Audio Description Links - September 2025
Here's a curated list of interesting audio description things for September 2025. Bit of a thin month actually. No new research papers that I could find. No new examples of audio description introductions. The RNIB Symposium and the ADP Conference haven't released their recordings yet as far as I can tell. A few good podcasts and other things though. Even so, not managed to listen to everything this month.
Did I miss anything interesting? Let me know! I'm on LinkedIn, Mastodon at AD Forward, and email at brett š§ coulstock.id.au (change the penguin).
How can it be October already?
Podcasts
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From Unicorn to Community: John Stark and the Rise of Blind Film Critics (John Stark Part 2) (The ADNA Presents)
In this episode, blind film critic John Stark shares his lifelong passion for movies and how it led him to watch and review over 500 films a year for more than two decades. From his early days reading Entertainment Weekly at age nine and being inspired by Jurassic Park, to becoming a recognized critic on Rotten Tomatoes, Stark explains what fuels his love of cinema and his unique perspective as a blind critic.
He talks about founding the Blind Film Critics Society with Alex and Lee, with the goal of building a community of diverse blind and low-vision voices in film criticism-so audiences can hear more than just one āunicornā perspective. Stark outlines his vision for the next one and five years: increasing representation in critics' organizations, doubling the amount of audio described content on streaming platforms, and shifting the narrative around accessibility from tokenism to true inclusion.
The conversation digs into his views on audio description quality, the dangers of over-relying on text-to-speech, and the frustration of studios sitting on existing AD tracks without making them available. Stark also discusses the tension of being a critic in a small field-where honest reviews can sometimes clash with the companies he wants to support.
Through it all, his message is clear: blind and low-vision audiences deserve full access to film, and blind critics deserve a seat at the table in shaping cultural conversations about cinema.
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The Audio Description Legend with Roy Samuelson (Aaron's Opinion)
Roy Samuelson is an award-winning audio description (AD) performer, author, and consultant who collaborates to ensure blind audiences enjoy immersive, emotionally resonant storytelling. With over a decade of experience with thousands of AD projects across Netflix, HBO Max, A24, and more, Roy transforms accessibility from a checkbox into a creative asset.
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Paul Conley: Turning Possibility Into Power (The ADNA Presents)
In this episode, Roy Samuelson sits down with Paul Conley, Executive Director of the TAD Foundation, to explore how possibility becomes action, and how blind talent are rewriting the rules of leadership, confidence, and career success.
We cover: Why audio description is more than access - it's opportunity; How the TAD Foundation equips blind students with Fortune 500 skills; The secret mindset shift that turns rejection into rocket fuel; What businesses get wrong about disability employment (and how to fix it); Simple ways you can mentor, hire, and support blind professionals.
If you're ready to stop drifting and start designing a life (and workplace) full of clarity, intention, and impact, this episode is your wake-up call.
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A True Crime Story (Reid My Mind Radio)
Rather than ranting, Iām trying to be more creative. Iām taking a fresh, dramatic look at the state of AD. Itās an artistic exploration of how audio description went from a promising, groundbreaking career path to something threatened by AI and text-to-speech.
Weāre taking on the true crime genre, but the case is about Audio Description itself.
Through storytelling, interviews, and a little suspense, we examine: The excitement following the CVAA and ADās rise to prominence; The cultural impact and personal connections AD created for the Blind community; The streaming industryās shift toward automation and TTS and the pushback from consumers; What it might take to restore human-centered, high-quality AD
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SOVAS 2025 (The ADNA Presents)
In this episode of The ADNA Presents, Joan Baker & Rudy Gaskins, co-founders of SOVAS (That's Voiceover Career Expo + the Voice Arts Awards), pull back the curtain on contests that launch careers, scholarships that pay off in real gigs, and the teary, unforgettable moments when voice actors finally get the recognition they deserve.
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Blind Joy, Real Stories, and Audio Description That Hits (The ADNA Presents)
A film about blindness that actually gets it right: Roy sits down with Tony Stephens of the American Foundation for the Blind to talk Possibilities, a powerful new doc that reclaims Helen Keller's legacy and centers blind voices, on-screen and behind the scenes. From international buzz to an all-blind audio description team, this episode dives into what it really means to make media that's not just accessible, but authentically inclusive.
Historical Podcasts
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Scent of a Woman (1992) and the Oscar goes to Blindness (Acting Up with AJ)
And weāre talking about the movie, Scent of a Woman. Weāre going to be getting into tropes, stereotypes, guys who yell, guys who yell some more. And is it really a thing to feel someoneās face, to get a sense of who they really are?
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Ray (2005) ā Adjusting to Blindness and Difficulty Around Representation (Acting Up with AJ)
We are back with special guest Thomas Reid of Reid My Mind Radio, as we discuss the legendary jazz musician Ray Charles, played by Jamie Foxx in Ray (2005).
Articles
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āBuild a picture of the actionā: Volunteers learn rugby commentary for visually impaired fans (The Irish Times)
The Irish Rugby Football Union sought expressions of interest from the public for volunteers to take part in a brand-new audio description commentary programme aimed at improving accessibility and the on-site match day experience for visually impaired rugby fans: 110 people answered the call and 30 were chosen for an orientation day at the Aviva Stadium last Saturday, with 27 attending.
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As a blind student, I never expected to sit front row at London Fashion Week (The Telegraph)
Thereās a misconception that blind and low-vision people donāt want to be involved in fashion or donāt care how we look, because fashion is so visual. But thatās completely untrue. Why wouldnāt we want to be involved? Blind people want beautiful things. If anything, weāre more tactile-driven and interested in the multisensory, so we often care about how things feel. We want to feel good and we want to look good. Even if itās in a way thatās visible to everyone but us, itās something that affects how weāre perceived and treated by other people.
Video
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Marvelās Wolverine - Gameplay Trailer | PS5 Games (Youtube)
Audio described trailer for Marvel's Wolverine.
Social Media
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Faster and Cheaper Isnāt Always Better (LinkedIn)
Ren Leech writes: AI and TTS in Audio Description donāt just silence human voices ā they silence the very people they claim to serve.
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Accessibility Washing (LinkedIn)
From Ćgnes Margit Pethes: After providing audio description (AD) for a Netflix series, we found out that the third season had been done by someone else ... according to the end credits, the AD wasnāt written ā it was translated. But wait, it gets even better! From just a glimpse, it was obvious that it had been machine-translated, resulting in utter gibberish. Sentences that donāt even make sense to me ā and Iām a native speaker.
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Your favourite emoji might sound like nonsense. (LinkedIn)
Caitlin Quinn: Screen readers donāt skip emojis, they read them. Out loud. Every single one. When theyāre scattered mid-sentence or used to convey meaning alone, they become barriers, not flair.
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These 3 things slow me down ... (but I do them anyway) (LinkedIn)
Petr Äermoch discusses his approach to subtitling, with broad applications for quality control for audio description.