Talk Description to Me

There's nothing quite like the delightful, exuberant, emotional, titillating, joyful, emboldening, dramatic, euphoric, dance-tastic pleasure of being at a Pride parade. To celebrate Pride month, Christine and JJ do their best to conjure the glorious vibe of Pride with description-rich tales of Toronto's legendary parade. Send us a quick note! Support the show

Toppling a statue is a powerful, emotional and symbolic act. Often celebratory, sometimes angry and vengeful, the removal of a statue -- whether by lawful means or mob rule -- is an event rife with potent and dramatic visuals. In this episode, Christine asks JJ how statues are brought down, and what it looks like when they fall. Send us a quick note! Support the show

From the little dots over lowercase I's and J's in the modern English alphabet, to the evolution of Egyptian hieroglyphics, and fine brush marks of traditional Chinese characters, there's a lot to describe when discussing the visuals of the world's writing systems.  Luckily, Christine and JJ have a whole half hour in which to pontificate! This tip-of-the-iceberg episode on the...

Children’s shoes. Tiny, colourful and empty. In this difficult but necessary episode, we discuss memorials found across Canada that honour the #215Children whose remains were recently discovered on the site of a former Residential School in British Columbia. To recognize the past and current trauma felt by Indigenous communities across Canada,  this episode includes descriptions of artworks by Ind...

Moolah, bread, bucks, scratch ... cash by any name is always sweet! But what does the money you covet and carry actually look like? Today, Christine and JJ break down the visuals of banknotes: the art, the portraits, the security features, and even the cheeky graffiti that's scrawled onto bills and put into circulation.    Send us a quick note! Support the show

May is the perfect time of year for listening to and watching birds. In this episode, we talk about the visuals of our fine feathered friends -- colours, patterns, shapes, nests, and flight. Then Christine asks why sighted people are so transfixed by hawks, and JJ gets picked up by a flashy bird with sweet dance moves!   Send us a quick note! Support the show

This podcast began with the notion that the visuals of pandemic life around the world needed to be described. Many months have since passed, and those visuals have changed. This week, Christine and JJ check in on COVID and lockdown visuals around the world. From anxiety on the streets of Toronto, to India's infection rate graphs, and vacationing goats in North Whales, to vaccinated wales in N...

If you go way way up, and look way way down, what you see can be surprising. In this episode, Christine and JJ describe satellite images and discuss the intriguing perspective they provide. From ecology to archeology to a view of ourselves, the big picture has an awful lot to offer! To explore Google Timelapse, as discussed in this episode, visit: g.co/Timelapse Send us a quick note! Support the s...

This year’s landmark Audio Description of the Academy Awards got us thinking about a hallmark of Oscar night: glamour! What are the visuals of glamour? Is glamour about wearing the right gown and accessories, or is there more to it than just fashion? Has glamour changed over time? And just who gets to be glamorous, anyhow? Send us a quick note! Support the show

On April 20, 2021, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty on all counts in the death of George Floyd, a murder which sparked protests across the U.S. and fuelled the Black Lives Matter movement around the world. In this episode, Christine and JJ discuss the visuals surrounding the trial's conclusion, then describe the wave of tribute art, which seeks to honour and me...

In recent days the Caribbean nation of St. Vincent has been buried under ash by volcanic eruptions. Meanwhile, spectacular drone footage of the lava-belching volcano outside of Reykjavik, Iceland continues to intrigue and amaze. This week, Christine and JJ break down the terrifying and mesmerizing visuals of erupting volcanos. Then, set your creep-o-metre to high for a brief description of the aft...

