To wrap up our 10th season, we’re delighted to share the second part of Qudsiya’s conversation with Blind Birder extraordinaire, Jerry Berrier. In the second half of their chat, Jerry introduced Qudsiya to the vast diversity of birdsong, including particular birds he enjoys listening to in his local area in Massachusetts, plus lots of fun facts about birds and their behavior.
He also shared several resources that you can use to enjoy and learn more about the birds in your community, including Merlin Bird ID, Larkwire, All About Birds, and Jerry’s website, birdblind.org.Listen to part one here.
--
Let us know what you think with a comment or review!
Visit our website for transcripts.
Subscribe to Qudsiya's Substack, Getting Down To It
Support the team behind the podcast with a donation
This Disability Pride Month isn’t just about celebrating the disability community: it marks a season of resistance. Our very existence is under threat, from drastic cuts to the social safety net, to vile attacks on the autistic community, a full-on assault on transgender lives, and the terrorizing of immigrants.
But this is not the first time, nor will it be the last, that those who face oppression and state violence have leaned on each other to challenge the forces that seek to erase us. In her powerful new essay, “We Are Not Ok…And We Will Keep Resisting,” disability justice activist Conchita Hernandez Legorreta powerfully captures the pain, joy, and resistance of living at the intersection of immigration and disability.
Her story, like so many others, is one of trauma, state violence, and exploitation. But it is also a story about care, community, joy, and resistance.
Please take care when listening, as this episode includes depictions of trauma and violence.
--
Let us know what you think with a comment or review!
Visit our website for transcripts.
Subscribe to Qudsiya's Substack, Getting Down To It
Support the team behind the podcast with a donation
We have a few more surprises in store for you this season, including this very special, two-part bonus episode. Qudsiya sat down with Jerry Berrier. Jerry is a member of Birdability.org, an organization dedicated to making birding accessible to all. He is also a member of the Bay State Council of the Blind.
Jerry and Qudsiya explored the world of blind birding, chatted about Jerry’s work to develop nature trails that are accessible to all, and how he and a group of other blind birders planned the first ever national blind birder bird-a-thon in May 2025. Be sure to stay tuned for part two of their conversation, coming in a couple of weeks. We promise you, it'll be a hoot!
--
Let us know what you think with a comment or review!
Visit our website for transcripts.
Subscribe to Qudsiya's Substack, Getting Down To It
Support the team behind the podcast with a donation
For our season finale, we'll travel across continents for Qudsiya’s conversation with Priti Salian, a journalist, media consultant, and trainer based in Bengaluru, India. Priti’s work focuses on gender equality, disability, and inclusion through the lens of human rights and solutions based journalism. She is the creator of the acclaimed newsletter Reframing Disability.
Priti and Qudsiya discussed Priti’s interest in disability coverage in India, her groundbreaking research as a fellow at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism about the representation of disabled journalists in Indian newsrooms, and solutions for ensuring that disabled journalists thrive and that disability coverage reflects the diversity and dynamism of the disability community in India and beyond.
--
Let us know what you think with a comment or review!
Visit our website for transcripts.
Subscribe to Qudsiya's Substack, Getting Down To It
Support the team behind the podcast with a donation
Over the last few episodes, we've talked about disability rights, history, the law, and intersectional movement building. Today we're going to dive into another important aspect of the disability experience—disability culture.
We'll listen in on Qudsiya’s conversation with Dagny Brown and Mika Weissbuch, two of the three co-directors of the San Francisco Disability Cultural Center, or DCC. Dagny and Mika recounted the DCC origin story, their vision for its role in San Francisco and beyond, and Qudsiya, Dagny, and Mika talked about why creating a shared space and experiences for people of all backgrounds, regardless of whether they identify as being disabled or not, is a powerful tool for breaking down stigma and confronting ableism.
--
Let us know what you think with a comment or review!
Visit our website for transcripts.
Subscribe to Qudsiya's Substack, Getting Down To It
Support the team behind the podcast with a donation
This episode explores how disability justice relates to the ongoing pursuit of justice for transgender communities, who are increasingly under threat in the US and many other countries.
We'll listen in on Qudsiya’s conversation with Ericka Dixon and Sebastian Margaret of the Transgender Law Center's Disability Project. They discuss how we can build cross movement solidarity between transgender and disabled communities, and all who exist at those intersections.
--
Let us know what you think with a comment or review!
Visit our website for transcripts.
Subscribe to Qudsiya's Substack, Getting Down To It
Support the team behind the podcast with a donation
This week, Qudsiya speaks with Professor Jamelia Morgan, an award-winning and acclaimed scholar and teacher at the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, where she also directs the Center for Racial and Disability Justice.
Professor Morgan's work focuses on the intersection of race, gender, disability, and criminal law and punishment. Qudsiya and Jamelia talked about her personal path to studying these issues, the particular harms that people of color with disabilities face when it comes to policing and mass incarceration, and her transformative vision for a world that prioritizes justice and inclusion over violence and punishment.
