Have The Nerve: A Podcast About Disability

Afleveringen

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  Episode 61: World SCI Day 2026 04.09.2026 57min

  Send us Fan Mail Royal Rehab Group are proud to celebrate the 10th anniversary of World SCI Day, held each year on September 5th. This podcast is in collaboration with Spinal Cord Injuries Australia’s Resource Hub, alongside Royal Rehab Lifeworks, NeuroMoves, SCIA’s Peer and Family Support and Sargood on Collaroy. Please be aware that this episode comes with a trigger warning for medical trauma and mental health struggles. Listener discretion is advised. On this episode, you will be hea...
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  Episode 60: Disability Rights, Inclusion, Education and The Next Generation with Professor Alastair McEwin 02.07.2026 45min

  Send us Fan Mail On this episode, Susan is joined by former Australian Disability Discrimination Commissioner, and disability advocate, Professor Alastair McEwin AM. He shares his story of lived experience growing up with a disability, his work as a Royal Commissioner with the Disability Royal Commission, helping form the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), Professor at University of New South Wales and his lifelong mission to push for a ...
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  Episode 59: Stuck On The Side Of The Road For Four Hours Because Of A Wheelchair 18.06.2026 27min

  Send us Fan Mail What would you do if your car broke down on the side of the road and there were no available options for transport assistance to get you somewhere safe? To get you home? This year, Sarah-Jane (SJ) Staszak was stranded on the side of the M4 in New South Wales for four hours after her car broke down, because there wasn't an alternative option for her to be transported safely in her wheelchair when the tow truck arrived. It just so happened that she knew someone who had a ...
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  Episode 58: How a Pacemaker Set The Course for a Trip of A Lifetime 30.04.2026 36min

  Send us Fan Mail In this episode meet Luke Spencer and Kat Yee. At age 12, Luke was diagnosed with Fredrich’s Ataxia, and in May 2024, after a series of complications at the age of 25, he had a pacemaker put in that both Kat and Luke lovingly refer to C-3PO. This is the story of how Luke wanted to snorkelling in Fiji after his pacemaker was put in at the age of 25, and how Kat supported Luke as an Exercise Physiologist at NeuroMoves Lismore, and then as his support worker and most importantly...
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  Episode 57: Resilience, Strength and the Quest for Connection 04.03.2026 26min

  Send us Fan Mail In this episode, meet 20-year-old Nioka Bush who lives with Cerebral Palsy and is on the autistic spectrum. Nioka shares her experience growing up with her disability, going through the schooling system, the women who have helped shaped her and her advice for the next generation of women growing up with disabilities. This episode has been made in celebration of International Womens Day, which celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of ...
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  Episode 56: The Journey with IVF, Medical Equity and What Shapes Gratitude 11.02.2026 41min

  Send us Fan Mail Meet Melbourne-based podcaster and disability advocate Peta Hooke. She is the host of 'The I Can’t Stand Podcast', and in 2025, she released a short podcast series called 'Eggs', where she chronicles her real-life experience navigating IVF and fertility with a Cerebral Palsy. On Have the Nerve, Susan and Peta talk a bit more about that podcast and the reception, medical equity and they discuss how our lifelong disabilities have shaped what gratitude means to them. ...
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  Episode 55: Meet the Mother 30.12.2025 22min

  Send us Fan Mail In the final episode for Have the Nerve for 2025, meet Susan's mother, Alma. Alma came from Kabankalan, Negros Occidental in the Philippines to Australia in 1981. She shares her perspective of raising Susan, observations as she got older, advice for parents of children who have disabilities, and the switch from being the caretaker to being cared for by Susan at the age of 85. This podcast would not be possible without funding from the Department of Social Services (DSS)...
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  Episode 54: Dreamers and Allies 03.12.2025 38min

  Send us Fan Mail Today is International Day of People with Disability (IDPwD)! On this episode, Forrest, Declan and Maz from our EmployAbility team come on the podcast to discuss equity, the importance of lived-experience led training and social progress. This year's theme for IDPwD is 'Fostering disability inclusive societies for advancing social progress'. At SCIA, all of our services strive to empower people with disabilities, the people who support them and educate the next ge...
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  Episode 53: The Lived Experience of Fatherhood and Disability 30.10.2025 33min

  Send us Fan Mail On this episode Dan Holt, Ash Treseder and Rob Wynn come on the podcast to share their experiences of fatherhood at their respective stages. Whether that's a father to be, a new father or a with grown children, they share their learnings, some of the fears and how the importance of being open and honest about their disabilities to everyone is essential. Information in this episode Put a face to the people you heard in this episode and visit SCIA's Peer and F...
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  Episode 52: Something To Think About - What Have We Learnt? 09.10.2025 28min

  Send us Fan Mail From what accessible means and even down to how thick carpet is, on this episode Susan Wood, Liberty Smith and Hayley Dean come on Have The Nerve to have a chat about what we're learnt since working at Spinal Cord Injuries Australia and how nothing compares to working alongside people with disabilities, or others who have a similar disability to open up your eyes to the disabled experience, or learn life lessons - whether you have a disability or not. Credits This episo...
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  Episode 51: From The Internet - "You're too pretty to be disabled" and other awkward stories 04.04.2025 30min

