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Podcast by Antonio Santos, Debra Ruh, Neil Milliken: Connecting Accessibility, Disability, and Technology
Welcome to a vibrant community where we explore accessibility, disability, assistive technology, diversity, and the future of work. Hosted by Antonio Santos, Debra Ruh, and Neil Milliken, our open online community is committed to crafting an inclusive world for everyone.
Accessibility for All: Our Mission
Believing firmly that accessibility is not just a feature but a right, we leverage the transformative power of social media to foster connections, promote in-depth discussions, and spread vital knowledge about groundbreaking work in access and inclusion.
Weekly Engagements: Interviews, Twitter Chats, and More
Join us for compelling weekly interviews with innovative minds who are making strides in assistive technology. Participate in Twitter chats with contributors dedicated to forging a more inclusive world, enabling greater societal participation for individuals with disabilities.
Diverse Topics: Encouraging Participation and Voice
Our conversations span an array of subjects linked to accessibility, from technology innovations to diverse work environments. Your voice matters! Engage with us by tweeting using the hashtag #axschat and be part of the movement that champions accessibility and inclusivity for all.
Be Part of the Future: Subscribe Today
We invite you to join us in this vital dialogue on accessibility, disability, assistive technology, and the future of diverse work environments. Subscribe today to stay updated on the latest insights and be part of a community that's shaping the future inclusively.
284 Episodes
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What if the fastest way to change a mind is to make it laugh first? We sit down with comedian and writer-performer Julliet Burton to explore how humor can turn stigma into understanding without losing its edge. Julliet shares the craft behind her sold-out Edinburgh Fringe runs and international tours, from relentless note-taking and collaborative rewrites to crowdwork that welcomes, not wounds. She breaks down the ethics—punching up versus punching down, consent in the room, and the differenc...
Marc Haunschild joins AXSChat to share his experiences as an accessibility consultant helping companies navigate the European Accessibility Act and comply with modern digital inclusion standards. Drawing from nearly two decades as a developer, Mark offers practical insights into the challenges and opportunities that arise when organizations commit to accessibility. The conversation explores how the German government implements an innovative scoring system for evaluating vendors that goes bey...
The fascinating yet troubling relationship between artificial intelligence and human connection takes center stage in this thought-provoking discussion. Debra, Neil, and Antonio dive deep into the paradox of technology that promises connection while potentially undermining genuine human relationships. When does AI shift from helpful tool to harmful substitute? We examine real-world cases where AI companions have impacted loneliness in unexpected ways, and confront the disturbing reality of d...
Support the show Follow axschat on social media. Bluesky: Antonio https://bsky.app/profile/akwyz.com Debra https://bsky.app/profile/debraruh.bsky.social Neil https://bsky.app/profile/neilmilliken.bsky.social axschat https://bsky.app/profile/axschat.bsky.social LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/ Vimeo https://vimeo.com/akwyz https://twitter.com/axschat https://twitter.com/AkwyZ https://twitter.com/neilmilliken https://tw...
What happens when our bodies and brains are more connected than medicine has led us to believe? In this illuminating conversation, Jane Green MBE, founder and chair of SEDS Connective, unpacks the profound yet often overlooked connection between hypermobility and neurodivergence. After decades of being dismissed as "dim and a hypochondriac," Jane discovered that her physical symptoms and neurodevelopmental differences weren't separate issues but deeply interconnected aspects of her experienc...
What does it mean to be diagnosed with ADHD at age 50? For Moonlake Lee, it wasn't just a personal revelation – it became the catalyst for creating Singapore's first charity dedicated to supporting people with ADHD. When Moonlake's daughter received an ADHD diagnosis at 15, it sparked questions about her own lifelong patterns of hyperactivity, impulsivity, and overwhelm. Despite her success as an angel investor and tech executive, Moonlake often found herself taking on too much – half marath...
Julia Undeutsch's path to becoming an accessibility specialist defies conventional career trajectories. From studying musicology and Japanese while working as a poker dealer to becoming a passionate advocate for digital inclusion, her story reveals how diverse experiences shape innovative approaches to accessibility. When Julia first encountered coding, she noticed something peculiar on Stack Overflow: developers often presented two solutions—a standard approach and an "accessible" alternati...
Crystal Preston-Watson takes us on her fascinating journey from self-taught coder and journalism dropout to becoming a Senior Digital Accessibility Analyst at Salesforce's Office of Accessibility. With refreshing honesty, she shares how her own visual impairment and an unexpected quality assurance ticket requiring screen reader testing sparked her passion for digital accessibility. What makes Crystal's work particularly groundbreaking is her exclusive focus on internal accessibility for Sale...
