Accessible Future

Before Cody Wills heads to the grocery store or the pub, he's already running through questions most people never think about. Can he reach what he needs? Will the bartender even see him? Is that door handle four feet up?Cody was born with achondroplasia, a form of dwarfism. He talks with Simon about growing up as a little person in Manitoba, the planning that goes into going somewhere new, and why dignity should be at the centre of an accessible future. He also talks about working as a body double for Chucky, why strangers keep asking if he's an actor or a comedian, and what employers get wrong about hiring little people.His advice for businesses is simple: listen to the people you serve, including the ones who can't get through your door yet.ABOUT CODY WILLSCody Wills is a little person from Manitoba who was born with achondroplasia. He's been part of Little People of Manitoba since he was five or six, and a casting call through the group led to work as a body double for Chucky, plus a couple of other film gigs shot in Manitoba. He's also part of the team at MoveMobility, a Canadian manufacturer of wheelchair-accessible vehicles.🔗 Follow Accessible Future PodcastYouTube: youtube.com/@AccessibleFutureInstagram: instagram.com/accessible_futureFacebook: facebook.com/people/Accessible-Future/61586380868685LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/accessible-futureEmail: [email protected]

In 2012, Bean Gill left an abusive marriage, watched her parents separate, and then woke up on a trip to Las Vegas with pain in her lower back. Ten minutes later she couldn't feel her legs, and was later diagnosed with transverse myelitis.She's now a keynote speaker and co-founder of Reyu Paralysis Recovery Center, an Alberta nonprofit using activity-based therapy to help people regain function doctors told them they'd never get back. She also starred in Push, a CBC Gem docu-series about her life and nine other wheelchair users.Simon talks with Bean about that year, why she refuses to call it something she "overcame," and why she thinks the biggest barrier disabled people face isn't physical at all.ABOUT BEAN GILLBean Gill is a keynote speaker, disability advocate, and co-founder of Ryu Paralysis Recovery Center, an Alberta nonprofit offering activity-based therapy for people with neurologic conditions. She's a wheelchair user and spinal cord injury survivor, and she starred in Push, a two-season CBC Gem docu-series about her life and the lives of nine other wheelchair users. She also runs a disability etiquette workshop through NAIT for health sciences students.Website: callmebean.comInstagram: @branzoidTikTok: @branzoidWatch Push: cbcgem.ca/push🔗 Follow Accessible Future PodcastYouTube: youtube.com/@AccessibleFutureInstagram: instagram.com/accessible_futureFacebook: facebook.com/people/Accessible-Future/61586380868685LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/accessible-futureEmail: [email protected]:00 Cold open: "Nobody is immune from disability"01:20 What an accessible future looks like to Bean02:29 Las Vegas, 2012: the ten minutes that changed her life03:41 Misdiagnosis, the ICU, and learning to talk about it08:30 Why Bean rejects the "overcoming" narrative10:00 Founding Ryu Paralysis Recovery Center12:20 The medical model vs. the social model of disability18:34 Client stories: the ponytail, the signature, learning to walk again29:12 Getting cast in Push41:14 Parting advice, and where to find Bean

Claire Buchanan spent eleven seasons on defense for Canada's women's national para ice hockey team, and she now covers the sport as a broadcaster on The Neutral Zone.In this episode she breaks down how the game actually works — two sticks, blades that look like one — why women's para hockey still isn't a Paralympic event, and what it costs the athletes who play for their country out of their own pockets.From there the conversation turns to allyship: what it takes for non-disabled people to be genuinely useful rather than just well-meaning. Claire talks about speaking up in the moment, why constant advocacy wears people down, and how spaces get built with good intentions but without asking disabled people what they actually need. She also shares her advice for the next generation, and what she hopes to leave behind for the women's game.About Claire BuchananBorn with spina bifida, Claire Buchanan has navigated life with a disability, and finding sport gave her not only a sense of community but a sense of belonging. She has competed in wheelchair basketball at the collegiate level with the University of Alabama and was part of the national development program with Wheelchair Basketball Canada. In 2014 she made her first national team with women's para hockey. She represented Canada for 11 seasons and is a 3x World Championships silver medalist. Since 2019 she has been a broadcaster on The Neutral Zone podcast, and recently was part of the 2026 Winter Paralympics broadcast team with CBC. Storytelling and covering sport is a passion of hers, and her goal is to continue to grow para sport coverage.Chapters00:00 — Welcome 01:43 — Meet Claire: finding para hockey04:24 — "I almost didn't get on the ice"06:07 — What para ice hockey actually is08:46 — Playing defense11:49 — What an accessible future looks like13:31 — Living with spina bifida15:47 — Why it's not at the Paralympics yet17:36 — Funding: paying to play for Canada19:05 — Growing the game (and how to help)21:47 — How para sport gets covered24:56 — Covering disability: where to start26:37 — Intentional allyship29:48 — When good intentions miss32:17 — Advice for the next generation36:38 — What she wants to leave behind38:56 — Breaking the stigma40:23 — Where to find Claire41:17 — Wrap-upConnect with ClaireInstagram: @clairebuchanan10TikTok: @canadiangamechangerPodcast:  ⁨@neutralzonepodcast⁩  🔗 Follow Accessible Future PodcastYouTube: youtube.com/@AccessibleFutureInstagram: instagram.com/accessible_futureFacebook: facebook.com/people/Accessible-Future/61586380868685LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/accessible-futureEmail: [email protected]

