Stories from the brainreels podcast

Listen to this post: [The podcast audio is at the bottom of the page.] Building on Episode 55 and Alice Wong’s ghost, I talk to queer disabled horror and documentary filmmaker Ariel Baska about their relationship to horror films, the intersection of horror and disability, and, of course, Alice Wong’s ghost. Special bonus: There’s an […]

Listen to this post: Alice Wong has died. I’m not doing a fifteen-hour tribute on the podcast, which is how long it would take me to scratch the surface of describing how much she meant to me and how much she gave the world and will continue to give. This is a short tribute. No […]

Listen to this post: (The podcast episode is at the bottom of the post.) Be sure to check out Infusion Photos Part One: I Walk In. Might be nice to do them in order, but it probably doesn’t matter. In this episode, Sara and I chat to follow up on her exhibition, artist talk at […]

Listen to this post: (The podcast episode is at the bottom of the page.) In 2019, I produced a story called When Disability Requires a Different Approach for the 70 Million podcast and hadn’t shared it. I would like to produce an episode on a social issue and have that episode be irrelevant even before it […]

Listen to this post: Wow! Another two-parter. So, I did two whole podcast episodes in the entire year of 2024. 2025 is starting off with a lot more energy and drive, and with that comes more connections. This two-parter focuses on an artist with a chronic illness, her art, and my response to her art. […]

Listen to this post: [The podcast audio is at the bottom of the post.] You heard from me a lot last month. Now you’ll hear from Jenn and Aaron in our conversation about Existing Patient and what it means to make a film that’s so personal, intimate, and real. There’s a few f-bombs in the […]

Listen to this post: (Podcast audio is at the bottom of the post.) I haven’t been here for a while. Not trying to be dramatic. Just busy. I’m so glad to be back. Here’s Part 1 of a two-parter called Art Imitates Sick Imitates Life. It’s about my experiences watching a few films that depict […]

Listen to this post: Wow. I only released two podcast episodes in 2024. I was starting to feel sad because I used to be working on an episode all the time and publishing monthly. But I’m not sad because what I have been working on is another podcast! Pigeonhole is not going away, and I […]

Listen to this post: This podcast episode is not about my grandma, but it is about a grandma with a grill. Sara Acevedo’s grandma who used to make wonderful food on the grill for Sara back home in Colombia when she was growing up. You’ll hear more soon about the POD Access project that Thomas […]

Listen to this post: (Podcast audio is at the bottom of the page.) A few years ago, I went to the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport. Here’s a yellow boxfish I found there in a temporary display. I just know this one is playing hide and seek with me. But then? After the boxfish? I […]

Listen to this post. (The podcast audio is at the bottom of the page.) I love to eat and hate to cook. That about sums up my life. Oh, that and I went to New York last week, my first trip out of the city where I live in three-and-a-half years. Why yes, I did […]

Listen to this post (podcast is at the bottom of the post): Did you ever meet that person where you’re like, oh, yes, you. Yep. You. The person where you have some important stuff in common or share political views or a love of neat sounds or they will indulge your cat obsession while not […]

Listen to this post (the podcast is at the bottom): I found an old, scrappy video I made of Lavaun a decade ago. She was developing a project to do stories about colors. As an artist with low vision, she never stopped wondering about the best ways to bring a color description to life so […]

Listen to this post. (The podcast is at the bottom of the post.) I found a cute meme that has screenshots from a movie in which these two young white people are having a conversation on a sunny day outside by some very tall grass. The guy looks either puzzled or flirtatious, then the girl […]

Listen to this post: (The podcast audio is at the bottom of the post.) Jenni Funk and I collaborated on Stinky Chicken Dog 2 in 2018. The film got an enthusiastic reception at our Portland premiere and at Superfest a few years ago. It’s long past time I took down the password to bring this […]

Listen to this post (podcast is at the bottom of the post): It’s one thing to keep a secret when you feel like you’d be ashamed for anyone else to know this thing about you. But sometimes you keep a story to yourself because you figure no one will get it. Or that they might […]

Listen to this post: (podcast audio at the bottom of the page) A love letter to Portland singalong band The Low Bar Chorale and band leader Ben Landsverk. Took nearly a year to write. I’m not sure what time is anymore anyway. Downloadable transcript for Pigeonhole Podcast Episode 40

Listen to this post: I can’t name stuff! I think back with a big old cringe to some projects and films I’ve tried to name, and I’m so grateful to amazing people like my co-director Cynthia Lopez for intervening when a name was really bad. But right now, I’m so excited to share something that’s […]

Listen to this post: Lately, there’s a growing push to make accessibility more creative, and I think it’s just rad! In fact, some of the major players at FWD-DOC (Documentary Filmmakers with Disabilities) are presenting at this year’s SXSW a panel called Creativity Enhanced: Documentary Tools for Smarter, More Accessible Storytelling. What I love about […]

Listen to this post: Desire Paths Have you noticed or been on a desire path before? They beg to be used and used again. That’s the heart of what they are and how they come to be paths at all. They’re defiant and efficient DIY marvels that happen anywhere they can. They oppose the urban […]