She Didn't Know She Was Blind

05/05/20 • 85 min

What’s it like to hide your blindness from the world? Or not even know you’re blind in the first place? Caroline Casey was in denial for the first 28 years of her life. Her parents never told her she was legally blind, and by the time she got into the working world, she didn’t know how to be open about it. Holding back such an integral part of who you are can mess you up, and finally Caroline broke, realizing that it wasn’t worth it anymore. The funny thing is, that’s when her life really got good. Caroline chatted with us about her childhood, her work, and her new initiative to get 500 of the world’s most powerful CEOs to sign a commitment to include disability in their business agenda.

Previous Episode

Exploring the Senses with a Blind Chemist

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).

Next Episode

Can Blindness Be Funny?

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.