Reid My Mind

Audio from 1944 On the Air: History of Radio Broadcasting
“Coming to us out of the sky, the familiar voice of radio brings endless hours of entertainment, information and cheer.” (“cheer” echoes and fades off)

Music Begins: A trumpeting melodic riff that opens to an accompanying piano loop that leads into a smooth inspiring Hip Hop track.

TR:
Over the past few years , this podcast has received a lot more attention.
I’ve been invited on panels, other podcasts and even interviewed for articles in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.

Ok, mainly in regards to things audio description, but the podcast gets mentioned.

Whenever I talk about the podcast I use the full name of the show; Reid My Mind Radio.

For some reason, many people seem to refer to the podcast as Reid My Mind… no radio.

This podcast, doesn’t exist without the radio.

— Sound of an FM radio tuning through multiple stations and coming to a stop.

Reid My Mind Radio began because I was creating original content for the Gatewave Radio Reading service in New York City.

To access the reading service, you had to have a special radio receiver.
I wanted to share the content with others outside of the service so I just put these audio files up on my already existing blog called Reid My Mind.
I figured anytime I added the audio files I’d just title it Reid My Mind Radio… it sounded better than Reid My Mind Audio.

I didn’t really intend to make it a podcast because there was no real focus at the time.

Well, I wasn’t focused.

When I did decide to make it a real podcast, I kept the name. It sounded cool to me.

I’m your host and producer, Thomas Reid and this is Reid My Mind Radio.

Today, (chuckles) this is just something for the radio!
Simultaneously, “This is just something for the radio.” Biz Markie
— “This is something for the radio.” Biz Markie

— Reid My Mind Radio Theme Music

TR:
When making that theme music, I chose to use the Radio from the Crash Crew, Hi Powered Rap. But I had others to choose from.

— A quick collage of songs with radio in the title:
— “I can’t live without my radio!” LL Cool J “I Can’t Live Without My Radio”
–“Said it on the air, on the radio, a woh ohh ohh ohh, on the radio” Donna Summer “On the Radio”
— “Video killed the radio star.” The Buggles
— Sound of song coming to an abrupt end!

TR:
Yeh, maybe not the last one. Hmm, just not funky enough for me. No hate!

Radio is not just a means of getting information, entertainment and more but
it’s also about actively using our imaginations.
It was audio description before there was a name for it.
News, sports entertainment all delivered via radio, well Blind people and the rest of the hearing public enjoyed a shared experience.

Radio was the way we discovered new music.
I remember having a tape ready to record that song I fell in love with or the Friday and Saturday night mix shows.
Chuck Chillout, Marly Marl.. and of course… Redddddd (Said in the famous style of Red Alert)

From a 1986 Red Alert Radio Show on 98.7 KISS in NYC
— Sound of a explosion followed by a deep voice announcing “DJ Red Alert! The song “P is Free” Boogie Down Productions

Some of y’all know what I’m talking about.

This was the time when I had aspirations of being a DJ. Not necessarily the jock or the announcer, but more so the DJ cuttin, scratchin’ blendin’ mixin!
— “Cuttin and scratchin are the aspects of his game!” RunDMC, Jay’s Jam

When I eventually began sharing my Gatewave productions on the blog, I can’t say that I consciously thought of any of this.

Reid My Mind Radio just came to me. And unless I change the name of the entire podcast… the radio is here to stay.
— “Radio, radio, radio” From On the Radio, Donna Summer

Reid My Mind, the blog, began in 2005.
I learned how to use my screen reader and other access technology.
I was no longer doing any sort of development work and I wanted to learn more about Content Management Systems, CMS.
I enjoyed writing and thought a blog would be a good place to share some of my experiences becoming Blind as an adult.

A friend one day said something like “What’s on your mind T?”
That led me to think about how often it felt like folks were asking me that same question.
I thought to myself; “I should just write it down and then point anyone to the blog who really wants to know.”
Giving them access to what I’m thinking or inviting them to read my mind…

The blog began with some commentary on my experience but I don’t think I was ready to share at that time.
I didn’t really know what I was feeling. I’m sure a lot of that would have been rants about how I was perceived in public spaces.
Some of that could have been the difference in how I was treated by friends and family following blindness.
All of these things have value, but it felt more like a rant that I preferred to keep private.

There’s nothing wrong with sharing these experiences, but for me it’s about doing so creatively and
in a way that can be of help to others.

that’s why podcasting and content creation in general by those with disabilities is so important.
Whether we’re talking to one another or to those outside of the community, our voices, I mean all of our voices are valuable.

Over the years we have and will continue to support disabled podcasters in various ways.

That could mean bringing other podcasters on as guests when it fits the theme, but I hope to show support by featuring some promos.

This year, I’ve had the pleasure of being invited to guest on other podcasts and talk about audio description, podcasting and even share some thoughts on being a Blind Dad. Some of you may know, I’m always ready to talk about my girls. In fact, some would say I often find a way to bring them into my conversations on just about anything.

True!

Shout out to all of those podcasts who invited me on their platforms.

On that note, I need to apologize for a mistake in the last episode.
I incorrectly referred to Lisa Bryant’s podcast as whitestick Connect.
It’s actually White canes Connect.

— “White Canes Connect” theme music begins

shout out to whiteStick Music Fest in Australia! I guess they were on my mind!

