Talking Vision by Vision Australia Radio

It's a World Braille Day special episode of Talking Vision as we feature Vision Australia Radio and RPH network veteran Stephen Jolley, who catches up with BBC North America correspondent Gary O'Donoghue. Gary has been totally blind from a young age, and so throughout his later childhood and adult life braille has played a central role in everything he does.  Tune in to hear more from Gary ab...

Welcome to the second half of our two part holiday series on Talking Vision. This week Sam features conversation from the second half of 2025, including Conrad Browne, Maurice Gleeson, Jo Cabot and Santiago Velasquez. Support this Vision Australia Radio program: https://www.visionaustralia.org/donate?src=radio&type=0&_ga=2.182040610.46191917.1644183916-1718358749.1627963141 See omnystudio.com/list...

Join Sam for the first of our two part holiday series on Talking Vision. This week you'll hear interviews from the first half of 2025 including Emily Shanahan, Theresa Rockley-Hogan, Elphie Coyle and Ben Harrington. Support this Vision Australia Radio program: https://www.visionaustralia.org/donate?src=radio&type=0&_ga=2.182040610.46191917.1644183916-1718358749.1627963141 See omnystudio.com/listen...

Sam speaks to Anne Diez, mother of five-year-old Iko. At age two Iko lost his vision due to leukemia but thanks to Vision Australia he's been able to adapt to play and be as active as ever. Iko is one of our Carols ambassadors this year, if you'd like to buy a ticket and head along there's still time, simply head to the Carols website . You'll also hear from Gino who joins us with some gift ideas...

We kick off the show with a library update from Vision Australia Library manager Sarah Bloedorn, who gives us a sneak preview of what the library has in store for members in 2026. You'll also hear from singer and songwriter Summer Giddings, who has recently released a single for Christmas entitled Paper Hats and Mistletoe , alongside her new album Christmas with Summer . Then finally to wrap up we...

Sam welcomes back Santiago Velazquez Hurtado, who is one of six ambassadors for this year's International Day of People with Disability. He talks about his role, the day itself and what days like this can do to raise awareness and provoke positive change for people with disabilities. You'll also hear from Liz Dalakouras as she gives a final run down of For Your Information for 2025, and we finish...

Sam speaks to Kathryn Carey from Impact Institute about their recent Melbourne Disability Expo which wrapped up on Saturday 22 November, as well as the other work Impact is doing in the disability space. You'll also hear from Moonee Valley City Council's Kelly Armstrong, she tells us about an upcoming event in Flemington to mark the lead up to International Day of People with Disability on Decembe...

This week we celebrate the nine Vision Australia Award winners who received their awards at the recent Vision Australia Annual General Meeting on October 31. You'll hear from all in attendance at the awards with introductions from master of ceremonies Ian Finlayson and chair Bill Jolley. Support this Vision Australia Radio program: https://www.visionaustralia.org/donate?src=radio&type=0&_ga=2.1820...

Sam catches up with Vision Australia's manager of radio and audio services, Conrad Browne, about the recent CBAA conference in Hobart and the awards night where Vision Australia Radio picked up three awards, and Peter Greco was added to the community radio honour roll for his three decades of service to the sector. You'll also hear from Sara McDonald and Belinda Marcon who join us to chat about th...

Sam speaks to CEO of Bus Stop Films, Tracey Corbin-Matchett about an upcoming disability employment summit that Bus Stop Films has been involved in running, now is its second year. The summit is called Driving Change, taking place over three days on 25-27 November both in Bondi and online, for members of the screen industry and creatives with lived experience of disability including but not limite...

Sam speaks with Associate Professor Tien Huynh from RMIT about her team's research into a new medication using natural proteins to tackle retina-based vision conditions such as macular degeneration. You'll also hear from 2025 Blind Australian of the Year Maurice Gleeson, who recently picked up the award for his decades of service to the blind and low vision community in the field of sport and recr...

This week we celebrate the 2025 Blind Australian of the Year Awards with a range of interviews and speeches featuring Vision Australia Radio's own Jason Gipps, and Blind Australian of the Year MC Karan Nagrani. Jason and Karan take you through the night featuring conversations with Reggie Bird, Tash from Braille and Tactile Signs Australia, award winner announcements and more. Support this Vision...

