As summer draws near, it means hot weather and long days, but it also means the season for Power soccer. Power soccer is a competitive team sport in which players maneuver power wheelchairs equipped with a specialized metal footguard. Two teams of four players each, use their wheelchairs and these footguards to move an oversized soccer ball around a basketball court. The rules of power soccer are similar to traditional soccer, and the team that scores the most number of points after two twenty-minute halves wins the game.

For more, we’re joined by two guests, Tyler Czapkay is a current player of power soccer, and Julie Fuller is a former power soccer coach. And our own co-host, Alexa Guerrero, played power soccer from 2009 to 2018.

April is Brain Injury Awareness Month. According to the Brain Injury Association of America, 1 in 60 Americans are living with a permanent brain injury, and 2.8 million traumatic brain injuries, or TBIs, occur every year in the United States alone.

On today’s show, we are joined by Carl Magruder. In August, 2023, he was doing what he loved to do: ride his motorcycle. He got into an accident and, as he says, ”bonked my head.” That ”bonk” resulted in an extended hospital stay and a medically induced coma to give his brain time to heal. He was in the hospital for just over a month and then continued his healing process at home.

Carl Magruder is a Bay Area native. He earned a Master’s of Divinity degree from Pacific School of Religion and followed his calling to become a hospice chaplain. Prior to his accident in 2023, Carl was a home-based palliative care chaplain in Humboldt County and then served as a chaplain at the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center. Carl is an Advanced Practice Board Certified Chaplain with the Spiritual Care Association, and is endorsed by the Religious Society of Friends.

March is Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Month. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a long-term disease that causes breakdown of the protective covering of nerves in the brain and spinal cord. This breakdown in the protective covering makes it harder for messages from the brain to travel to other parts of the body. MS affects each person who has it differently, and the severity of the symptoms varies widely. People with MS may have chronic fatigue, have trouble seeing, feel numbness, or have difficulty walking. There is no cure, but treatments can help reduce symptoms and slow the progression of the condition.

We’re joined today by two guests who have multiple sclerosis. Kelley Hartman is a retired occupational therapist, joining us from outside of Denver, Colorado. And from Steuben, Maine, Mary Pancoast is with us. Mary is an artist and retired Montessori teacher. Kelley and Mary share with us their experiences of life with multiple sclerosis and the physical, mental, and financial realities - from retirement to relocation and rearranging life priorities.

It’s February, and we have a tradition here on Disability Rap of doing a show focused on love and relationships at this time of year. This year, we’re joined today by Jackie Armstrong and Eric Loeffler, who have been together since 2024. They tell us how they met and fell in love, and they share how their disabilities have enriched their relationship.

Jackie is the president of the disability self-advocacy group Sacramento United People First and is a board member of Alta California Regional Center. She works at the Sacramento Municipal Utility District and Progressive Employment Concepts.

Eric moved to California from Oregon in 2024 to be with Jackie. He works at Katadyn Foods in Rocklin, California. In his spare time, he enjoys video games, music, and movies. Eric and Jackie also participate in a community choir together.

As we begin the new year, many high school seniors are receiving college acceptance letters. For many people with disabilities, especially significant physical disabilities, selecting a college and then attending that college comes with added complexities. They are often faced with having to advocate for themselves and their access needs in a whole new way, while also discovering what their needs are as disabled young adults. And all this while going to classes and having the college experience.

For more on all this, we’re joined by two guests. Jessica Roeckl-Navazio is a senior at Sacramento State University, studying sociology. Gus Albertsen attended Santa Barbara City College and California State University at Monterey Bay, majoring in Environmental Science. He graduated in 2023.

Each summer, California’s Youth Leadership Forum brings high school students with disabilities from across the state to Sacramento for a week of learning and fun. The students stay on campus at Sacramento State University, gaining a taste of college dorm life. Often, this is their first time away from their families and support systems. They learn about self-advocacy, independent living, and life after high school from mentors who themselves have disabilities. Our new co-host, Alexa Guerrero, has participated in YLF as a disabled mentor to the high school students for a number of years.

For more on the Youth Leadership Forum and disabled youth engagement more broadly, we’re joined by two guests. Matt Baker is the Project Manager for YLF at the California Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities. We’re also joined by Dani Anderson, Disability Access Manager for the Ventura County here in California.

It’s November, and we just had a special election here in California. We’re spending today’s show talking about the voting process for people with disabilities, how voting is made accessible, and the importance of voting as a way to engage in the political process.

We’re joined by three guests. From right here in Nevada County, Corey O’Hayre is with us. Corey has been the Assistant Registrar of Voters for Nevada County since August 2023 and served as Acting Registrar of Voters from June to October of this year. Donna Johnston is also with us. Donna is the Registrar of Voters for Sutter County. She has served in county government since 1990 and has been the Sutter County Registrar of Voters since 2008.

And from outside of Sacramento, Peter Mendoza is with us. Peter is currently a Community Program Specialist at the Sacramento Regional Office of the California State Council on Developmental Disabilities. He is also a member of the Sutter County Voter Accessibility Advisory Committee.

Today, we’re joined by the incoming Executive Director of the California Foundation for Independent Living Centers, Lisa Hayes. Lisa has had a long career in health and disability policy, leadership, and advocacy. For the past 7 years, she has served as the Executive Director of Rolling Start, Inc., an independent living center in southern California. She also serves as an appointed commissioner of the California State Independent Living Council and a board member of the National Council on Independent Living. Prior to her service in the nonprofit sector, Lisa worked for more than two decades in healthcare operations and contracting.

The California Foundation for Independent Living Centers, or CFILC, is a membership organization comprised of twenty-four independent living centers across the state. CFILC’s mission is to increase the capacity of independent living centers to support community living and independence for Californians with disabilities by providing advocacy, training, and resources. Lisa will officially assume her role as CFILC Executive Director on November 3.