Podcasts

• Power to the People by Thomas Reid [2026]

  I’m happy to be back in the RMM Radio studio producing a new 2026 season. The season is a result of all the things that I’ve been thinking about over the past few years. When life starts Lifin’ we need to stop and remember that we do have choices. There are way too many things going on today that are all about limiting some people’s choices.

• "Brailled It" - Re-imagining The Filmmaking Process With David Grabias (The Dark Room) [2026]

  Alex and Lee chat with filmmaker David Grabias about the making of “Brailled It,” a groundbreaking documentary that puts cameras in the hands of blind and low-vision (BLV) young people. David shares how the film’s collaborative approach reshaped the filmmaking process, what he learned from giving his participants creative agency, and how “Brailled It” challenges conventional ideas about who gets to tell stories and how those stories are told.

• Close Up With Diana Elizabeth Jordan, Disabled Artist And Advocate (The Dark Room) [2026]

  Alex and Lee chat with Diana Elizabeth Jordan, a disabled actress, advocate, speaker, and coach. In our discussion, Diana talks about her journey navigating the entertainment industry as a disabled artist, some of her favorite projects, and the importance of disability representation.

• ⭐AD People's Choice Award Voting Kick-off Party (American Council of the Blind) [2026]

  Last month, the American Council of the Blind invited three guests — Anna Capezzera of Deluxe, Christina Stevens of International Digital Centre, and Dave Wallace — to be interviewed as part of a voting kick-off show for the ACB's Audio Description Awards Gala. If you're into Audio Description, it's a very fun and informative interview where you can learn about a ton about what goes on behind-the-scenes in Audio Description! Discussions of the audio description workflow, writing audio description and performing audio description.

• Describing Heritage - A Different Approach to Audio Description (InTouch - Radio 4 - BBC) [2026]

  If someone has little vision, is it actually helpful to describe historical sites and objects using only visual language? That is a question being posed by a new project 'Describing Heritage' by charity VocalEyes. It aims to challenge traditional audio description at heritage sites (museums, galleries, stately homes) by involving blind and visually impaired people in the creation of descriptions of objects and spaces. By co-creating audio descriptions that are based on all the senses, they believe that this will create the kind of description which could be more relatable to people with low vision. Our reporter Fern Lulham attended one of the curation sessions at The National Gallery to find out more about how this concept works.

Articles

• Rock en Seine festival: audio description becomes the eyes of the visually impaired by Jean-Philippe Liabot [2026]

  For the first time, Rock en Seine offers live audio-described concerts for blind and partially sighted people, with a voice describing movements, lights and emotions on stage, so they can fully experience the show.

• When Blind Professionals Make Audio Description, Everyone Sees a Better Story by Priti Salian [2026]

  Blind-led audio description is still far from standard practice, but there are signs that parts of the industry are beginning to move in that direction.

• Wishing You Were Somehow Human Again: Deli Boys: Season 2 [2026]

  “You can’t send a synthetic voice to Comic-Con. You can’t ask an algorithm to sit on a panel and discuss why audio description matters. Those human connections disappear the moment the humans do.” Ostensibly a review for Dehli Boys Season 2, John Stark springboards into a funny and powerful discussion on the failures of inclusion and continues his theme from last month's video of what is lost when human narrators are removed from the process.

• ⭐I Love the Movies. Why Do Special Screenings Keep Leaving Me Behind? by Alex Howard (Substack) [2026]

  “… despite my best efforts, the AD still fails me 5% of the time, particularly when special event screenings, re-release, or new formats are involved. I’d now like to share with you four frustrating experiences I’ve had when trying to attend special screenings, and reveal a key failure point and area for improvement for each.”

Videos

• Profiles In Audio Description: Jedediah Barton (AD Narrator/Performer) by John Stark (Youtube) [2026]

  Today we're going to explore the credits of Jedidiah Barton and talk about them.

The Eclipse and Astronomy

So there was an eclipse in August, so let's look to the skies. Here's a few mostly historical links about astronomy, sonography, and audio description.

• Low vision and blindness: heat, audio description, and what ‘experiencing’ an eclipse can mean (Helioclipse) [2026]

  Solar eclipse changes more than the look of the sky. It can change temperature, wind, animal behavior, crowd energy, and the rhythm of a place for a few unforgettable minutes. That matters for everyone, including people who are blind or have low vision. We want to start from a simple point: there is no single blind low vision solar eclipse experience. Some people want rich verbal description of the Sun, Moon, corona, and horizon colors. Some care more about the drop in heat on their skin, the hush or surge of a crowd, or the way birds and insects react. Some want tactile graphics, sonified data, or a radio-style play-by-play. Some do not want to be treated as a symbol for inspiration at all; they just want good access, good company, and accurate information.

• Sound technology lets visually impaired "hear" the eclipse (Youtube) [2024]

  New technology that converts light to sound will allow blind and visually impaired students at the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired to experience the upcoming total solar eclipse for the first time.