Talking Vision turns 800! To celebrate Sam takes us on a trip back over the years to feature some of his favourite conversations with people from the blind and low vision community who have made an impact on the world in their own way. We also hear from Wayne Speers from Yarra Trams to tell us about the upcoming Try Before you Ride event at Southern Cross on 16 October. Support this Vision Austral...

Lots of action on the show this week as we kick off with a Vision Australia library update from community engagement officer Maureen O'Reilly, who fills us in on some events coming up in the library over the next two months. Then you'll hear from Kayla Everingham from our Vision Store in Queensland, she's heading along to the Community Inclusion Expo on Saturday October 11 in Brisbane with her tea...

Sam speaks to Myra Woodley from Vision Australia and Mikaela Day from Kay and Burton about the upcoming Santa Fun Run, taking place on 22 November at the Botanical Gardens in Melbourne. You can find out more about the Santa Fun Run and grab you early bird tickets by heading to the Santa Fun Run website . You'll also hear from blind and low vision indoor skydiver Tom Kennedy, he catches up with Sam...

This week we hear from Vision Australia Radio Geelong volunteer Jo Smith, who catches up with Vision Australia access technology specialist Kent Walsdorf. Kent shares a series of tips and tricks for screen reader users to avoid email scams, and stay cyber secure. You'll also hear from Vision Australia radio and audio manager Conrad Browne, Sam catches up with him to chat about the record nine nomi...

Sam speaks with Joanne Cabot, who recently returned from competing in the blind and low vision category of iFly, an indoor skydiving competition for participants of all abilities. She talks to us about this as well as her Dinner in the Dark events, trying her hand at surfing, but most importantly raising awareness and encouraging more people from the blind or low vision community to come and try i...

Comedian with low vision Jeremy Moses is back on the show this week to share the latest news about his new show, Hard to Work With. You'll also hear from another Talking Vision favourite as Kelly Schulz from Knowable Me chats with Sam about some research they're conducting about accessibility in the job seeking process, and Frances joins us with a Father's Day-themed Reader Recommended. Support th...

We feature the final segment with Ian Bailey this week, as Sam hears from him about his work at UC Berkeley from immediately before and after the turn of the millennium. You'll also hear from Vision Australia lead policy advisor Bruce Maguire, who tells us about a new survey Vision Australia is running to hear input from home appliance users who are blind or have low vision Support this Vision Aus...

You'll hear from Ian Bailey again as Sam speaks with him about his work at Berkeley in the 1980s. Then later in the program Leslie Heagney from Braille House joins the show to tell us about the Dickinson Memorial Literary Competition, now available for submissions until 18 September, and Frances Keyland wraps up the show with a Reader Recommended. Support this Vision Australia Radio program: https...

Dr Erica Tandori and Dr Stu Favilla join Sam on the show this week to speak about their upcoming exhibition on X-ray crystallography during National Science Week, featuring tactile and braille interfaces as well as a soundscape. You'll also hear from Liz who's back to tell us about the latest issue of For Your Information hitting inboxes this week. Support this Vision Australia Radio program: http...

Monash PhD student William Chen is back on the program with Sam this week discussing his new research, including a study into how people in the blind and low vision community plan their journey and navigate their surroundings with technology, and the role that AI does or doesn't play in the process. We also hear from Melanie Lane, choreographer of PHANTASM, a new dance work taking place at Chunky...

Sam is joined by Adam Demirtel from Holstep Health alongside Debbie Loke and Megan Kohlhagen from Vision Australia to discuss Carer Gateway, an Australian Government program providing free services and support for carers. We also feature another piece in conversation with optometrist and low vision specialist Ian Bailey, this time covering his early years of research and lecturing in low vision at...

Sam speaks to CEO and co-founder of Split Atom Labs, Aaron Vernon, whose game studio is the developer of accessible mobile game Land of Livia, currently available on all Apple devices for gamers who are blind or have low vision. We also feature part three of Sam's interview with Ian Bailey, covering his time between teaching and research positions at University of Melbourne and UC Berkeley. Suppor...

This week features part two of Sam's conversation with optometrist, researcher and low vision pioneer Ian Bailey, featuring stories around his postgraduate studies in Indiana, returning to the school of optometry in Melbourne and starting up the low vision clinic at the Association for the Blind in Kooyong. After we hear from Ian, Vision Australia volunteer partnerships coordinator Jordan Ashby is...