In recent years, podcasts have become a powerful medium for sharing stories, spreading awareness, and building communities. Podcasts created by or for people living with disabilities have emerged from this diverse landscape as a crucial platform for amplifying voices, experiences, and perspectives often marginalised in mainstream media.
These podcasts delve into the realities of living with disabilities, covering everything from advocacy and rights to personal narratives and practical advice.
Whether you’re seeking inspiration, education, or simply a sense of connection, disability podcasts offer a wealth of insightful and empowering content.
Here are 10 of the best Australian podcasts to get you started!
JFA Purple Orange Podcast Series
JFA Purple Orange is an Adelaide-based social profit organisation involved in a broad range of projects aimed at amplifying the voices of people living with disability. In alignment with these aims, the Purple Orange podcast series shares stories from the local disability community, with topics ranging from cultural stigma, education, parenting and employment, plus a whole lot more.
Episodes tend to be below 20 minutes, and can be listened to via the Purple Orange website, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Podbean.
ListenABLE
Hosted by Dylan Alcott, former Australian of the Year and wheelchair tennis star, and friend Angus O’Loughlin, this podcast series aims to challenge perceptions and break down stigmas of what it’s like to live with disability.
Each week, Dylan and Angus interview a guest living with disability, from tech experts to fashion designers, and ask the big questions, often leading to laughter and/or tears.
Each episode is about 30 minutes in length on average, and can be listened to on Spotify, Listnr, Apple Podcasts and Podbean.
Boldly Me
In this series, actor and disability activist Chloé Hayden (from Netflix’s Heartbreak High) talks to people just like her, who are “living life boldly and are unapologetically themselves.”
Chloe’s positive energy is infectious, and her conversations with guests are funny and thoughtful. Her message is one of self-acceptance, and loving who you are.
Each episode is about 30 minutes in length on average, and can be listened to on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Podbean.
Disability Done Different
Team DSC, an NDIS consultancy organisation, have a Podcast series hosted by Roland and Evie Naufal. They engage with fascinating guests who have forged unique paths in the disability sector, revealing battle scars, sharing wisdom, and providing candid insights into their journeys.
Each episode is about 30 minutes in length on average, and can be listened to on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Podbean.
Accessed That
This is a helpful travel podcast hosted by Karni Liddell and Oliver Hunter. Each episode, they speak to a guest who has experienced travel as a person living with a disability, discussing the high and low points of their stories for the benefit of others.
Each episode is about 30 minutes in length on average, and can be listened to on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Podbean.
The I Can’t Stand Podcast
Host Peta Hooke, who lives with cerebral palsy, generously answers questions put to her by listeners, using the question as a starting point for an in depth and fascinating conversation with her guests, who are usually experts on the given topic. No question is off-limits!
Most episodes are about 20 minutes in length, and can be listened to on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Podbean.
Grow Bold with Disability by Feros Care
The “Grow Bold with Disability” podcast by Feros Care highlights the real stories of people living a bold life with disability. Hosted by writer, editor and disability advocate Tristram Peters and journalist Pete Timbs, this podcast is a space for people to share their stories and have open conversations around disability. Each episode is an intimate interview full of insight and wisdom.
Most episodes are between 20 and 30 minutes in length, and can be listened to on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Podbean.
Reasonable and Necessary by the Summer Foundation
This podcast series is hosted by Dr George Taleporos and is aimed at simplifying the NDIS for participants, their families and anyone supporting those trying to navigate the system.
Dr George hosts a range of guests, from lawyers, academics and disability activists, and although they discuss issues of policy and law, every episode is aimed at a general audience and won’t go over listener’s heads.
Episodes are on average about 50 minutes in length, and can be listened to on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.
Have the Nerve: A Podcast about Disability
This podcast is by Spinal Cord Injuries Australia and funded by the Australian Government Department of Social Services. Host Susan Wood has frank and informative conversations with her guests on broad-ranging topics, from the personal to the political.
Episodes range from 30 minutes to an hour in length, and can be listened to on Spotify, Apple Podcast and YouTube.
Yarning Disability
Yarning Disability is a podcast produced by the First Peoples Disability Network (FPDN) and hosted by Bernard Namok. Each episode features stories from First Nations people living with disabilities, their families, carers, and professionals in the disability sector. Each episode consists of interviews with First Nations people living with disabilities, sharing powerful stories of their lived experiences.
Most episodes are about 30 minutes in length, though they do vary, and can be listened to on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Podbean.
Give these podcasts a listen and be inspired, informed and moved. There are so many incredible stories being shared – start listening!
We hope this list will help you. If you have any ideas to share, we’d love to hear from you!
