Blind Guys Chat

#157: Zweinstein* Jan and family went to see the new Harry Potter musical. However, it turns out that this 3-hour (with no dinner break) musical is not actually a musical. And this has been confirmed by Jan's daughter, who thinks the dancing is more faffing about (a technical term) rather than dance. Is he-who-shall-not-be-named part of this play/musical? No, it turns out that Mohamed is on his 7t...

This week, it's a warm welcome back to Mr Blind Gordon Anthony all the way from Scots Land! Gordon is on the show to somewhat sympathise with Óran on his ongoing Meta Ray Ban issue. In case you haven't heard, because you've been living under a rock with a grumpy snail, some people, including Óran and Gordon have been experiencing an issue where their Meta glasses will not connect to a WhatsApp cal...

While Jan is living it up on Safari, deep in South Africa, Mohammed and Clodagh are having to listen to Óran's gripes about being assisted to get on his jet at Charles de Gaulle airport last week. But this conversation does lead to an interesting question - do you use your cane when being assisted by someone, or do you swing it around hoping to whack the legs off a ‘Gen Z' passerby? (Apologies to...

It's a welcome return to the man who came in from the cold, Mr Stuart Lawler! Our former co-host and chief bottle washer here in the BGC office. Stuart is on the show in an attempt to sell off some used assistive tech... Oh hang on! We Probably can't say that for legal reasons. Ehm... Stuart is here to tell us about an upcoming Sight and Sound event to be held at TUI Grangegorman, Dublin on Octobe...

On this show, we are talking to Alberto Destarac, the developer of Ezre, a new app that provides a seamless experience for digitised, itemised receipts directly to the user's phone. It ensures accessibility and ease of review for the VI community. Alberto talks to us about his life in the US Navy, and the use cases for his new app. Clodagh has an update from artist Clare McLoughlin; and Óran asks,...

In our last show before the summer break, we are talking with former Vice President of Product Development at Vispero, Eric Damery. Eric chats to the guys about retirement, holidays, golf, and the current and future state of assistive tech. We have news on the Tiera navigation app, and Clodagh has emails from Clare McLoughlin and Blind Gordon. So, strip down to your new night shorts, feel the wind...

On this show we are speaking to super-duper influencer, Jessie Anderson all about accessible gaming. Not even 'Skinny Pete' from the TV series Breaking Bad knows as much about video games and consoles as Jessie. A veteran of the ATARI 2600 and Apple 2, Jessie walks us through how a blind or partially sighted person can navigate the world of gaming. More importantly, he tells us how to play some of...

In honour of Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind celebrating 50 years in being, we've got a round table discussion on this show with 2 guide dog owners and a guide dog puppy raiser. Mo has news on the latest JAWS 2026 update, which includes the option to save your settings in the cloud. And Jan and Mo are about to fight it out as The Netherlands face-off with Morocco in the World Cup. Spoiler Alert; It...

As the world becomes more and more immersed in the FIFA 2026 World Cup, the Blind Guys assess FIFA’s audio description service for the games. Is it better than standard commentary or is it an own goal for FIFA? Jan and Mo have been on a second date, and as usual they had chaperones; this time in the guise of former 'Big Cheese' at Vispero, Eric Damery and his lovely wife Pauline. The guys accepted...

In what can only be described as a robust conversation, this week's show has it all! The Blind Guys begin by talking about the weather and then we move smoothly into Jan telling us about this year’s Sight Village, from which he has just returned. The conversation then meanders along the road as the guys talk about the new Focus 46 and also the introduction of JAWS Kiosk as it rolls into Europe; it...

On this show we are chatting to Martijn van der Spek, the developer of the very popular PiccyBot application. Martijn tells us how he got started creating accessible apps for the blind, and of course all about his latest creation PiccyBot. The BGC fellas have been using this app for a while and love it. Jan is just back from a bitterly cold camping trip, where he has a top tip: wear all your cloth...

We've got accessibility royalty this week as Glen Gordon joins us to chat all things retirement, AI, and Vispero. Glen's considerable legacy as a developer working for Vispero is not only in the software of JAWS itself, but also in the principles of accessibility, and the continuous improvement of assistive technology. He is continuing to push himself to new levels of development as he digs deep i...

