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Blind Guys Chat
by Oran O'Neill
Blind Guys chat is a biweekly podcast, produced by two blind guys, one in Ireland and one in the Netherlands. The show takes an easy and breezy approach to life, disability, technology, and just about anything else that the blind guys think of!We'd love to hear from you so get in touch by email to [email protected] and follow BlindGuysChat on Twitter.
Episodes
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#156: The Meta Saga Continues
This week, it's a warm welcome back to Mr Blind Gordon Anthony all the way from Scots Land! Gordon is on the show to somewhat sympathise with Óran on his ongoing Meta Ray Ban issue. In case you haven't heard, because you've been living under a rock with a grumpy snail, some people, including Óran...
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#155: Straight to heaven
While Jan is living it up on Safari, deep in South Africa, Mohammed and Clodagh are having to listen to Óran's gripes about being assisted to get on his jet at Charles de Gaulle airport last week. But this conversation does lead to an interesting question - do you use your cane when being…
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#154: A Meta glasses skeptic!
It's a welcome return to the man who came in from the cold, Mr Stuart Lawler! Our former co-host and chief bottle washer here in the BGC office. Stuart is on the show in an attempt to sell off some used assistive tech... Oh hang on! We Probably can't say that for legal reasons. Ehm... Stuart is...
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#153: Split the bill
On this show, we are talking to Alberto Destarac, the developer of Ezre, a new app that provides a seamless experience for digitised, itemised receipts directly to the user's phone. It ensures accessibility and ease of review for the VI community. Alberto talks to us about his life in the US…
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#152: The Scottish Tech Army
In our last show before the summer break, we are talking with former Vice President of Product Development at Vispero, Eric Damery. Eric chats to the guys about retirement, holidays, golf, and the current and future state of assistive tech. We have news on the Tiera navigation app, and Clodagh…
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#151: Boomer Shooters!
On this show we are speaking to super-duper influencer, Jessie Anderson all about accessible gaming. Not even 'Skinny Pete' from the TV series Breaking Bad knows as much about video games and consoles as Jessie. A veteran of the ATARI 2600 and Apple 2, Jessie walks us through how a blind or...
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#150: Disco Nap!
In honour of Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind celebrating 50 years in being, we've got a round table discussion on this show with 2 guide dog owners and a guide dog puppy raiser. Mo has news on the latest JAWS 2026 update, which includes the option to save your settings in the cloud. And Jan and Mo...
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#149: Scotland 3, FIFA AD 1, Water Breaks 8
As the world becomes more and more immersed in the FIFA 2026 World Cup, the Blind Guys assess FIFA’s audio description service for the games. Is it better than standard commentary or is it an own goal for FIFA? Jan and Mo have been on a second date, and as usual they had chaperones; this time in...
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#148: A Spineless Wet Towel!
In what can only be described as a robust conversation, this week's show has it all! The Blind Guys begin by talking about the weather and then we move smoothly into Jan telling us about this year’s Sight Village, from which he has just returned. The conversation then meanders along the road as…
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#147: From Vienna, to PiccyBot, to Kerala.
On this show we are chatting to Martijn van der Spek, the developer of the very popular PiccyBot application. Martijn tells us how he got started creating accessible apps for the blind, and of course all about his latest creation PiccyBot. The BGC fellas have been using this app for a while and...
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#146: Vibe Coding
We've got accessibility royalty this week as Glen Gordon joins us to chat all things retirement, AI, and Vispero. Glen's considerable legacy as a developer working for Vispero is not only in the software of JAWS itself, but also in the principles of accessibility, and the continuous improvement…
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#145: Shazam for Birds
Way-hey! The days are finally getting warmer, and Sjef and Larry (the respectable guide dogs) are out in their gardens, sunning themselves and listening to the wonderful birdsong. Have you tried the Merlin Bird ID app? It's an app that identifies which birdies are singing in the trees, and the 2...
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#144: Slimy; Weirdo; Stepford wives?
It's time to bring BGC favourite Kevin Sherwin back onto the show to discuss this year’s Eurovision Song Contest entries. Kevin is not pulling any punches this year and is betting His Holy Communion money on Latvia to win! And this year could be their year, as Saturn, Venus and Mount Fuji have...
