Maria is joined by recurring guest Kelly Diaz and disability rights activist Sasha Blair-Goldensohn to talk about disability justice on both SEX EDUCATION (2019-2023) and in real life. In Sex Education Season 4, wheelchair user Isaac Goodwin disrupts mock exams to protest the chronically broken elevator at Cavendish College, inspiring the entire student body to hold an impromptu sit-in until the lift is fixed. We talk about this inspiring direct action and how it parallels the real-life fight to make the New York City subway system fully...
Maria is joined by recurring guest Kelly Diaz and disability rights activist Sasha Blair-Goldensohn to talk about disability justice on both SEX EDUCATION (2019-2023) and in real life. In Sex Education Season 4, wheelchair user Isaac Goodwin disrupts mock exams to protest the chronically broken elevator at Cavendish College, inspiring the entire student body to hold an impromptu sit-in until the lift is fixed. We talk about this inspiring direct action and how it parallels the real-life fight to make the New York City subway system fully wheelchair-accessible, a fight of which Sasha is part! Kelly and Maria also generally break down disability representation on the show, as shown through the characters of Isaac Goodwin and Aisha Green, a deaf character introduced in Season 4 who also plays a pivotal role in the sit-in.
For this episode, we recommend you first watch or have familiarity with SEX EDUCATION Seasons 1-4, but especially Season 4, Episode 7, “Episode 7,” streaming on Netflix.
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ABOUT US:
MARIA DIPASQUALE (she/her; host/editor) is a Brooklyn-based union communicator, organizer, and writer who watches too much TV. She splits her free time between devouring teen dramas, creating this podcast, tenant organizing, and writing and reading (fan)fiction. Follow Maria on Twitter @Maria_DiP26, IG @mdzip, and tiktok @marialovesunions.
KELLY DIAZ (she/her; recurring guest) is a Research Program Manager at Yale University studying disability & chronic illness justice, access, and inclusion. She is also an adjunct instructor of Media Studies at the City College of New York (CCNY). She has a Ph.D. from the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania where she wrote her dissertation on depictions of youth activism on television. She loves to analyze and discuss the intersection of pop culture and politics and is passionate about the role entertainment plays in social justice movements. She has a dog, Matilda "Tillie," who is named after the magical, brilliant, and justice-serving character!
SASHA BLAIR-GOLDENSOHN (he/him; guest) works at Google Maps to make accessible, disability-inclusive places, transit and walking routes easier to find. He is also an activist with the Rise and Resist Elevator Action Group for New York City subway accessibility, and has appeared in the New York Times, Vital City, West Side Rag, PBS and Vice News.
JEFF MCHALE (he/him; producer) is an extremely online guy who plays games, works in the cannabis industry, and loves talking old TV.
CHARLES S. O’LEARY (they/he; art) is a designer + writer based in Richmond, VA. They're currently getting their MFA in Graphic Design at Virginia Commonwealth University, and spend most of their time unsuccessfully scheming how to get off Instagram (@c.s.0.l).
Maria and Jeff’s good union cats CLARENCE and VINNY may make an appearance and/or be mentioned.
intro song: Stomping the Room by Delicate Beats
All opinions shared on this show are that of individuals and do not represent the views of any organization we may be affiliated with.
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SOURCES DISCUSSED IN THE EPISODE:
- Joyce, M. (2025). Perspective: Highlighting Disability Voices and Viewpoints through Artistry and Accessibility [Conference presentation]. 4th Annual Symposium for Disability and Accessibility at Yale, New Haven, CT, United States.
- Bradley, D., Pombier, N., Rodriguez, M. T., and Sonneborn, L. (2025). Access as Invitation: Challenging the Constraints of Normative Arts Participation [Conference presentation]. 4th Annual Symposium for Disability and Accessibility at Yale, New Haven, CT, United States.
- Disabled Art Collectives:
- https://www.thedisabilitycollective.com
- Hook & Loop in Philadelphia- https://whyy.org/articles/undue-burden-painted-bride-philadelphia-artists-disabilities/
- Intertwine Arts- https://www.intertwinearts.org
- Crip Camp
- Stanford Social Innovation Review, Winter 2017: The Curb-Cut Effect by Angela Glover Blackwell
- NYC Subway Elevator Action Group and activity timeline
- RAR / EAG ADA35 march, July 26, 2025: photos, more photos, Sasha's speech, Village Star article (good, though low crowd estimate -- perhaps closer to 1k).
SUGGESTED FURTHER READING/WATCHING/LISTENING:
- 2024 NYPL talk: 15 Years on Wheels
- June NPR: "Meet the Google engineer making Maps more accessible”
- May 2024 New Accessibility Updates across Lookout, Google Maps and more - Keyword post including the icon launch on desktop Maps, now at 50M+ establishments.
- October 2023 8 Ways we’re making daily tasks more accessible: Accessible Walking Routes, Disabed-Owned business attribute.
- May 2023 5 products and features that make the digital world more accessible Keyword post by UX Researcher Jerry Robinson, including the visible-by-default icon added to mobile Maps at 40M+ worldwide places.
- December 2022 Help users discover more with New Places API Updates Keyword by James Harrison including developer access to wheelchair accessibility data via the Place Details API.
- November 2022 New Maps Updates to Help You Make the Most of the Holidays - Keyword by Amanda Leicht-Moore including Worldwide Availability of Wheelchair Accessible Places (previously US,GB,AU,JP only).
- December 2021 Architectural Digest “Design for All” profile: Sasha Blair-Goldensohn: The tech innovator maps a more accessible future. Interview and summary of Maps ADI work.
- May 2021 How Anyone Can Make Maps More Accessible - Keyword post by Mara Chomsky highlighting Local Guide contributions
- May 2020 Find wheelchair accessible places with Google Maps - Keyword blog post announcing Maps setting, by Sasha Blair-Goldensohn
- December 2019 How I'm Making Maps Better for Wheelchair Users Like Me - Keyword blog post from Sasha Blair-Goldensohn
- October 2019 Detailed Voice Guidance for Users with Vision Impairment - Keyword post from Wakana Sugiyama
