1642 BrailleNote Touch Tablet (Oct. 12, 2016)

Show Notes
The BrailleNote Touch combines an Android-based tablet with a Braille display and detachable Braille keyboard to form a powerful note taker. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey speak with Greg Stilson, Blindness Products Manager from HumanWare about this new device and how it has been enhanced with the KeySoft experience. We’ll also hear a demo of the device in action.

1824 Your Amazing Eyes (Jun. 13, 2018)

Show Notes
Dan Roberts maintains the MD Support group, a resource for people with Macular Degeneration and similar retinal diseases. This week we hear a presentation Dan gave about the astounding design and abilities of our eyes. Lots of interesting and fun facts about the eyes are presented, including an explanation of how baseball players are able to hit fastballs.

1745 Be My Eyes Smart Phone App (Nov. 1, 2017)

Show Notes
Be My Eyes is an app that connects blind and visually impaired people with sighted helpers from around the world via a live video connection using a smart phone. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Hans Jorgen Wiberg, the founder of Be My Eyes, about the inspiration behind this free service and how it works to help in everyday tasks.

1711 Teaching Blind Children (Mar. 8, 2017)

Show Notes
Carol Puchalski has worked for over 30 years as a developmental psychology consultant at the Anchor Center for Blind Children in Colorado. She recently returned from a trip to Uganda where she volunteered to assist a school for the blind. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Carol about her experiences helping blind children both in the U.S. and abroad.

1850 Exploring the World With Aira (Dec. 12, 2018)

Show Notes
Aira is a service that connects a visually impaired user with a sighted professional agent who delivers visual assistance anytime and anywhere. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Jonathan Mosen, Vice President, Australasia, and Explorer Communications, about some of the new options being offered, and their expanding availability into public venues.

1906 Home Delivery Shopping (Feb. 6, 2019)

Show Notes
Shopping from home has become more common over the past few years and can afford one with greater flexibility and independence. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Ricky Enger of the Hadley Institute about some of the available shopping and delivery services and how they work. Also learn about the new Hadley webinars that you can join in from home.

1916 The Voice Behind Siri (Apr. 17, 2019)

Show Notes
Meet Susan Bennett whose voice was used to create the original female English language Siri voice. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Susan about her experiences as a voice artist, actress, and musician, what it was like to create the voice for Siri, how she found out that she was the voice behind Siri, and how it changed her career.

1832 How Blind People Use Ride Sharing Services (Aug. 8, 2018)

Show Notes
For various reasons, people who are visually impaired may feel reluctant to use ride sharing services such as Uber and Lyft. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Chris Simek and Michelle Plunkett of the Texas A&M Transportation Institute about their research into ride sharing services for the visually impaired and how the experience can be improved.

1603 Blindfold Games (Jan. 13, 2016)

Show Notes
You can play a wide variety of games on your iOS device including popular board games, card games, logic games and physical games like skeeball, bowling or air hockey. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with the developer, Marty Schultz, about the games and why they are so popular with members of the blind community. Also hear a demo of “Blind Bowling”!

1833 Samplitude Music Production Software from Magix (Aug. 15, 2018)

Show Notes
Samplitude is a sophisticated music production program from Magix that is now accessible using JAWS with specially developed scripts. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Steve Spamer about how he and a community of blind individuals connected with Tom Wolf from the Magix development team and worked together to make this possible.

2001 A Tribute to Jim Thatcher (Jan. 1, 2020)

Show Notes
Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey honor the life and work of Jim Thatcher who passed away last month by reprising episode 1420 in which we interviewed Jim about his pioneering work in the development of the first screen readers and years later of the first standards for web accessibility. Thanks to Jim for his continued contributions to the field of accessibility.

1602 Rendering Art with 3D Printers (Jan. 6, 2016)

Show Notes
If you can’t see great paintings, now there’s a new way you can experience them. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey speak with Marc Dillon who runs the Unseen Art project. By converting 2-D artworks into 3-dimensional renditions including textures to represent shading and other features these works are made accessible to the blind.

1814 Apple Watch and Home Kit (Apr. 4, 2018)

Show Notes
Many people wonder whether or not they should purchase an Apple Watch and how useful they might find it. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Alex Hall, one of the editors for AppleVis, about his experience with the Apple Watch and how he has taken control of his house using Apple’s Home Kit. Also learn why you might want to join the AppleVis community.

1811 Experiencing Art Non-Visually (Mar. 14, 2018)

Show Notes
There are many ways to experience art. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with tactile artist Ann Cunningham about her work and how it can be enjoyed even with your eyes closed. They also talk with Erin Cousins and Danielle Schulz of the Denver Art Museum about programs at the museum that provide a customized experience for people with differing needs.

1608 The Blind Cook (Feb. 17, 2016)

Show Notes
Christine Ha, who calls herself “The Blind Cook”, developed her cooking skills after her vision failed. She is a winner of MasterChef, author of a NY Times bestselling cookbook and host of 4-Senses on AMI. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey speak with her about cooking blind and her pointers for success and safety for blind home cooks.

1915 Seeing AI App from Microsoft (Apr. 10, 2019)

Show Notes
Seeing AI is a free app from Microsoft for iOS devices. The app can be used to scan and read text, identify colors, scan product bar codes, perform facial recognition, and much more. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Saqib Shaikh, the totally blind initiator of and lead developer of the app, about how the app came to be and what makes it special.

1540 Today’s e-Pub and Accessible Books – Part 2 (Sep. 30, 2015)

Show Notes

Last week hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talked with George Kerscher about the first e-books and how standards initially developed for the print disabled were adopted into mainstream publishing. This week we continue that conversation and hear why having uniform standards led to concerns about copyright and distribution and how people worked to resolve these issues.

1532 Opportunities for Blind Pharmacists (Aug. 5, 2015)

Show Notes
Arnold Tucker was a pharmacist in a retail pharmacy when his vision began to fade. Despite using various adaptive aids, it became progressively more difficult to perform his job. After obtaining additional training, he found new doors open in his field. Hosts Nancy and Peter talk with him about his journey and opportunities for blind pharmacists.

1835 Encore of 1215 Described Audio in Live Theater (Aug. 29, 2018)

Show Notes
If you can’t see the action on the stage, audio description fills in the gaps and helps you know what’s going on. This week hosts Nancy Goodman Torpey and Peter Torpey visit their regional theater company and talk to the people who make it happen. Learn what’s involved in creating an audio described performance and experience one with them.

1521 Blind Golfing (May 20, 2015)

Show Notes
Hitting a small ball into a slightly larger cup that is hundreds of yards away might seem like an unlikely activity for a blind person. With minor modifications to the rules it becomes an enjoyable sport for many people. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey will talk with Ty Thompson, avid blind golfer and past board member of the US Blind Golf Association.