Blind Guys chat is a biweekly podcast, produced by two blind guys, one in Ireland and one in the Netherlands. The show takes an easy and breezy approach to life, disability, technology, and just about anything else that the blind guys think of!
We'd love to hear from you so get in touch by email to
This week, it's a warm welcome back to Mr Blind Gordon Anthony all the way from Scots Land! Gordon is on the show to somewhat sympathise with Óran on his ongoing Meta Ray Ban issue. In case you haven't heard, because you've been living under a rock with a grumpy snail, some people, including Óran and Gordon have been experiencing an issue where their Meta glasses will not connect to a WhatsApp call or message. In some cases, you can't even make a standard call using the glasses. What the heck is going on? Huh?! Are Meta updating software so fast that they are not willing to do any…
While Jan is living it up on Safari, deep in South Africa, Mohammed and Clodagh are having to listen to Óran's gripes about being assisted to get on his jet at Charles de Gaulle airport last week. But this conversation does lead to an interesting question - do you use your cane when being assisted by someone, or do you swing it around hoping to whack the legs off a ‘Gen Z' passerby? (Apologies to all our Gen Z listeners!) Óran is also still banging on about how his Meta glasses won't work with WhatsApp, however it now appears that Blind Gordon and Roisin Lenehan have the same issue. Are your…
It's a welcome return to the man who came in from the cold, Mr Stuart Lawler! Our former co-host and chief bottle washer here in the BGC office. Stuart is on the show in an attempt to sell off some used assistive tech... Oh hang on! We Probably can't say that for legal reasons. Ehm... Stuart is here to tell us about an upcoming Sight and Sound event to be held at TUI Grangegorman, Dublin on October 12th and 13th. The show then moves to Cork on October 14. There will be loads of kit to see including: We Walk canes, Vispero's new Focus 40 braille display and also the new Braille Sense. Optelec…
On this show, we are talking to Alberto Destarac, the developer of Ezre, a new app that provides a seamless experience for digitised, itemised receipts directly to the user's phone. It ensures accessibility and ease of review for the VI community. Alberto talks to us about his life in the US Navy, and the use cases for his new app. Clodagh has an update from artist Clare McLoughlin; and Óran asks, is Jeff Bazos crazy for Liverpool FC or just another billionaire looking to cash in on lucrative sports teams? So, now that autumn is here, it's time to kick the dog off that Aran sweater you love,…
In our last show before the summer break, we are talking with former Vice President of Product Development at Vispero, Eric Damery. Eric chats to the guys about retirement, holidays, golf, and the current and future state of assistive tech. We have news on the Tiera navigation app, and Clodagh has emails from Clare McLoughlin and Blind Gordon. So, strip down to your new night shorts, feel the wind gently blow through the bed sheets, and assume a horizontal position while you tune in to the number 1 podcast this side of a heatwave: Blind Guys Chat. 9 out of 10 swimming pools prefer it to…
On this show we are speaking to super-duper influencer, Jessie Anderson all about accessible gaming. Not even 'Skinny Pete' from the TV series Breaking Bad knows as much about video games and consoles as Jessie. A veteran of the ATARI 2600 and Apple 2, Jessie walks us through how a blind or partially sighted person can navigate the world of gaming. More importantly, he tells us how to play some of the most popular games out there at the moment, using screen readers and magnifiers. Yes folks, we're talking all the favourites here; Call of Duty, Mortal Combat, Card World, Doom, Quake, The Last…
In honour of Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind celebrating 50 years in being, we've got a round table discussion on this show with 2 guide dog owners and a guide dog puppy raiser. Mo has news on the latest JAWS 2026 update, which includes the option to save your settings in the cloud. And Jan and Mo are about to fight it out as The Netherlands face-off with Morocco in the World Cup. Spoiler Alert; It's already happened guys! So, turn off the World Cup for a few minutes, prepare yourself a nice Gin and tonic, and give Blind Guys Chat a whirl. The official sponsor of the 2027 'Kitten chasing a…