What does it take to lead effectively in today's diverse business landscape? Gisele Marcus, Vice Dean at Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis, brings a refreshing perspective shaped by her extensive Fortune 500 experience at companies like Accenture and Johnson Controls. The leadership skills needed today extend far beyond traditional business acumen. As Marcus explains, "Wherever I plant my feet, I want to be comfortable there and I want my colleagues to be comfortable...
Communication is everything, but what if you couldn't make a private phone call? Tomer Aharoni, CEO and co-founder of Nagish, joins AXSChat to reveal how his team is revolutionizing accessibility for deaf and hard of hearing individuals. For millions with hearing loss, the simple act of making a phone call has historically required dependence on others—interpreters, captioners, or family members. Tomer shares how Nagish disrupts this paradigm with AI-powered technology that enables truly pri...
When was the last time your history book mentioned Julius Caesar's seizures or Hannibal's missing eye? The erasure of disability from our historical narratives isn't accidental—it reveals our modern discomfort with integrating disability into stories of power and achievement. Caroline Bristow, Director of the Cambridge School Classics Project, takes us on a fascinating journey through ancient Rome's complex relationship with disability. From gravestone inscriptions that proudly declare "Mero...
What if fitness was designed to meet you exactly where you are, instead of demanding that you change to fit into someone else's idea of exercise? That's the revolutionary concept behind Second Skin Society, and founder Lee-Anne Reuber is making it a reality. Drawing from her 22 years of experience in disability support and her background as a yoga teacher, Leanne recognized a critical gap in the wellness industry. When the pandemic forced her yoga studio online, members kept highlighting how...
Dimple Khagram, founder and CEO of Purple Beard Training, talks about creating the UK's first Accessibility Specialist Apprenticeship in an interview with Antonio Santos and Neil Milliken. What began as a passion project has expanded into a major educational programme, with seven graduates earning five distinctions and 40 additional apprentices still completing the course. The journey wasn't straightforward. Dimple shares how her own experience with burnout inspired her to establish Purple Be...
What happens when a curious quality assurance tester encounters an odd request about color contrast? For Iulia Brehuescu, it sparked a journey that would transform not only her career but also impact accessibility practices across a global pharmaceutical giant. Iulia's story is both inspiring and cautionary. From her early days testing web platforms at a digital agency to her current role shaping global accessibility strategy at Sanofi, she shares the exhilaration of turning a passion projec...
What does digital accessibility look like in a mobile-first continent with 1.4 billion people speaking hundreds of languages across 50+ countries? Irene Mbari-Kirika, Executive Director and Founder of inABLE, takes us on an illuminating journey through Africa's rapidly evolving accessibility landscape. The conversation begins with inABLE foundational work teaching digital skills to blind students in Kenya. This initial focus quickly expanded when Irene recognized that teaching assistive tech...
Accessibility in mobile technology has evolved from seemingly impossible challenges to remarkable innovations. Join us as we welcome back Sabine Lobnig from the Mobile and Wireless Forum to discuss this fascinating journey. Sabine shares her unique path into accessibility, beginning with linguistics and a fascination with sign language that connected her to the deaf community. This led to her work with the Mobile and Wireless Forum, where she has spent over 13 years championing digital inclu...
The countdown to the European Accessibility Act has begun, and organizations across the EU and beyond are racing to understand what this landmark legislation means for their products and services. In this timely conversation, accessibility expert Susanna Laurin returns to AXSChat to separate fact from fiction about the EAA ahead of its June 2025 implementation. Susanna reveals a concerning readiness gap, with European-based companies generally better prepared than their American counterparts...
Accessibility and sustainability collide in this eye-opening conversation with Heather Neff, CEO of Equivalent. She returns to AXSChat to share groundbreaking developments in their mission to transform static graphics into responsive, accessible code. What if every image online could instantly adapt to your device settings, work seamlessly with screen readers, and consume a fraction of the energy? That's exactly what Equivalent is achieving through their revolutionary approach to Scalable Ve...
The most valuable accessibility conversations are happening in unexpected places. In this reflection on recent events, the AccessJet team shares how conferences focused on broader topics yielded surprising insights about disability inclusion, corporate transparency, and AI's potential. At Fair Cultures Barcelona, discussions about corporate transparency revealed why accessibility progress remains challenging despite public commitments. Organizations often present themselves as champions of i...
When we're constantly fighting for baseline accessibility compliance, it's easy to miss the quiet victories happening around us. In this candid conversation, returning guest Steve Tyler shares refreshingly positive experiences that demonstrate what's possible when companies truly commit to inclusive design. Steve recounts his surprisingly delightful experience switching to EE broadband, discovering Braille labelling physically built into the router and an online contract process that automat...
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