The Be My Eyes Podcast

For centuries, people have been laughing at caricatures of blindness in TV, film and entertainment – but how often are they laughing with us? Amir Rahimi has begun exploring the art of standup comedy as a fledgling comic in the Washington, DC comedy scene. Rahimi became blind as a teenager, and after fighting his vision impairment for years, he finally found peace in the ability to make people laugh. In his first few public sets, Rahimi plays with notions of masculinity, pokes fun at strangers who find his vision impairment fascinating, and isn’t afraid to joke about his own shortcomings as a way to “humanize” the blind experience and make it more relatable for the average, flawed human being. Rahimi sat down to chat with us about his successes and failures in developing his first ten minutes, and talk about his motivations and ambitions for what he hopes will be a long and fruitful comedy career.

In the last two weeks, the whole world has changed. The global economy has all but slammed to a halt, people are locked in their houses and not allowed to leave except for essential tasks, and the self-isolation has presented humans with a whole new set of challenges they probably never imagined having. Today we take an overview look at how the blind community is reacting, share some resources as starting points for blind and low vision folks looking to learn more, and chat with Be My Eyes communications officer Cecilie Skou Anderson about what's going on in Denmark.

Growing up in the rolling hills of Northern California, Hoby Wedler always had a passion for exploration. Blind since birth and profoundly curious, Hoby explored phenomena small and large. He hiked mountains and rode bikes through rural landscapes. He learned about the plumbing and electrical wiring of his suburban home. But when he found his love for science he also found himself suddenly blocked by teachers and so-called mentors who said he should try something else. Now a PhD chemist, Hoby has found his way into a fascinating new career which started, oddly enough, leading wine tastings for Francis Ford Coppola. Hoby talks with us about his new business, Senspoint Design, and even convinces our host to try some of Dave Matthews' wine (yeah, that Dave MAtthews).

What would you do with $25,000? That's what the Holman Prize is all about. Any blind or visually impaired adult in the world can apply – and every year, the LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired in San Francisco grants the Holman Prize to three lucky individuals. Initial submissions for this year’s prize are about to close, and so in honor of its fourth year, we’re sharing exclusive interviews with the three Holman Prizewinners from 2019. Learn more and apply at holmanprize.org.

When Robert Tarango was cast to star in Doug Roland's short film Feeling Through, he was a kitchen assistant at the Helen Keller National Center. On Sunday, he'll walk down the red carpet at the 93rd Academy Awards. Here's his story – and why it's so important for the future of inclusion in film and TV.