Talking Vision by Vision Australia Radio
Let 'Talking Vision' be your national radio reference on blindness and low vision. On this weekly radio program presented by Sam Colley, you’ll hear discussions of issues relating to blindness and low vision, stories of inspiration and achievement from people living with vision loss, find out how you can access services from Vision Australia and how you can get involved in assisting Vision Australia to assist people who are blind or have low vision to life the life they choose. We welcome your comments and suggestions: talkingvision@visionaustralia.org
Episodes
Sam catches up with community engagement coordinator from the Vision Australia Library, Maureen O'Reilly, to chat about some upcoming events in May as well as some creative writing workshops the library will be running in June.
You'll also hear from William Chen, a researcher from Monash University undertaking a PhD project around accessible public transport for users who are blind or have low vision.
This week Sam is in conversation with Maximiliano Guerra Morales, a Chilean disability rights activist, mechanical engineer and coordinator of Orquesta Filarmonica Antena, a 380 person orchestra featuring people of all abilities from his hometown of La Serena.
The orchestra is coming to Australia for the first time in July and Maxi would like to encourage members of the blind and low vision community to buy a ticket for their conce...
Sam speaks to Stephanie Amir, spokesperson from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, about the upcoming Australian census which is taking place on August 11, 2026. Steph tells us about the ways in which this year's census has been made accessible and confidential for all residents who are blind or have low vision.
You'll also hear from Jason Gipps who caught up with Ben Waechter, founder of Adelaide-based disability support service...
Sam is joined by Peter and Rohan Rickards as well as Kathy Leitch, three of the people involved in Sensaball, an omnidirectional cane tip designed for white cane users to navigate their surroundings with improved sensitivity and feedback from the cane tip.
You'll also hear from the Vision Australia Radio Adelaide team, who recently interviewed Nathan from SANFL at the Adelaide Independent Living Expo about blind footy, how the game...
Sam welcomes back ophthalmologist, remote community outreach worker and First Nations health advocate Dr Kris Rallah-Baker to the show this week.
Kris caught up with us last year to have a chat about his role in the first season of Our Medicine on SBS and NITV, now in its second season, following his work in remote communities of Australia delivering healthcare services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients who are blin...
Sam catches up with two regulars on the show this week, starting off with Joanne Cabot whose website, Live Well With Vision Loss, is now available for people to visit to find advice and support for people experiencing vision loss at any stage of life.
You'll also hear from Vision Australia Library manager Sarah Bloedorn, she's back with the latest news about some upcoming events at the library, as well as some information about the...
Sam speaks to Monash University researcher Claire Dorling about her PhD addressing the need for an education-based functional vision assessment for children and young people who are blind or have low vision.
You'll also hear from Santiago Velasquez, he's back with Sam to announce his public transport app Hailo has now launched for passengers who are blind or have low vision to make their way around the Melbourne bus network.
Sam welcomes back comedian Jeremy Moses to the show, Jeremy lives with low vision and mobility issues and discusses his disability along with many other topics in his show Hard to Work With, taking place between 26 March and 5 April as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
Sam speaks with musician, disability advocate and writer Skye de Vent, who recently attended ten of the events from the recent Midsumma Festival, Melbourne's premier queer arts and culture festival.
They tell us about what worked and what could be improved in their experience as an audience member living with blindness and mobility restrictions.
You'll also hear from Impact Institute's Kathryn Carey, she's back on the show this wee...
Sam catches up with Kath Duncan who, among many roles over the years including journalist, researcher, actor, director and more, has more recently became playwright of Specials, a play highlighting real stories of life as a student in Australia's special education system.
Specials will be featuring for one week in late March, between 24 and 29 March at Arts House in North Melbourne, and Kath fills us in on all the details about wha...
We kick off the show this week with Kelly Schulz from Knowable Me, she's here to chat to Sam about a recent report Knowable Me has released, highlighting issues with disability inclusion and accessibility in Australia's top 200 companies.
You'll also hear from Vision Australia manager of corporate affairs and government relations, Chris Edwards, who tells us about a recent trial into ride share schemes for passengers who are blind ...
We have a special appearance from Peter Greco this week, as he catches up with Mac Bollella from the South Australian Electoral Commission.
With the SA state election taking place on 21 March we get the latest details on how voters who are blind or have low vision can cast their votes confidentially and accessibly.
You'll also hear from music therapist Emily Shanahan, Sam catches up with her to get a recap 12 months on from the dev...
We have a very special guest on the show this week as Sam speaks with new Vision Australia CEO, David Williamson.
David began his tenure as CEO in October of last year, and just past the three month mark Sam caught up with him to discuss his first three months as CEO, what he's gotten involved with so far and what he's looking forward to in 2026.
Support this Vision Australia Radio program: https://www.visionaustralia.org/donate?src...
This week Sam speaks with University of Southern Queensland PhD student Aasha Rose, whose research explores braille literacy and its link to positive life outcomes for braille users who are blind or have very low vision.
We also hear from editor of For Your Information, Liz Dalakouras, as she joins Sam with the latest issue to kick off February, and Frances is back with a Reader Recommended.
We pay tribute to Food for Thought host and avid braille book reader Joy Nuske, who sadly passed away over the holiday break.
Frances Keyland caught up with Joy a few years back on Hear This, and you'll hear from Frances and Joy today.
Sam also catches up with Megan Star from Red Feet Wines, a winery in the King Valley in Victoria who will be holding a Taste of the Senses event for wine lovers who are blind or have low vision on 21...
It's a Midsumma special episode of Talking Vision this week as we feature three interviews with Karen Bryant, Dolly Diamond and Justin Clausen.
You'll hear from Vision Australia Radio favourites Tess Herbert and Karan Nagrani as they're joined by Joy 94.9 personalities Little Jase, Adz and CJ to host the 3 hour carnival special broadcast which took place at the Alexandra Gardens on Sunday 18 January.
We kick off the show this week with Karan Nagrani, who joins the show to talk about his upcoming show From Grindr To Blindr, taking place on 7 February at the Melbourne Pride Centre.
Then after Sam catches up with Karan we feature some news and information, and Frances wraps up the show with a Reader Recommended.
It's a World Braille Day special episode of Talking Vision as we feature Vision Australia Radio and RPH network veteran Stephen Jolley, who catches up with BBC North America correspondent Gary O'Donoghue.
Gary has been totally blind from a young age, and so throughout his later childhood and adult life braille has played a central role in everything he does.
Tune in to hear more from Gary about braille's role in his life, mak...
Welcome to the second half of our two part holiday series on Talking Vision.
This week Sam features conversation from the second half of 2025, including Conrad Browne, Maurice Gleeson, Jo Cabot and Santiago Velasquez.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Join Sam for the first of our two part holiday series on Talking Vision.
This week you'll hear interviews from the first half of 2025 including Emily Shanahan, Theresa Rockley-Hogan, Elphie Coyle and Ben Harrington.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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