
Down to the Struts
A podcast about disability and design, where we uncover the building blocks for a more inclusive world.
Latest episodes

Jun 10, 2025 • 30min
Disability Justice Is Trans Justice
This episode explores how disability justice relates to the ongoing pursuit of justice for transgender communities, who are increasingly under threat in the US and many other countries. We'll listen in on Qudsiya’s conversation with Ericka Dixon and Sebastian Margaret of the Transgender Law Center's Disability Project. They discuss how we can build cross movement solidarity between transgender and disabled communities, and all who exist at those intersections.--Let us know what you think with a comment or review!Visit our website for transcripts. Subscribe to Qudsiya's Substack, Getting Down To It Support the team behind the podcast with a donation

May 27, 2025 • 29min
Disability and Punishment with Professor Jamelia Morgan
This week, Qudsiya speaks with Professor Jamelia Morgan, an award-winning and acclaimed scholar and teacher at the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, where she also directs the Center for Racial and Disability Justice. Professor Morgan's work focuses on the intersection of race, gender, disability, and criminal law and punishment. Qudsiya and Jamelia talked about her personal path to studying these issues, the particular harms that people of color with disabilities face when it comes to policing and mass incarceration, and her transformative vision for a world that prioritizes justice and inclusion over violence and punishment.--Let us know what you think with a comment or review!Visit our website for transcripts. Subscribe to Qudsiya's Substack, Getting Down To It Support the team behind the podcast with a donation

May 13, 2025 • 26min
Reporting the Disability Civil Rights Movement with Joe Shapiro
Qudsiya sits down with Joe Shapiro, investigative correspondent for National Public Radio. Joe was one of the first journalists to cover the disability civil rights movement and the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. In this episode, Qudsiya and Joe talk about how Joe came to cover disability issues, his observations about how the movement has evolved over time, and his perspectives on disability coverage today.--Let us know what you think with a comment or review!Visit our website for transcripts. Subscribe to Qudsiya's Substack, Getting Down To It Support the team behind the podcast with a donation

Apr 29, 2025 • 28min
Making the ADA with Chai Feldblum
Welcome to Season 10 of Down to the Struts! To kick things off, Qudsiya sits down with the indomitable Chai Feldblum. Chai is a civil rights advocate and scholar. For nearly four decades, Chai has fought for the rights of LGBTQ and disability communities through legislative advocacy, teaching, scholarship, government service, and much more. She played an integral role in the drafting of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Qudsiya and Chai talk about Chai's work on the ADA, including the unlikely coalition that she brought together, and so much more.The Art of Legislative Lawyering and the Six Circles Theory of AdvocacyLet us know what you think with a comment or review!Visit our website for transcripts.-- Subscribe to Qudsiya's Substack, Getting Down To It Support the team behind the podcast with a donation

Apr 15, 2025 • 3min
Trailer: Season 10 coming soon
Season 10 of Down to the Struts is headed your way. Qudsiya give listeners a sneak peek at the voices of the journalists, activists, scholars, and creators who will lead us in a deep dive into disability history and culture this season. We’re in double digits y’all! Make sure you’re subscribed and tuned in on April 29 for our first episode.Visit our website for transcripts.-- Subscribe to Qudsiya's Substack, Getting Down To It Support the team behind the podcast with a donationLet us know what you think with a comment or review onApple podcasts.

Apr 1, 2025 • 24min
Recast: When Driving Is Not an Option (Season 9)
We’ve reached the end of the road—no pun intended—with our final listener favorite from season 9, featuring Anna Zivarts, author of the exceptional book, “When Driving Is Not An Option: Steering Away from Car Dependency.” This one resonated with many of you who, like Qudsiya, cannot drive a car. As we shockingly learned from Anna in this episode, this is the case for a whopping 31 out of 100 Americans. It can often be a struggle to get around in our car-centric country, but Anna gives us a blueprint and a vision for achieving the accessible communities we’ve all dreamed of.Visit our website for transcripts.-- Subscribe to Qudsiya's Substack, Getting Down To It Support the team behind the podcast with a donationLet us know what you think with a comment or review onApple podcasts.

Mar 25, 2025 • 35min
Recast: Access: a Love Story (Season 8)
We’ve arrived at our penultimate listener favorite from season 8. We called this one “Access: A love Story.” It was magical for Qudsiya to revisit the unforgettable day that she and her partner, also a Down to the Struts alum, Sean Collins, promised to love each other for the rest of their lives. They’ve been married for nearly two years now, and they’ve had their fair share of adventures since. But they continue to cherish those precious moments with the people they hold dearest in the world, because of the incredible work of access artist Cheryl Green and photographer extraordinaire, Jasmine Oliver, on their accessible wedding album. Qudsiya and Sean think of Cheryl and Jasmine every time they experience the symbiotic pleasure of image combined with voice. Also thanks to the audio talents of Ramya Amuthan with production and sound design support from the one and only Thomas Reid. Access truly is an act of love. And here, once again, is Qudsiya and Sean’s love story. Visit our website for transcripts.-- Subscribe to Qudsiya's Substack, Getting Down To It Support the team behind the podcast with a donationLet us know what you think with a comment or review onApple podcasts.

Mar 18, 2025 • 30min
Recast: In the Country of the Blind (Season 7)
Here’s your favorite from Season 7. Qudsiya is a huge history nerd, and she had a blast unpacking blind history with Andrew Leland, author of the award-winning memoir, The Country of the Blind. Andrew and Qudsiya explored blind culture, blind politics, and their own relationships with blindness. It was a great conversation—thanks to all of you for giving us a chance to revisit it.Visit our website for transcripts.-- Subscribe to Qudsiya's Substack, Getting Down To It Support the team behind the podcast with a donationLet us know what you think with a comment or review onApple podcasts.

Mar 11, 2025 • 33min
Recast: Empowered interdependence with Haben Girma (Season 6)
We’re recasting this listener favorite from Season 6. Qudsiya loves this conversation with human rights lawyer and disability justice champion, Haben Girma—author of the acclaimed memoir, “Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law.” Haben and Qudsiya talked about the concept of empowered interdependence. This is the idea that we all deserve to have access to the tools to define our own lives, and the ability to lean on one another to access those tools. Empowered interdependence acknowledges that all of our lives are intertwined, and we are stronger when we solve problems together. It’s a timely message, and, as always, Haben shares it with infinite wisdom.Visit our website for transcripts.-- Subscribe to Qudsiya's Substack, Getting Down To It Support the team behind the podcast with a donationLet us know what you think with a comment or review onApple podcasts.

Mar 4, 2025 • 47min
Recast: All Our Families (Season 5)
Welcome back to our series highlighting listener favorites over the last nine seasons. We’re on to your favorite from season 5. Qudsiya spoke to Jennifer Natalya Fink, author of the incredible bookAll Our Families: Disability Lineage and the Future of Kinship. The book opened up a fascinating conversation about how we think about disability within our own families, and how rethinking those family narratives might help us build a more inclusive and accessible world.Visit our website for transcripts.-- Subscribe to Qudsiya's Substack, Getting Down To It Support the team behind the podcast with a donationLet us know what you think with a comment or review onApple podcasts.