Disability Happy Hour

The Country of the Blind (Andrew Leland)

"Blindness is just another style of living."
 
Paraphrasing Borges, Pulitzer Prize finalist Andrew Leland joins Andrew, Will & Phoebe for a round of meandering discourse on writing and disability. We wind down myriad alleyways of his 2023 memoir "The Country of the Blind", ponder the progress and shortcomings of media representation, and generally delight in all things literary and absurd.
Things we drank:
Polar Seltzer Water (original flavor)
Lagunitas IPA
tea + Wolftrap Red Blend (classic combo)
Four Roses bourbon
 
Things we talked about:
Mother Jones' first disability beat reporter Julia Métraux
Sally Greenhouse's podcast Secret Lives of the Disabled
Living Blindfully with Jonathan Mosen
There Plant Eyes by M. Leona Godin
Joe "Whistler" Engressia's (a.k.a. Joybubbles) portrayal in Sneakers (1992)
Andrew Leland's piece for The Daily about the controversy over the casting of "In The Dark"
Mona Minkara's blind travel series Planes, Trains and Canes
Matthew & Paul
RP + Stargardts forming Voltron
 
Disability Happy Hour is produced independently by Andrew Barkan, Will Barkan, and Phoebe Barkan. Our music is by Andrew & Polly, and all editing, mixing and mastering was done by Andrew Barkan in sunny Santa Monica, CA. Find us @disabilityhappyhour or email disabilityhappyhour@gmail.com
 
Thanks for listening!

99 Problems But a Witch Ain't One (Wicked 2 and Getting Disability Representation Right)

In preparation for Wicked 2 (Wicked: For Good) we talk with lifelong musical fan Emily Seelenfreund about our responses to Wicked: Part One, predictions and hopes for the upcoming film based on the musical, and what Hollywood can learn from the way this franchise gets disability right.
Emily (an authentic wheelchair user like the actress portraying Nessa Rose, Marissa Bode) grew up loving the musical Wicked on Broadway. She is the CEO of BORP Adaptive Sports, a disability rights lawyer, a medaling para-climber, and an all-around good hang.
We unpack Marissa Bode's social media response to the backlash to her character's disability, Imani Barbarin's reflections,  
To support the show, please subscribe, rate, and share this podcast with friends! We're sharing funny and poignant disability content on Instagram @disabilityhappyhour and are excited about upcoming guests. If you are interested in participating in the show or recommending a guest, you can email us at disabilityhappyhour@gmail.com - and thanks for listening.

Cane I Kick It? (with Lachi)

Welcome to Season 2 of Disability Happy Hour!
Lachi (she/her, black woman with corn rows) joins us for an all-blind dish session about canes, fashion, pride, and coming out as blind in the music industry.
Lachi is a GRAMMY-nominated musician, entrepreneur, and disability culture advocate. Lachi hosts the PBS series Renegades and founded two influential disability culture companies --  RAMPD (Recording Artists and Music Professionals with Disabilities) and Glam Canes, her fashion lines of canes for blind folk.
Lachi's first book I Identify as Blind comes out in January 2026 -- if you value disability pride and entrepreneurship, give her a pre-order and uplift disability media.
Disability Happy Hour is independently produced by Andrew Barkan (blind film composer + GRAMMY-nominated children's musician), Will Barkan (blind tech manager + ultra marathon runner) and Phoebe Barkan (blind landscape designer + gold-medal winning paraclimber) -- please help us grow this conversation by subscribing, rating and sharing! 

Pair of Climbers with Emily Seelenfreund

Paraclimbing! Wheelchair basketball! MURDERBALL? Oh My!Paraclimbing national champion and BORP Adaptive Sports CEO Emily Seelenfreund joins Phoebe to reflect on their adaptive approaches to rock climbing. Andrew asks some sutmblingly naive questions about paraclimbing and wheelchairs. Our conversation sprawled into some other great topics we couldn't fit into this episode (namely WICKED and media representations of wheelchair users), so you'll hear more from Emily soon!Drinks we drank:
tetley tea
flying embers orange peach passion kombucha
latte with fancy frothing
Things we mentioned:
International Paraclimbing Competitions (and Phoebe's gold medal!)
BORP Adaptive Sports & Recreation
OI: osteogenesis imperfecta
How wheelchairs fit in cars
Murderball
Power Soccer
Disability Happy Hour is independently produced by Andrew Barkan, Will Barkan, and Phoebe Barkan. Our music & mix is by Andrew & Polly in sunny Santa Monica, CA. You can find our socials @disabilityhappyhour and reach us at disabilityhappyhour@gmail.com - thanks for listening!