• The Moon (Talk Description To Me) [2021]

  With the first of four monthly SuperMoons set to rise this weekend, we’re turning our attention to Earth’s little buddy. If you’ve ever wondered about the look of the moon, its phases, craters, or size, this is the episode for you! Plus, Christine poses questions asked by listeners about the Apollo moon landing, and of course, the famous Moonwalk by astronaut Michael “Buzz” Jackson. Wait, that doesn’t sound quite right…

• Constellations (Talk Description To Me) [2021]

  Constellations are delightful and magical; a curious mix of astronomy and fantasy. They are also a cross cultural phenomenon, with groups from around the world using their own stories to construct and name connect-the-dot pictures in the night sky. This week, Christine and JJ use Astronomer and Data Visualization Designer Nadieh Bremer's innovative "Figures in the Sky" project to explore and describe the look of constellations.

• Listen to the universe: How sonification turns data into sound by David Gossman (Astronomy.com) [2025]

  Astronomy is no longer solely a visual science. This technique allows researchers to uncover new discoveries, bring out subtleties in dense data, and make astronomy more accessible.

Open Access Research Papers

• The Embodied Politics of Audio Description: Social Media and Experiential Paradigms by Kathryn Locke, Alison Myers, Katie M Ellis, Tama Leaver [2026]

  In this article we examine the "footprint" of social media responses to AD during the 2012–2025 period in which AD first emerged on Australian screens via ABC AD trials, Netflix, and its eventual provision on ABC and SBS and their catchup services. We focus on the transformative period between 2020 and 2025, when dedicated funding enabled Australia's national broadcasters to move from trial programs to sustained AD services. Prior to this, Australia was the only English-speaking nation in the OECD not to offer AD on broadcast television.

• How do everyday Australians feel about Voice AI? by Phoebe Matich, Michael Richardson, Jean Burgess (ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society) [2026]

  Voice AI has swiftly infiltrated the Australian media landscape, but very little is known about audiences’ thoughts and feelings regarding its emergence. This report presents the findings of a small pilot survey within the ADM+S Generative Authenticity project regarding everyday Australians’ understandings and experiences of Voice AI and its associated issues in audio media.

• Comparing British and American Audio Description of Movies by Igor Sterner, Alex Lascarides, Frank Keller [2026]

  In this work, we compare audio description created in the United Kingdom against audio description created in the United States. We use guidelines written for these two regions, alongside the impressions from a practitioner in the field, to motivate specific hypotheses about the differences

• From sight to insight: a methodological framework for subjective audio description in museum contexts and the case of Caravaggio by Maria Olalla Luque Colmenero (Journal of Specialised Translation) [2026]

  In recent years, there has been growing recognition of the value of subjective and minority styles in audio description, especially within the field of museum accessibility for BPS audiences. We present ten minority but growing techniques, from metaphor and synaesthesia to the use of music and descriptions of sensory elements.

• Audio Describing Humour in the Chinese context: A Creative and Collaborative Approach by Zi Ye, Xiaochun Zhang, Carol O’Sullivan, Cristina Marinetti (The Journal of Specialised Translation) [2026]

  This article reflects on an exploratory study practising a creative, collaborative AD approach to prioritise the comedic value of the material.

• ⭐Film language, film experience and film interpretation in a reception study comparing conventional and interpretative audio description styles by Floriana Bardini [2020]

  This demand for objectivity has been challenged by some researchers and the study presented here is a contribution in this line. Results show that although conventional AD gives satisfactory access to the story, emotional aspects expressed through film language are rendered more effectively with an interpretative approach. In our sample, the cinematic and the narrative AD offer a film experience that is more satisfying than that offered by conventional AD.

Social Media

• Audio Description's Next Frontier: The Picture Book by Richard Rieman (LinkedIn) [2026]

  But there is one place audio description has barely reached, and it may be the most important one of all: the illustrated children's book, the very first literature most of us ever meet.

• Sentences, Phrases, or Word Choices (Facebook) [2026]

  Anonymous User asks: “Are there any sentences, phrases, or word choices commonly used in AD that make you cringe, feel frustrated, or just don’t sit quite right with you? And, if so, what alternatives would you prefer to see used instead?” 80 comments.

• Repeating Phrases by Marco Salsiccia (Facebook) [2026]

  “do you have a particular phrase you've noticed keeps getting repeated during AD that could use a little more creative writing?” 7 comments.

• Describing over Lyrics by Alison Myers (Facebook) [2026]

  “How does everyone feel about describing over lyrics? I'm not talking about musicals. I think lyrics that advance the plot or describe how characters are feeling should not be covered by the AD. Other lyrics are fair game. I know that this opinion isn't shared, so I'm interested in people's opinions of ADing over and around lyrics.” 41 comments.

Visual Reference