— “Hey there PA Federationist, welcome to another episode of White Canes Connect. My name is David Goldstein, I am the Treasurer of the Keystone chapter. Joining me today is co-host and Keystone chapter Second Vice President Lisa Bryant.
— Sound of tape rewinding
— From a past interview
Lisa in conversation with Thomas: ” I cannot not ask you, about the AD illuminati.
Thomas: Hearty laugh. Is it real?
Lisa: You have to talk about this.
— Transitional sound
— Lisa: White Canes Connect… Bye everybody!
— David: Thanks everybody, take care.
— White Canes Connect theme music

Shout out to Chad over at Hindsight is 20/200
Chad: On social media please go To Twitter @unsytedradio. That’s @unsytedradio. And make sure you’re following on Anchor, Spotify and apple podcast. Just search for hindsight is 20/200.
Ambiguously Blind Podcast theme music
Hey, Hey, Hey, it’s John Grimes. Host of the Ambiguously Blind Podcast where we are challenging beliefs and revealing abilities that make people extraordinary. Check us out wherever podcasts are found and at ambiguouslyblind.com

TR:
While it’s not officially a podcast…
— Clip from This Ability Clinic
— “Welcome to This Ability Clinic…”

TR:
big shout out to This Ability Clinic on YouTube with Dr. Stephanie…

— Clip from This Ability Clinic
— Dr. Stephanie: “I’m a Rehabilitation Doctor that specializes in Pain Medicine. But you’re here for the lepidopterist aren’t you?

TR:
Well no. You probably don’t know what that is if you never watched the film the Kingsman.

— “You’re here for the lepidopterist ain’t you?”
Dr. Stephanie:
So the disability that gets the most screen time in the Kingsman movies is Harry’s traumatic brain injury.

TR:
See Dr. Stephanie does these cool movie breakdowns where
she for example points out what’s real or not about medical situations in film.

— Clip from This Ability Clinic
— Loud gun shot) “Is he dead?”

Dr. Stephanie:
Yes, this should have killed him!”…

TR:
Other breakdowns include disability in films as well as interviews
with a bunch of disabled folks from different backgrounds.
She’s a doctor who understands that disability goes beyond the medical model.
She has a really cool edit style and a great personality.

— Clip from This Ability Clinic
Dr. Stephanie:
I’d agree with that!
“Harry’s like a computer that needs to be rebooted.”

Dr. Stephanie:
Harry’s like a computer that’s been shot in the hard drive point blank
— The Theia Show theme music.
TR:
Shout out to Jude Esposito in the UK.

— Clip from The Theia Show
Jude: “Welcome back to the Theia Show”

TR:
Jude’s a part of the family and is a young podcaster himself. he’s in high school and I think we’ll see big things from this young man…
Check out his podcast called The Theia Show.
TheiaForAll.org
— Clip from The Theia Show
Jude:
I think we’ve really hit so many different aspects of the conversation and I’m so thankful that we were able to make this happen finally. Thanks for coming on!

See you soon!
— The Theia Show theme music

TR:
It doesn’t cost you anything to give them a listen:

— The Theia Show theme music ends.

TR:
One night, in 2014, I came across an application for the Association of Independence In Radio New Voice Scholarship.
It was only a few hours before the application deadline.
I listened to the voice inside that told me to go for it.

I got it!

Going for it was a gut reaction that honestly I don’t remember even questioning.
It was as if I knew it was for me and I just had to complete the process.

Mind you, I’ve felt that way multiple times since and let’s just say it wasn’t a success
But that’s ok, it wasn’t for me.

Becoming a New Voice Scholar set off a series of events that led to the opportunity to create original content for Gatewave Radio.

— Clip from Gatewave Radio episode.

Ever since, the opportunities continue to present themselves in ways I never even thought about.

Among them, my guests. I’ve had the chance to talk and build with really cool people doing cool stuff.
Occasionally, I’ll see articles online about someone doing great things or getting an award or receiving a new position and
I’m like, hey that’s R double M Radio Fam! I love that!

Many have become dear friends and colleagues on other projects.

Music Transition, A melancholy piano loop.

Unfortunately, we lost one of our RMM Radio family brothers this summer.
One of the original Holman Prize winners, Ojok Simon past away.
I don’t really know the details of his passing, but
I do know that his work teaching other Blind brothers and sisters in Uganda
how to support themselves and their families with through Bee keeping and farming honey will continue to benefit his community and others around the world.

When I think of Ojok, I always remember the part of our conversation when he told me how much he enjoyed the process of getting honey. Specifically, it was the praise he received from his grandmother…
It inspired me to just put that audio over a beat…

“Ojok:
I love eating honey, I want to get praises”

TR:
That always makes me smile!

Rest in peace King!

Music comes to an end.
Music begins, a bass synth pulsates and builds into a driving energetic Hip Hop groove.

TR:
Hearing from listeners is a big benefit for me.
You know listeners like you are all over the world. Africa, Australia, New Zealand , Asia…

— “All of the Massive” KRS1

TR:
Did you know, an episode of Reid My Mind Radio titled, Let Me Hear You Say Black Lives Matter” is a chapter in a disability studies text book being used in universities.
Big shout out to Prof. Tanya Titchkosky and all those involved in putting together Disappearing: Encounters in Disability Studies. FYI, we’re chapter 4… let’s go!

No bragging, I’m truly sharing with y’all because you rock with the podcast.
You take time out of your day to listen which means you believe in what’s taking place here.
I’m just trying to let you know, others rock with your choice too. And I appreciate you all!

Every year, around the holiday season, I start to feel the effect of producing the podcast. I get tired and start to contemplate bringing it to an end.

I used to raise the idea to my youngest daughter as we chatted over dinner or cleaning up the kitchen together. She insisted that I should keep it going. I’d ask why but she didn’t really explain past, no you should keep it going.

I wonder if she could articulate that more today.

Call Raven:

Siri: A raven is several of any larger body birds…

TR:
What? I didn’t ask you that!

Siri:
… shall I continue?

TR:
No. Call Raven.

Siri:
Calling Raven Reid Mobil

Raven:
Hello

TR:
Hello

Raven:
Hi

TR:
Hey! You got a quick second (Laughs

Raven:
Yeh, what’s up?

TR:
I’m recording you right now. This is for the podcast.

