Why We Do What We Do

Conditions that differ from "normal," sometimes called disability, don't preclude people with those conditions from being able to do regular vocational activities, and may even give them an advantage. Many employers have found financial and cultural benefits to hiring people with disabilities, people with disabilities have demonstrated their ability to thrive an be unique and meaningful contributions, and some activities are performed more economically. efficiently, or competenty by  people with disabilities. We give some concrete examples.RecommendationsAbraham: Recursion (Blake Crouch; https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42046112-recursion)Shane: The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52180399-the-only-good-indians) Holidays (17 December 2025):Clean Air DayInternational Day to End Violence Against Sex WorkersNational Maple Syrup DayPan American Aviation DayWright Brothers DayChristmas Bird Count WeekCookie Exchange WeekHanukkahHuman Rights WeekSaturnaliaLinks and References: https://rockfordisability.com/2023/01/13/10-perks-of-being-a-disabled-person/https://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/observations/the-case-for-disabled-astronauts/https://eri-wi.org/fact-sheet-employers/#:~:text=The%20Business%20Benefits%20of%20Hiring%20People%20with%20Disabilities&text=Businesses%20that%20hire%20and%20support,resilience%2C%20boosting%20overall%20team%20productivity.&text=With%20unemployment%20rates%20among%20people,who%20are%20ready%20to%20contribute.&text=Employers%20may%20qualify%20for%20tax,offset%20accommodation%20and%20accessibility%20costs.&text=Higher%20employee%20retention%20reduces%20turnover,investment%20outweighs%20the%20initial%20costs.&text=Businesses%20that%20reflect%20their%20customer,a%20wide%20range%20of%20needs.https://hbr.org/2023/07/disability-as-a-source-of-competitive-advantagehttps://disabilityrightsflorida.org/blog/entry/5_reasons_to_hire_people_with_disabilitieshttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29392591/ https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/work-opportunity-tax-credithttps://www.london.edu/faculty-and-research/research/research-highlights/disability-as-a-source-of-competitive-advantage https://www.physicianleaders.org/articles/disability-as-a-source-of-competitive-advantage Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/why-we-do-what-we-do--3419521/support.Support our podcast: www.patreon.com/wwdwwdpodcast

Because this was selected the "word of the year," we decided we may as well discuss it. If you've been lucky enough to miss this trend, sorry to end your lucky streak. If you've been hearing this and don't understand what it means, we'll explain the history and what it means (spoiler, you're not missing anything). If you are a big fan of the "six seveeeen" craze, then maybe there's something here for you to learn as well. We hope you enjoy! Get extra content by joining our membership club: www.patreon.com/wwdwwdpodcastLinks and References: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/global-trends/us-news-the-mystery-of-67-why-dictionary-com-chose-a-number-instead-of-a-word-and-why-is-everyone-talking-about-it/articleshow/125008609.cms?from=mdrhttps://www.cnn.com/2025/10/18/us/6-7-meme-slang-explained-cec#:~:text=(He%20stands%20at%206%20feet,are%20you%20a%20party%20pooper?%E2%80%9D https://www.dictionary.com/culture/slang/67https://screenshot-media.com/culture/internet-culture/six-seven-trend-meaning/#:~:text=Skrilla%20admitted%20as%20much%20to%20The%20Wall,definition%20is%20%60%60why%20everybody%20keeps%20saying%20ithttps://www.cbsnews.com/news/dictionary-67-2025-word-of-the-year-meaning/#:~:text=U.S.-,Dictionary.com%20picks%20%2267%2C%22%20a%20%22nonsensical%20and,2025%20word%20of%20the%20year&text=Nicole%20Brown%20Chau%20is%20a%20deputy%20managing%20editor%20for%20CBSNews.com.https://whyy.org/articles/meaning-6-7-skrilla-philadelphia/#:~:text=The%20phrase%20comes%20from%20a,cooler%20group%20of%20their%20peers.%E2%80%9D Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/why-we-do-what-we-do--3419521/support.Support our podcast: www.patreon.com/wwdwwdpodcast

