2518 Lighting the Way with the See Me Cane (Apr. 30, 2025)
Show Notes
Navigating in low light can be risky for blind pedestrians. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Kelvin Crosby about the See Me Cane, which increases visibility with built-in LED lighting. Kelvin also shares his path from vision loss to advocacy, vocational training, and launching an assistive tech program that hires blind professionals.
Category Archives: Uncategorized
2517 The Able Artist Foundation (Apr. 23, 2025)
2517 The Able Artist Foundation (Apr. 23, 2025)
Show Notes
The Able Artist Foundation supports low-income disabled musicians around the world by providing discounted music software and hardware to its members. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with founder Stephen Letnes about what motivated him to start the organization, their company partners, and about the special programs they offer for their members.
2515 The Dark Room Podcast for Movie Lovers (Apr. 9, 2025)
2515 The Dark Room Podcast for Movie Lovers (Apr. 9, 2025)
Show Notes
Dive into the world of movies from a visually impaired perspective. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Alex Howard and Lee Pugsley, co-hosts of The Dark Room podcast, about what motivated them to start the podcast, their experiences at movie theaters, challenges with some audio description services, and improving theater accessibility.
2514 Re-learning Life Skills After Vision loss (Apr. 2, 2025)
2514 Re-learning Life Skills After Vision loss (Apr. 2, 2025)
Show Notes
What does it take to relearn life skills after vision loss? Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Erich Manser about his experiences with blindness training programs, transitioning from magnification to screen readers, and finding value in non-visual techniques. Erich’s journey offers insights into overcoming challenges and learning new skills.
2512 Benetech Celebrates 25 Years of Making Books Accessible for Everyone (Mar. 19, 2025)
2512 Benetech Celebrates 25 Years of Making Books Accessible for Everyone (Mar. 19, 2025)
Show Notes
Benetech’s work has transformed how people with disabilities access information. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with founder Jim Fruchterman and CEO Ayan Kishore about the evolution of Bookshare, the use of AI in accessibility, the Global Certified Accessible program, and how Benetech’s efforts have impacted digital publishing and education.
2507 Stay Fit with Remote Fitness Coaching (Feb. 12, 2025)
2507 Stay Fit with Remote Fitness Coaching (Feb. 12, 2025)
Show Notes
Just because you are visually impaired doesn’t mean you can’t stay fit and healthy. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Evan Schwerbrock, founder of Cane and Able Fitness and the world’s strongest blind man, about his remote training approach, the importance of small steps in fitness, and his journey from vision loss to competing in adaptive strength events.
2506 AppleVis and the Power of Community (Feb. 5, 2025)
2506 AppleVis and the Power of Community (Feb. 5, 2025)
Show Notes
AppleVis is a hub for visually impaired users of Apple products. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with David Nason and Scott Davert, members of the AppleVis editorial team, about the evolution of the platform, the resources available on AppleVis, the recent partnership with Be My Eyes, and the expansion to cover products outside of the Apple ecosystem.
2448 Guide to iOS 18 Enhancements for Accessibility (Nov. 27, 2024)
2448 Guide to iOS 18 Enhancements for Accessibility (Nov. 27, 2024)
Show Notes
Shelly Brisbin, a technology journalist and author, discusses the new revision of her book “iOS Access for All – Your comprehensive guide to accessibility for iPhone and iPad”. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Shelly about new features in iOS for blind and low vision users, including enhancements to braille keyboard, point and speak, hover typing, and Apple Intelligence.
2444 Encore of 1739 Running with a Remote Aira Guide (Oct. 30, 2024)
2444 Encore of 1739 Running with a Remote Aira Guide (Oct. 30, 2024)
Show Notes
Aira is a service developed to give the blind instant access to information using a smart phone, a video camera, and a remote sighted agent. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Erich Manser, a blind distance runner and triathlete, and Jess Jakeway, a sighted distance runner who served as Erich’s remote guide using Aira at the 2017 Boston Marathon.
2425 Bringing a New Dimension to Audio Description (Jun. 19, 2024)
2425 Bringing a New Dimension to Audio Description (Jun. 19, 2024)
Show Notes
The Miners Alley Performing Arts Center offers audio described performances with a twist: a tactile tour backstage before each described show! Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Executive Director Lisa DeCaro and Patron Services Manager Amy Arpan about their audio description service and get a tactile tour from Production Stage Manager Lexi Holtzer.
2421 Behind the Screen at NV Access (May 22, 2024)
2421 Behind the Screen at NV Access (May 22, 2024)
Show Notes
Development of the free and open source NVDA screen reader from NV Access began in 2006 and has served as a vital tool for blind people around the world. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Mick Curran, creator and co-developer, and Gerald Hartig, the newly announced CTO of NV Access, about how they plan to transition into the future.
