Down to the Struts

A bonus discussion between Down to the Struts host Qudsiya Naqui and friend and Getting Down To It editor, Avery Anapol. Get to know the voice, the history and the motivation behind the podcast. ⁠⁠Visit our website for transcripts.⁠⁠⁠ -- Loving Down to the Struts? Support the team behind the podcast  ⁠⁠⁠with a donation⁠⁠⁠ . Follow us on Instagram  ⁠⁠⁠@DownToTheStruts⁠⁠⁠ . Leave a review on  ⁠⁠⁠App...

Qudsiya sits down with Andrew Leland, Author of the acclaimed new book, The Country of the Blind: A Memoir at the End of Sight , published this year by Penguin Press. The book was recently longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Nonfiction administered by the American Library Association, and Publisher’s Weekly named it among the best books of 2023. Andrew’s book reminded Qudsi...

Qudsiya interviews Set Hernández and Pedro, two of the co-creators of the film Unseen . The film, directed and produced by Set, chronicles the multitudes of Pedro, an aspiring social worker, as he navigates life as an undocumented immigrant with low vision. Pedro, Set, and Qudsiya talked about the shared experience that led them to create the film, the role of accessibility as a core value in the...

Qudsiya sits down with Áine Kelly-Costello, a multiply disabled storyteller, researcher and advocate based in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Their conversation covers Áine's research and work at the intersection of climate, migration and disability justice. Visit our website for transcripts. -- Loving Down to the Struts? Support the team behind the podcast  with a donation . Follow us on Instagram  @D...

Qudsiya is joined by educator, author and diversity consultant Diana Pastora Carson. Diana and Qudsiya talked about Diana’s own journey to embracing disability inclusion as she battled to free her brother, Joaquin from long-term institutionalization so that he could live in his community. Diana also shared the tools she has developed to help parents, students, and educators practice disability inc...

Bri Joy Moore, host of the podcast Power Not Pity, joins Qudsiya to talk about the birth of the podcast, Bri’s growth as a poet, and Bri’s "disabled superpower". Be sure to listen all the way through for a special surprise from Bri. For our younger listeners, please note that this episode does include some explicit language. Visit our website for transcripts. -- Loving Down to the Struts...

Qudsiya sits down with Peter Torres Fremlin, the author of the newsletter Disability Debrief , a project that brings together disability news and resources from over 125 countries around the world. Peter recounts his travels as an international disability rights expert, his own personal journey into disability identity, and gives us a behind the scenes look at Disability Debrief. Visit our website...

Qudsiya speaks with Dom Kelly, the co-founder, President, and CEO of New Disabled South about the road that led him to political activism, the birth of New Disabled South, its grounding in the principles of disability justice, and its innovative regional organizing approach. Visit our website for transcripts. -- Loving Down to the Struts? Support the team behind the podcast  with a donation . Foll...

Check out this special sneak peek into the voices you’ll hear in Season 7, dropping into your feeds on August 8. Qudsiya is excited to get back down to it with everyone in a few short weeks! Visit our website for transcripts. -- Loving Down to the Struts? Support the team behind the podcast  with a donation . Leave a review on  Apple podcasts. Subscribe to Qudsiya's newsletter,  Getting Down T...

Check out this amazing episode of  Ten Thousand Things  from our friends at KUOW in Seattle, featuring a meditation on voice from disability justice activist, oracle, and cyborg,  Alice Wong . Ten Thousand Things with Shin Yu Pai is an acclaimed podcast that amplifies heartfelt stories from Asian America. You should definitely check it out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you love to listen...

On March 4, 2023, the disability community lost one of its most significant leaders—Judy Heumann left us to carry on her legacy of demanding that disabled people have the right and the opportunity to live in their communities, access employment, go to school, and so much more. Beyond being a dedicated and savvy international disability rights advocate, she was a beautiful and kind soul, a connecto...

In the final episode of season 6, Qudsiya is joined by Haben Girma, a human rights lawyer, author and disability activist who is the first Deafblind graduate of Harvard Law School. Haben and Qudsiya talk about centering access, and why it is the key to achieving empowered interdependence to tear down the ableist social and physical structures that surround us. -- If you're enjoying the podcast, pl...