Crossing the Street Now with Andrew Leland

"Blindness is just another style of living."Paraphrasing Borges, Pulitzer Prize finalist Andrew Leland joins Andrew, Will & Phoebe for a round of meandering discourse on writing and disability. We wind down myriad alleyways of his 2023 memoir "The Country of the Blind", ponder the progress and shortcomings of media representation, and generally delight in all things literary and absurd.Things we drank:
Polar Seltzer Water (original flavor)
Lagunitas IPA
tea + Wolftrap Red Blend (classic combo)
Four Roses bourbon
Things we talked about:
Mother Jones' first disability beat reporter Julia Métraux
Sally Greenhouse's podcast Secret Lives of the Disabled
Living Blindfully with Jonathan Mosen
There Plant Eyes by M. Leona Godin
Joe "Whistler" Engressia's (a.k.a. Joybubbles) portrayal in Sneakers (1992)
Andrew Leland's piece for The Daily about the controversy over the casting of "In The Dark"
Mona Minkara's blind travel series Planes, Trains and Canes
Matthew & Paul
RP + Stargardts forming Voltron
Disability Happy Hour is produced independently by Andrew Barkan, Will Barkan, and Phoebe Barkan. Our music is by Andrew & Polly, and all editing, mixing and mastering was done by Andrew Barkan in sunny Santa Monica, CA. Find us @disabilityhappyhour or email disabilityhappyhour@gmail.comThanks for listening!

All About That Cane with Lachi

Recording artist, advocate and CEO Lachi joins Andrew, Will & Phoebe to wax poetic on the journey of becoming cane users, the evolution of the cane as a tool and a symbol for blind people, and the present and future of disability pride, style and fashion.Things we talked about:
Glam Canes, Lachi's line of fabulous fashion canes
RAMP'D, Recording Artists and Music Professionals with Disabilities
Renegades, a new docuseries on PBS hosted & directed by disabled women
Lachi's TED Talk ""Dis Education"
Judy Heumann's autobiography "Being Heumann"
Selma Blair on Dancing with the Stars
And be on the lookout for Lachi's upcoming 2025 album "Mad Different" wherever you get your music.Thanks for listening! You reach us at disabilityhappyhour@gmail.com or find out more on Instagram. To help spread the word, please rate & review this podcast, and recommend it to a friend!

Business Time

Does work speak for itself?October was Disability Employment Awareness Month and Blindness Awareness Month. Andrew, Will & Phoebe get busy reflecting on their experience in the job market, self-employment vs corporate work as a disabled person, the A.D.A. and hiring laws, and the values people with disabilities can bring to the workplace.Future guests Lachi (RAMPD, Glam Canes) and Emily Seelenfreund (BORP Adaptive Sports) are featured in a little audio montage about imagined and actual work.Things we drank:
bubly water
Lagunitas IPA
cold brew
Things we talked about:
jobs we've always wanted to try (and what's stopping us)
coolest jobs we've done
Employment and The Law: The ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990)
Self-employment
Advice you wish you'd had entering the job market
You can find Andrew's music at Andrew & Polly and Phoebe's Bay Area garden designs at Plant Stars. (Will's work remains hidden in a shroud of bureaucracy.) You can reach us on Instagram or at disabilityhappyhour@gmail.com - if you're able, please give us a follow and drop us a review to spread the word about this conversation - and thanks for listening!

Blind at the Wedding

Welcome to the very first Disability Happy Hour! Blind siblings Andrew, Will & Phoebe get excited about Will's upcoming nuptials and wax poetic on various ideas about disability and weddings.Drinks drunk:
rye whiskey
homemade chai tea
The Botanist Islay Gin
Various & sundry topics include:
being blind in photographs
navigating big parties + recognizing people
reading partners' emotions
inclusive/universal design
"legally blind" and other identifying language
Stargardt's Disease explained
Snellen, 20/800, other ophthalmology tidbits
how to ask about disability
Please -- help us find our audience!:
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And -- help us build our content! We've got some great guests lined up for November, but we'd love to hear your ideas about new topics and people we should bring on. We're starting with blindness, but there's a vast world of different experiences to learn about. What aspect of disability are you interested in? Let us know on social media or at disabilityhappyhour@gmail.comSee ya, suckas!

Introducing Disability Happy Hour

Introducing Disability Happy Hour, a new podcast about the real lives of disabled people drinking real beverages. We (Andrew, Will and Phoebe) are 3 blind siblings who admittedly have little expertise in the world of disability beyond our own lived experience. Have a round with us, and let's see if we can't figure this whole disability thing out together?