Ten episodes in, we stopped to look back. This one's a highlight reel: producer Jaeden steps out from behind the scenes to co-host for the first time, and he and Simon walk back through the first ten episodes of the Accessible Future Podcast to pull the lessons that stuck.What stood out most was how much the ideas rhyme. These guests never met and never compared notes, and they kept arriving at the same place. Beth Deer describes an accessible future through a kids' movie, where every door is built for every animal and no one is left out. Jenel Shaw makes the case that access already helps everyone, from longer crossing times to the ramp that works just as well for a stroller. There's airlines that damage wheelchairs on roughly one in four flights while building climate-controlled stalls for racehorses. There's the shift from "I'm so sorry" to "congratulations" when a family gets a diagnosis. And running under all of it: the biggest barrier people name isn't a staircase, it's attitude.Coming from the accessible transportation world ourselves, sitting down with advocates, accessibility professionals, and people with lived experience has reset how we see the whole thing. It was never just about a building or a van.In this episode:Why an accessible future is one where nobody has to askUniversal design, and how building for the margins helps everyoneThe business case: disabled people are already your audienceCompliance vs. culture, and why meeting code isn't the finish line"Don't assume, just ask" — the barrier that lives in how we treat each other🔗 Follow Accessible Future PodcastYouTube: youtube.com/@AccessibleFutureInstagram: instagram.com/accessible_futureFacebook: facebook.com/people/Accessible-Future/61586380868685LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/accessible-futureEmail: [email protected]⏰Chapters0:00 — Intro: 10 episodes in0:59 — An accessible future, built for everyone (Beth)2:52 — Accessibility already helps everyone (Jenel)5:48 — Universal design (Jules)9:07 — The business case for access (Kelly)12:53 — Compliance vs. culture (Peter)15:54 — More than a ramp (L'Arche)18:39 — The airline double standard (Peter)21:12 — Transportation is like a sidewalk (Paul)24:06 — Removing transit barriers (Luke)27:41 — How we think about disability (Jubilee)29:17 — The biggest barrier is attitude (Jenel)30:59 — Don't assume, just ask (Jules)32:56 — From "I'm sorry" to "congratulations" (Jubilee)34:55 — How strangers react (Chrissy)37:30 — Understanding and kindness (Beth)38:58 — Outro: it's all connected, and what's ahead

What does it take to make the arts open to d/Deaf and disabled people? Jenel Shaw, executive director of Arts AccessAbility Network Manitoba (AANM), joins Simon to explain how her organization is doing it — starting with an accessibility audit that the disability community designed itself.Jenel walks through why AANM skipped the usual panel of doctors, therapists, and architects and asked disabled artists and audiences what they actually needed. The result is a 174-point audit that covers the whole venue experience, from the parking lot to backstage, published in a free public database so patrons can check a space before they go. She also gets into the anti-ableism workshop that grew out of the audits, the move to audit digital access — including the five-minute ticket timer that locks people out — and why knowing how a venue isn't accessible matters more than being told that it is.It's a practical, clear-eyed conversation about treating disabled people as the experts on their own access, and what changes once you do.👋Guest InfoArts AccessAbility Network Manitoba: https://aanm.caFree accessibility audit database: https://aanm.ca/accessibility-audit-database/Anti-ableism workshop for the arts: https://aanm.ca/anti-ableism-workshop-for-the-arts/"Disability Gains" — AANM's forthcoming book featuring 34 d/Deaf and disabled writersCurrent Exhibit: https://aanm.ca/exhibitions/Contact AANM: [email protected] · 204-336-2366🔗 Follow Accessible Future PodcastYouTube: youtube.com/@AccessibleFutureInstagram: instagram.com/accessible_futureFacebook: facebook.com/people/Accessible-Future/61586380868685LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/accessible-futureEmail: [email protected]⏰Chapters00:00 Intro01:22 Meet Jenel Shaw & finding her community at AANM03:10 What Arts AccessAbility Network Manitoba does05:18 What an accessible future looks like06:16 Why disabled people are the real experts on access07:36 Inside the 174-point accessibility audit10:52 The biggest barrier, and why transparency matters14:42 Winning the Manitoba Accessibility Award & the gallery16:46 Taking the audit digital18:20 Who gets left out — and creative fixes21:40 Where organizations should start23:25 Why accessibility helps everyone25:36 Inside the anti-ableism workshop29:56 Beyond the arts, and one thing to start today32:43 Where the work goes next & where to find AANM34:59 Outro#AccessibleFuturePodcast #Accessibility #DisabilityCommunity #DisabilityRights #Inclusion #BarrierFree #DisabilityArts #AccessibleArts #Winnipeg #Manitoba