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#143: Tiera, where am I?
Our guest this week is Liam Geschwindt from Touchpulse. Liam is here to talk to us about Tiera, which is a new AI-powered navigation app designed specifically for blind and low-vision users. Teira offers real-time, highly precise audio guidance to help us move independently through complex...
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#142: The ADESI Project
Doctor Lucía Pintado Gutiérrez, is our guest this week. Dr Gutiérrez is the author of a new report on audio description (AD) in Ireland – ‘The ADESI Project’. Her research is not just confined to broadcast but rather covers audio description in all aspects of life including sports, film, theatre,...
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#141: Meet the brother
On this show we are speaking to Mohammed's brother Ihab Laachir, who is here to spill the beans about his older brother, apparently known as 'The Hacker' in his family. Who knew?! Ihab is currently studying political science at Amsterdam University and has some great insights into living with a...
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#140: Larry's favourite guest
#:140: Larry's favourite guest of all time Fresh from setting fire to the Italian Pavilion at COP 30, due to a lack of salty caramel gelato, this week we are devoting the whole show to Professor John Sweeney, leading climatologist at Maynooth University. Prof. John, who is Larry's favourite…
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#139: Your flight has been delayed, again!
As we celebrate 50 years of Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind we speak to Tom O'Neill, guide dog owner and founder of the Balbriggan branch of Irish Guide Dogs. Tom tells us how he came to own his first guide dog and how having dogs has made his day-to-day living much more independent. It's not…
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#138: Down under with David Woodbridge
Happy New Year to you all! This week we are devoting the whole show to Mr David Woodbridge, Product Specialist for Humanware Australia. David will take us through all things Humanware, including the new Evolve Windows Braille notetaker. We also chat about guide dogs, and of course our favourite...
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#137: I wouldn't do it like that!
This week, Jan is floating on cloud 9 as his local football team (that's soccer for those of you in the USA) seems to be doing very well. So well, in fact, that they are top of the 'kitchen' league ...better not to ask what that means! Our good friend Stuart Lawler gives us his own thoughts on…
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#136: Rocky 21: The EAA vs Mohammed
This week we are talking to Adela Buliman from Vially here in Ireland. Adela is the Chief Accessibility Officer and what she doesn't know about the European Accessibility Act, isn't worth knowing about! So, roll up your sleeves, Mohammed, and get ready to rumble! Disclaimer: this chat is more of…
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#135: Mohammed knows everything about the law, but he is not a lawyer!
It's celebration time here in the BGC office as Óran has news! It seems he is now calling himself a scriptwriter because his very first script has just been produced. It is for the super-fun, excellent and wonderful children's animation TV series: ‘Maddie + Triggs’. You may remember we had the…
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#134: Jan: One, Mohammed: Nil
This week we are chatting with Freek van Welsenis, the Director and CEO of Hable One. Freek is here to talk about the Hable One, a sleek Braille device that can be used to navigate your smart devices. He also tells us about the Hable Easy, a smartphone controller, and the Speechlabel, a handy...
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#133: No ramble like a snarky ramble!
This week we find out that Mohammed is building his fan base. Yes, it appears that he has at least one! It's a lovely woman who lives in Maynooth, County Kildare. Apparently, she drives a car that looks like a frog. Let's hope her husband doesn't find out! About Mo, not the car! He knows about…
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#132: The rambling producer
This week we’re talking to Professor Pieter Roelfsema from the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience in Amsterdam. He is chatting with the lads about a research project looking at direct electrical stimulation of the brain via cortical visual neuroprostheses, which is a promising approach to...
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#131: The Ninety Niners
Time to bring out the slide projector again as Jan tells us about his recent holiday adventure in France and Spain. Thank all the gods he was with his wonderful wife and children or else he might have left a trail of destruction behind him! He tells us all. Our guest this week is eamonn linnane....
