“…swimming pools were shut. Cinemas, too, and bars and bowling alleys. Church services were suspended. Cities doused their streets with DDT insecticide…they had to be seen to be doing something. Nothing seemed to work. As the summer wore on, the numbers of polio cases grew”

Did you think we were talking about Covid-19? Phil talks of the ‘last man who used the Iron Lung’, an early medical method to keep people who got polio alive. The Guardian ran an article on Paul Alexander and his life. 

Cancel Culture, is it real? Is it necessary? Do you think twice before you send a Tweet? Do you know the latest terminology for different identity groups? After well known people wrote an open letter in Harpers Magazine, Phil and Simon try and make their own sense of it. Concentrate as Simon has so many thoughts, they sometimes get muddled. 

What’s most important for disabled people to develop as a group? Is it pride or is it community? We reflect on a story about Stacey Park Milbern, a US disability rights activist who recently died. She said we need the support of community before we can take pride. 

Finally, Phil and Simon review the recent television documentary with Alex Brooker from The Last Leg. He explores how he feels about his impairment. Phil and Simon discuss the programme, Alex's relationship with his condition and specifically what do people mean when they say they don't want their disability to define them?

Links

Alex Brooker: Disability and Me BBC

BBC iPlayer - expires early August 2020 

Harpers Magazine Open Letter on Justice and Open Debate 

Stacey Park New York Times   Paywall

Stacey Park Legacy obituary     Free 

Joseph Stramondo on Twitter 

The Last Iron Lung - The Guardian, Free but can donate