2350 Uber – Making Movement Equal for All (Dec. 13, 2023)
2350 Uber – Making Movement Equal for All (Dec. 13, 2023)
Show Notes
Visually impaired people making use of a ride sharing service may have unique concerns such as the accessibility of the service, safety, accommodations for a guide dog, etc. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Briana Gilmore and Chris Yoon from Uber about how Uber addresses these concerns through its commitment to providing equal access to movement.
2347 iOS Access for All for iOS 17 (Nov. 22, 2023)
2347 iOS Access for All for iOS 17 (Nov. 22, 2023)
Show Notes
Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Shelly Brisbin, author of “iOS Access for All: Your Comprehensive Guide to Accessibility for iPhone and iPad”, about this valuable reference guide. Shelly discusses what can be found in the book and highlights features of interest including Point To Speak, customizing Voiceover voices, Personal Voice, and more.
2235 Pole Dancing for Fitness (Aug. 31, 2022)
2235 Pole Dancing for Fitness (Aug. 31, 2022)
Show Notes
Have you ever considered becoming a pole dancer? Surprisingly, the experience might not be what you would have expected. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Lauren Back, a blind pole dancer, who has enjoyed participating in several pole dancing groups and extols the virtues of pole dancing as a means of exercise and socializing with others.
2205 Taking Charge of Your Health (Feb. 2, 2022)
2205 Taking Charge of Your Health (Feb. 2, 2022)
Show Notes
As a result of being born prematurely, Jeff Bishop had to deal with a number of medical issues including becoming a diabetic. Hosts Nancy and Peter talk with Jeff about his journey to control his diabetes by making a series of lifestyle changes that included sticking to a healthy diet, regular exercise, and developing the drive to succeed.
2203 Inspire Low Vision Aid (Jan. 19, 2022)
2203 Inspire Low Vision Aid (Jan. 19, 2022)
Show Notes
Inspire is a lightweight headset that enables people with low vision to make the most use of the vision that they have. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Brian Murphey, sales manager from IrisVision, about this digital eyewear system and how it can be used in daily life. They also demonstrate various functions of the device.
1852 But Wait, There Is More (Dec. 26, 2018)
1852 But Wait, There Is More (Dec. 26, 2018)
Show Notes
This week hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey bring listeners up to date on several topics that were featured in previous episodes of Eyes On Success. Hear what’s new with NASA summer internships, at Benetech, the FlickType keyboard for iOS, the braille Dot Watch, the Cosmo eBrailler and even an update on Erich Manser’s triathlons & marathons.
1843 Touching the Stars (Oct. 24, 2018)
1843 Touching the Stars (Oct. 24, 2018)
Show Notes
Signals captured by astronomical observatories are often outside of the range of human perception and must be transformed so that scientists can work with them. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Kim Arcand who has created tactile representations of the universe based on data from many sources including the Chandra X-ray Observatory where she works.
1613 Blind Active Duty Police Officer – part 2 (Mar. 23, 2016)
1613 Blind Active Duty Police Officer – part 2 (Mar. 23, 2016)
Show Notes
Last week hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talked with Marlon Parieaho about losing his vision while working as a policeman. We heard how he successfully navigated this transition and how it affected his relationship with his colleagues. This week we’ll hear more about Marlon’s thoughts on blindness and why being blind doesn’t mean it is the end of the world.
1535 NVDA Open Source Screen Reader (Aug. 26 2015)
1535 NVDA Open Source Screen Reader (Aug. 26 2015)
Show Notes
NVDA is a free and open source screen reader for Windows. Over the years it has matured to be a viable alternative to commercial screen readers for personal, educational and professional use. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Jamie Teh, one of the founders and co-lead developers of NVDA about some of the new features of NVDA and what to expect in the future.
1524 Sonar GNU Linux (Jun. 10, 2015)
1524 Sonar GNU Linux (Jun. 10, 2015)
Show Notes
Sonar GNU Linux is a version of the Linux operating system that has accessibility for people with many types of disabilities built into it. Hosts Nancy & Peter Torpey speak with Jonathan Nadeau, its lead developer, about its many features and capabilities, about how and why it was developed, and about how you can get involved.
1430 Using the iPhone Camera for Access (Jul. 23, 2014)
1430 Using the iPhone Camera for Access (Jul. 23, 2014)
Show Notes
Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey speak with Judy Dixon, author of “Get the Picture: Viewing the World with the iPhone Camera”. The book provides information to help people who are blind use the camera on an iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad to perform many daily tasks such as identify currency, recognize objects, read text or even take photographs.