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#130: Stop drooling on me pants
We're back after our summer break, and as we woke up to the sound of Autumn arriving, (it’s lashing rain here!) we were discouraged to hear that the new Glide is not coming to Europe! What!?! As the characters on South Park might say "You Ba***rds! You killed Kenny!" But are we really surprised…
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#129: Mind your P's and Q's!
Hello and welcome to BCG129. Jan is off soaking up the rays with his family so Mo and Óran are home alone with Clodagh babysitting them. Mo is about to go on his own holidays, he is off to Berlin all on his own! Will he be ok? Will he be able to find the hotel all by himself? Do the German women...
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#128: Eyjafjallajökull
Don't worry folks, Unlike the Icelandic volcano 'Eyjafjallajökull', we have not erupted, but we are quite hot and sweaty in the BGC office. Jan is just back from Washington DC where Abraham Lincon and his mates were sweltering in 35-degree heat (95 degrees in old money). Jan was a bit peeved, as...
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#127: Slimy but hard!
The Blind Guys get berated by Clodagh this week as they appear to be just messing around and having a chat. Is it because of the good weather? Maybe. Tesla’s autonomous (driverless) cars in Austin Texas appear to have thrown caution to the wind and are driving around breaking the speed limits…
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#126: A changing of the guard
Blind Guys Chat would like to formally announce and warmly welcome Mohammed Laachir as our new permanent co-host. Mohammed brings a wealth of experience and gravity to this role - he is a former Martian Astronaut and a previous winner of the 2022 IDF swimsuit competition. Sjef and Larry (the BGC...
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#125: When the lights go out.
This week we’re delighted to have Stuart Lawler and Mohammed Laachir back with us. Mohamed has recently written an article for his LinkedIn page entitled "When the lights go out, an account of vision loss". It's a wonderfully insightful read and we highly recommend all our listeners check it out,...
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#124: Nymphs wafting around a stage
Read transcript Jan is on hiatus this week, so it’s a welcome return to Mr Stuart Lawler, a man who puts the “Hot” into Tango. It’s 30 years since Stuart was on the Irish Eurovision Song Contest jury and boy are we happy they never asked him back. Secret Garden were the winners for Norway that…
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#123: Habemus Papam!
It's a warm welcome back to our good friend Mohammed Laachir, who has literally just arrived home from Lyon - that's in France, don't ya know! And yes, he is just returning with his latest mail order bride. Did he use his Envision glasses to find her? Let's find out. Have you used the Chat GPT...
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#122: Attitude adjuster
Hello, our stainless-steel saucepans and welcome to ep 122 of BGC. We hope you had a lovely Easter break, if that is something you do. A big shout-out to Jan's father, as he is in hospital having broken his hip trying to realign the TV satellite dish on the International Space Station. Our advice…
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#121: We're having a sauna!
Read transcript Hello our spring flowers and welcome to BGC ep 121. We have a great show for you: Óran and Jan are talking about the new smart kid on the block when it comes to smart glasses: Echo Vision. Have you heard of these? Do you have a pair? Well, if you do let us know if you like them…
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#120 Crash test Dummies
Hello, our favourite animated friends, and welcome to the show. This week, Óran and Clodagh are just back from Dingle, County Kerry, where they and Larry attended the Animation Dingle Festival. Óran was thrilled because he got to touch the actual models used for the latest Wallace and Gromit…
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#119: I Like, I Wish, What if?
Top o’ the mornin' to ye, our little leprechauns! Yes, it's Irish week all over the world and even the International Space Station is painted green this week! This week’s guest is Sarah Boland from CHAT, Freedom Tech, and Saint John of God. Sarah will tell us about FreedomTech, which is dedicated...
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#118: The escape room of the Pyramids
Hello, our little sand dunes, and welcome to episode 118. Jan is just back from building his own pyramid in Egypt for his new summer house, and will be giving tours for all who would like one. So please form a disorderly line behind Larry! Clodagh is very excited to hear that in Jan’s winter...
