The goal of this podcast is to give a voice to those with visible and invisible, physical and mental, disabilities. Medium Rare is about how we’re all human and understanding our differences can only happen with honest conversation, humor and compassion for ourselves and others!
We’re all cooked up a little differently when we come into this world, or sometimes life grills us. But guess what?? We’re all still meat!
Episode 5 - There'll be Comedy in this Later: Meat Cute with Santina Muha
In this episode Carolyn has Santina Muha on the grill to discuss life at #AssLevel. Santina is a comedian, actress, writer and producer living in a wheelchair. Carolyn and Santina chat about working in "The Business", finding humor in the everyday, and their similarities despite their differences as folks with visible and invisible disabilities. Find out how you can cross paths with anybody with a different experience than your own and find common ground, if you just open yourself up!
31 May 2021
Episode 4 - Comfort and Connection: Meat Cute with Kelsey Hammersmark
In this episode, Carolyn chats with one of her dearest friends from high school - Kelsey Hammersmark. Now a nurse in Carolyn's hometown of Chicago, Kelsey is living with Rheumatoid Arthritis and was one of the first people Carolyn told about her MHE as a youngster.
You’ll learn in this episode that Kelsey is a perfect model for perseverance and badassery by living with an autoimmune disease. And for fellow folks living with disabilities, this episode will inspire you to talk with your fellow disabled friends about their health experiences, even if they’re different from your own!
24 May 2021
Episode 3 - It's a Diff-ability: Meat Cute with Bill Wantuck
In this episode, Carolyn grills her college buddy Bill Wantuck, an artist, office administrator and fellow Chicago native living with a rare form of Cerebral Palsy - spastic triplegia - meaning his CP affects three of his limbs. Bill helped inspire Carolyn's idea for her entire Medium Rare podcast after a tipsy night out brought the two closer together by sharing their disability experiences. This episode will enlighten you and prove that disabilities don't have to dim your light, they can make you brighter!
17 May 2021
Episode 2 - We're Going to the Moon: Meat Cute with Steve Way
In this episode, Carolyn grills the one and only Steve Way - actor, comedian, motivational speaker and avid soccer fan best known right now for playing "Stevie" on the Hulu show Ramy. In addition to chatting about dating while disabled and the risks of eating noodles, Carolyn and Steve dive deep into the more taboo topics of how much is left unsaid about disability identity and the big healthcare needs we have yet to provide the disabled community. Get ready to laugh, cry, get angry and start craving sushi and fettuccine (we hope you eat those separately, but this is a no judgement zone)!
10 May 2021
Episode 1, Part 1 - MHE, Me, & You: Meat Cute with Marie Dagenais-Lewis
Carolyn Portner talks with Marie Dagenais-Lewis, a news director, journalist, artist and active advocate for disability rights and anti-ableist ideals. She hopes to bring awareness to the realities of living with chronic illnesses through her art specifically her fabulous coloring book “Chronically Spooky” and her merchandise that highlights her art activism. She’s also the founder of Rare Community - a social network for those living with chronic illnesses. Marie is the FIRST person with Multiple hereditary exostoses (MHE) that Carolyn has ever talked to outside of a doctor or her family, so things get pretty juicy! They'll make you wanna cook up some shish kabob, fight super hero crimes with your hips and start a water aerobics class.
10 May 2021
Episode 1, Part 2 - Confronting Our Past: Meat Cute with Marie Dagenais-Lewis
Carolyn continues her conversation with Marie Dagenais-Lewis, a news director, journalist, artist and active advocate for disability rights and anti-ableist ideals. She hopes to bring awareness to the realities of living with chronic illnesses through her art specifically her fabulous coloring book “Chronically Spooky” and her merchandise that highlights her art activism. She’s also the founder of Rare Community - a social network for those living with chronic illnesses. This time they chat about their childhoods living with bumpy bones, family influences and their hopes for a bumpy bone renaissance!
4 May 2021
Welcome to the Grill - Meat Cute with Carolyn Portner
Host Carolyn Portner is a comedian and writer living with Multiple Hereditary Exostoses (MHE) - a rare genetic bone disorder blessing her at birth with deformed and, she argues, voluptuous bones. Her mission is to eliminate shame and secrecy around disabilities, and trade our secrets for self-acceptance while offering an opportunity to laugh WITH our bodies rather than let them laugh at us. Let’s get cookin’!
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