Disability After Dark

Episode Notes I just found out the other day that the play I have been co-creating for the last 8 years or more on queerness and disability called ACCESS ME has been nominated for 3 DORA awards (a big deal in Toronto Theatre). I was having trouble with the audio for this week's original episode, so I decided to re-release my chat with the disabled theatre maker and dramaturg on ACCESS ME, and my d...

Episode Notes On E365, I sit down with my friend Jeff Preston, an Associate Professor of Disability studies as we go off on a ton of disability tangents, one of which is exploring the "simulacra of disability" and disability representation. We talk about Jeff's early aughts jourrney from London, Ontario, Canada to Ottawa, Canada in his power chair and why he did that + so much more. Enjo...

Episode Notes On E364, I go down under to talk with my friend and colleague Candice Care Unger, a psychosexual therapist in Australia who works with disabled clients and talks with them openly about their sexual function as part of their overall disabled health. We talk about sexuality and disability grief, why she started her practice and so very much more. This is a good one. Enjoy! Follow Candi...

Episode Notes On E363, we talk about disability, comedy and satire with creator of the disability satire The Squeaky Wheel, Steven Verdile. We talk about his experience with SMA, how to make good disabled comedy + so much more. Follow Steven here: https://www.instagram.com/stevenverdilecreative/ Follow The Squeaky Wheel: https://www.instagram.com/thesqkywheel/ Episode Sponsors Clone-A-Willy or Clo...

Episode Notes On E362, I sit down with my friend Daniel Sluman and his wife Emily Brenchi as we talk about disabled parenthood. This is such an under discussed topic. We never hear about disabled parenting, and I was so excited to bring Emily and Dan on and learn about their experiences as disabled parents! Enjoy! Follow Daniel and Emily's journey as disabled parents here: https://www.instagram.co...

Episode Notes I am SO EXCITED to share this bonus episode with the co-creators and co-directors of the new documentary "The Ride Ahead" which chronicles Samuel Habib's transition to disabled adulthood. We talk about the film, the challenges and triumphs of making the film while disabled, the wisdom of talking to other disabled mentors along the way, Samuel's hopes and dreams for disabled...

Episode Notes On E361, Andrew does a classic DAD episode and reviews popular sex positions from Men's Health to see if they are actually disability friendly or accessible. SO MANY OF THEM don't even consider accessibility at all, so I do it for them. From positions like, The Captain to the Happy Baby (yup, that's real), we consider where accessibility could be and why it is so lacking. Enjoy! Foll...

Episode Notes On E360, Andrew sits down with guest Ryan Manriquez as we talk about student government and disability, being severely disabled + a whole lot more. Ryan is poised and passionate and you can feel that from him here. Enjoy! You can follow Ryan here: https://www.instagram.com/ryanmanriquezz/ Episode Sponsors  Clone-A-Willy or Clone-A-Pussy all your own and get 20% off sitewide by using...

Episode Notes On E359 of Disability After Dark, Andrew Gurza sit down with President, CEO and Co-Founder of New Disabled South, Dom Kelly. We talk about his work championing disabled people in the south. Then we move into the differences and similarities of our experiences with Cerebral Palsy + so much more! Enjoy! You can follow New Disabled South here: www.newdisabledsouth.org You can follow Dom...

Episode Notes On E358, we go back to our roots and talk about Spinal Muscular Atrophy, sexuality, desire and so much more with our guest, artist and activist, Jessica E. Blinkhorn. She talks candidly about sex and disability in a way that is so refreshing, raw and honest. Enjoy! You can follow Jessica Blinkhorn here: https://www.instagram.com/wheelie_an_artist/ and follow her work with Spankbox he...

Episode Notes On E357, we have a comfy, cozy episode where we look at the history of a very well used mobility aid: The Walker/Walking Frame. We explore its origins all the way back to the time of Christ...maybe? We look at some examples of the walker's predecessor, the Hand Trestle, and a walking aid from the early 1900s. Plus, Andrew shares some times when he used a walker and even shares celebs...

Episode Notes On E356, I sit down with disabled content creator Joseph Kibler as we explore his journey coming out about being born HIV+, the stigma he faces around that; we also talk about his journey as someone living with Cerebral Palsy, married life, content creation around disability + so much more!  Enjoy!  Follow Joseph here: linktr.ee/josephakibler Episode Sponsors  Clone-A-Willy or Clone-...

Episode Notes In E355, we have another installment of Popcorn and Power Chairs.  In this one, I wanted to review The Brendan Fraser led Drama/Horror (horror according to Google) The Whale.  I had a lot of feelings about how fatness and disability were portrayed in this one, and I often found the ableism overwhelming alongside the fatphobia.  Why didn’t they just hire a fat person?  Or a disabled p...