Way-hey! The days are finally getting warmer, and Sjef and Larry (the respectable guide dogs) are out in their gardens, sunning themselves and listening to the wonderful birdsong. Have you tried the Merlin Bird ID app? It's an app that identifies which birdies are singing in the trees, and the 2 furry fellas think it's the business! META glasses are now available in the language of the land with n...

It's time to bring BGC favourite Kevin Sherwin back onto the show to discuss this year’s Eurovision Song Contest entries. Kevin is not pulling any punches this year and is betting His Holy Communion money on Latvia to win! And this year could be their year, as Saturn, Venus and Mount Fuji have decided not to take part in the competition. But what about all the other entries, don't they deserve a c...

Our guest this week is Liam Geschwindt from Touchpulse. Liam is here to talk to us about Tiera, which is a new AI-powered navigation app designed specifically for blind and low-vision users. Teira offers real-time, highly precise audio guidance to help us move independently through complex environments. Built with input from the visually impaired community, it adapts to each user’s needs and uses...

Doctor Lucía Pintado Gutiérrez, is our guest this week. Dr Gutiérrez is the author of a new report on audio description (AD) in Ireland – ‘The ADESI Project’. Her research is not just confined to broadcast but rather covers audio description in all aspects of life including sports, film, theatre, museums, and education. Dr Gutiérrez, shares with us the reasons why she decided to do this research,...

On this show we are speaking to Mohammed's brother Ihab Laachir, who is here to spill the beans about his older brother, apparently known as 'The Hacker' in his family. Who knew?! Ihab is currently studying political science at Amsterdam University and has some great insights into living with a disability while attending university. Is Ihab a future prime minister of The Netherlands? Well, he has...

#:140: Larry's favourite guest of all time Fresh from setting fire to the Italian Pavilion at COP 30, due to a lack of salty caramel gelato, this week we are devoting the whole show to Professor John Sweeney, leading climatologist at Maynooth University. Prof. John, who is Larry's favourite person, at least when there are sausages about, is here to put a bit of smacht (an Hiberno-English term – se...

As we celebrate 50 years of Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind we speak to Tom O'Neill, guide dog owner and founder of the Balbriggan branch of Irish Guide Dogs. Tom tells us how he came to own his first guide dog and how having dogs has made his day-to-day living much more independent. It's not quite ‘Planes, Trains and Automobiles’, but Jan comes fairly close. Recently he spent a day, yes that's rig...

Happy New Year to you all! This week we are devoting the whole show to Mr David Woodbridge, Product Specialist for Humanware Australia. David will take us through all things Humanware, including the new Evolve Windows Braille notetaker. We also chat about guide dogs, and of course our favourite topic: Braille. So, sit back, slap on the factor 2000, and settle in for a listen to the hottest podcast...

This week, Jan is floating on cloud 9 as his local football team (that's soccer for those of you in the USA) seems to be doing very well. So well, in fact, that they are top of the 'kitchen' league ...better not to ask what that means!  Our good friend Stuart Lawler gives us his own thoughts on the NewHaptics 'Codex' Braille display, which uses compressed air to raise its braille cells. It does th...

This week we are talking to Adela Buliman from Vially here in Ireland. Adela is the Chief Accessibility Officer and what she doesn't know about the European Accessibility Act, isn't worth knowing about! So, roll up your sleeves, Mohammed, and get ready to rumble! Disclaimer: this chat is more of a girlie pillow fight than a "pistols at dawn" kinda thing, but we enjoyed it! Jan was home a...

It's celebration time here in the BGC office as Óran has news! It seems he is now calling himself a scriptwriter because his very first script has just been produced. It is for the super-fun, excellent and wonderful children's animation TV series: ‘Maddie + Triggs’. You may remember we had the star of the show, Bonnie O'Meara on the podcast, together with Turnip + Duck founders: Colm Tobin and Aid...

This week we are chatting with Freek van Welsenis, the Director and CEO of Hable One. Freek is here to talk about the Hable One, a sleek Braille device that can be used to navigate your smart devices. He also tells us about the Hable Easy, a smartphone controller, and the Speechlabel, a handy device for labelling and subsequently identifying items around the house and in work.   Mohammed and Jan's...

This week we find out that Mohammed is building his fan base. Yes, it appears that he has at least one! It's a lovely woman who lives in Maynooth, County Kildare. Apparently, she drives a car that looks like a frog. Let's hope her husband doesn't find out! About Mo, not the car! He knows about the car, in fairness!   Óran has been having some issues with the WhatsApp desktop application for Window...