Listening With Your Eyes: Towards Understanding ASL and the Deaf Community, with Michel Zaken - a podcast by ROC Vox Podcast Network

In this episode of On Listening, I have the distinct privilege to interview Michel Zaken, secondary education professional and Deaf woman. She engaged with me via Zoom along with her interpreter Nicole Lupinetti. Michel helped me understand the experience of listening for the d/Deaf and hard of hearing population with the caveat that she does not speak for all d/Deaf people. We discuss American Sign Language - a strictly visual language - and how it differs from American English. She exposes myths around deafness and discusses the experience from the lens of having a “deaf gain” as well as living with a disability. We also explore “audism” which is the bias that d/Deaf people are in some way less than. I learned more in this podcast than any other and so appreciate her thoughtfulness and connection on this topic.

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