Episode Notes On E354, I sit down with Dr. Tye Martin as he shares with us his experiences as a severely disabled person. We talk about everything from 40 day ICU stays to airplane travel and everything in between. It was really great to sit down with another severely disabled person and just chat. Enjoy! Follow Dr. Tye Martin on IG: https://www.instagram.com/dr.tyedmartin/ Clone-A-Willy or Clone-...

Episode Notes On January 8, 2024, one of our past podcast guests, Nathan Say, passed away.  He was a spoken word poet, a sex educator and activist.  I am heartbroken he passed and I wanted to use my platform to honour him.  Listen to our episode from 2018, and hug your disabled friends tight.  This podcast is powered by Pinecast .

Episode Notes On E353, I sit down with Dr. Lara Ameen as we go off on a bunch of fun tangents about Cerebral Palsy, disability, media representation and so much more.  This was a fun one.  Enjoy!  Follow Dr. Lara Ameen: https://www.instagram.com/trucherrygirl/   Episode Sponsors  Clone-A-Willy or Clone-A-Pussy all your own and get 20% off sitewide by using coupon code DARKPOD20 at Checkout. www.cl...

Episode Notes On E352, I sit down with Beck as we discuss their experience with a TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury).  We talk about how being in a coma is nothing like it is on TV, losing relationships, ableism, why the brain is the worst organ and so much more! Enjoy! Follow Beck at: https://www.instagram.com/furiousblanketfort/ Episode Sponsors  Clone-A-Willy or Clone-A-Pussy all your own and get 20%...

Episode Notes On E6 of Popcorn and Power Chairs, we review The Peanut Butter Falcon, the story of a young man with down syndrome who runs away to pursue his dream of meeting a wrestler and has an adventure along the way. For this one I am joined by Jeff Kalasky from the Talkumentary Podcast. We talk about care issues around disabled people living in nursing homes, our thoughts on some of the langu...

Episode Notes On E350, I sit down with my friend and Symptom Sister, Lorna Craig.  We talk about her experience with chronic lyme, performing wellness, dealing with disability and family relationships and friendships + so much more.  Enjoy! Follow Lorna here: https://www.instagram.com/lun_aaah   Episode Sponsors  Clone-A-Willy or Clone-A-Pussy all your own and get 20% off sitewide by using coupon...

Episode Notes On E349, I sit down again with my friend and colleague Malakai Strong as we talk about all thing Cerebral Palsy and intersectional.  They share their journey of being black, trans and disabled and having Cerebral Palsy with a sprinkling of fibromyalgia.  They share with us details about their book, Super Me and why he chose to write it + we talk about disability joy, therapy and so m...

Episode Notes On E348, I invite my best friend, Kristen to talk about her experiences of being neglected and abused by care staff who have refused her care some days because of cockroaches, meaning that she has days of no help at all, having to hire outside care, hoping it will work. We talk about what that kind of neglect feels like, we ask, how do we fix a broken care system that leaves disabled...

Episode Notes On E347, I sit down with Emmy who shares her experiences with disability negativity, disability joy and  seronegative spondyloarthritis.  We have a really fun, candid convo her as she openly discusses her life as a cripple; her marriage, family reactions, just cripple things and so much more.  Enjoy!  Episode Sponsors Clone-A-Willy or Clone-A-Pussy all your own and get 20% off sitewi...

Episode Notes On E346, I share an episode that I recorded in Jan 2023 with a fan of my work, Bethany Reed.  While she doesn’t identify as disabled herself, she wanted the opportunity to ask questions, and learn how to be a better ally to disabled folks, so we did exactly that.  Enjoy! Episode Sponsors Get 15% off your next purchase of sex toys, books and DVDs by using Coupon code AFTERDARK at chec...

Episode Notes For E345, Andrew decided to do another Episode of “What’s Your Condition?” where we explore the history, mythology and day to day experiences of people with Spina Bifida.  We learn that it has been around thousands of years, learn what you find when you Google it, learn about the most common myths, we learn how sexual function is understood in people with SB + so much more!  Enjoy! ...

Episode Notes For E344, I thought it would be really fun to do a classic style episode.  So, let’s take common winter dating tips like sledding, carriage riding and “acroyoga” apparently and talk about the ways in which they are or aren’t accessible and how silly some of these date ideas would look if I as a disabled person tried them.  Enjoy!  Episode Sponsors Clone-A-Willy or Clone-A-Pussy all y...