 min•Season 3Ep. 78
This week, the week of Remembrance Day and Veteran's Day, Christine and JJ examine wartime photos and propaganda posters. In this episode they describe early photographs from the American Civil War, black-and-white snapshots from WWI, and iconic photos and propaganda art from WWII, including The Battle of Iwo Jima, V-J Day in Times Square, and paintings of Rosie the Riveter. Send us a quick note! Support the show...
Nov 13, 2021•44 min•Season 3Ep. 77
Día de Muertos is a wonderfully vibrant and joyful Mexican holiday with an extraordinary aesthetic. Family traditions with roots in Aztec rituals are at the heart of the holiday, and are practiced throughout Mexico and around the world. Celebrations continue to evolve, with the alluring visuals of big budget movies like Disney's Coco and James Bond's Spectre adding to the mystique of the holiday. Skeletons, altars, spirit animals, and cemeteries; join us for a descriptive exploration of Mexico's...
Nov 06, 2021•32 min•Season 3Ep. 76
There's never a bad time to don fishnet stockings and dance the Time Warp, but if you're looking for an excuse, Halloween is it! This week, Christine and JJ breakdown the visuals of the greatest cult movie of all time: the Rocky Horror Picture Show! Sequinned heels, outrageous makeup, hunky musclemen, and more corsets than you can shake a feather boa at; the Rocky Horror Picture Show implores us to give ourselves over to absolute pleasure. With a strong penchant for campy, raunchy fun, Talk Desc...
Oct 30, 2021•30 min•Season 3Ep. 75
Several internet videos featuring strange contraptions and creations have popped up in Christine's social media feed over the last few months, but we haven't managed to slip them into an episode. Then last week, a painting by the mysterious street artist Banksy sold at auction for $25 million. The crazy story of its creation features an epic prank, a hidden contraption, and a viral video, giving us the perfect excuse to pull all these wild inventions into one goofy episode. The original videos d...
Oct 23, 2021•30 min•Season 3Ep. 74
Energy infrastructure might not be sexy, but it's vital to our current way of life. These systems bring electricity to your home and transport oil and gas across continents, but what they actually look like remains a mystery to many people. This week, Christine asks about pipelines, rooftop solar systems, and commercial wind farms, and JJ describes the network of wires that lead from power plants, into your city, down your street, right to your home. This episode was inspired by images from worl...
Oct 16, 2021•41 min•Season 3Ep. 73
How does life look underwater? What's a jellyfish like? How about coral? Are deep sea creatures really that bizarre? This week, Christine and JJ don their virtual scuba gear (but not before describing it, of course!) to answer listener questions about the visuals of the underwater world. Send us a quick note! Support the show
Oct 09, 2021•28 min•Season 3Ep. 72
When tight for time, Audio Describers often use shorthand phrases to sum up rich or complex visuals. Today, Christine and JJ expand on expressions like "futuristic" and "well-dressed" to help description users fill-in their mental pictures. Prompted by online conversations with fellow description users and creators, Christine asks how Describers handle repetitive imagery, antiquated language, B-movie continuity, and even eyebrow acting. Send us a quick note! Support the show...
Oct 02, 2021•33 min•Season 3Ep. 71
To boldly describe what no one has described before! Ok, that might be overstating it a bit, but can you blame us for being excited? We’re describing the world of Star Trek here! Inspired by the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ casting of Bruce Horak in the role of Hemmer — a blind actor playing a blind character! — Christine and JJ indulge in a descriptive conversation about the every-changing look of Star Trek. From the soft focus treatment of Kirk’s beautiful alien love interests, to the evolut...
Sep 25, 2021•40 min•Season 3Ep. 70
