#BlindTok Podcasts

In Episode 7 of #BlindTok, Murray Elbourne and Tammy Jackson are joined by Jessie Evans to walk through what happens when a kid knows something is wrong and the adults around her keep insisting it isn't. Jessie's story stretches across a decade of being told she was dramatic, of glasses that did absolutely nothing, and of a mom who flat-out refused to back down. The episode gets honest about the quiet damage that comes from being labeled a liar by the very people who were supposed to help, and about the slow, stubborn work of learning to trust your own gut again.   The trio also digs into the strange genius of growing up undiagnosed, where memorization becomes an art form and faking it becomes a full-time job. Sports stories arrive with all the grace of a nickname like Swiffer, choir rehearsals turn into an exercise in ditching the sheet music, and the conversation lands somewhere unexpectedly tender as Jessie talks about finding a community she didn't know was out there. Whether you've spent years masking or you're just starting to suspect you have been, this one is going to feel familiar.  

In Episode 6 of #BlindTok, Murray Elbourne and Tammy Jackson are joined by Madeline Stafford for an honest conversation about what happens when answers take years to arrive and you spend most of your life filling in the blanks yourself. Madeline walks through her road from a Utah classroom where the books were bigger than she was, through a college experience that nearly didn't happen, and into her current role as a Teacher of the Visually Impaired, with plenty of those famously beautiful red 90s glasses moments along the way. A good eye specialist makes more of a difference than most people realize, eye irritation and dilation drops are their own special kind of indignity, and the Netflix documentary Crip Camp has quietly become required viewing for anyone who hasn't caught it yet. Blind summer camps come up too, where guards come down, friendships outlast decades, and the strange comfort of finally being around people who simply get it shows up in full force. Whether you're still hunting for answers or just figuring out what advocacy looks like in practice, this one settles in close.

In Episode 5 of #BlindTok, Murray Elbourne and Tammy Jackson are joined by Mandy to dig into what it really takes to build and keep a career when vision loss keeps rewriting the rules. From adapting a current role with assistive technology to walking away from a profession you fought hard to earn, this episode lays out three very different paths through the workforce and gets real about the unemployment crisis facing the blind and low vision community. The conversation pulls no punches about denial, the moment you stop pretending everything is fine, and what happens when losing your license forces you to rethink not just your commute but your entire identity. The group swaps stories that range from gut-punch honest to genuinely hilarious, including some memorable encounters with parked trucks, misidentified mailboxes, and IT departments bravely confronting accessibility software for the first time. But the episode also pushes into bigger territory, exploring why young people with vision loss are struggling to find their footing in the job market, what parents and educators can do differently, and how curiosity and conversation might be the most underrated career tools out there. Whether you're mid-pivot, freshly diagnosed, or just trying to figure out how to explain your needs at work without writing a novel, this one speaks directly to you.

In Episode 4 of #BlindTok, Murray Elbourne and Tammy Jackson unpack what really goes into your toolkit, and spoiler: it's way bigger than assistive technology. From AI-powered apps like Seeing AI and Microsoft Copilot to motion-sensor hallway lights, LED strips under kitchen cabinets, and the ever-reliable smart speaker that keeps chiming in uninvited, they share the creative, practical, and constantly evolving ways they navigate daily life with vision loss. They get honest about the overwhelm of keeping up with rapid tech changes, why voice technology is becoming a game-changer, and how even "supersonic hearing" deserves a spot in the toolkit. Murray also shares highlights from a week-long workshop with blind and low-vision teenagers at Microsoft, where the next generation explored what AI can do for them. Whether you're looking for new ideas or just want to feel seen, this episode is perfectly designed for you.

In Episode 3 of #BlindTok, Murray Elbourne and Tammy Jackson take on the anger that comes with vision loss, the kind that shows up after the shock wears off and the reality sets in. They get honest about the "why me" phase, the frustration of watching your body change faster than you can process it, and how easily that anger can slide into isolation and depression if you let it sit unchecked. Tammy shares how she eventually turned her anger into fuel, refusing to let her diagnosis turn her into someone she wasn't, while Murray opens up about the rage that followed his stroke and the counselling that helped him separate his identity from his vision. But this episode doesn't just sit in the hard stuff. Together they talk about building a practical toolkit to fight back, from voice-to-text and Meta glasses to the simple but terrifying act of telling the people around you what you actually need. They also dig into why the well-meaning "it's going to be okay" from sighted loved ones can sometimes make you angrier than the diagnosis itself, and why trusting people enough to educate them broadly can take enormous pressure off those awkward one-on-one moments. If you've ever been furious at your own eyes, guilty about taking it out on the people closest to you, or stuck between wanting help and hating that you need it, this conversation will meet you exactly where you are.

In Episode 2 of #BlindTok, Murray Elbourne and Tammy Jackson tackle the unspoken reality almost everyone in the vision loss community knows intimately: faking it till you make it. That exhausting daily performance of nodding along when someone points at something you can't see, agreeing with details you can't make out, and pouring every ounce of energy into appearing fine when things are anything but. They get real about the two sides of masking, the fear of being judged as less than by others and the quieter internal battle of just not wanting to feel different from everyone else. From the workplace to relationships to the simple act of being out with friends, they unpack the emotional toll of hiding your vision loss instead of living your life, why accepting it for yourself has to come before you can let anyone else in, and the powerful realization that your vision may have changed but you haven't. If you've ever smiled and nodded through something you couldn't see or spent more energy pretending than actually being present, this episode is your permission to stop performing and start being honest about what you need.

Welcome to the very first episode of #BlindTok! Murray Elbourne and co-host Tammy Jackson are launching this podcast the only way that feels right, by diving straight into one of the biggest unspoken challenges in the vision loss community: social isolation. Tammy gets real about the depression that followed her retinitis pigmentosa diagnosis, the moment she knew her healthcare career was over after mistaking a mailbox for a deer on a dark drive home, and the sheer exhaustion of justifying your life to people who cheerfully announce they're "blind without their glasses too." The conversation also unpacks what it feels like to watch a best friend of 45 plus years lose all remaining vision from a world away, the six month battle with isolation that followed a stroke, and the fear and fatigue that quietly convince so many in the community to just stop leaving the house altogether. But this episode doesn't leave you there. Together they explore why it's okay to have a day where you can't face the world, as long as that day doesn't become your life, and why connecting with people who actually get it hits completely differently than well-meaning advice from sighted loved ones who care deeply but can't truly relate. From Tammy's small daily goals approach to climbing back out, to the honest reminder that there's no universal roadmap for adjusting to vision loss, this is a grounding, warm, and genuinely candid first episode built for and by the community it serves. If you've ever felt alone in your journey with vision loss, pull up a chair because this is your space now. Opus 4.6ExtendedClaude is AI and can make mistakes. Please double-check responses.