As the world becomes more and more immersed in the FIFA 2026 World Cup, the Blind Guys assess FIFA’s audio description service for the games. Is it better than standard commentary or is it an own goal for FIFA? Jan and Mo have been on a second date, and as usual they had chaperones; this time in the guise of former 'Big Cheese' at Vispero, Eric Damery and his lovely wife Pauline. The guys accepted no guilt for ordering 2 lobster salads and then running for the hills before the bill arrived! Clodagh's got email questions about digital menus and QR codes, and a question about accessible…
In what can only be described as a robust conversation, this week's show has it all! The Blind Guys begin by talking about the weather and then we move smoothly into Jan telling us about this year’s Sight Village, from which he has just returned. The conversation then meanders along the road as the guys talk about the new Focus 46 and also the introduction of JAWS Kiosk as it rolls into Europe; it seems that there are some bumps along the way for this new accessibility feature at airports and other locations. The show tour bus then appears to take a sharp right and heads straight for a wall…
On this show we are chatting to Martijn van der Spek, the developer of the very popular PiccyBot application. Martijn tells us how he got started creating accessible apps for the blind, and of course all about his latest creation PiccyBot. The BGC fellas have been using this app for a while and love it. Jan is just back from a bitterly cold camping trip, where he has a top tip: wear all your clothes at the same time for a good night's sleep! Clodagh's got an email from Máire from Kerry, asking about audio description for GAA football and hurling, and gets rather excited explaining these…
We've got accessibility royalty this week as Glen Gordon joins us to chat all things retirement, AI, and Vispero. Glen's considerable legacy as a developer working for Vispero is not only in the software of JAWS itself, but also in the principles of accessibility, and the continuous improvement of assistive technology. He is continuing to push himself to new levels of development as he digs deep into AI and how it can improve accessibility. In other news, Clodagh has an email from Blind Gordon Anthony who gives us his views on the Oorion and PiccyBot apps. From AI: “Both OOrion (often…
Way-hey! The days are finally getting warmer, and Sjef and Larry (the respectable guide dogs) are out in their gardens, sunning themselves and listening to the wonderful birdsong. Have you tried the Merlin Bird ID app? It's an app that identifies which birdies are singing in the trees, and the 2 furry fellas think it's the business! META glasses are now available in the language of the land with no mountains! Yes, Dutch blindies can now interact with META Ray Bans in their own language... is that Double Dutch? Jan and Óran tell us how they are getting on with the OOrion and Tiera app. Have…
It's time to bring BGC favourite Kevin Sherwin back onto the show to discuss this year’s Eurovision Song Contest entries. Kevin is not pulling any punches this year and is betting His Holy Communion money on Latvia to win! And this year could be their year, as Saturn, Venus and Mount Fuji have decided not to take part in the competition. But what about all the other entries, don't they deserve a chance? What about Ireland, Spain, The Netherlands and 95-time contest winner and friend of the podcast Slovakia? And don't the Spice Girls get a say in any of this? Huh?! (Don’t forget to email…
Our guest this week is Liam Geschwindt from Touchpulse. Liam is here to talk to us about Tiera, which is a new AI-powered navigation app designed specifically for blind and low-vision users. Teira offers real-time, highly precise audio guidance to help us move independently through complex environments. Built with input from the visually impaired community, it adapts to each user’s needs and uses features like voice assistance and smart routing to make everyday travel safer and more accessible. And the Blind Guys were delighted to hear that the app can also find a bargain, cos we're too…
Doctor Lucía Pintado Gutiérrez, is our guest this week. Dr Gutiérrez is the author of a new report on audio description (AD) in Ireland – ‘The ADESI Project’. Her research is not just confined to broadcast but rather covers audio description in all aspects of life including sports, film, theatre, museums, and education. Dr Gutiérrez, shares with us the reasons why she decided to do this research, what the media accessible landscape looks like in Ireland, and shares the results of her research with us. Jan has info on an app from UEFA where you can access AD commentaries for soccer matches…