Raven:
Oh gosh! (Giggles)

TR:
Laughs…

Raven:
I’m nervous!

TR:
Laughing…
Back in the day, (sings back in the day)
Remember when I would say anything about…

Raven:
You would say a lot.

TR:
I would say something about… (laughs)
stopping the podcast.

Raven:
Yes, all the time.

TR:
It wasn’t all the time but toward this time of year.

Raven:
Too often.

TR:
You would tell me not to.

I want to see if you have something articulate to say as to why. If you don’t have anything articulate to say I won’t put it in there.

Raven:
Laughs.

TR:
So why did you always say no, keep the podcast going?

Raven:
Well I think that the podcast has been more influential than you think and and I feel like you get to talk to a lot of cool people. You enjoy editing. I feel like you do enjoy this in general and like it reaches people. So I always thought you should keep it going.
Plus how am I supposed to get money for transcripts. Laughing….

TR:
I wanted the truth.

Now for those Dad’s out there I’m just saying, if you have more than one daughter and you include one on your podcast, you better make every attempt to include the other.

Hey Siri Call Riana

Siri:
Calling Riana Reid iPhone

Riana:
Hello

TR:
Hello sweetie how are you? It’s Daddy I’m recording you right now. (Laughs) For the podcast.

Riana:
Ok, is this my big roll

TR:
Riana didn’t have much to say on that subject because honestly she was never a part of that conversation. She was away at school when Raven and I would be talking about that. But I gave her an opportunity and asked her to just give me one of her favorite moments of the podcast.

Riana:
My favorite thing that I enjoyed about the podcast… (long pause)
I got nothing.

TR:
Well apparently my wife and I raised two brutally honest children.
— Sitcom stinger music

I’m not done yet, but I have to figure out where Reid My Mind Radio is going and how I’m going to get it there.
In order to do that, I need to do some work. That’s in addition to the other work and life and life and life.
Please, keep rockin’ with me! Stay subscribed or following the podcast.
I can say for certainty, I’ll be back next year with Flipping the Script on Audio Description.
I’m pretty sure I want to produce some bonus episodes.

If you’re someone who really cares about audio description,
you’ll be interested in some new additional content that will soon show up in the Reid My Mind Radio feed.
We call it Blind Centered Audio Description Chats or BCAD Chats.

The audio we’re sharing are edited versions of these audio description conversations that take place on Twitter Live, Linked In Audio and possibly some other live platforms.

They began from conversations between Nefertiti Matos Oliveras, Cheryl Green and myself.
We’re joined by Scott Blanks and Scott Nixon. AKA, the “Two Scotts” One of them is from Down Under. Come check it out, you’ll figure out which one it is.

I’ll be dropping those in the feed under a separate “season” in order to distinguish from R double M Radio content.

If you’re into the Flipping the Script on Audio Description, I think you will enjoy these edited versions of the live chats. Consider joining us live because that’s where it all really goes down! Check the blog post for this episode that will link you to the different ways of staying updated on the live events.

Allow me to wish you all a very happy holiday season.
The absolute best in 2023 – whatever that means for you.
As long as best for you doesn’t mean keeping someone else down, then I’m good with that.
Riana:
Hi, this is Riana Reid. Allow me to introduce the 2022 Reid My Mind Radio Rap Up!

— Music begins, This is Something for the Radio, Instrumental, Biz Markie

TR talking (Filtered Voice)

Hmm! What goes better with the holiday season then a rap up!
It’s been a minute since I’ve done one.
But before I get into the 2022 seasons…
I’m gonna talk my talk!

TR Rapping:
We got a brand new hit from T R E ID
dedicated to the R double M family
For those new here, and paying attention
I want to take some time just to mention
My brothers and sisters who’ve been on this scene
rocking with a brother since 2014
There’s a lot of podcasts, many come and go
But ain’t nothing like Reid My Mind Radio

TR talking (Filtered Voice)

I don’t usually talk that huh!
But the success of this podcast is all about the guests
Yes, I make it funky, but it’s the guests.
Now if you will allow me 8 more bars
I want to get out my feelings
— DJ Scratch… “Yo!”
TR rapping…
Ok, my name, means a lot to me
I spell it every episode, R E I D
So if I do an interview or a panel presentation
Mess up the podcasts name, feel my frustration
It ain’t personal so I don’t assign blame
but I want to yell out,… Sample: “Put some respect on my Name” Birdman
But I play it cool, cause my Daddy told me so
But please don’t forget my radio!

TR talking (Filtered Voice)

Ok, I got all that off my chest…
Time for the wrap up and some shout outs
Three seasons in 2022
Plus bonus episodes…
But it all starts with the guests…

TR Rapping:
They come on as guest, then become fam
Marguerite kicked it off she’s like “Here I am”
Brandon Orlando Eron, just a few
Disabled Gamers, yeh, We Game Too!
She made Puffin out of nothing accessibility
Tell em’ your name… , , Adriana Malozzi
Closing the season called Doing Your thang
, Question Blind & Famous, “Gang, Gang”
— In a filtered voice, TR talking…
I need you all to understand, I’m not playing…
I’m tired of people thinking disability needs to sound like x y or Z
Update your perceptions son
it sounds like him, her, they and me!
Y’all goin’ learn today!
aight, let me chill!
—
The Access Lab, Prof. Arselli & Salima
AD in the making with Cheryl Green ahh!
Blind in AD, why the controversy
Nef, shouldn’t have to tell you; “We are worthy”
Ok, lemme chill, we should really move on
AD in Fashion, “Natalie Trevonne”
AD in Spanish, I got something for ya
Flipping the script con La Professora

TR talking (Filtered Voice)

Don’t get it twisted,
I have fun, but I take this AD thing seriously.
It’s why we drafted the pledge for cultural competency
People out here trying to hold back Blind people from working in this industry?
I see you!
People say their for diversity… well, put your money where your mouth is…
YGBD, Let’s go

TR rapping!
Disaster Prep with disability in mind
Justice shorter, Young gifted Black & Blind
self description with Haben Girma
Can’t describe yourself, why not learn bruh
The year’s almost up we don’t have much time
Marc Safman advocating for the Deafblind
Closing out the year, all ladies no misters
Lisa, Heather , supporting our sisters
— TR in filtered voice talking…
To the entire RMM Family,
I appreciate you and thank you sincerely for rocking with me!
Salutes!
I want to send a big shout out to :
Annie Are You Ok, our social media Maven… hooking up that FB and IG
both @ReidMyMindRadio
, appreciate you sis,
Shout out my guy Tony Swartz, he came through on the editing help this year…
Salutes…!

