available on
Can you have children? What happened to your legs? And can I pray for you?
What’s Wrong With You? is a podcast about disability that tackles the tricky questions disabled people are asked – often by random strangers on the street.
The seven-part series is hosted and produced by a team of young disabled women who want to tell their stories from their perspective. The world is not designed for disabled people, so Olivia Shivas, Rebecca Dubber and Grace Stratton are paving their own way.
Life with a disability is more than just mobility carparks and ramps, so we’ve collected a range of stories about disability from 16 people that cover the heartbreaking lows and triumphant highs of the disabled experience.
Plus, we want answers to our own outrageous questions, such as: Can you get 50 per cent off a pedicure when your right leg is amputated?
episodes
What’s Wrong With You? trailer
Olivia Shivas, Rebecca Dubber and guests tackle the big questions about life with a disability. Sex, religion, mobility carparks - and how to fend off outrageous questions.
What if I don't want to walk anyway? Disability and childhood
Olivia Shivas and Rebecca Dubber take a trip down memory lane to discuss the realities of growing up disabled. They meet a mum whose son has autism but isn’t "like Rain Man". And they chat to a Paralympian dad in a wheelchair about the endless intrusive questions he faces when out with his young daughter.
Please don't break my wheelchair! Disability and travel
Olivia and Becs take flight to Dunedin and find out if an iconic New Zealand tourist attraction is accessible to wheelchair-users. On the way, they catch up with Japanese disability advocate Umi Asaka, who has travelled to 20 countries as a wheelchair-user with brittle bones.
Unapologetically me: Disability and self-image
Olivia and Becs hear from guests who are smashing perceptions of disability - from having to prove your intelligence when you are non-verbal, to redefining masculinity as a bloke in a wheelchair. They also find out how much money you should spend on shoes when you can't even walk.
Why are you so obsessed with my sex life? Disability and dating
Sex, dating and relationships are already complicated, but even more so in a world that judges disabled people so harshly. Olivia, Becs and guests discuss whether or not to include your wheelchair in Tinder photos, and guest Tim Young shares what to do when your catheter bag fills up on a first date.
Nope, I don’t want you to pray for me, thanks: Disability and faith
The first rule of disability club is that if you sit in a wheelchair long enough, someone is going to come over and offer to pray for you. The tricky bit is figuring out how to reply. Olivia and Becs hear from Latifa Daud on her journey with Muslim faith and disability in New Zealand; and they meet an amputee who lost her leg in a dramatic way.
Your world sucks, so we’re rebuilding it for us: Disability and leadership
The world is not designed for disabled people, and rebuilding it is going to take strong leadership. In this episode, Olivia and Becs interview two leaders with a disability — Green MP Golriz Ghahraman and Disability Rights Commissioner Paula Tesoriero.
The eternal curse of sad piano music: Disability and media
Olivia, Becs and producer Grace discuss the representation of disability in the media, and ask: couldn’t you find any better music for that news story about that lady in a wheelchair?
videos
Behind the scenes of What’s Wrong With You?
Olivia Shivas, Rebecca Dubber and guests tackle the big questions about life with a disability in Stuff's podcast called What's Wrong With You?
behind the scenes
Becs and Olivia interview Dan Buckingham
Olivia and Becs interview Tiana Epati
Olivia and Becs interview Umi Asaka at her flat in Dunedin.
Australian journalist Nas Campanella.
Becs and Olivia interview Loren Savage.
Henrietta Bollinger chats to Becs and Olivia over Zoom.
Timothy Young pictured with his wife Erica and son Jasper at their home in Hamilton.
Olivia and Becs interview Latifa Daud.
Olivia and Becs interview Rhiannon Peters.
Olivia and Becs interview Golriz Ghahraman.
Olivia and Becs interview Paula Tesoriero.
Olivia and Becs with Mamie Rose Macdonald.
Olivia and Becs interview Chelsea Pita.
Olivia and Becs interview Geneva Hakaraia-Tino.
Olivia and Becs interview Shakti Krishnan.
Dunedin photo diary
Olivia boards flight NZ 677 from Auckland to Dunedin in an aisle wheelchair - with recording equipment in tow.
How we packed in three wheelchairs and luggage in the rental SUV.
Grace, Olivia, Becs and Umi at the Dunedin Farmers Market.
Olivia interviews Grace, Becs and Umi at the Dunedin Farmers Market.
Olivia interviews Grace, Becs and Umi at the Dunedin Farmers Market.
Becs and Grace hang out at Umi’s flat.
Olivia interviews Julie, who is blind, at Larnarch Castle.
Olivia, Becs and Grace pose outside Larnarch Castle.
Grace, Becs and Olivia at Dunedin ready to fly home to Auckland.
credits
SPONSORED BY
MADE WITH THE SUPPORT OF
Our commitment to equality and representing Kiwis of all abilities is why we tell stories like this. It's important to us that the diverse communities of Aotearoa see themselves reflected on Stuff, and that their voices have a platform.
If that's important to you too, please consider contributing to Stuff. With your support we can continue this work.
Built with Shorthand