--
Let us know what you think with a comment or review!
Visit our website for transcripts.
Subscribe to Qudsiya's Substack, Getting Down To It
Support the team behind the podcast with a donation
Qudsiya sits down with Joe Shapiro, investigative correspondent for National Public Radio. Joe was one of the first journalists to cover the disability civil rights movement and the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
In this episode, Qudsiya and Joe talk about how Joe came to cover disability issues, his observations about how the movement has evolved over time, and his perspectives on disability coverage today.
--
Let us know what you think with a comment or review!
Visit our website for transcripts.
Subscribe to Qudsiya's Substack, Getting Down To It
Support the team behind the podcast with a donation
Welcome to Season 10 of Down to the Struts!
To kick things off, Qudsiya sits down with the indomitable Chai Feldblum. Chai is a civil rights advocate and scholar. For nearly four decades, Chai has fought for the rights of LGBTQ and disability communities through legislative advocacy, teaching, scholarship, government service, and much more. She played an integral role in the drafting of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Qudsiya and Chai talk about Chai's work on the ADA, including the unlikely coalition that she brought together, and so much more.
The Art of Legislative Lawyering and the Six Circles Theory of Advocacy
Let us know what you think with a comment or review!
Visit our website for transcripts.
--
Subscribe to Qudsiya's Substack, Getting Down To It
Support the team behind the podcast with a donation
Season 10 of Down to the Struts is headed your way. Qudsiya give listeners a sneak peek at the voices of the journalists, activists, scholars, and creators who will lead us in a deep dive into disability history and culture this season.
We’re in double digits y’all! Make sure you’re subscribed and tuned in on April 29 for our first episode.
Visit our website for transcripts.
--
Subscribe to Qudsiya's Substack, Getting Down To It
Support the team behind the podcast with a donation
Let us know what you think with a comment or review onApple podcasts.
We’ve reached the end of the road—no pun intended—with our final listener favorite from season 9, featuring Anna Zivarts, author of the exceptional book, “When Driving Is Not An Option: Steering Away from Car Dependency.”
This one resonated with many of you who, like Qudsiya, cannot drive a car. As we shockingly learned from Anna in this episode, this is the case for a whopping 31 out of 100 Americans. It can often be a struggle to get around in our car-centric country, but Anna gives us a blueprint and a vision for achieving the accessible communities we’ve all dreamed of.
Visit our website for transcripts.
--
Subscribe to Qudsiya's Substack, Getting Down To It
Support the team behind the podcast with a donation
Let us know what you think with a comment or review onApple podcasts.
We’ve arrived at our penultimate listener favorite from season 8. We called this one “Access: A love Story.”
It was magical for Qudsiya to revisit the unforgettable day that she and her partner, also a Down to the Struts alum, Sean Collins, promised to love each other for the rest of their lives. They’ve been married for nearly two years now, and they’ve had their fair share of adventures since.
But they continue to cherish those precious moments with the people they hold dearest in the world, because of the incredible work of access artist Cheryl Green and photographer extraordinaire, Jasmine Oliver, on their accessible wedding album.
Qudsiya and Sean think of Cheryl and Jasmine every time they experience the symbiotic pleasure of image combined with voice. Also thanks to the audio talents of Ramya Amuthan with production and sound design support from the one and only Thomas Reid. Access truly is an act of love. And here, once again, is Qudsiya and Sean’s love story.
Visit our website for transcripts.
--
Subscribe to Qudsiya's Substack, Getting Down To It
Support the team behind the podcast with a donation
Let us know what you think with a comment or review onApple podcasts.
Here’s your favorite from Season 7. Qudsiya is a huge history nerd, and she had a blast unpacking blind history with Andrew Leland, author of the award-winning memoir, The Country of the Blind. Andrew and Qudsiya explored blind culture, blind politics, and their own relationships with blindness. It was a great conversation—thanks to all of you for giving us a chance to revisit it.
Visit our website for transcripts.
--
Subscribe to Qudsiya's Substack, Getting Down To It
Support the team behind the podcast with a donation
Let us know what you think with a comment or review onApple podcasts.
We’re recasting this listener favorite from Season 6. Qudsiya loves this conversation with human rights lawyer and disability justice champion, Haben Girma—author of the acclaimed memoir, “Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law.”
Haben and Qudsiya talked about the concept of empowered interdependence. This is the idea that we all deserve to have access to the tools to define our own lives, and the ability to lean on one another to access those tools.
Empowered interdependence acknowledges that all of our lives are intertwined, and we are stronger when we solve problems together. It’s a timely message, and, as always, Haben shares it with infinite wisdom.
Visit our website for transcripts.
