Paralimited Access (w/Mark Bookman)

08/16/21 • 30 min

Disability activist and historian Mark Bookman talks about how accessibility progress is bolstered by the international spotlight of the Paralympics but hampered by the lack of accessibility at the policy-making table.

Ollie interrogates the patriarchy.

Bobby seems pretty consumed by his anxiety about how much time we have left.

Topics discussed on this episode range from:

Ollie's disastrous start to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and how a Brian intervened to save the Day
How AirBNB does in terms of accessibility
How Japan travel accommodations do with accessibility overall
What Mark's work as a disability activist entails, and how his daily life and interactions inform his activism
The concrete web of support that's required to make a disabled person's
The challenging of advocating for people with invisible disabilities in Japan
The importance of inclusivity in accessibility conversations
The Paralympics as an opportunity to reflect and improve on accessibility
How Corona has illustrated some of Japan's social barriers to accessibility
Japan's over-reliance on care networks for disable people
How Japan's aging population and shortage of caregivers highlights disability and accessibility issues
The chance that the Paralympics offers to address some of these issues
How incredibly sporty we all are
Mark's experience being consulted by the Japanese government to work on accessibility issues
How Japan's attitude towards accessibility compares to other countries
Japan's legal history around accessibility
How transportation accessibility has rippled out to other areas
How Japan's inclusion TARGETS set them apart from other countries
A brief history of Japanese disability welfare laws and where they excel
WHY they excel in those areas
Disability visibility in government, and how it affects public perception
Japan's history of high-profiled disability
How the Paralympics can function to create "undesirable accessibility"
How the Paralympics can be helpful to some and harmful to others
Some really disastrously bad Paralympic advertising messaging
What Mark tells a government when they ask what they should do
Why the government needs to do more than just ask Mark what they should do