  Send us Fan Mail Have the Nerve is back on for 2025! This is Have The Nerve Shorts - the short episodes between the long ones where we talk about things From The Internet, you can Get To Know Your Body and there might be even Something To Think About. On this episode Laura Burling, Heidz Haydon and Susan Wood talk about about TikToker Claire Sisk (@canseecantsee), a woman who has a visual impairment. She shares her experiences as a person with disability embarking on her very first cruise. Yo...
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  Episode 50: Something To Think About - Are We Given Equitable Opportunities? 31.12.2024 16min

  Send us Fan Mail You're listening to episode FIFTY and the final episode of Have The Nerve for 2024. On this episode we’re going to talk about equity. Are the opportunities for people, specifically students with disabilities, fairer in 2024 than they were in, let's say, 2000? 16 year old high school student Lara Grimson comes on the podcast to share her story about trying to find work experience as a person with disability and how it bears an eerie resemblance to Susan's experience 24 yea...
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  Episode 49: Get To Know Your Body - Rehabilitation and Electrical Stimulation 19.12.2024 27min

  Send us Fan Mail This is Have The Nerve Shorts - the short episodes between the long ones where we talk about things From The Internet, you can Get To Know Your Body and there might be even Something To Think About. In this episode, Physiotherapist Colbey Van Leeuwen comes on to explain the three types of electrical stimulation that can aid in mobility and pain management for individuals living with disabilities. NeuroMoves is a specialised exercise service for people with neurological cond...
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  Episode 48: Is That... Actually Accessible? 13.12.2024 43min

  Send us Fan Mail In October this year Professor Shane Clifton wrote a piece for The Conversation titled, 'When even fringe festival venues exclude people with disability, cities need to act on access' after a series of accessibility issues to attend events at one of Sydney's biggest festivals on the calendar. Shane is the Associate Professor of Practice, School of Health Sciences and the Centre for Disability Research and Policy, University of Sydney and you can listen to him on Episode 40: ...
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  Episode 47: Something to Think About - What Does Sport Mean To Me? 17.10.2024 1u 14min

  Send us Fan Mail Have The Nerve Not-So-Short this episode! You will hear the stories of three people who explain what sport means to them, because when it comes to disability and sport society may focus on physical strength or the medals, but it's so much more than that. On this episode you hear from: Tamsin Colley is an international athlete in para-athletics and cerebral palsy football studying Exercise Physiology at University of New South Wales (UNSW) Gerry Hewson is a six-time Paral...
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  Episode 46: Get To Know Your Body - Hydrotherapy 29.08.2024 17min

  Send us Fan Mail This is Have The Nerve Shorts - the short episodes between the long ones where we talk about things From The Internet, you can Get To Know Your Body and there might be even Something To Think About. In this episode Exercise Physiologist Alicia Payne answers the question "Why should I exercise in the water?". If you've ever considered getting into a pool, but don't know where to start Alicia will talk you through it! NeuroMoves is a specialised exercise service for people wi...
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  Episode 45: From The Internet - Ultimate World Cruise Tea Time 21.08.2024 24min

  Send us Fan Mail This is Have The Nerve Shorts - the short episodes between the long ones where we talk about things From The Internet, you can Get To Know Your Body and there might be even Something To Think About. In this episode Laura Burling, Heidi Haydon and Susan Wood discuss @uksecrettravel_'s TikTok where they recall an anonymous post made by someone on the Ultimate World Cruise forum sharing their experience waiting for lift with someone in a wheelchair and as the doors were opening...
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  Episode 44: What It Is Like To Be A Researcher In Spinal Cord Injury? 07.08.2024 1u 18min

  Send us Fan Mail Getting research off the ground is probably more complex than you'd expect. Doctor Claire Boswell-Ruys is a physiotherapist and senior research fellow at Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA) and has worked in the area of spinal cord injuries for the past 20 years. We talk about all things research, we discuss what it takes to set up a research trial, how it's funded, why it can't be everywhere and why medical research in Australia for people with spinal cord injuries m...
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  Episode 43: Something To Think About - Why Invest In Medical Research for Spinal Cord Injury? 18.07.2024 30min

  Send us Fan Mail This is Have The Nerve Shorts - The short episodes between the longer ones. However, today isn't short at all #SorryNotSorry. Duncan Wallace, Executive Director of SpinalCure Australia is on to chat about why you should consider investing in medical research for spinal cord injury and why you should consider the next generation of medical researchers. Having a spinal cord injury himself just over 40 years ago, Duncan discusses his observations of how society perceives dis...
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  Episode 42: Get To Know Your Body - Falls Prevention 04.07.2024 17min

  Send us Fan Mail This is Have The Nerve Shorts - the short episodes between the long ones where we talk about things From The Internet, you can Get To Know Your Body and there might be even Something To Think About. In this episode Physiotherapist Colbey Van Leeuwen talks about falls prevention for upper limbs and lower limbs. How much do you know about the vestibular system? How can multitasking help? Let Colbey explain! NeuroMoves is a specialised exercise service for people with neurolog...