For a lot of us, architectural terms like Gothic and Art Deco conjure vague, incomplete mental pictures. Well not anymore! In this episode, Christine and JJ cover thousands of years of Western architectural styles, and describe and contextualize key design elements. Check it out, and prepare to wow them at your next dinner party!  Send us a quick note! Support the show

Last week, the world stopped and gaped when a container ship the size of a skyscraper got stuck in the Suez Canal. Using descriptions of satellite images, news footage, and even memes, Christine and JJ tell the story of what happened, why it mattered, what was done about it, and how social media (as usual) found ways to poke fun. Send us a quick note! Support the show

With the first of four monthly SuperMoons set to rise this weekend, we’re turning our attention to Earth’s little buddy. If you’ve ever wondered about the look of the moon, its phases, craters, or size, this is the episode for you! Plus, Christine poses questions asked by listeners about the Apollo moon landing, and of course, the famous Moonwalk by astronaut Michael “Buzz” Jackson. Wait, that doe...

Ever wonder what skin looks like under a microscope? How about hair? Or snowflakes, or sand?! This week, Christine and JJ examine award-winning photographs taken through microscopes, and describe a few clickbait closeups, too! Send us a quick note! Support the show

We've all been cooped up far too long. Let's get out and do some exploring! Today, Christine asks JJ to describe three Wonders of the World: Niagara Falls, the Taj Mahal, and Angkor Wat. Join us for some description-rich virtual travelling! Send us a quick note! Support the show

What does dancing look like? It's a big question, but it's one that listeners have asked us many times, so we're gonna take a crack at it.  The precision and perfection of Ballet, the wild spectacle of Swing, the strutting of Disco, and the mad skills of Hip Hop; we leave it all on the dance floor describing the look,  the vibe, the movement, and even the fashions of well-known danc...

To cap off a busy, emotional, and celebratory Black History Month (and to add a bit of pep to a grey winter weekend) let's all journey to Toronto's legendary Caribana Parade, North America's largest street party.  Today, Christine hits play on a 2018 parade route video, and JJ live-describes the costumes, floats and dancers twerking by. It's Caribbean Carnival day on this bonus...

Responding to requests from several listeners, Christine and JJ take a look at flags from around the world and describe their symbols, colours, meanings, and histories.  Can a simple design inspire patriotism and pride? How literal are the symbols? And can there ever be too many Welsh dragons?!  Send us a quick note! Support the show

It's all about Mars and the Perseverance Rover on Talk Description to Me this week. To enhance the commentary and resources that come directly from NASA, Christine and JJ describe the look of mission hardware, discuss the compelling visuals of the Martian landscape and landing site, and break down NASA’s cinematic representation of a perfect entry, descent, and landing. For more information,...

Whether you call it the Spring Festival, Lunar New Year, or Chinese New Year -  this is a time to celebrate with family and friends. With guidance and listener support, Christine and JJ discuss and describe the visuals of the holiday, from food and clothing, to lanterns and dragon dances. Gong hei fat choy, everyone! Send us a quick note! Support the show

What’s it like to watch people communicate in ASL? Are the gestures remotely comprehensible to those who don't speak the language? How is tone conveyed? And (apparently) most importantly, what's the sign for "Hamburger"?!  This week, Christine and JJ discuss the look of ASL, ask more questions than they can answer, and give a quick described tutorial for the phrase "Nice t...

On December 17, 2020 Talk Description to Me hosted a live event on Zoom, giving Christine and JJ a chance to talk shop with long-time listeners and new-found friends from across the continent. Community members from around the world emailed questions in advance, and others switched on their mics and asked their questions directly.  In this second of two episodes featuring conversations from that e...

If you heard a gleeful squeal of delight echoing through the halls of podcastdom last week, it might well have been Christine discovering the latest TikTok sensation: Sea Shanties! With JJ describing and Christine singing, it's all hands on deck for this wee musical bonus episode. Send us a quick note! Support the show

This was an American Presidential Inauguration week like no other. With the nation's capital in lockdown, a field of flags standing in for real-life spectators, enhanced security to ward off further insurrection, and a COVID memorial to honour the 400,000 US lives lost in the ongoing pandemic, the visuals from Washington continue to provoke strong emotions.  Join Christine and JJ as they desc...