Show Notes
“The disability community is the only marginalized community that everyone will experience at some point in their lives,” says Spencer West. He is a motivational speaker, disability advocate, and content creator who lost both of his legs when he was 5 years old. Spencer’s new book is called Breaking Free and in this conversation he tells Talia Schlanger how he learned to proudly embrace his disability as part of his identity. Spencer reflects on what he learned by climbing Mount Kilimanjaro using his hands and his wheelchair, how he’s confronted internalized ableism and how he’s navigated the fine line between using his story to help inspire others and being “inspiration porn.”
And for Article Club, Talia talks to actor Brittany Allen about the Variety Magazine piece “‘Give Me a Call Back, HBO’: Why Brittany Allen Submitted Herself for an Emmy as a Dying Cancer Patient on ‘The Pitt’ After the Network Ignored Her Calls.” Brittany shares how frustration with the industry led her to self-submit for Emmy Award consideration—and how it feels to have successfully earned the nomination.
More from That Said with Talia Schlanger
Why are some of the world’s biggest boy bands choosing not to enter the Grammy Awards' new category for "Best Asian Pop Music Performance"? This week on That Said, Talia Schlanger explores K-pop’s global success, the artists who helped build it, and the debate over how that success is recognized.
This week, Talia Schlanger speaks with journalist and author Kathryn Jezer-Morton about her new book, The Story of Your Life: How Social Media Shapes the Way We Experience Everything. From the carefully constructed versions of ourselves we share online to the endless scroll that can leave us feeling inadequate, Kathryn examines how social media has changed the way we experience identity, comparison, and everyday life.
What do fathers pass down to their children—and what does it take to break the patterns we inherit?
A decade after The Tragically Hip's unforgettable final concert with Gord Downie, Rob Baker and Paul Langlois look back on one of the most emotional moments in Canadian music history. Freshly inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, the band's longtime guitarists reflect on saying goodbye to their friend and bandmate Gord, the pressure and purpose of that final tour, and the enduring mystery of Gord's songwriting.
What does Survivor reveal about human nature — and what happens when reality TV becomes more real than we expect?