Inside SF activist Alice Wong's Disability Visibility podcast
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Alice Wong is founder and host of the Disability Visibility podcast. Images: Courtesy of Eddie Hernandez Photography and Disability Visibility Project
When Alice Wong launched the since-ended Disability Visibility podcast in 2017, she wanted to create space for a group of people often erased from popular media and culture.
Why it matters: 1 in 4 U.S. adults live with a disability, yet they are 52% more likely than the general population to say TV portrayals of their identity group are inaccurate, according to a 2022 Nielsen study.
Zoom in: Wong is a longtime activist and writer who was diagnosed with muscular atrophy as a child. Based in San Francisco, she had founded the Disability Visibility Project a few years before the podcast launch after feeling the need to fill in the gap in coverage around disability culture and politics.
- The online community platform aims to amplify the perspectives of people with disabilities and publishes commentary on ableism, intersectionality and media.
- To share their stories and voices more widely, Wong created a show centering on "life from a disabled lens," per the podcast description.
- "It's about sharing our community's stories and our unapologetic lives with the world," she said in the first episode. "One podcast, one transcript, one tweet at a time."
The intrigue: With Wong as the host, the show featured weekly conversations with disabled writers, refugees, entrepreneurs, designers, caregivers and more.
- Episodes touched on political issues ranging from the Affordable Care Act and COVID-19 infrastructure to immigrating as a disabled person.
- Another frequent topic was authentic representation — or the lack thereof — in film, television and books.
- Commentaries were interspersed with personal narratives about navigating things like assistive tech, work accommodations, public transit, emergency preparedness, sex education and stereotypes around "faking" disabilities.
The big picture: The podcast, which secured a spot on Refinery29's list of "15 Podcasts By Women That You're Not Listening To — But Should Be," ended with its 100th episode in April 2021 once Wong decided to pursue other creative opportunities.
- The final episode featured the team behind the podcast — Wong, Geraldine Ah-Sue, Cheryl Green and Sarika Mehta — as well as excerpts of comments from audience members.
- "When I was diagnosed with systemic lupus last year, engaging with ... your podcast made being with my diagnosis and body easier," one read, "along with reminding me I certainly was not alone."
Worthy of your time: Wong, who received the Beacon Award from the San Francisco Mayor's Disability Council in 2010, has since published her memoir "Year of the Tiger" and the anthology "Disability Intimacy: Essays on Love, Care, and Desire."