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Always Looking Up

Always Looking Up

Jillian Curwin

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A podcast dedicated to telling honest and real stories about living in a world that was not necessarily designed for us.
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Top 10 Always Looking Up Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Always Looking Up episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Always Looking Up for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Always Looking Up episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

Always Looking Up - Dr. Sami Schalk On Black Disability Politics
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06/12/23 • 58 min

In this week’s episode I sat down with Dr. Sami Schalk. Dr. Schalk is an Associate Professor of Gender & Women’s Studies at University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her interdisciplinary research focuses broadly on disability, race, and gender in contemporary American literature and culture. She is the author of the books Bodyminds Reimagined: (Dis)ability, Race, and Gender in Black Women’s Speculative Fiction and Black Disability Politics. We discuss what it means to come into one’s disabled identity, how the portrayal of certain identities in fiction can and do influence real life, where Black Disability Politics intersect and conflict with the mainstream white-dominant disability civil rights movement and much, much more.

Follow Dr. Schalk: Instagram: @fierceblackfemme Twitter: @DrSamiSchalk Website: http://samischalk.com

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast Website: https://www.jillianilana.com Email: [email protected]

This episode was edited and produced by Ben Curwin.

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Always Looking Up - Dr. Rose Perry On Who Should Teach About Disability
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05/15/23 • 64 min

In this week’s episode I sat down with Dr. Rose Perry. Rose, a self-described sociologist turned social innovator, is an applied research scientist with a Ph.D. in neuroscience & physiology. She is the founder and executive director of Social Creatures, a nonprofit social innovation and research organization on a mission to ensure that any individual can socially connect with others, and co-founder of Historicons, a toys and games company that celebrates diversity by using historical events and icons to represent, educate, and empower kids. We discuss how being disabled influenced her work, who should bear the responsibility of teaching kids at an early age about how to interact with someone who is different, and the social connections and relationships between non-disabled and disabled people and those within the disability community itself.

Read the transcript HERE

Follow Dr. Rose Perry: LinkedIn: Rose Perry

Follow Social Creatures: Instagram: @socialcreaturz Website: https://www.thesocialcreatures.org

Follow Historicons: Instagram: @historicons TikTok: @historicons Website: https://www.historicons.com

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast Website: https://www.jillianilana.com Email: [email protected]

This episode was edited and produced by Ben Curwin.

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Always Looking Up - Prasanna Ranganathan On The Audacity To Be Disabled
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06/05/23 • 71 min

Welcome to Season 2!

In this week’s episode I sat down with Prasanna Ranganathan. Prasanna is a documentary producer, human rights lawyer, diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) consultant, accessibility advisor, speaker, author, correspondent, writer and arts columnist. After talking about our mutual love of all things Broadway we discussed the audacity to thrive and to be disabled, the power and influence of storytelling, how accessibility can not and should not be the end goal, and much, much more.

Follow Prasanna: Website: prasannaranganathan.com Instagram: @prasran Twitter: @PRanganathan LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/prasannaranganathan/

Cookbook Sales Page: https://rupikaur.com/products/made-with-prema-cookbook

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast Website: https://www.jillianilana.com Email: [email protected]

This episode was edited and produced by Ben Curwin.

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In this week’s episode, the 100th episode, I sat down with Sinéad Burke. Sinéad is an Irish author, academic and disability activist. She is the Founder of Tilting The Lens, a disability-led consultancy that advises major global brands, guiding them in their move from awareness to action by creating more accessible practices, policies, products and services, places and promotions. We discuss her career path from fashion blogger to CEO, the shift in asking the fashion industry to design for us, the disabled community, to design with us, the power and influence of disability representation, not just in fashion, and much, much more.

Read the Transcription HERE

Follow Sinéad: Instagram: @thesineadburke, Website: https://www.sinead-burke.com

Follow Tilting the Lens: Instagram: @tiltingthelens, Website: https://tiltingthelens.com

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast Website: https://www.jillianilana.com Email: [email protected]

This episode was edited and produced by Ben Curwin.

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To start I would like to issue a trigger warning. In this episode we talk about bullying, sexual harassment and sexual assault. If these are triggers for you please feel free to skip this episode. For context, this conversation was recorded on Thursday, June 15, 2023.

I sat down with Aubrey Smalls. Aubrey is an actor and filmmaker with dwarfism. This episode was recorded a day after Little People of America, LPA, on social media and in an official press release, raised awareness on recent online and in-person bullying events directed towards the little person community. We provide greater context as to what was happening, discuss what those in the little person community, the disabled community at large, and allies can do to protect little people when this behavior occurs, and emphasize that no one and no platform has the right to tell a little person that they do not have the right to feel safe, to exist.

Follow Aubrey: Instagram: @theaubreysmalls TikTok: @aubreysmalls Website: https://www.dearaverageheightpeople.com

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast Website: https://www.jillianilana.com Email: [email protected]

This episode was edited and produced by Ben Curwin.

