Disabled people have long been experts at staying at home, and getting creative with new ways to stay in community with one another. At the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdown, many of us were wondering how we could maintain the sense of intimacy and connection that we get from gathering in crip arts spaces. Out of this desire, Crip Times was born: a new interview podcast series produced and hosted by Yousef Kadoura, Kayla Besse, and Kristina McMullin. Crip Times is a project of Bodies in Translation and Tangled Art + Disability and hosted on Andrew Gurza’s Wheels on the Ground podcast network.
Click here to Listen to Crip Times on Spotify
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Crip Times Episode 10: The Ryan O’Connell Episode
“I will be obsessed with anything queerness and disability ’til the day I die. Like, I am just getting started. I will tell as many stories as I want about that. I will be given the space to do it”
It’s the season finale of Crip Times! Buckle up for lots of LOLs and too many puns. This week, Kayla, Kristina, and Drew are joined by Ryan O’Connell, creator, writer, and star of Netflix’s Special. He’s done other stuff too but ughhh, who cares?
We talk about cerebral palsy, the power of authentic disability representation, pushing the envelope of gay and disabled sexuality on screen, pandemic challenges specific to disabled people, and the ‘well-meaning’ ableism that can show up when we’re just trying to live our lives.
We move into a conversation about storytelling as activism, and the challenges of learning and growing in your disability politics in a very public way. How do you tell authentic stories, without catering to an abled audience? How do we deal with internalized ableism, and the feeling of ‘needing to do more’? How do we push back against societal messaging that one marginalized story is enough?
For a full transcript of this episode, as well as helpful links and key quotes, click here.
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Crip Times Episode 1: The Syrus Marcus Ware episode
In the first episode of Crip Times, hosts Yousef, Kayla, and Kristina speak with artist, activist, academic, and all-around brilliant human, Syrus Marcus Ware. This conversation discusses the movements and…
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Crip Times Episode 2: The Renee Dumaresque Episode
This week, Kristina and Kayla are joined by Renee Dumaresque, a PhD Student, writer, artist, and community organizer. The episode starts with a conversation around how we’ve been dealing with…
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Crip Times Episode 3: The Ben Barry Episode
Everybody gets dressed—but how can fashion be a tool of social justice? This week, Kayla and Kristina sit down with Dr. Ben Barry, Chair of Fashion at Ryerson University. We…
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Crip Times Episode 4: The Cindy Baker Episode
This week, Yousef and Kristina are joined by Cindy Baker, a contemporary artist whose work engages with queer, gender, race, disability, fat, and art discourses. We recorded this episode in…
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Crip Times Episode 5: The Jeff Thomas Episode
This week, Kayla and Yousef are joined by Jeff Thomas, a Governor General Award-winning Indigenous photographer. Jeff provides us with some background on his photographic work which began in the…
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Crip Times Episode 6: The Jess Watkin Episode
Happy solstice! They’re the four best friends anyone could have. On the last Crip Times episode of 2020, all three hosts (Kayla, Kristina, Yousef) are joined by Jess Watkin, an…
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Crip Times Episode 7: The Gloria C. Swain Episode
Welcome back to Crip Times! We hope you were able to find some moments of rest over the few weeks since you last heard from us. This week, Yousef and…
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Crip Times Episode 8: The Shannon Finnegan Episode
Have you ever thought of alt-text as poetry? What about lounging as a form of protest? This week, Kayla and Kristina are joined by Shannon Finnegan, a multidisciplinary artist making…
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Crip Times Episode 9: The Jenna Reid Episode
On this episode, Kayla and Kristina are joined by Jenna Reid for a conversation that feels like a bolt of energy to our weary pandemic souls. Jenna speaks about Mad…
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Crip Times Episode 10: The Ryan O’Connell Episode
It’s the season finale of Crip Times! Buckle up for lots of LOLs and too many puns. This week, Kayla, Kristina, and Drew are joined by Ryan O’Connell, creator, writer,…