--
Subscribe to Qudsiya's Substack, Getting Down To It
Support the team behind the podcast with a donation
Let us know what you think with a comment or review onApple podcasts.
Welcome back to our series highlighting listener favorites over the last nine seasons. We’re on to your favorite from season 5. Qudsiya spoke to Jennifer Natalya Fink, author of the incredible bookAll Our Families: Disability Lineage and the Future of Kinship.
The book opened up a fascinating conversation about how we think about disability within our own families, and how rethinking those family narratives might help us build a more inclusive and accessible world.
Visit our website for transcripts.
--
Subscribe to Qudsiya's Substack, Getting Down To It
Support the team behind the podcast with a donation
Let us know what you think with a comment or review onApple podcasts.
In season 4, Qudsiya had the incredible opportunity to sit down with the legendary international disability rights advocate, Judy Heumann, before her passing on March 4, 2023. Now, almost two years later, her legacy lives on.
As we continue the fight for disability rights, the memory of her struggle, and the struggle of so many others who fought, and continue to fight, for dignity, equal opportunity, and access for disabled people has never been more important.
Visit our website for transcripts.
--
Subscribe to Qudsiya's Substack, Getting Down To It
Support the team behind the podcast with a donation
Let us know what you think with a comment or review onApple podcasts.
We hope you’re enjoying our past season rebroadcasts so far. It’s been fun to take this trip down memory lane to revisit some of the episodes that you all enjoyed the most.
We’re on to season 3, and Qudsiya’s conversation with Lydia X. Z. Brown, a disability justice advocate and activist, who has dedicated their life and resources to combating injustice, oppression, and violence in all its forms. This is another foundational episode Qudsiya often recommends to listeners who want to understand the concept of intersectionality.
Lydia breaks it all down for us in this episode, and applies the concept of intersectionality to the context of algorithmic bias, which is a hot topic these days with the rise of artificial intelligence.
Visit our website for transcripts.
--
Subscribe to Qudsiya's Substack, Getting Down To It
Support the team behind the podcast with a donation
Let us know what you think with a comment or review onApple podcasts.
Qudsiya is back with your listener favorite from Season 2—Designing Access for Disabled Students.
Qudsiya spoke with Roger Ideishi about his efforts to challenge traditional approaches to occupational therapy by insisting that students with intellectual and developmental disabilities play a central role in shaping their own classroom experiences. Roger has also championed the inclusion of disabled people in arts and culture. In 2022, he was honored as part of The Kennedy Center’s Next 50 leaders and change-makers in the arts.
And don’t forget to send your audio or written testimonials sharing about what Down to the Struts has meant to you. You can email them to downtothestruts@gmail.com.
Visit our website for transcripts.
--
Subscribe to Qudsiya's Substack, Getting Down To It
Support the team behind the podcast with a donationLet us know what you think with a comment or review onApple podcasts.
As the team works on season 10, we wanted to bring you something extra special. Over the coming weeks, we’ll be recasting listener favorites from across all nine seasons of the podcast, highlighting one episode from each season that you, our listeners, particularly enjoyed.
First up is season 1, “The Language of Disability” with disability studies scholar and activist, Sara Acevedo. Qudsiya often points new listeners to this episode as a foundational primer on the concepts of disability justice, the social versus the medical model of disability, the term “crip”, and many other critical concepts that help us understand the disabled experience.
After you listen, please remember to send your audio or written testimonials sharing about what Down to the Struts has meant to you. You can email them to downtothestruts@gmail.com.
Visit our website for transcripts.
--
Subscribe to Qudsiya's Substack, Getting Down To It
Support the team behind the podcast with a donation Let us know what you think with a comment or review on Apple podcasts.
The team at Down to the Struts is thrilled to share the trailer for Season 4 of Contra*!
This season, Aimi Hamraie and the Critical Design Lab share oral history interviews from the Remote Access Archives. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, they spoke with scholars and activists about mutual aid and pandemic times. This season, they’ll be sharing some of these conversations.
Aimi Hamraie, Cavar, Jen White-Johnson, Jiya Pandya, Julia Rose Karpicz, Katie Sullivan, and our very own Down to the Struts creator and host, Qudsiya Naqui, contributed to this season’s introduction.
Contributors to the episodes include: Hector Ramirez, Thomas Reid, moira williams, Qudsiya Naqui, Corbett O’Toole, Sky Cubacub, Katie Goldfinch, Brian Lobel, Susan Molloy, and India Harville.
And don’t forget to submit your Down to the Struts audio and written testimonials! We want to hear from you about what our podcast means to you, and the impact it’s had in your life. Please share your audio files or written comments to downtothestruts@gmail.com. We hope to share your reflections during season 10!
Visit our website for transcripts.
--
Subscribe to Qudsiya's Substack, Getting Down To It
Support the team behind the podcast with a donation Let us know what you think with a comment or review on Apple podcasts.