disability

On this edition of Your Call, writer, artist, and activist Sunaura Taylor discusses her new book, Beasts of Burden: Animal and Disability Liberation.

When you ride BART, there’s usually a moment where you look up from your phone and wonder: "Where am I?" That’s when announcements are supposed to help.

Many people with physical disabilities have been told that they can’t do things like hike, camp, rock climb, or bowl. Lori Gray says they can. She runs an outdoor adventure group for Bay Area Outreach and Recreation Program, or BORP. It’s an organization with a mission to get people with disabilities involved in sports and recreation.

  On the October 19th edition of Your Call, we’ll speak with organizers and directors with Superfest, the world’s longest-running disability film festival.

Twenty eight years ago, Bonnie Lewkowicz got a phone call from someone wanting to know what she thought about the idea of disabled people dancing. That question set her on an improbable odyssey.

People with disabilities and LGBT folks are teaming up to fight bullying. There are many similarities in why and how people in different groups are bullied, and how to stand up to and overcome it. Eric Jansen's guests on Out in the Bay (7pm Thursday) are Dr. Glenn Motola, CEO of The Arc San Francisco, a learning center for adults with developmental disabilities in San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin Counties; Lance Scott, The Arc's Socialization Program Director and instructor of The Arc's anti-bullying classes; and Gabby Castro, an Arc client, peer leader and spokesperson for disability rights. The Arc's anti-bullying curriculum was inspired in part by workshops at the San Francisco Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Community Center.

It’s Thursday night and Nina G is about to get on stage for a comedy set.

“I'm a little too overwhelmed to be anxious,” she tells me before taking the stage.

Normally she performs in clubs and bars, but tonight she’s at SOMArts - a cultural center in San Francisco. The gallery is crowded with people and with art. A sign language interpreter is on stage signing her whole performance. Nina G introduces herself.

Eleven percent of Bay Area residents live with a disability. That includes developmental disabilities like autism, cerebral palsy, and Down syndrome. Society makes accommodations for people with these conditions when they're young and in school, like mandated special needs education. But once they’ve aged out, life can become even more challenging. And in the U.S., history has not been kind.

A new film touches on some touchy subjects, sex and disability. But the end result is as light hearted as it is complex. Shonali Bose's new film is "Margarita With a Straw."

From the moment Sandy Mix wakes up in the morning, she is thinking about music. Over coffee, she plans the day’s lessons.

“I can’t believe how lucky I am, because everybody wants to do the thing that they love, and hardly anybody gets to do it,” she says.

KALW has partnered with radio producers inside California's oldest prison to bring you the San Quentin Prison Report, a series of stories focusing on the experiences of these men, written and produced by those living inside the prison's walls.

Sandy Rasheed Lockheart is 35 years old. In 2002, he robbed four men at gunpoint outside of a Walmart store in Lancaster, CA. He was arrested, convicted, and sentenced to 24 years in state prison.

Prison time hasn’t been easy. He has gotten in trouble for refusing a cellmate, contraband, cell fighting, refusing a direct order, and being involved in a prison riot. Despite that, in 2009, he was entrusted with an extraordinary responsibility.

Three dancers are sweating under their choreographer’s demanding eye. They turn, jump, and lean into each other, flowing across the room. The sound of bare feet mixes with the squeaking of rubber against the floor.

That’s the sound of dancer Joel Brown’s wheelchair. As he propels into a turn, the other dancers, Sonsheree Giles and Sebastian Grubb, match his movements, but on their feet. Then choreographer Marc Brew, who’s been watching from the front of the studio, glides over to the trio. He’s also in a wheelchair.

This is a rehearsal for AXIS Dance Company, a pioneer in a dance form it calls “physically integrated dance,” which uses both disabled and non-disabled dancers. Though AXIS has been around for more than 20 years, it’s still rare to see this kind of work.