Qudsiya interviews May Wong, lead game designer at Interior Night, about their debut game, As Dusk Falls, which received rave reviews, including for its accessibility for disabled gamers. Qudsiya and May talk about how access was built into the game design and the lessons May learned from the experience. -- If you're enjoying the podcast, please spread the word by leaving a rating and review on Ap...

Qudsiya is joined by NASA’s Denna Lambert, for a conversation about Denna’s efforts to advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and access in space innovation and exploration. They talk about Denna’s experience as part of the second disabled cohort to experience zero gravity and its implications for access here on Earth, and how being a single mom to a four-year-old is sometimes like being in space....

Qudsiya and Mustafa Rfat talked about Mustafa’s experiences navigating the refugee resettlement process as a disabled refugee, and his concrete recommendations for resettlement agencies, disability services organizations, and policymakers for designing services that meet the intersectional needs of this population. -- If you're enjoying the podcast, please spread the word by leaving a rating and r...

Bhavna is an Indian American artist specializing in cut paper and embroidery. She has exhibited widely across Southern California, and she lives and works in San Diego. Qudsiya and Bhavna talked about her journey from India to the United States, and its connection to her journey living in her disabled body. She describes both as forms of immigration. -- If you're enjoying the podcast, please sprea...

Our very first guest this season is Andraéa LaVant, the president and founder of LaVant Consulting. Andraéa tells Qudsiya about her journey to becoming a disability activist, her role as the impact producer for the acclaimed film, Crip Camp, and the creation of LaVant Consulting, a firm dedicated to shaping the way the world reaches, views, and values people with disabilities. -- If you're enjoyin...

Down to the Struts will return for its sixth season on February 7. Can't wait? Subscribe to Getting Down To It, Qudsiya's monthly newsletter where she shares her own thoughts, links and resources on disability justice and more. If you're excited for the upcoming season, please spread the word by leaving a rating and review on Apple podcasts, tagging us @DownToTheStruts on social media, or sharing...

This bonus episode features excerpts from a panel discussion that Qudsiya facilitated on “Disability as Freedom” for the Equal Justice Works leadership Development Training in 2021. In the featured excerpts of the discussion, you’ll learn about approaching legal advocacy within the frame of disability rights, justice and intersectionality in order to carve a pathway to equal justice for all. The s...

Qudsiya is joined by visually impaired, self- taught artist Michael A. Williams for a discussion about disability and the creative process. Michael and Qudsiya talk about his artistic techniques, what drew him to add electronic music composition to his artistic portfolio, and how his art wound up in the collection of our 44th president, Barack Obama. If you're enjoying the podcast, please spread t...

Qudsiya interviews Eli Dvorkin from the Center for an Urban Future about the new report, Access Opportunity: Expanding Economic Opportunity for New Yorkers with Disabilities. New York City experienced a nearly 10% increase in the unemployment rate among city residents with disabilities from 7.4% in 2019 to more than 17% in 2021 as a result of the pandemic-induced economic downturn. This is not inc...

Qudsiya is joined by youth activist Lou Paniccioli, an Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies fellow, secretary of the Young Democrats of America Disability Issues Caucus, and vice chair of the New York Young Democrats Disability Issues Caucus. They talk about Lou’s journey to political activism as his chosen tool to affect social change, and the role models that have guided hi...

Qudsiya is joined by Mamadi Corra, Professor of Sociology at East Carolina University (ECU). They discuss Professor Corra's research on access for people with disabilities in the US federal judicial system, his approach to disability and scholarship and his advice for disabled people of color pursuing an academic path. If you're enjoying the podcast, please spread the word by leaving a rating and...

In this episode, Qudsiya is joined by Jennifer Natalya Fink, professor of English and the director of the program in Disability Studies at Georgetown University. They talk about Jennifer’s new book, All Our Families: Disability Lineage and the Future of Kinship. This is a powerful reflection that documents the erasure of disability from our family narratives, the damage that this can cause as we n...

The overturning of Roe v. Wade has sent shockwaves around the world. In this special bonus episode of Down to the Struts, Qudsiya is joined by journalist Sara Luterman. Sara and Qudsiya discuss a first-of-its-kind poll conducted by Data for Progress about disabled people’s views on abortion, the history of reproductive autonomy for disabled people in the U.S., and the implications of the Supreme C...