The Disability, Education, and Society Podcast
A podcast for collective (un)learning in the struggle for intersectional liberation. We focus on educational realms, expanding to other societal areas. We share our stories as academics as well as those of our featured guests, including disability activists involved with multifaceted dimensions of system’s equity, self-determination efforts, anti-ableist and antiracist liberation. Join us as co-conspirators.
This podcast is also available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DES_podcast
Description of icon above: A digital icon with a black accordion graphic surrounded by 6 music notes above 12 people of all ages, some people have canes, crutches, or a wheelchair. A graphic of a semi-Earth is faded in the yellow background overarching the image. At the bottom of the icon, the podcast title, “The Disability, Education, and Society Podcast,” appears in all black capitals.
Dr. Alexis Padilla
Host
Dr. Alexis Padilla is a blind brown Latinx scholar/activist and a lawyer who holds a PhD in sociology and another PhD from the Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies department at the University of New Mexico, USA. Currently an independent researcher affiliated with Phillips Theological Seminary. Dr. Padilla is the author of Disability, Intersectional Agency and Latinx Identity, an interdisciplinary book published by Routledge in 2021. As well as the Co-Author of a volume titled Humanizing Disability, published by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) in 2019. His publications explore emancipatory learning, radical agency and intersectional disability justice/theology in the context of decolonial Latinx theorizing and critical disability studies, emphasizing the activist/disability advocacy vantage point combined with actionable dimensions of inclusive equity research and practice.
Image Description: A color photo of Dr. Alexis Pallida in a light blue shirt and tie sitting straight and in front of a grey, marbled background.
Dr. Paulo Tan
Host
Dr. Paulo Tan (he/him) identifies as Chinese-American, cisgender male, and non-disabled. He is an Assistant Professor of Elementary Mathematics Education at the University of California Santa Cruz, USA. His research interests include advancing intersectional justice in and through mathematics education centering issues of disability. Prior to his career as teacher educator and scholar, he served as a public school middle-secondary mathematics teacher for ten years in culturally and linguistically diverse settings in Kansas and Indiana. His lived experiences with his son led Dr. Tan to pursue a doctorate in special education with an emphasis in mathematics education and has been reckoning and challenging educational inequities ever since. He is the lead author of the book Humanizing Disability in Mathematics Education: Forging New Paths published by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). He is regularly invited to give presentations to universities and STEM organizations.
Image Description: A black and white photo of Dr. Paulo Tan looking to the side of the camera in front of a solid black background.
Mia Wang
Editor
Mia Wang (she/her) identifies as Chinese American. She is a graduate of the University of California, Santa Cruz, where she earned her B.A. in Education, Democracy, and Justice, and is a proud member of the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society. Throughout her academic and professional journey, Mia has worked in education, behavioral therapy, podcast production, and digital media. She is passionate about creative writing, storytelling, and using digital media to make research and lived experiences engaging and accessible. As she begins her next chapter in New York City, Mia hopes to continue exploring opportunities in media, communications, marketing, and creative storytelling while amplifying diverse voices.
Image Description: A smiling portrait of Mia Wang wearing a white dress and her UC Santa Cruz graduation stole and honor cords, sitting in front of a UC Santa Cruz sign.
Episodes
Jun 25, 2026
Jun 25, 2026
48 min
In this episode, we are joined by Dr. Sarah Arvey Tov for a thoughtful conversation about disability identity, culture, and justice in education. Together, we explore what it means to move beyond traditional ideas of inclusion by centering disabled voices, honoring disability as a valued part of identity, and creating learning environments where all students can thrive. Dr. Sarah Arvey Tov shares insights from her work with disabled youth, educators, and communities, discussing disability culture, collective access, and the transformative potential of disability justice in schools. This episode invites listeners to reimagine education through the lens of belonging, equity, and possibility.
Link to Transcript!
Connect with Sarah via e-mail: satov@uw.edu
One Out of Five: Disability History and Pride Project
Jun 23, 2026
Jun 23, 2026
1 hr 2 min
In this powerful episode of the Disability Education and Society Podcast, we sit down with Dr. Shariese Katrell, disability rights activist, scholar, musician, and advocate, to discuss her extraordinary journey navigating higher education as a Black woman with multiple hidden disabilities. Shariese shares her experiences developing a neurological disability at age 18, overcoming systemic barriers, advocating for herself in academic spaces, and challenging the intersections of ableism, racism, and inequality. Through stories of resilience, activism, music, and scholarship, she highlights the importance of representation, self-determination, and creating more inclusive educational systems. This conversation offers a moving and thought-provoking exploration of disability justice, identity, and the power of using one's voice to create change.
Link to Transcript!
Jun 23, 2026
Jun 23, 2026
1 hr 3 min
In this episode we converse with Chantal Figueroa, Ph.D., a researcher, educator, and strategist that specializes in designing evidence-based programs meant to support the mental health and wellbeing of Latine peoples. Dr. Figueroa is the co-editor of the book titled Dis/ability in the Americas: The Intersections of Education, Power, and Identity. The conversation explores issues of mental and decoloniality and connections to educational spaces. Also in this episode: Alexis shares his childhood experiences in a boarding school.
Link to transcript here!
Dr. Figueora's website https://www.chantalfigueroa.com/
Dr. Figuerora's email cfigueroa@coloradocollege.edu
Oct 10, 2025
Oct 10, 2025
1 hr 7 min
In this episode we converse with David I. Hernández-Saca, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Department of Special Education at the University of Northern Iowa. The conversation explores what truly matters, the role of healing, disability consciousness, immigration and citizenship, and disrupting master narratives, "common sense," and labeling practices in schools through disabled voices.
