Tuesday Topics will continue its series on the games blind people play! This time we are inviting Lucy Edmonds back to talk about accessible hand held electronic games. Some of the may be bigger but the point is that games can happen in a device that is not a phone and is not a computer! Lucy will once more bring some devices with her so we will get a chance to experience how some of the games work. Not all of the products we will be showing you are designed for the blind. Many of them just happen to be accessible!

We have now talked about iPhone and video games and about games on smart speakers. This time we want to talk about old-fashioned games that we played before the computer came along. Many of us grew up playing cards. Some of us played chess and checkers and backgammon and dominoes and scrabble and monopoly and parcheesie and snakes and ladders. Many of us played games either we adapted or our families did. Games like Clue, for instance. Do we still play those games? If not, do we miss them? Do we play them on the computer or on our iPhones? Where can we find adapted games? Are there new games available we could try? Essentially, we are going to explore the way it was with games when we were growing up. We will look at memories and resources. We will explore favorite card games and we will ask whether those days are gone for good!

Last week we began our series on "games blind people play" and had Aaron join us to tell us about his experiences both with the iPhone and with other devices. This time we are truly honored to have Lucy Edmonds join us who has been doing a show on community for the last four and a half years on games you can play with Lady a. She tells me she literally has hundreds of games but will choose some that she likes best from various genres. As she does on her community show Lucy will actually demonstrate some of the games for us. The coolest thing about Alexa games is that people who are blind are just as capable of doing well as people who can see. In fact we may be better at listening and processing game information quickly. I am over the moon excited to have the queen of Amazon Alexa games as our guest on Tuesday Topics.

20250401 Tuesday Topics Originally Broadcasted April 1, 2025, on ACB Media 1 Game on! We talked about accessible games on phones, computers, Alexa, and online platforms. Participants shared what they played, how they played, and why they enjoyed it!

20250325 Tuesday Topics Originally Broadcasted March 25, 2025, on ACB Media 1

Participants shared their stories about spring traditions, sports, and memorable moments! From March Madness, Baseball, to April Fools' pranks, Lent, and Easter, let’s talk about how this season impacts our lives.

Hear how a new affiliate has survived its first five years. This program is the third in a series. The first explored the ways ACB consciously works to create and foster leadership. The second program explored how our policies ought to be applied in times of uncertainty and perhaps even outright hostility to many of our cherished values. This time we o explore and celebrate one of ACB'S newest affiliates which is celebrating its fifth birthday. How has Next Gen done? What do they see as their strengths and weaknesses? What are their plans for the future? Do they contemplate major changes? How do they measure success? Is it based just on members? Does it depend on contributions to ACB? Right now membership is, I think, limited to people under forty. That may have changed! Does Next Gen believe it should fundamentally alter what it does, who can be members or altering its objectives. The idea of consciously creating an affiliate whose members have to be younger than the average ACB member seems like a good one! Has it worked?

Join us as we explore difficult questions and invite you to share your views of where ACB should go! We will explore what we believe is an important issue. There has been a lot of debate recently on the lists about how ACB should function in the future especially in an environment where some cherished liberal values are being questioned. Should ACB confine its role to dealing with blindness issues? How much should we be involved in DEI and DEIA issues? We have a longstanding history of coalitioning with other Civil Rights organizations. What have we gained from that involvement? To what extent have other organizations been prepared to be vocal on blindness issues? To what degree have minority members of ACB been welcomed by other civil rights groups? Is there danger for ACB if we align ourselves with a range of groups seeking recognition of controversial elements such as gender dysphoria? Is there a middle road? Are we obliged by our history to go all in for civil rights for minorities of all kinds? Where should we stand with regard to gender, to race, to national origin, to religion, and to other traditional components of civil rights legislation. We have put together a panel of individuals who represent a range of views. It is also my hope that you will make your opinion heard on issues that are neither easy nor simple!

Tuesday Topics will once more welcome folks who strive mightily to develop new leaders for the American Council of the Blind. I of course refer to the folks from the Durward k. McDaniel committee who also work on the Chase Fellows Program. In addition they conduct the Berle Colley Leadership group. Actually they may be different committees but I hope that we will have a chance to hear from all the groups that are working on developing new leaders for ACB. In previous years we have had a chance to hear from former Chase folks and DKM winners as well as getting an idea of how the Leadership Institute is doing and details concerning the mentorship program. This is being handled by separate committees so I am hoping that all of those groups will be represented. At the heart of what all these groups are doing is an understanding that ACB needs to create new leaders. We have found various ways to do this and ACB needs to know just how effective all these approaches are!

Holly days, holy days, holidays! In February there are several! Which are they and what do they mean? From 7:00 to 9:00 eastern time on February 4 Tuesday Topics will be available on a variety of platforms. We have been somewhat serious over the past few shows so this time we want to explore three holidays or, perhaps more accurately, two birthdays and a holiday. Abraham Lincoln and George Washington create Presidents' Day and on February 14 cupid appears for Valentine's day. We would love to hear about your most unusual cupid day or really any story you would care to tell about that holiday. Did you send out cards in school? Did you send out just one card in school? Were there embarrassing Valentine occurrences? Many people don't pay much attention to Presidents' Day. Should we care more? What qualities do we celebrate with both of the named chief executives? Are they worthwhile?

Tuesday Topics will continue our discussion of employment. As often happens, we are unable to handle everything we plan for when we get into our Tuesday Topic. on our last program there was lots to learn and lots to think about and lots that's worth hearing. I encourage many of you who did not listen to go get our podcast. Represented on our show was ACB'S Employment Committee and our Government Employees affiliate. We covered what both employment groups are doing but what we were not able to do is get to the really current element of our discussion. A lot is happening with the Federal government! How will it affect people with disabilities? What should ACB do about it? We are told that people with disabilities will not be seriously affected. Many do not believe this! We will explore what is going on. We will consider the future of employment for people with disabilities. In addition to looking at Federal employment, we will consider employment at the state and local level. Has that been altered by the new rule concerning title Ii of the Americans with Disabilities Act that went into effect last April? I think there is still more to be said about how we can work with Vocational Rehabilitation. We will have some new members of the employment committee who were not a part of our first show and Patrick Sheehan will be back to represent Government Employees!