My daughters… Raven, helped out with transcripts
Riana, one of my biggest supporters

My wife…

Marlett, helps out with graphics

Ah man, Daddy loves his babies!

Remember, we’ll be back in 2023!
Tell a friend, the catalog is outchere
Stay rockin’ with Reid My Mind Radio wherever you get podcasts.
We have transcripts and more at ReidMyMind.com
Just remember… you know what?
Let’s do it like this…

— “Check this Out” RunDMC

R to the mother funky E I D!
I said it’s the R to the mother funky E I D
I said it’s the R to the mother funky E I D
I said it’s the R to the mother funky E, I, D
— Sample: (“D! And that’s me in the place to be.” Slick Rick)
Like my last name!
“This is something for the radio.”
— Reid My Mind Radio outro
Peace!

Hide the transcript

TR:

Greetings y’all!

Before we get into this last episode of the Flipping the Script series,
I just wanted to let you know that I’ll be off in October.
The podcast will return in November for our
final season of 2021, Young Gifted Black & Disabled.

the best way to be sure you don’t miss anything is to simply subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast app.
The next season starts in November, but you never know, I may have something to say in October.

Let’s kick it!

— Sample: “Ok, party people in the house. You’re about to witness something you’ve never witnessed before!” Slick Rick & Doug E Fresh
— Sample “Listen carefully” Daffy Duck
— Sounds of city streets and kids playing & hanging out

TR:
Once upon a time, in the 1980’s
Kids like me, well our parents said we were crazy
Hanging in the park, or in front of the building
Doing nothing wrong, we were just children
Sometimes we had music and it would be rocking
If not, someone was beat boxing
— Beat Box begins with TR now rapping…
All of a sudden, someone would start rapping
breakout the carboard time for break dancing
These were the early days of Hip Hop
Back then Most adults said it would stop
Today, please, it’s an unstoppable force
Fashion, Movies, and entertainment of course
Ladies & Gentlemen may I have your attention
This episode has a whole new dimension
Pump up the volume I need you to listen
Flipping the script on Audio Description

– Reid My Mind Theme Music

Nathan:

I’m a firm believer that wherever possible, we should be having audio description as part of the main soundscape for any kind of artistic endeavor, not just for television or film.

TR:

That’s Nathan Geering, Accessibility Innovator and my guest today. He’s the director of the Rationale Method and the registered charity Rationale Arts.

Nathan:

I’m six foot one, I have an afro Caribbean heritage so from Antigua and Jamaica, and also British and Romany Gypsy heritage on my other side of the family. I have a short afro hair slightly longer on top of this tight Afro curls, I have a beard so I guess a sound that would go along with the texture, my beard is kind of like a kind of like a rough course kind of texture. I’m wearing a grade sports t shirt, which has “Move More” on one side, which is in white and yellow lettering.
The texture of the T shirt is very smooth. (Makes a smooth sounding sound)
I go by the pronouns of he or him.

TR:

Nathan didn’t mention that he’s also a Break Dancer , and that’s where this story begins. In fact, he shares some things in common with the early pioneers of the art.

Nathan:

I grew up watching old school kung fu movies with my grandmother and the rest of my family. And when I would be falling asleep, I could still picture the movements of the kung fu fight based on the sound effects from the kung fu movies. So you can tell it’s like a punch or a kick, or if it landed.

— Music begins, a dramatic intro leads into a pulsating groove.

TR:

Before we get to the sound effects, let’s hear more about the dancing.

Nathan:

I studied kung fu as a kid. And then I was a B-boy. From my early 20s, I did a couple of breaking moves as a kid, but I never really had anybody to teach me breaking. Then I went to university. And then there was like a breaking society there.

Within a couple months, because of my approach with Kung Fu, I ended up teaching the classes.

I picked up a lot of movements like really quickly.

And then from there, I ended up being an internationally touring performer. I work with a guy in the UK called Jonzi D. who runs a big hip hop Theater Festival called breaking convention. And he kind of like gave me my break into theater. And it just snowballed on from there.

TR:

He soon started his own Hip Hop Theater company called Rationale.
The company’s approach to developing their performances is interactive. It starts with what Nathan calls a scratch performance.

Nathan:
We show the audience certain scenes, and then they’ll give feedback based on those scenes. And then, based on that feedback will further develop our show.

This one particular time, we just didn’t have enough material.

TR:

So they borrowed an idea from another company called New Art Club.
It sort of creates a stop animation performance or creating what appears to be movement from still images.

Nathan:

We decided to remix that into a hip hop version. So when the audience would open their eyes we’d be stood up right and then when they close their eyes and open their eyes again, we’d be upside down spinning on our head or jumping up and down on one hand or doing freezes and poses, and the audience went crazy for it.

We couldn’t believe that we got such a profound response from just kind of taking the audience’s site away and bringing it back. So we decided that we were going to really focus on the theme of visual impairment, but sort of real superficial level.

TR:

That superficial turned to a real genuine interest after one of the members of the company explained how any of them could really be impacted by blindness.

