93% of disabled delegates facing barriers at events should be a wake-up call, not a footnote. We sit down with Catherine Grinyer, (Attendable), Shani Dhanda (accessibility consultant and broadcaster), and Orla Pearson (My ClearText and Access Loop) to get honest about why event accessibility is still so inconsistent and what it takes to fix it without hand-waving.

We dig into the thinking behind The Accessible Event Show and why it matters now: post-pandemic events are back, sustainability is finally mainstream, and yet disability inclusion still gets treated as optional. We talk practical delivery, not theory, from live captioning and accessible livestreams to the “small” production details that make or break participation for speakers and attendees. Orla explains how captions support far more than one person who asks, including deaf and hard of hearing audiences, people using English as a second language, and many neurodivergent attendees.

We also cover the reality of stakeholder buy-in across organisers, agencies, and venues, and why budgets and timelines expose whether values are real. The European Accessibility Act comes up as a clear legal push, and we reference research showing how common access barriers are at conferences and live events. Most importantly, we turn the mirror back on the industry: disabled people need to benefit as speakers, staff, and suppliers, not only as audience members.

The Accessible Events Show returns on 29 October 2026 at The Drum in Wembley, London, with a free-to-attend format and an accessible livestream. A US edition is also coming on 4 December in the DC or Virginia area. Learn more at accessibleeventshow.com and follow along on LinkedIn. If this conversation helps, subscribe, share the episode with an event pro, and leave a review so more people build events that welcome everyone.

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Accessibility at work is easy to talk about and hard to deliver, especially when your “office” includes fulfillment centers, delivery stations, corporate teams, and cutting-edge tech roles spread across the globe. We sit down with Megan Smith, Global Accommodations and People Accessibility Lead within Amazonian Experiences and Technology, to unpack what it really takes to run accommodations and workplace accessibility programs at serious scale and with real speed. Megan shares her own path into disability inclusion as a legally blind leader, and why self-advocacy plus operational rigor is a powerful combination.

We walk through the full accommodations flywheel: intake, evaluation, decisioning with managers and sites, and making sure the accommodation is implemented. Megan explains why much of the volume comes from temporary injuries that need fast, consistent handling, how pregnancy-related accommodations require dedicated expertise, and why complex disabilities benefit from high-touch support that adapts to different job environments. We also explore how people accessibility focuses on preventing barriers in the first place by setting standards, offering tooling, and influencing what the company builds and buys for employees.

Then we look forward. AI is already blurring the line between assistive technology and personalization, with big implications for screen readers, captions, and the idea of a “one console” work experience. Megan breaks down what must remain true today (solid accessibility fundamentals and WCAG principles) and what might change tomorrow, including trust, privacy, and how we filter signal from AI-generated noise. If you care about disability inclusion, HR accommodations, accessible technology, or the future of AI accessibility, this conversation gives you practical mental models and sharp questions to take back to your team.
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One sentence can flip an interview from warm to frozen: “I should tell you I’m visually impaired.” That moment sits at the heart of our conversation with Steve Tyler, Director of Assistive Tech and Transformation at Leonard Cheshire, and Jasmin Ambiong, a blind Filipina disability inclusion and accessibility advocate and Billion Strong ambassador joining us from Wellington, New Zealand.

We get specific about what disability employment really looks like for blind job seekers: Steve applying for 108 jobs before landing his first role, the “sharp intake of breath” after disclosure, and why even highly accomplished blind professionals can feel their careers are one redundancy away from disappearing. Jasmin shares what it feels like to hear “we’re not ready to employ a blind person,” why disabled candidates often have to be exceptional just to be considered, and how remote work can become a survival tactic when in-person hiring is built on fear rather than skills.

We also zoom out to the systems shaping accessible hiring and inclusive workplaces: disability organisations that still do not hire disabled staff, and the double-edged sword of AI in recruitment. From photo requests in application flows to algorithmic screening that mirrors cultural bias, we talk about how automation can either expand reasonable accommodations or amplify discrimination at speed.

If you care about accessibility, disability inclusion, assistive technology, and fair hiring, listen through and share it with someone who hires. Subscribe to AXSChat, leave a review, and tell us your take: when should candidates disclose disability, and what should employers change first?

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