Allied: A Podcast About Web and Video Accessibility

We’re thrilled to announce the launch of Allied, a podcast for everything you need to know about web and video accessibility. 

If you’re struggling to stay up to date on accessibility trends or legal requirements, or if you want to learn more about who benefits from captions, transcripts, and audio description, then this podcast is for you. 

Allied will be available for streaming April 16, 2021. In the meantime, we’re excited to give you a sneak peek at what to expect and some of the amazing interviews we’ve done so far. 

 

 

Introducing our host, Elisa Lewis!

Elisa is a Content Marketing Manager at 3Play Media and host of Allied. She creates and produces educational content on all things video and web accessibility, and is thrilled to be hosting the Allied podcast.

Who will be sharing advice?

We’ve got a great lineup of interviews featuring web and video accessibility experts and advocates who can help you discover how a more accessible and inclusive world can positively impact any organization. 

We’ve already produced three episodes with interviewees Derek Mei, Thomas J. Tobin, and Emily Yates, and we can’t wait for you to check them out.

Derek Mei

Derek Mei is a senior UX/UI designer at 3Play Media who is passionate about understanding how people interact with technology. As 3Play Media’s design lead, Derek implements high-level design thinking across different teams, helps bridge the gap between designers and developers, and optimizes our products’ user experience all the way from conception to implementation. On the side, Derek co-runs Umeita Design, a Boston-based design agency that works with startups and small businesses to improve the user experience of their digital products. Derek also runs The Handoff, a YouTube channel dedicated to helping people land their first job in UX/UI or digital product design.

Derek has an eye for the aesthetic and a knack for the functional, and he loves combining his creative and analytic mindset with his technical expertise.

Thomas J. Tobin

Thomas J. Tobin, PhD, MSLS, PMP, MOT, CPACC is the Program Area Director for Distance Teaching Learning on the Learning Design, Development, & Innovation (LDDI) team at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, as well as an internationally recognized speaker and author on quality in technology-enhanced education.

Thomas speaks and consults on how to provide access to higher education for the widest range of learners, including students with disabilities. His research focuses on evaluating online teaching, serving learners with disabilities, academic-integrity challenges, copyright in online education, and distance-education program design.

His books include:

• Evaluating Online Teaching: Implementing Best Practices (2015).
• The Copyright Ninja: Rise of the Ninja (2017).
• Reach Everyone, Teach Everyone: Universal Design for Learning in Higher Education (2018).
• Going Alt-Ac: A Guide to Alternative Academic Careers (2020).

Emily Yates

Emily Yates is an accessibility consultant and journalist living in Glasgow, Scotland. Emily has presented several documentaries for BBC Three and written for The

 Guardian, The Independent, and Telegraph Travel. Emily is passionate about travel and played pivotal roles at the London and Rio Olympics in raising awareness for accessible transportation.

As a wheelchair user, she is also a disability awareness trainer for Enhance the UK and manages their Undressing Disability campaign, championing the right for disabled people to have access to sexual expression. Emily is currently studying for a PhD in Women’s Studies at the University of York.

What will we talk about?

First and foremost, Allied is a podcast about web and video accessibility. We want listeners to take a deep dive in digital accessibility and learn from both personal and professional perspectives. Listeners can also expect to stay up to date on accessibility trends and lawsuits and gain valuable advice to navigate the ever-changing legal landscape.

In our first three episodes, our interviewees provide insightful advice and answers to these questions and more:

• How does video relate to UX accessibility?
• Which key principles of UX and accessibility should everyone know?
• How can teams put access at the forefront of the product design and development processes?
• How can Universal Design for Learning help break down accessibility barriers?
• What’s the best way to handle an accessibility mistake?
• How can workplaces focus on people with disabilities in an authentic way?
• How can nondisabled people be respectful and productive allies?

Many of these questions are nuanced and require expertise and lived experiences to answer. With the help of our guests, Allied will address these questions and so many more.

Creating an accessible podcast

In addition to interviews with industry experts and advocates, we also want to demonstrate how to make podcasts accessible through transcription.

Podcasts are audio-based, which means that without transcripts they can be inaccessible to those with hearing loss. To date, there has only been one lawsuit against a podcast company for not including closed captions. However, many podcasts still don’t feature transcripts, excluding some of the 48 million Americans living with hearing loss.

As both the podcast industry and digital accessibility lawsuits continue to grow, we think the legal landscape will broaden and podcasts will start to be held accountable.

How to listen

Allied is set to launch April 16, 2021. You’ll be able to listen on our website or wherever you get your podcasts. 

To stay up to date, follow us on Facebook or Twitter, or visit our landing page. If you have questions, suggestions, or want to be interviewed, email us at [email protected]. We’d love to hear from you.

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