Nathan:

And then that’s when it really hit home to me. My daughter at the time, she was about two years old. And I thought what if I was to wake up tomorrow, and I couldn’t see my daughter. And I wasn’t emotionally prepared for that, if I’m honest, I was a mess, I broke down in tears.

I was really afraid. And so with me, if I’m afraid of something, I develop a curiosity about it. And so I decided to find out as much as I could about visual impairment in depth.

TR:

We often talk about the correlation between the limited opportunities for people who are Blind or have Low Vision and the fear associated with blindness.

So I can’t help but wonder, what if the default response to that fear was more like Nathan’s.

Nathan:

I want to be able to get to know myself as a human being as best I possibly can.

I became quite aware, like in my, in my 20s, that
if I’m afraid of something, that fear can stop me living a happy and fulfilling life. And just because I’m afraid of something, it may be, because actually, I don’t know enough about it. And obviously, you can find great beauty on the other side of fear, but sometimes you just have to go through fear. Or sometimes it’s good to tolerate uncertainty.

I would say to anybody out there, if there’s something that you’re afraid of, develop a curiosity about it, because you may find some incredible things not only about yourself, but also about the thing that you’re actually afraid of, and it’ll help you grow as a human being.

we just had so many incredible discoveries that it became my life’s work.

— Music ends

The more I found out, the more I was just inspired.

TR:

In case this sounds like using disability as a gimmick.

— Sample “I don’t think so!” LL Cool J, “Going Back to Cali”

Nathan:

We worked with blind and partially sighted communities every step of the way.

It was really great that they were willing to come on this journey with us, because it meant that we were getting the information straight from the people that needed these provisions, they were helping to shape it and develop it. And we were always in consultation with them.

TR:

Nathan worked with various blindness organizations where he
met all sorts of people with varying degrees of blindness and low vision.

He asked why more blind people weren’t attending performances and what he could do about that.

Nathan:

they said, they need the dynamics of the movement to change quite abruptly from like, wide to narrow or high to low.

It’s not the case with every type of visual impairment but some kinds of vision impairment, the audience see better when you look down towards the floor, because the floor gives such a blank canvas for contrast. I was like, Okay, well, where does most breaking happen, kind of like on the floor.

We worked with a visually impaired playwright called Kate O’Reilly. She sees the world in 2d, so the world’s like a flat picture to her. And she said that when she watched my company break in person, she said, she got an experience of what it was like to see in 3d. Something gave her like a sense of depth and perception that she didn’t see in any other art form. And she thinks it’s something to do with the access, which we were spinning out with our power moves, or the kind of like, non typical positions, we put our bodies in, when we do freezes, or poses, she thinks there’s something that our brain is trying to make sense of that.

TR:

Blind people in the audience, that’s one thing. With help from Kate, Nathan sought out Blind breakers but couldn’t find any.

He wanted to do more than include Blind performers in his show. He wanted to provide value.

Nathan:

I realized that braking actually is increased my spatial awareness. And because with braking we have go down. So we go from standing to the floor very quickly, but we do that in very stylish ways, but also in very safe ways.

We teach people how to sustain the momentum and keep moving and keep rolling. And a lot of injuries happen when somebody falls and all the shock gets absorbed into one part of their body.

We teach how to sustain the momentum, therefore the force gets dissipated for a larger surface area of the body. So it means that it greatly reduces the chance of injuries and things.

TR:

In addition to schools and organizations for the Blind, He taught these lessons at the Royal Opera House.
During the pandemic, he began teaching one on one classes online via Zoom.

Nathan:

I have a blind student that can’t speak, that I teach in Italy, but we communicate through, obviously, my verbal directions and his hand signals. We’re still able to have that dialogue and to be able to teach him the techniques effectively.

TR in Conversation with Nathan:
You work with adults, and children?

Nathan:
Oh, yeah. So I think the youngest kid we work with is like six. And the oldest person we’ve worked with is about 7374.

We have them do like CCS and Zulu spins and handstands. So it’s a real life intergenerational style.

TR:

As far as attending these performances, Nathan began to learn that the Audio Description provided just wasn’t doing it for these consumers.

Nathan:

in the UK, it was common practice for the audio description to be really kind of like objective.
And the way it was delivered was almost like a science experiment, there was like, a monotone voice, it was like the dancer lifts her up, moves her head to the side. And the thing is, our art is subjective. If you have that objective voice coming in over it, it can be quite disturbing and take you out of the immersive artistic experience.

— Music begins, a slow Hip Hop groove.
— Sample, Acapella “it’s Bigger Than Hip Hop” Dead Prez

TR:

So what does Nathan do?

Nathan:

I again turned to hip hop.

What are the more vocal elements of hip hop, obviously, we have emceeing, rapping and we have beatboxing and vocal percussion.
I started to pair beatboxing sound effects with certain movements.

We got people with visual impairment to basically like physicalize each sound effects a beatboxer makes. So for example, if a majority of people were saying that (makes a sound) represents a jump, we’d always use that for a jump or (makes a sound) represents like a low spin to the floor, we’d always use that is to represent the low spin. We created our own language, which is known as RM notation. Rationale Method – a way of giving people a richer soundscape really. Within the sound effects, you can get an idea of like the speed of a movement, or if a movement is traveling from high to low, all those kinds of directional input that it would take a very long time to describe through words.

TR in Conversation with Nathan::

Explained to me the name rationale method.

Nathan:

Rationale means a reason or a way. And we were like, We always will, or we will always find a way and a reason for doing good in the world. And so, that kind of stuck. We really try and find a way to bridge the gap between disabled and non disabled artists and audiences across the world.

TR:

The Rationale Method also includes poetic elements.

The goal is to provide a choice of aesthetics for implementing immersive, non objective Audio Description.