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#117: Movie stars and A.I. assistants
Hello our lovely movie stars, and welcome to another episode of “Jan, the movie star”. Yes we kinda sorta pick up where we left Jan last time, standing at the end of his massive driveway, waiting on his limo to take him to the premier of the film, ‘I will see”. ...well, he made it, and brought…
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#116: We're off to the movies
Hello, grips and best boys (and girls!), and welcome to episode 116. We are chatting to Mercedes Stalenhoef, the director of a new movie called ‘I Shall See’, the premier of which will be happening in Rotterdam on February 2nd 2025. Mercedes, traditionally a documentary maker, has written and...
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#115: Super-advanced autocomplete
Hello our fancy AI bots, and welcome to episode 115. This week we are talking about AI, and we have a fantastic panel of experts to bring us through the topic of AI and accessibility. We will be talking about Meta Ray Bans, Envision glasses, Apple Intelligence and even some existential questions....
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#114: Do you miss us?
Hey folks! Don't worry, we'll be back on January 16th, when we will be talking about everything AI. In the meantime, stay warm! The Blind Guys Support Blind Guys Chat by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/blind-guys-chat Read transcript
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#113: Turkey's roasting on an open fire!
Happy Christmas to one and all! We hope you have an enjoyable break this Christmas holiday season. This show is our annual, twice yearly, every 4 years BGC Christmas Quiz featuring some of our BGC listeners and guests. We have contestants from St. Louis, Boston, Scotland, Dublin and even County...
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#112: Life is too short to wait 4 seconds
Hello our favourite sight capitalists, and welcome to episode 112 of BGC. We are honoured to be joined by Mr David Renstrom who has kindly agreed to leave the comfort of his North Swedish igloo to chat about the newest craze everyone is talking about: Meta Smart Glasses! David takes us through…
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#111: Hey Bert!!
Hello, our lovely election canvassers and welcome to Episode 111. Did you manage to survive Storm Bert last weekend? And did you know the storm was named by our weather colleagues in The Netherlands? Lucky it wasn't called Storm 'Sjef' - Woof!! Mohammed Laachir is back with us again and it…
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#110: Painter going to work
Hello our wobbly hospital trolleys, and welcome to Episode 110 of BGC. It's a welcome back to Óran, fresh from his travels to the nearby hospital, all of 5 minutes away. Yes, it seems Óran is maintaining his hobby of having near death experiences every few years, much to Clodagh’s distress. But...
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#109: Jan's doing Dublin!
Hello, our little Halloween horrors, or maybe that’s just the hosts?! We’re back again for a show with a slight twist, and we’re not talking spooky goings-on - or maybe we are, because, Óran, our producer in residence, is missing in action for the first time in the history of this podcast! Is he...
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#108: Jip en Janneke taal: Simple Language
Hello, our little delivery drones, and welcome to episode 108. This week Jan and Óran welcome back Mohamed Laachair and invite him to sit into the comfortable and fluffy guest-host seat. We think he really likes it. We kick off with news of the new AI companion from JAWS which is currently...
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#107: The future's so bright I gotta wear shades
Hello, our autumn leaves, and welcome to episode 107 of BGC. We begin this show with some interesting news from Be My Eyes and Meta. It appears that the Be My Eyes application will soon become available via Meta Ray Ban SmartGlasses. This means when calling a volunteer using the app, the…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Blind Guys chat is a biweekly podcast, produced by two blind guys, one in Ireland and one in the Netherlands. The show takes an easy and breezy approach to life, disability, technology, and just about anything else that the blind guys think of!We'd love to hear from you so get in touch by email to [email protected] and follow BlindGuysChat on Twitter.
HOSTED BY
Oran O'Neill
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Blind Guys Chat have?
Blind Guys Chat currently has 157 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Blind Guys Chat about?
Blind Guys chat is a biweekly podcast, produced by two blind guys, one in Ireland and one in the Netherlands. The show takes an easy and breezy approach to life, disability, technology, and just about anything else that the blind guys think of!We'd love to hear from you so get in touch by email to...
How often does Blind Guys Chat release new episodes?
Blind Guys Chat publishes regularly with 157 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Blind Guys Chat?
You can listen to Blind Guys Chat on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Blind Guys Chat?
Blind Guys Chat is created and hosted by Oran O'Neill.
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