On this show we are speaking to Mohammed's brother Ihab Laachir, who is here to spill the beans about his older brother, apparently known as 'The Hacker' in his family. Who knew?! Ihab is currently studying political science at Amsterdam University and has some great insights into living with a disability while attending university. Is Ihab a future prime minister of The Netherlands? Well, he has our vote for sure. We have emails from Chloe in the UK about funniest blind bloopers - Mohammed has a funny one about meeting himself in his apartment. Huh? Mei Ling from Singapore is asking about…
#:140: Larry's favourite guest of all time Fresh from setting fire to the Italian Pavilion at COP 30, due to a lack of salty caramel gelato, this week we are devoting the whole show to Professor John Sweeney, leading climatologist at Maynooth University. Prof. John, who is Larry's favourite person, at least when there are sausages about, is here to put a bit of smacht (an Hiberno-English term – see more here ) on the whole weather situation going on at the moment. Over the last few weeks in Ireland, Spain, Portugal and even Morocco residents and business owners have been drenched with the…
As we celebrate 50 years of Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind we speak to Tom O'Neill, guide dog owner and founder of the Balbriggan branch of Irish Guide Dogs. Tom tells us how he came to own his first guide dog and how having dogs has made his day-to-day living much more independent. It's not quite ‘Planes, Trains and Automobiles’, but Jan comes fairly close. Recently he spent a day, yes that's right! One day! ...in the "The City by the Bay". Why only a day? Well... let him explain; we think there could be a movie in this story! Clodagh is back with a shout-out for new listener, Adrijana,…
Happy New Year to you all! This week we are devoting the whole show to Mr David Woodbridge, Product Specialist for Humanware Australia. David will take us through all things Humanware, including the new Evolve Windows Braille notetaker. We also chat about guide dogs, and of course our favourite topic: Braille. So, sit back, slap on the factor 2000, and settle in for a listen to the hottest podcast this side of a chess-playing koala bear; Blind Guys Chat. 8 out of 10 sandy beaches prefer it to salt water. Links for this show: · Humanware: https://www.humanware.com/en-international/ · Isee…
This week, Jan is floating on cloud 9 as his local football team (that's soccer for those of you in the USA) seems to be doing very well. So well, in fact, that they are top of the 'kitchen' league ...better not to ask what that means! Our good friend Stuart Lawler gives us his own thoughts on the NewHaptics 'Codex' Braille display, which uses compressed air to raise its braille cells. It does this by hooking itself up to an aquarium-like pump. However, we are not sure if fish need to be present while the display is in operation. Once we find Nemo, we will ask him/her! Mohammed has at last…
This week we are talking to Adela Buliman from Vially here in Ireland. Adela is the Chief Accessibility Officer and what she doesn't know about the European Accessibility Act, isn't worth knowing about! So, roll up your sleeves, Mohammed, and get ready to rumble! Disclaimer: this chat is more of a girlie pillow fight than a "pistols at dawn" kinda thing, but we enjoyed it! Jan was home alone at Sight Village, London recently, and he has all the juicy tech news to share, including a new Braille note-taker from HumanWare. The biggest news this episode is that the guys have been working hard on…
It's celebration time here in the BGC office as Óran has news! It seems he is now calling himself a scriptwriter because his very first script has just been produced. It is for the super-fun, excellent and wonderful children's animation TV series: ‘Maddie + Triggs’. You may remember we had the star of the show, Bonnie O'Meara on the podcast, together with Turnip + Duck founders: Colm Tobin and Aidan O'Donovan. Óran’s episode is #46 and is called 'Dogs with Jobs' which is about Lolo the guide dog. There are links to that interview, along with links to Óran’s episode at the bottom of the show…
This week we are chatting with Freek van Welsenis, the Director and CEO of Hable One. Freek is here to talk about the Hable One, a sleek Braille device that can be used to navigate your smart devices. He also tells us about the Hable Easy, a smartphone controller, and the Speechlabel, a handy device for labelling and subsequently identifying items around the house and in work. Mohammed and Jan's date to Jan's local football club didn't go so well. It appears that Mohammed was left to fend for himself at the ticket gate! Well, Chantal was also with him, so he wasn’t completely abandoned, and…