Nathan:

So there’s tons of audio description companies that deliver objective audio description

, We’re not saying that what we’re doing is a substitute for that we’re just trying to offer choice. Everybody has different tastes, some people will prefer objective audio description, some people prefer subjective, some people prefer, like beatboxing. Some people prefer poetics some people for emotive text. And so we just tried to open up the choice of what is available to blind and partially sighted audiences within what we’re doing.

TR:

The applications go beyond dance and artistic performances.

Nathan:

It can be used to describe like sport.

If you were to have a basketball game, or a football game, or a soccer game, for example, you, you can have an excited commentator delivering the commentary. But you don’t know, for example, if a ball is being passed from one person to another How long it takes for that pass, to travel from one person to another, if it’s a high pass, or low pass, but with the sound effects that we have, you can give a person an idea of how long it takes the ball to travel from one person to another based on the sound effects used.

TR:

Nathan couldn’t speak about the details for such an application, but he’s working on something that in his words, if it comes to fruition;

Nathan:

It’s gonna be big. It’s gonna be big.

TR in Conversation with Nathan:

I know, you can’t talk about it too much. But is that something that would be over TV? Or is that live in the venue or something?

Nathan:

So we’re looking at both. Obviously, with a live element, there may be like a slight split second of delay in terms of reaction times, right? It wouldn’t be enough to disrupt the experience. But again, when we go to the post production in the Edit, we can then tighten those elements up.

— Music ends.

TR:

I don’t really watch sports, but this does sound intriguing.

— Audio from Still a Slave

TR:

Another example of the Rationale Method at work is in a short film titled Still A Slave. It pairs emotive poetry and sound effects as subjective Audio Description.

The film itself runs about five minutes and is directed, written and stars Nathan.
It comes out of the same energy as the Black Lives Matter movement and all of the trauma that was resurfaced following the murders of George Floyd and Brionna Taylor.

Nathan:

There was a lot of, I guess, throwaway comments on social media from people saying, all lives matter, slavery doesn’t exist anymore.

These were really kind of like gaslighting comments and painful comments to us and myself.

It was getting to the point where I was like this is going to consume me if I don’t transform this energy.
I decided to take all that energy and transform it into a source of power, rather than keep it as a source of pain.

TR:

Nathan incorporates break dancing, fire and rope to convey his message.
In line with his martial arts background, he redirects that negative energy from the social media comments to reveal them for what they are.

Another key element of the film is the setting.

Nathan:

I shot it in Morecambe, which is one of Britain’s oldest slave ports, and the body of the first black slave is actually buried in marking, it’s called, like Sambo’s grave.

I was harnessing the energy from that space.

TR:

Combining the art with the activism, Nathan included a live performance of Still a Slave during a peaceful protest he organized outside a venue in his home city of Sheffield. He describes this venue as institutionally racist.

Nathan:

I made sure that I audio described all of the images leading up to the protest. I wanted to ensure that the protest was accessible. There’s so many people that organize protests that don’t think about the accessibility elements of a protest. For example, if you have physical content, is that physical content audio described?
Do you have a sign language interpreter there? If there’s people with neurological differences, Is there a space that they can go to where it’s not so noisy or not so hectic? If you’re doing a march? Is it an accessible route on the march that a wheelchair user can take. within the protest.

TR:
The response from the Blind Community?

Nathan:

Thank you, we felt because of this, we were able to take part in activism in a way that we typically don’t get to take part in activism, due to the inaccessibility that some protests have.

So for me, it was really important when I did Still a Slave to ensure that it was made accessible to as many people as possible when I made the film.

I’m a firm believer that wherever possible, we should be having audio description as part of the main soundscape for any kind of artistic endeavor, not just for television or film.
It was sort of right from the inception of the production I always knew it would have audio description within that.

TR:

That’s the goal we always strive for; being considered at the point of creation or design.

In this case, the choice of aesthetic from the Rationale Method toolbox was poetry along with enhanced sound design.

Nathan:

I beefed up some of this sound effects from the fire. Just so again, you’ve got a bi t of an idea of the speed at which the fire was spinning and traveling from one point to another

we work with an incredible audio describer, Tashinga Matewe, who provided the beautiful poetry. I coached her in terms of what elements we needed to focus on to make it more accessible and the dynamics she needed to add to her voice at certain parts.

I made sure that the person I worked with to do the audio description came from African descent. I also made sure that the person that did the music, track the sound score that he came from African descent as well, just to make sure that there was authenticity running right through the entire short film in production.

— Sound of a record spinning backwards, into a scratch
— Music begins, a bouncy Hip Hop beat

TR:
What’s up family, I need to interrupt the episode for a brief moment.
I hope you enjoy these as much as I enjoy bringing them to you.
I really want to make this podcast a sustainable venture.
Will you help me?

All I need is a bit of your time.
Please, go on over to ReidMyMind.com and check out the post for this episode and hit the link that says survey. It takes about 5 minutes to fill that out.
— DJ Scratch leads into “Check it out y’all!”

TR:
Reid My Mind Radio now has merch!
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Show your support for the Flipping the Script series directly or show some love for the podcast with an Official Reid My Mind Radio t-shirt, hoodie, cap or more. Just go on over to Reid My Mind.com and hit the link that says Shop!

I appreciate you family!

And now,
— Sample: “What we’re gonna do right here is go back, …”

TR:
Back to the episode!

— Music ends

TR:

Both The Blind and the non Blind communities responded favorably never seeing this kind of approach before. The non Blind community acknowledging that it also adds an extra layer for them to understand what’s happening.

And, that venue in Sheffield, they decided to begin adding more programming from people of color on their main stage. And that includes locally within the city of Sheffield. This includes a performance from Nathan’s Rationale company.

