DisLabeled Season 1

Brian searches for technologies to help him better navigate the world. He meets with the founders of a tech startup called WearWorks, who allow him to test out a prototype of their navigational wristband, the Wayband – a technology that helped British marathon runner Simon Wheatcroft become the first blind runner to race in the New York City Marathon without human assistance. Running in the park with another triathlete and Wayband brand ambassador, Brian is encouraged to adopt a physical fitness regime and lose those extra pounds.

Brian visits Tamerlaine Farms, an animal sanctuary in New Jersey, to explore the many ways that animals and people provide a safety net for one another, through the lens of disability. Chatting with founder Peter Nussbaum, he hears how he and his wife started the farm with a vegan philosophy to provide a safe haven for animals rescued from factory farms, circuses, or other abusive situations. Brian meets the staff and visitors to the farm, including Phil Kauffman – a longtime volunteer, who recently lost a leg in a motorcycle accident while driving to work at Tamerlaine. Brian accompanies him on his chores, witnessing how important Phil’s work with the animals is to his recovery. Brian re-evaluates his relationship to animals (including his two rescue dogs Indira and Rosie), their importance in helping him find his place in the world again, and his preconceptions about veganism.

Brian visits Tamerlaine Farms, an animal sanctuary in New Jersey, to explore the many ways that animals and people provide a safety net for one another, through the lens of disability. Chatting with founder Peter Nussbaum, he hears how he and his wife started the farm with a vegan philosophy to provide a safe haven for animals rescued from factory farms, circuses, or other abusive situations. Brian meets the staff and visitors to the farm, including Phil Kauffman – a longtime volunteer, who recently lost a leg in a motorcycle accident while driving to work at Tamerlaine. Brian accompanies him on his chores, witnessing how important Phil’s work with the animals is to his recovery. Brian re-evaluates his relationship to animals (including his two rescue dogs Indira and Rosie), their importance in helping him find his place in the world again, and his preconceptions about veganism.

The Americans with Disability Act (A.D.A) was passed over thirty years ago, and yet the physical world is still very far from accessible. Nina Bakoyiannis, Clinical Psychologist and ADAPT activist, discusses the movement for disability rights with Brian. Activist Christina Curry (Harlem Independent Living Center) who has the most class-action lawsuits of any organization against the MTA, and Quemuel Arroyo, Chief Accessibility Office at the MTA who guides the many improvements at Grand Central Station, are among others paving the way to a more accessible world. Brian awakens to the movement for disability rights and attends his first demonstration.

In this final episode of season one, Brian takes a big leap out of his comfort zone, jumping directly into the political fray. He meets ADAPT co-coordinator Marie Hickey to get a quick orientation to disability activism, and goes to protest former Governor Cuomo’s stricter eligibility requirements for home health care aids. Forced to retreat, Brian meets with New York historian Warren Shaw whose father headed the Mayor’s Office for the Handicapped (as it was called back in 1978) under Mayor Ed Koch and we learn of Nina’s ADAPT chapter (from episode 4) being granted a meeting with newly appointed Governor Hochul’s health team. Brian reckons with his own journey as he hears heartfelt testimonies from co-demonstrators about how much this struggle is a matter of survival.