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Always Looking Up - Haleigh Rosa On Why Disability Has A Right To Be Seen
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05/08/23 • 52 min

In this week’s episode I sat down with Haleigh Rosa. Haleigh is a disability model, advocate, and founder of the foreveryone.foundation. Haleigh has collaborated with iconic brands including Off-White, Tommy Hilfiger and SKIMS, having appeared in a campaign launching the brand’s debut adaptive collection that recently went viral when conservative political commentator Candace Owens expressed her opposition to disability representation. We discuss the differences between being uneducated and being ignorant, how she and the disability community responded to what Candace Owens had to say, and why disability representation matters, why it is everything.

Read the transcription HERE

Follow Haleigh: Instagram: @halrosa TikTok: @halrosa

Follow the foreveryone.foundation: Instagram: @foreveryone.foundation

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast Website: https://www.jillianilana.com Email: [email protected]

This episode was edited and produced by Ben Curwin.

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Always Looking Up - Oliver Scheier On Seeing Disability As Cool
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05/01/23 • 48 min

In this week’s episode I sat down with Oliver Scheier. Oliver, among many other things including fashion model and artist, is a human with a disability and he loves it. After sharing his story and talking about how the desire to wear jeans like everybody else led to the founding of the non-profit Runway of Dreams, we discuss what it means to him, as a disabled person, to walk the runways, how the impact of seeing disability in fashion has changed society’s perception of disability (and how it’s stayed the same), and that disability is cool.

Follow Oliver: Instagram: @oliverscheier

Follow Runway Of Dreams: Instagram: @runwayofdreams Twitter: @RunwayOfDreams1 Facebook: Runway Of Dreams YouTube: Runway Of Dreams Website: https://www.runwayofdreams.org

Follow Gamut Management: Instagram: @gamutmanagement Facebook: Gamut Management Website: https://www.gamutmanagement.com

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast Website: https://www.jillianilana.com Email: [email protected]

This episode was edited and produced by Ben Curwin.

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In this week’s episode I sat down with Katy Sullivan. Katy is a Paralympian, one of the first bilateral amputees to compete in the Games in ambulatory track, US record holder, and an actress of stage and screen. Katy was most recently on Broadway in the play Cost Of Living which examines two pairs of relationships between disabled and able persons. We discuss the differences between performing at the Paralympics and performing on Broadway, the importance of telling a story like Cost Of Living authentically, and a new, potential version of the Bechdel test.

Read the transcript HERE

Follow Katy: Instagram: @realkatysullivan FaceBook: Katy Sullivan TikTok: @katybsullivan

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast Website: https://www.jillianilana.com Email: [email protected]

This episode was edited and produced by Ben Curwin.

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In this week’s episode I welcomed back Jenna Bainbridge. Jenna is an actor, singer, disability rights advocate and ambulatory wheelchair user. She is the co-founder of ConsultAbility, a consulting firm that provides advice and expertise on accessibility in theatre, focusing on creating a safe and inclusive environment for disabled actors and technicians. We discuss the word “cripple” and how it is being reclaimed by the disabled community, the structural barriers preventing authentic disability representation on Broadway, and what roles we believe would be enhanced if they were portrayed by disabled actors. And yes, SPOILER ALERT as we may or may not reveal some plot points of some of these Broadway shows.

Follow Jenna: Instagram: @bainbridgejenna TikTok @bainbridgejenna Website: https://www.jennabainbridge.com/home

Follow ConsultAbility: Instagram: @consultability Facebook: ConsultAbility Website: https://www.consultability.org

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast Twitter: @jillx3456 Website: https://www.jillianilana.com Email: [email protected]

This episode was edited and produced by Ben Curwin

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In this special episode I sat down with Emily Ladau. Emily is a disability rights activist, storyteller, digital communications consultant, author of the book Demystifying Disability: What to Know, What to Say, and How to be an Ally and editor of Able News at The Viscardi Center, a monthly print periodical and digital news outlet that serves as a resource for and amplifies the perspectives of New York’s diverse, vibrant disability community. In this conversation, we take a deep dive into the timeline and media firestorm surrounding Catherine, the Princess of Wales leading up to and in the days following her medical disclosure and examine what happened through a disability lens.

Follow Emily: Instagram: @emilyladau Twitter/X: @emily_ladau Website: https://emilyladau.com

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast TikTok: @jillian_ilana Website: https://www.jillianilana.com/ Email: [email protected]

This podcast was edited and produced by Ben Curwin

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FAQ

How many episodes does Always Looking Up have?

Always Looking Up currently has 171 episodes available.

What topics does Always Looking Up cover?

The podcast is about Blog, Fashion, Society & Culture, Fashion & Beauty, Personal Journals, Podcasts, Disability and Arts.

What is the most popular episode on Always Looking Up?

The episode title 'Dr. Sami Schalk On Black Disability Politics' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on Always Looking Up?

The average episode length on Always Looking Up is 59 minutes.

How often are episodes of Always Looking Up released?

Episodes of Always Looking Up are typically released every 7 days.

When was the first episode of Always Looking Up?

The first episode of Always Looking Up was released on May 10, 2021.

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