73: 73: Assistive Technology for the Blind with Simon Isakov

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Simon is an assistive technology instructor at the Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library, a branch of the NY Public Library system. The library is now the national library service for the blind and print disabled, rather than national library service for the blind and physically handicapped. This makes it more clear that people with print reading disabilities such as dyslexia are eligible!

NLS often partners with commercial audiobook publishers to get audiobooks for library patrons. Since they operate under a copyright law exemption that allows them to provide copies and specialize formats without limitation, this means that library patrons don’t have to wait for audiobooks to become available and don’t have to return them within a certain timeline. NLS also records audiobooks in cases where a commercial audiobook is unavailable. 

 Many of the expanded program offerings that the library provides, including the online workshops, are made possible by volunteers, so that the more people who join us, the more the library can achieve!

71: 71: Season 3 Intro and Catch Up, Races, JiuJitsu, and Goals

Welcome to Season 3 of the Run with Chestnut podcast. We catch everyone up on the past few months and go on to discuss our races and future goals. This includes Simon’s first ever 70.3 half ironman triathlon, the NYC marathon, and more. We would greatly appreciate it if you would leave a review for this podcast on which ever platform you use to listen to podcasts. Reach out to us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @RunWithChestnut to give us any feedback, or future topic requests.

70: 70: Bonus Ultraman Florida Recap 3/01/2023

This bonus episode was recorded back in March of 2023 and it recaps Ultraman Florida. This is an ultra distance triathlon and Francesco was the first person with a disability to successfully complete it! Listen to hear all about the struggle and drama that happened over the 3 days of racing. We would greatly appreciate it if you would leave a review for this podcast on which ever platform you use to listen to podcasts. Reach out to us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @RunWithChestnut to give us any feedback, or future topic requests.

69: 69: Francesco’s Pre-UltraMan Florida Race and Guest Tianna

In this episode first for 2023, Francesco and Simon are joined by first time podcast guest Tianna to discuss Francesco’s upcoming attempt to be the first person with a disability to finish UltraMan Florida. We also discuss how Tianna found the Achilles team and how she got involved with racing as a guide for Francesco. We would greatly appreciate it if you would leave a review for this podcast on which ever platform you use to listen to podcasts. Reach out to us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @RunWithChestnut to give us any feedback, or future topic requests.

66: 66: Invasion of the Pigeons, Chestnut gets THE Positive Result, and Duathlon Recap

We discuss the invasion of some not so friendly neighborhood pigeons into the Chestnut apartment, as well as THE positive test that no one wants to receive! Finally we talk a bit of race recap where Simon sends it on the course to beat out our third flat mate Andrew in their long standing rivalry. Reach out to us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @RunWithChestnut to give us any feedback, or future topic requests.

65: 65: Audio Description for the Blind and Our Top 5 Movies and TV Shows

We discuss the purpose and evolution of audio description which helps to make visual media accessible to those who are blind. We share some personal stories then go on to discuss our own top 5 favorite movies and TV shows as well as the role of audio description within our favorites. Reach out to us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @RunWithChestnut to give us any feedback, or future topic requests.

64: 64: Sauna Tricks, Running Up the Bills, and Old Blind Audiobook Tech

We open the episode with a few fun tidbits from the week including a hot take on a sauna trick on how to ensure early morning sauna sessions are super toasty! Then, we discuss how Simon runs up the bills on a certain blind related assistant app. Finally we enter into a discussion on technology used by the blind, hardware, software, and ultimately the different forms of audiobooks that we have consumed from special four track cassette tapes up to the modern smartphone app. Reach out to us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @RunWithChestnut to give us any feedback, or future topic requests.