Podcasts

Engage Talent graphic with a microphone for podcastYou Can’t Spell Inclusion Without a D is the Ontario Disability Employment Network’s podcast, launched in 2020.

Our show season runs from April to November.

Each episode we bring you insightful conversations with expert guests that explore from all the angles, the power of disability inclusion in business…in employment…in education…and in our communities…and why disability is an important part of the diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility conversation.

Curious about how we came up with that name? The diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) business conversation still too often focuses on gender and ethnicity only. Disability is left out or is an afterthought. We believe that you can’t really have inclusion without including disability in the conversation. Hence, You Can’t Spell Inclusion Without a D.

The podcast is co-hosted by Amy Widdows, ODEN’s new CEO, and Dean Askin, our Communications Strategist. Amy stepped in as the new co-host starting in 2025, with Season 6.

Jeannette Campbell, ODEN’s previous CEO, co-hosted the podcast for five seasons (Episodes 1 to 30).

You Can’t Spell Inclusion Without a D is hosted on Podbean, and available wherever you download your favourite podcasts.

Production staff

Executive Producer/Co-Host  — Amy Widdows
Executive Producer/Co-Host (Seasons 1 to 5, Episodes 1 to 30) — Jeannette Campbell
Producer — Sue Dafoe
Associate Producer/Co-Host — Dean Askin
Audio Production — Dean Askin

In part two of our series on The State of Accessibility in Canada, we go from the bird’s-eye view to a closer look at accessibility — in branding, marketing, advertising and social media content created by businesses in Canada. This is an important conversation to have, because the accessibility of content for everyone can affect…

Accessibility is a single word that can have a lot of impact. Every day in Canada, indeed across North America and in countries around the world, many people — especially people who have a disability — face challenges in their daily lives because the built environment we all live in, generally isn’t all that accessible….

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There are more than 200 universities, and more than 200 colleges and institutes in Canada. Certainly no lack of choice for young people looking to pursue post-secondary education. But there’s a problem on campuses across this country. It’s one affecting students, staff and faculty alike — a lack of accessibility and disability inclusion. Statistics show…

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Ableism. It happens in workplaces, in communities and in society in general, every day. Maybe you have lived experience facing it. Or maybe you’ve practised it, without consciously realizing it. In this episode, we get a perspective on disrupting ableism in the workplace: Why it’s happening, its many forms, its impact and what can, and…

In our Season 5 opener, the two guests who were with us on our 2023 season opener, are back to give us an update on year one of the Inclusive Design for Employment Access initiative, or IDEA for short. A quick recap: IDEA is a six-year research project being done with $9 million of federal…

Canada is known as “Hollywood North.” That’s because so many television shows and series, and theatrical and television films have been, and are filmed, in this country. They include Supernatural, Schitt’s Creek, Hudson and Rex, Deadpool, Star Trek Beyond, Star Trek Discovery and Hot Zone: Anthrax.   According to figures from the Motion Picture Association, film…

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Disability is the world’s largest minority group — one that all of us will likely join at some point in our lives. According to World Health Organization figures, 1.3 billion people globally have a disability.   People who have a disability are just regular people, living their every-day lives one day at a time…like all…

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October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month. So we thought, what better time to launch a new, occasional series we’re calling, Making the Journey.   It’s a fitting title for this series. Because when a business leader or owner makes the conscious decision to become intentional about disability inclusion in their organization, it really is a…

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If you’ve never heard about some of the disability innovation things happening around the globe….like Africa’s first Assistive Technology Accelerator project called Innovate Now….or StreetCo, a pedestrian GPS app developed in France to help people with reduced mobility safely navigate city streets….or the World Health Organization’s first official collaborating centre on assistive technology….you’re probably not…

There’s more conversation about disability inclusion in business and employment, than ever. It’s been driven by some rapid changes in the nature and future of work. All this conversation is a good thing. But, it’s a discourse that’s been going on in Canada for over a hundred years. For all intents and purposes, the modern…