In this episode we chat with Andrew Leland, who in 2023 published The Country of the Blind: a Memoir at the End of Sight (https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-country-of-the-blind-andrew-leland/7522997?ean=9781984881427&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA2KitBhCIARIsAPPMEhImDbXwdA9ibpV2wYmd6SL8sFl4Ffahksg7Qkf0ZEWUl_OAFHZSIRkaAlrVEALw_wcB). In a Guardian review (https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/jul/17/the-country-of-the-blind-review-andrew-leland-a-penetrating-study-of-the-loss-of-sight) of the book, Andrew is praised for how he "articulates beautifully, with energy and honesty, how being held between seeing and blindness has changed him and his views on our ableist world."
Words are Andrew's life: he has been editor of the Believer magazine since 2003 and has written for titles including the New Yorker and New York Times Magazine.
Andrew's recommended book was Jellyfish Have no Ears by Adele Rosenfeld (https://www.graywolfpress.org/books/jellyfish-have-no-ears).
Find out more about Andrew on his website: andrewleland.org (https://www.andrewleland.org/)
And follow him on Twitter/X: @quailty (https://twitter.com/quailty)
Follow Ways of Not Seeing: @WONSpod (https://twitter.com/WONSpod)
26 Oct 2023
6. Lizzi Jordan - world champion para-cyclist
In this episode we chat with world champion para-cyclist Lizzi Jordan. Lizzi lost her sight as the result of an illness in 2017, when she was 19 years old. Now 25, she is a world champion and multi world championship medallist para-cyclist, representing Great Britain internationally on a tandem bike.
Find out more about British Cycling's Limitless programme (https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/limitless#:~:text=Limitless%2C%20British%20Cycling) for disabled athletes.
Follow Lizzi on Instagram: lizzi_jordan (https://www.instagram.com/lizzi_jordan/)
Follow Ways of Not Seeing on Twitter: @WONSpod (https://twitter.com/WONSpod)
31 Jul 2023
5. M. Leona Godin - writer, performer, educator
In this episode, we chat to M. Leona Godin, author of There Plant Eyes: A Personal and Cultural History of Blindness (https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/there-plant-eyes-a-personal-and-cultural-history-of-blindness-m-leona-godin/5081396?ean=9781984898401) (Pantheon Books, 2021). We hear about her wild times growing up in San Francisco, becoming a scholar of Classics and early modern literature, and what inspired her to write about depictions of blindness through the ages, from Homer to Netflix.
Leona recommended:
BLIND MAN'S BLUFF by James Tate Hill (https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Blind-Mans-Bluff-Audiobook/166650324X)
THE COUNTRY OF THE BLIND by Andrew Leland (https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-country-of-the-blind-andrew-leland/7522997?ean=9781984881427)
Follow Leona on Twitter: @DrMLGodin (https://twitter.com/DrMLGodin)
Find out more about her work at drmlgodin.com (https://drmlgodin.com/)
Follow Ways of Not Seeing on Twitter: @WONSpod (https://twitter.com/WONSpod)
15 Jun 2023
4. Joe Pepper - teacher, clinical trial participant
In this episode, we chat with Joe Pepper, a teacher from Surrey who has the inherited retinal dystrophy choroideremia. In 2015, Joe took part in a clinical trial at Oxford University, whereby working copies of the faulty gene were injected into the back of his eye. He explains the impact this procedure has had on his life.
Joe recommended:
FEAR LESS by Pippa Grange (https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Fear-Less-Audiobook/1473579465).
Follow Joe on Twitter: @MrPepperTeacher (https://twitter.com/MrPepperTeacher)
Follow Ways of Not Seeing on Twitter: @WONSpod (https://twitter.com/WONSpod)
1 Apr 2023
3. Joe Rizzo Naudi - writer
Here are links to Joe's work:
Black Cane Diary on Substack. (https://blackcanediary.substack.com/)
Arts Council England (ACE) funded cane research project. (https://caneresearchproject.substack.com/)
Video recording of Joe reading his story 'Self Portrait'. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SddesE9smAI)
Joe recommended the following:
MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE by Georgina Kleege. (https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/more-than-meets-the-eye-what-blindness-brings-to-art-georgina-kleege/181476?ean=9780190604356)
MY PHANTOMS by Gwendoline Riley. (https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/my-phantoms-gwendoline-riley/5002910?ean=9781783783274)
He also praised:
PLANET OF THE BLIND by Stephen Kuusisto. (https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/planet-of-the-blind-stephen-kuusisto/2214820?ean=9780571196968)
David recommended:
BLINDNESS by Henry Green. (https://www.waterstones.com/book/nothing-doting-blindness/henry-green/d-j-taylor/9780099481485)
And finally...
You can follow Joe on Twitter: @JoeRizzoNaudi (https://twitter.com/JoeRizzoNaudi)
26 Feb 2023
2. Annalisa Dinnella - TV scriptwriter
Here are links to Annalisa's work:
Sex Education is on Netflix. (https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/80197526)
Short film 'Rude' from BBC series The Break. (https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p099wgtn/the-break-series-5-5-rude)
The 'Babysitter's Club' episode from the latest series of Ralph & Katie. (https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001d1cd/ralph-katie-series-1-3-babysitters-club)
BBC Radio 4 documentary 'Annalisa is Awkward'. (https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0002228)
Annalisa recommended the following:
The US drama This is Us, available via Amazon. (https://www.amazon.co.uk/This-Is-Us-Season-6/dp/B09PQLBXK1/ref=atv_pr_sw_sc)
The ground-breaking BBC series The A Word. (https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/b09flzps/the-a-word)
And also:
We discussed Jack Thorne's highly influential James MacTaggart lecture. (https://www.thetvfestival.com/festival-overview/past-speakers/mactaggart-hall-fame/)
The government's Access to Work scheme. (https://www.gov.uk/access-to-work#:~:text=Access%20to%20Work%20can%20help,practical%20support%20with%20your%20work)
And finally...
You can follow Annalisa on Twitter: @annalisadinn (https://twitter.com/annalisadinn)
22 Jan 2023
1. Chris Goodwin - marathon runner, music maker
Welcome to WAYS OF NOT SEEING. This, our first episode, is an interview with Chris Goodwin, blind marathon runner, music-maker, computer programmer and all-round good egg.
You can listen to more of Chris's music on his YouTube channels:
Chessel Sound: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCr6YXHAf5LsKJm4TxoOYKwA
Moleish Reaction: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvXrPYIXKQXao1cfddHeOQw
Chris's book recommendation was RIVERS OF LONDON by Ben Aaronovitch.
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