This week we find out that Mohammed is building his fan base. Yes, it appears that he has at least one! It's a lovely woman who lives in Maynooth, County Kildare. Apparently, she drives a car that looks like a frog. Let's hope her husband doesn't find out! About Mo, not the car! He knows about the car, in fairness! Óran has been having some issues with the WhatsApp desktop application for Windows, and also with WhatsApp video calling via his Meta Ray Ban smart glasses. It turns out a WhatsApp update is required for the video to work again on the Meta glasses. Bold boys WhatsApp! Professor…
This week we’re talking to Professor Pieter Roelfsema from the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience in Amsterdam. He is chatting with the lads about a research project looking at direct electrical stimulation of the brain via cortical visual neuroprostheses, which is a promising approach to restore basic sight for the visually impaired by inducing a percept of localised light called ‘phosphenes’. We are offering Jan as a guinea pig for this one! Meta are opening up an SDK (Software Development Kit, for those of us who are less technical) so external software developers can develop and add…
Time to bring out the slide projector again as Jan tells us about his recent holiday adventure in France and Spain. Thank all the gods he was with his wonderful wife and children or else he might have left a trail of destruction behind him! He tells us all. Our guest this week is eamonn linnane. For the last 25 years Eamonn has been organising the Mizen to Malin cycling event, in order to raise funds for Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind, in memory of his late father, Paddy. Eamonn tells us all about the cycle and even tries to persuade the Blind Guys to do it in 2026. The guys have agreed, but…
We're back after our summer break, and as we woke up to the sound of Autumn arriving, (it’s lashing rain here!) we were discouraged to hear that the new Glide is not coming to Europe! What!?! As the characters on South Park might say "You Ba***rds! You killed Kenny!" But are we really surprised to hear this news? The Blind Guys discuss. Guess who's just pre-ordered a new pair of Envision Ally Solos Glasses even though he already has a pair of the original ones? Yes, it's the Stephen Scott of Blind Guys Chat; Mohammed. So why has he decided to throw his €3,500 Envision smart glasses out with…
Hello and welcome to BCG129. Jan is off soaking up the rays with his family so Mo and Óran are home alone with Clodagh babysitting them. Mo is about to go on his own holidays, he is off to Berlin all on his own! Will he be ok? Will he be able to find the hotel all by himself? Do the German women need to lock their doors? And what is a museum island? None of these questions will be answered in this show! However, Mo is going to meet up with some of the local Berliners and run around their parks. Have you ever done a 'Park Run'? Let us know how you got on: [email protected] . Óran is…
Don't worry folks, Unlike the Icelandic volcano 'Eyjafjallajökull', we have not erupted, but we are quite hot and sweaty in the BGC office. Jan is just back from Washington DC where Abraham Lincon and his mates were sweltering in 35-degree heat (95 degrees in old money). Jan was a bit peeved, as his ‘Look and Tell’ feature on his Meta Ray Ban glasses is still not working. Oh dear! However, perhaps he might purchase a pair of the new Oakley smart glasses, or as Jan calls them, the new UGLY glasses! (Oakley will not be pleased at being called that – as they’re a very proud fashion brand!) Do…
The Blind Guys get berated by Clodagh this week as they appear to be just messing around and having a chat. Is it because of the good weather? Maybe. Tesla’s autonomous (driverless) cars in Austin Texas appear to have thrown caution to the wind and are driving around breaking the speed limits, but hard breaking when they see the cops! Could it be those little rascals The Minions are being naughty perhaps? Clodagh and Óran had a great laugh last weekend when in County Cork, where a local tried to convince them that a 50-kilowatt charging station is a 'superfast' charger! You're not pulling…
About Blind Guys Chat
Blind Guys chat is a biweekly podcast, produced by two blind guys, one in Ireland and one in the Netherlands. The show takes an easy and breezy approach to life, disability, technology, and just about anything else that the blind guys think of!
We'd love to hear from you so get in touch by email to
Blind Guys Chat is a English tech & science podcast from Oran O'Neill. Melo plays each episode straight from the publisher's own feed — no ads added, no account needed — and remembers where you stopped, in this browser only.
The Melo app keeps playing with the screen off, works in the car and on your watch, wakes you to your station, and browses the whole catalogue offline. Free, no ads, no account.