Sometimes investment groups will purchase and then unify individually-owned, small businesses that provide care for people with disabilities. Once they've acquired enough businesses, they'll turn around and sell the conglomerated entity to the highest bidder. There are some advantages... kind of... if you're being generous. But ther are a lot of disadvantages. We do our best to be fair while also explaining the reality of the situation. RecommendationsAbraham: Wicked: For Good (https://www.wickedmovie.com/) Shane: Code Talker: The First and Only Memoir By One of the Original Navajo Code Talkers of WWII by Chester Nez and Judith Schiess AvilaHolidays (10 December 2025):Dewey Decimal System DayFestival for the Souls of Dead WhalesHuman Rights DayInternational Animal Rights DayJane Addams DayNational Day of Animal RightsNational Lager DayNobel Prize DayComputer Science Education WeekHuman Rights WeekLager Beer WeekNational Aplastic Anemia and MDS Awareness WeekNational Groundwater Awareness WeekNational Handwashing Awareness WeekNational Influenza Vaccination WeekLinks and References: https://www.urblaw.com/the-effects-of-private-equity-firms-on-disability-services/#:~:text=Takeaways,extract%20significant%20short%2Dterm%20profits.https://www.statnews.com/2025/03/18/private-equity-ownership-care-homes-intellectual-developmental-disabilities/#:~:text=Private%20equity%20firms%20are%20acquiring,population's%20health%20care%20is%20growing.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sr-Cyx795p8&t=124shttps://stateline.org/2025/05/16/private-equity-snaps-up-disability-services-challenging-state-regulators/#:~:text=By:%20Anna%20Claire%20Vollers%20%2D%20May,that%20is%20to%20cut%20costs.%E2%80%9Dhttps://prospect.org/2025/03/18/2025-03-18-private-equity-vultures-care-facilities-disabled/#:~:text=Private%20equity%20giants%20have%20spent,More%20from%20Daniel%20Boguslawhttps://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama-health-forum/fullarticle/2821686https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/120220%20Life%20at%20Cypress%20House%20-%20An%20Examination%20of%20Care%20Provided%20by%20MENTOR%20Oregon.pdfhttps://apps.ahca.myflorida.com/dm_web/DMWeb_DocsFO/13871688.pdf https://pestakeholder.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/PESP_Report_IDD_2025.pdf Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/why-we-do-what-we-do--3419521/support.Support our podcast: www.patreon.com/wwdwwdpodcast

This is not about the movie(s). Amazingly, that didn't even occur to us before, during, or even immediately after recording this... This is about the ability some people have to identify or possibly produce exact notes, called perfect pitch, or natural pitch, or absolute pitch. Is it genetic? Is it learned? Are those nonsensical questions? We'll explain a bit of the research on perfect pitch (and relative pitch, which is technically different). Give the gift of supporting us as a one time donation, or as a sustaining member: www.patreon.com/wwdwwdpodcastLinks and References: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002929707634867#:~:text=Absolute%20pitch%20(AP)%2C%20also%20known%20as%20%E2%80%9Cperfect,musical%20tone%2C%20without%20an%20external%20reference%20pitch.https://www.huddlestone.es/en/perfect-pitch/https://news.uchicago.edu/explainer/what-is-perfect-pitchhttps://www.musical-u.com/learn/perfect-pitch-is-not-magic/Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/why-we-do-what-we-do--3419521/support.Support our podcast: www.patreon.com/wwdwwdpodcast

A touchy topic that some people don't want to touch is sexuality as it relates to disability. There is some "moral" prudishness that borders on (if not explicitly crosses into) eugenics for those who think sex is not a topic for diability. People with disabilities are people, and people have sexual motivations. We mostly dispell some myths people may have sex and disability as well as share some fun things you may not know.RecommendationsAbraham: Origin Story (board game; https://stonemaiergames.com/games/origin-story/)Shane: My band’s new records! GOD//MAN - DREAMSEEKER (https://godman.bandcamp.com/album/dreamseeker) and Cyberbully - Welcome to the Internet (2k25 Demo) (https://cyberbullyhc.bandcamp.com/album/welcome-to-the-internet-demo-2k25)Holidays (12/3/2025):International Day of Persons with DisabilitiesInternational Spirit of the Game DayLet’s Hug DayMake a Gift DayNational Apple Pie DayNational Green Bean Casserole DayNational Package Protection DayNational Roof Over Your Head DayWomen WednesdayCookie Cutter WeekLinks: https://www.independenceaustralia.com.au/health-articles/health-disabilities-and-sex/https://shq.org.au/2022/09/common-myths-sexuality-disability/https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20131952/https://sexualityanddisability.org/having-sex/mythbusting/ Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/why-we-do-what-we-do--3419521/support.Support our podcast: www.patreon.com/wwdwwdpodcast