Link to Audio transcript
Dr Hernández-Saca's university profile page
Dr Hernández-Saca's university facebook page
Dr Hernández-Saca's co-authored article: “Storying” from special education classroom: Centering voices from accessible-interdependence-intimacy as interdisciplinary justice in pedagogical practices
Mia Mingus Access Intimacy
Oct 3, 2025
Oct 3, 2025
48 min
In this episode of the DES podcast, we sit down with Dr. Rachel Lambert, associate professor at UC Santa Barbara, to discuss her groundbreaking book Rethinking Disability in Mathematics: A UDL Math Classroom Guide for Grades K-8. Dr. Lambert shares powerful stories about disability, inclusion, and the need to reimagine math education as a space of accessibility, creativity, and equity. We explore the systemic barriers that disable students in math, the power of time and collaboration, and the importance of challenging deficit narratives. Tune in for an insightful conversation that pushes the boundaries of how we think about mathematics and disability.
Transcript link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1khVmTMVCPXkYndjkYDuhvLSEr3VHWhszjdpAmgkWVrU/edit?usp=sharing
Link to Dr. Rachel Lambert's book: https://www.amazon.com/Rethinking-Disability-Mathematics-Classroom-Grades/dp/1071926039
Mar 13, 2025
Mar 13, 2025
25 min
In this episode of the DES, co-hosts Paulo and Alexis return after a long break to discuss their latest academic work, activism, and the evolving political landscape. They explore the power of rejected scholarship as a catalyst for new ideas, the intersections of disability justice with broader social movements, and the urgent need for cross-coalitional solidarity in the face of rising authoritarianism. Tune in for a thought-provoking conversation on resilience, writing, and the ongoing fight for liberation.
Transcript link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kxvDROW3002856wPVzveWDIM4lzULtCv_sux_Gp4Kgo/edit?usp=sharing
May 7, 2024
May 7, 2024
56 min
In this episode, DES co-host Paulo Tan shares a practical application of abolitionist mathematics practices. This episode is a companion to episode #13 where Paulo laid out the groundwork for abolitionist mathematics practices. It is helpful but not necessary to first engage with episode #13 before engaging with this current episode. The practical application Paulo shares is one of infinite possibilities of abolitionist mathematics practices. Paulo shares this practical idea in the context of elementary mathematics teacher education.
Presentation slide
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To support the DES community please subscribe to the DES podcast and become a DES patron
Apr 30, 2024
Apr 30, 2024
1 hr 13 min
In this episode, DES co-host Paulo Tan shares a presentation he recently completed on abolitionist mathematics practices at Purdue University. Drawing on Black Feminist thought on prison abolition, Dr. Tan forwards three crucial tenets (i.e., imagining utopian futures, intersectional struggles, and immediate change making) to guide the fields of special and mathematics education. Dr. Tan argues that these tenets are necessary to eliminate harms disabled students encounter in special and mathematics education while collectively building more just futures. Situating this argument in elementary schooling contexts, Dr. Tan implicates mathematics education in its complicity and perpetuation of containment, a form of incarceration that denies opportunities to certain disabled students. As such, Dr. Tan calls on educational researchers and practitioners to take up leadership in this disability freedom struggle.
Link to view the slide deck
Books mentioned: Abolition. Feminism. Now.
Decarcerating Disability: Deinstutionalization and Prison Abolition
Subscribe to DES on YouTube for the video of this episode. Find DES on Twitter (@DES_podcast), Instagram (@DES_podcast), and Facebook.
To support the DES community please subscribe to the DES podcast and become a DES patron
Apr 2, 2024
Apr 2, 2024
1 hr 24 sec
We turn inwards for today’s episode in a conversation with Dr. Alexis Padilla, this show’s cohost, about his upcoming book titled Decolonial Disability and Social Epistemologies. The first chapter of his book dives into the problems with how we think of productive struggle. We also engage in a brief reflection on the first few months after launching the Disability, Education, and Society podcast. Transcripts for this episode can be found here.
Mentioned in this episode: Dr. Padilla's first book titled Disability, Intersectional Agency, and Latinx Identity Theorizing LatDisCrit Counterstories
Dr. Padilla's email: apadilladiv@gmail.com
Subscribe to DES on YouTube for video of this episode. Find DES on Twitter (@DES_podcast), Instagram (@DES_podcast), and Facebook.
To support the DES community please subscribe to the DES podcast and become a DES patron
Mar 19, 2024
Mar 19, 2024
1 hr 18 min
Dr. Alison Mirin, a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Mathematics Education at the University of Arizona, joins the DES podcast to discuss ableism and inaccessibility in mathematics education. We discuss the disconnect between how math is typically taught in schools and how students make their own meaning of math. Dr. Mirin shares her mathematics experiences as a researcher, a disabled student, and a former secondary classroom teacher. Transcripts can be found here.
Mentioned in the show: Academic Spoonies Facebook group, Dr. Mirin’s ResearchGate page, and Mathematics Educator Appreciation Day (MEAD), American Educational Research Association’s (AERA) press release on disparities in special education referrals, and Building Thinking Classrooms.
Subscribe to DES on YouTube for video of this episode. Find DES on Twitter (@DES_podcast), Instagram (@DES_podcast), and Facebook.
To support the DES community please subscribe to the DES podcast and become a DES patron