Nathan:

We did a hip hop fair production called trusting care. And that production was made with young people and carers are artistic consultants on the production.
We would work with them on some artistic residencies, and then we create scenes with them, and then they’d watch the scenes back, like, Nah, that doesn’t represent me, or they’ve like, yeah, that’s, that’s exactly how I feel. So based on that, that’s how we create the production.

The audio description, again, was for everybody to hear.

TR:

No headphone and receiver? Open Audio Description?

Nathan:
We set the parameters at the beginning of the production.

TR:

That’s right, they did a pre-show for all attendees.
The cast was invited out along with the Audio Describer and British Sign Language interpreter.

Nathan:

We were like, okay, so right now, you know, you’re going to have this unique technique, this unique method, rationale method of audio description and accessibility can be fully embedded, and you may hear certain elements that you feel is like why are you stating the obvious, but we have to remember that there’s blind and partially sighted audience members here. So these elements are key in order to ensure that everybody has the same level of access. But not only that, you know, some of you sighted people may actually get a deeper understanding to some of the subtext or elements within the production as well. So it may just heighten accessibility for you as well.

We explained that the BSL interpretation was fully integrated within the performance and the production as well. So we have the sign interpreter dancing throughout the whole production,

We sold out the venue, we got a standing ovation.

It was just a massive hit.

TR:

That open Audio Description, even helped a Blind cast member who became disoriented while on stage.
— Music begins, a slow dramatic Hip Hop beat

Nathan:

The audio describer would literally be guiding her back to her space and where she needs to be to help her get a sense of direction or a sense of bearings within the audio description. It enabled the blind performer to be able to safely navigate the space without taking away from the aesthetic. So people got to see that firsthand in terms of audio description being used as a form of accessibility for performers as well as for audience members. It was incredible.

TR:

When something is new and starts to receive a level of attention and success, two things are likely to happen. First, people want to learn how they can implement it.

Nathan:

I’ve just been teaching the accessibility techniques, to some organizations out in Peru, in terms of how they can enhance accessibility not only through the rationale method, but also through creative techniques within audio description.

There’s loads of ways that people can get creative with audio description. We’re just scratching the surface.

I’m trying to give people the tools to unlock their own creativity and to try and tap into their authentic self,

Hopefully they’ll be able to unlock their own techniques.

the rationale method is just another alternative is it’s not a one size fits all. And I think there’s enough room for everybody in the more choice that we can provide for people the better.

TR in Conversation with Nathan:

Are you getting love from the other audio description companies or are they hatin’??

(Tr & Nathan share in a hearty laugh!)

Nathan:
Well, it’s really funny. It’s a mixed bag.

So we got the audio description company in Canada, the main audio description organization, they’ve given us nothing but love.

Even though the Rational Method has its roots deeply embedded in hip hop, it doesn’t mean that the aesthetic that you will get will be a hip hop aesthetic.
We’ve audio described award winning contemporary dance and like ballet and even children’s, even children’s short films.

Just because it has its roots in hip hop doesn’t mean that the aesthetic is gonna always be hip hop. Sometimes it will be if that’s what it calls for.

We have one of the main audio description companies here in the UK. I approached them when I first started out kind of like can we partner on this? And they were just like, yeah. And then nothing. I tried to reach out since and nothing good. So I’m just like, Okay, well, we can just offer choice, you know, and that’s it. For me, I’m not competing with anybody. I’m just here just trying to do my part to provide accessibility.

So, because the way I, the way I see it, you know, everybody is different. And so, like I said, before, you know, our rational method, maybe ideal for some people, not ideal for others and other organizations aesthetic may be ideal for some people and not ideal for others. So that’s, that’s where it’s at. But yeah, but yeah,

We got hate because they know what we do is dope, that’s fine. You know,

TR in conversation with Nathan:
That’s when you know you’re doing something good.

— Sample: “Play on Playa”
TR:

Haters are always gonna hate.

— Sample: “No diggity, no doubt!”

Nathan really does have greater aspirations which include visions of the future of Audio Description.

Nathan:
For example, people could turn on the TV They have a button for audio description. And they have about 10 different aesthetics that they can choose from that suits their particular personality or taste or style. For me, that would be dope because for so long, it’s always been one size fits all for audio description for when there’s a production or performance.

TR:

Talking technology!

Nathan:
There’s like an event I run called demystifying tech, where we get people to play with both cutting edge technologies and basic technologies.

There’s so many artists still scared of technology and working with it. So we just try and demystify some of these preconceptions and talk about how we can utilize them to enhance accessibility in a variety of ways.

— Music ends
— Sample: “This is a journey into sound”

TR:

Nathan’s working on incorporating the sounds into a pad that can be triggered.

Essentially, taking the language of the Rationale Method which pairs sounds to movements, and making it easily available to anyone, Blind or not, at any time.

Nathan:

Then a sighted or blind dancer can then interpret those sounds.
And then all of a sudden, you’re opening up career pathways for blind and partially sighted choreographers and movement directors. Because there’s not that many of them out there. I don’t think it’s because they don’t want to I think it’s more so because they haven’t had an accessible pathway created for them to be able to do that.

We just finished in the second stage of prototyping. And we’ve had incredible responses. We’ve had people saying that Yo, if I had this in college I would have passed my drama and dance exams.

TR:

Sounds as language, a means of communicating. Enabling a Blind choreographer to easily relay their idea or
conversely a Blind dancer to perform a desired move.

Nathan:

for example, if you were to do a Zulu spin. Zulu spin is if somebody is crouched low to the floor, and they’re spinning on the floor with both their hands and their feet in contact with the floor, but they’re keeping a tight ball. You get an idea of how fast the spin would happen.

TR:

Again, the applications go beyond dancing; maybe a Blind martial artist, actor or athlete.

Nathan:

Also, like fashion shows, if people can get a feel of the, energy of the person walking down the catwalk, and if they’re spinning around, the flow of dress on or a different style dress, the sound effect can also reflect the, you know, the movement quality of the dress as well. So, you know, there’s lots of applications that this sound pad can be used for.

