205. Alice Wong with Elsa Sjunneson: Disability Visibility in the Twenty-First Century

09/22/20 • 59 min

One in five people in the United States lives with a disability. Some disabilities are visible, others less apparent—but all are underrepresented in media and popular culture.

Just in time for the thirtieth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, activist Alice Wong joined us via livestream in conversation with editor Elsa Sjunneson. Wong shared from her recent book, Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century, a curated anthology of contemporary essays from other prominent disability writers and activists. She gave us a glimpse into the rich complexity of the disability experience, and highlights the passions, talents, and everyday lives of the disability community. Wong invited us to question our own understandings, and look to the future of disability visibility with hope and love.

Alice Wong is a disability activist, media maker, and consultant. She is the Founder and Director of the Disability Visibility Project, which aims to amplify media created by people with disabilities, and she has been one of the leading partners in the #CripTheVote campaign. She is also a co-partner on the DisabledWriters.com, #CripLit, and Access Is Love projects. She has been published in the New York Times, Vox, Bitch Media, Teen Vogue, and others.

Hugo and Aurora award-winning editor Elsa Sjunneson is a deafblind hurricane in a vintage dress. Her nonfiction editorial work has appeared in Uncanny Magazine and Fireside Magazine. As an author, her work has appeared in CNN Opinion, Tor.com, The Boston Globe, and numerous other venues. In addition to editorial and authorial pursuits, she educates authors on writing disability respectfully.

Visit our YouTube page to view ASL and closed captioning.

Buy the Book: https://www.elliottbaybook.com/book/9781984899422

Presented by Town Hall Seattle. To become a member or make a donation click here or text TOWN HALL to 44321.

One in five people in the United States lives with a disability. Some disabilities are visible, others less apparent—but all are underrepresented in media and popular culture.

Visit our YouTube page to view ASL and closed captioning.

Buy the Book: https://www.elliottbaybook.com/book/9781984899422

Presented by Town Hall Seattle. To become a member or make a donation click here or text TOWN HALL to 44321.

Previous Episode

204. Thom Hartmann: The Hidden History of Monopolies

American monopolies dominate, control, and consume most of the energy of our entire economic system–but we’ve broken the hold of behemoths like these before, author Thom Hartmann says, and we can do it again.

In this livestreamed presentation, Hartmann shared how he believes monopolies threaten our systems and economy, and the damage that they have done to so many industries and individuals, pulling from his new book The Hidden History of Monopolies: How Big Business Destroyed the American Dream. He explored America’s long history of trust busting, taking us from the birth of the nation as a revolt against monopoly, to the largely successful efforts of both Presidents Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt and other like-minded leaders to restrain corporations’ monopolistic urges, to the massive changes in the rules of business starting during the Reagan years. Join Hartmann as he explores the current challenges we face, and what common sense measures we might engage in to retake control from monopolists.

Thom Hartmann is a progressive nationally and internationally syndicated talk show host and bestselling author of 24 books, including The Hidden History of the War on Voting and The Hidden History of Guns and the Second Amendment, which he has previously discussed at Town Hall. Before his radio program, Hartmann was an entrepreneur and humanitarian for nearly three decades.

Buy the Book: https://www.elliottbaybook.com/book/9781523087730

Presented by Town Hall Seattle. To make a donation or become a member click on this link or text TOWN HALL to 44321.

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206. Senator Chris Murphy with Eric Liu: The Violence Inside Us

Many in America do not feel safe in spaces that used to be seen as refuges: our churches and schools, our movie theaters and dance clubs, our workplaces and neighborhoods. But this feeling begs the question: Is America destined to always be a violent nation?

Pulling from his carefully researched and deeply emotional book The Violence Inside Us: A Brief History of an Ongoing American Tragedy, Senator Chris Murphy joined us via livestream to attempt to answer this question. Telling the story of his profound personal transformation in the wake of the mass murder at Newtown, he advocated that in order to confront the problem, we must first understand it. Dissecting our country’s violence-filled history and the role of our unique fascination with firearms, he came to the conclusion that while America’s relationship to violence is singular, we are not inescapably violent. Join Murphy as he takes on the familiar arguments, addresses the usual talking points, and charts the way to a fresh, less polarized conversation about violence and the weapons that enable it—a conversation he urges we need in order to transform the national dialogue and save lives.

Chris Murphy is the junior Senator from Connecticut, elected in 2012 as the youngest member of the US Senate. Since the Newtown school shooting in December 2012, he has also become the best-known leader in Congress in confronting the plague of gun violence in America. He has also been a strong voice fighting for job creation, affordable health care, education, and a forward-looking foreign policy.

Eric Liu is an author and the co-founder and CEO of Citizen University. He has served as a board member of the Corporation for National and Community Service, the Washington State Board of Education, and the Seattle Public Library and is a co-founder of the Alliance for Gun Responsibility. A regular contributor to the Atlantic, Eric can be found on Twitter @ericpliu

Buy the Book: https://www.elliottbaybook.com/book/9781984854575

Presented by Town Hall Seattle, Seattle U College of Arts and Sciences, and Elliott Bay Book Company

To become a member of Town Hall Seattle or to make a donation online click here or text TOWN HALL to 44321.