I’m just in the second lot of prototyping, then hopefully, after that, we’re going to do a bit more triangulation in terms of research. Hopefully, we’ll be able to get it to production and get it out to people in the world. And yeah, hopefully, we’ll be able to have some more blind and partially sighted directors and choreographers.

TR:

Assuring value for those who are Blind and disabled was always part of Nathan’s objective.
Nathan:

Me not being disabled myself, I had a lot of skepticism from the disabled community and quite rightly so. But I think once they talk to me and understand, actually this guy’s coming from a genuine place. It’s just been nothing but love from the disabled community which I’m eternally grateful for.

– Sample: “Nothing But Love For You Baby” Heavy D

TR:

That relationship and understanding the importance of centering the community is probably one reason Nathan was selected to coordinate the opening ceremony of the 2017 Special Olympics
— Audio from Special Olympics in 20xx.

Nathan:

I was adamant that the non disabled art companies and artists, they weren’t about to impose their choreography on the disabled artist. It had to be disability led The opening ceremony.
The people with disabilities, they would take the lead on what movements that they wanted and what themes they wanted to explore.

The non disabled artists they would fit in their choreography around and it just be a real mix. But it was disability led.

There have been other breakers that had performed the opening ceremonies, like the New York City break is done in the 80s, but I think I made history is the first ever B boy to be in charge of an entire Olympic opening ceremony.

So that was kind of like a big achievement for hip hop within that kind of context.

— Sample Hip Hop Hooray

TR in Conversation with Nathan:
So it sounds like you have a lot of the elements of hip hop kind of incorporated into what you’re doing is that something that you specifically looked at?

Nathan:
Yeah! My route was hip hop. I know how hip hop can save lives.

I’d always look to hip hop first, within everything that we do and see how that can work.

We haven’t even begun to scratch the surface on what hip hop can really do.

So for me, it was really important to connect with those ways that how hip hop saved my life, and influenced me as a human being.

TR:

Through his charity Rationale Arts, Nathan’s incorporating the elements of Hip Hop
or
Rapping or Emceeing, Break Dancing, Graffiti or Street Art, DJaying and the final Knowledge of Self ) to help hospitalized children.

Nathan:

We teach them bedside beatboxing. Hip Hop hand play, hand dance movements, we teach them smashing street art, graffiti writing, and how to write their own name. And then we also have a thing called Doctor Decks where somebody dressed up in Doctor scrubs and pushes like a trolley around the ward and has like DJ Decks on them and teaches the kids how to mix and scratch

There’s so many great like accessibility elements with that.

A beatboxes best friend can be a loop station.

TR:

Okay, for those who may not be familiar, a loop station is a recording device that repeats or loops a sound at a given tempo recorded.
For example:
— beat box…

The applications can go beyond beats.

Nathan:
With people that have trouble forming speech, we can sample their voice into that. And then that can be then part of their main soundscape that we create within that loop station, then if they want to, they can trigger their voice whenever they want it to come on and off.

TR:

Working directly with the children in real situations helped Nathan really understand the value of this work.

Nathan:
We’re actually teaching these kids like distress tolerance and emotional regulation,
Beatboxing is just meditation because meditation is controlled breathing.

— Music begins, a bouncy, upbeat Hip Hop beat

We’re teaching these kids life skills through these elements of hip hop in ways that people wouldn’t normally think that hip hop can help people’s lives.

Even down to the graffiti writing. We even teach them how powerful and important it is to put in your intention, even down to how you hold your pen. We teach them that if you want to write your name, and you’re holding your pen sloppy, then your name is going to come out sloppy. Where if you put your emotional intention everything your heart and soul into it, even just that how you hold your pen, you’re going to give not only yourself, but the world, the best representation of yourself.

I’m just trying to spread as much knowledge as possible in terms of ways in how we can utilize hip hop to enhance people’s quality of life.

TR:

This truly does go back to the essence of Hip Hop culture.

Nathan:

Within Hip Hop, originality is so important. Everybody thought about original style, original flow, and all that kind of thing. But the originality of thought, is something that we’re really trying to push with this.

This is a hip hop approach to accessibility and inclusion.

TR:

Yes, and ya don’t stop!
That’s right, Hip Hop don’t stop. And Nathan Geering, you brother…

Tr in conversation with Nathan:

you are now official.!

TR:

Member of the Reid My Mind Radio Family!

— Air Horn

Nathan:

Dope, dope!

TR in Conversation with Nathan:
Give me some contact information, brother, where can people, check you out,

Nathan:

yeah. Yeah, yeah. So if you want to check out the work that my charity does all the community based work and theatrical work that I mentioned, it’s www dot RationaleArts.com

If you’re interested in the audio description, service and provision, that’s www dot RationaleMethod.com.

On Instagram it’s RationaleArts, RationaleMethod or NathaGeering.

On Twitter RationaleArts again or MethodRationale.
if y’all want to hit me up via email, hit me up at Nathan at rationale method.calm

TR:

You can check out Still A Slave during the 2021 Superfest Film Festival. You know, the premier disability film festival that you can attend online.

— We should do something on CH in conjunction with SF —

All you have to do is point that handy dandy browser of yours at SuperfestFilm.com. There are multiple options for tickets that fit in all budgets.

Just like Reid My Mind Radio! Which by the way is available for only free 99 wherever you like to consume podcasts.

Plus, we have transcripts and more over at ReidMyMind.com.

So there’s no confusion, like a true Emcee, I spell it out, that’s R to the E I D…
(“D)” And that’s me in the place to be!

Like my last name.

— Sample from Kung Fu movie “Were you just using the Wu Tang School method against me?”
Nathan:
Wicked!
— Reid My Mind Radio Outro

Peace!

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