# Why Is Disability Still an Afterthought? Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/assembly-required-with-stacey-abrams-6977119/why-is-disability-still-an-afterthought Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/assembly-required-with-stacey-abrams-6977119/why-is-disability-still-an-afterthought.md Podcast: [Assembly Required with Stacey Abrams](https://stenobird.com/podcast/assembly-required-with-stacey-abrams-6977119) Published: 2026-06-09T09:55:00+00:00 Episode link: https://audioboom.com/posts/8914094 Audio file: https://clrtpod.com/m/pscrb.fm/rss/p/prfx.byspotify.com/e/arttrk.com/p/CRMDA/mgln.ai/e/284/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/audioboom.com/posts/8914094.mp3?modified=1780982926&sid=5166618&source=rss Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/assembly-required-with-stacey-abrams-6977119/episodes/why-is-disability-still-an-afterthought Duration seconds: 3641 ## Resource What does disability rights and representation really look like? While the Trump administration continues to decimate access to healthcare and dismantle civil rights, disabled Americans are often among those most affected and most overlooked. More than 70 million adults in the United States live with a disability, navigating barriers that extend far beyond health care. This week, Stacey is joined by Marlene Sallo, Executive Director of the National Disability Rights Network, and disability rights advocate and motivational speaker Spencer West. They discuss the challenges facing the disability community, what many people get wrong about disability rights, and why building a more accessible and inclusive society is a social justice issue that impacts us all. For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here . For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast, episode title, and episode date Learn & Do More: Be Curious : Follow Spencer West on Instagram (@spencer2thewest) and expand your list of trusted creators, advocates, and journalists covering disability issues. Our guests also recommended The Anti-Ableist Manifesto: How To Build a Disability-Inclusive World by Tiffany Yu, and the books of the late activist and author Alice Wong. Finally, check out the Netflix documentary Crip Camp, which follows teens at a groundbreaking camp for young people with disabilities and their powerful journey as activists. Solve Problems : Visit NDRN.org to learn more about the issues impacting disabled communities and how you can contact your elected representatives to advocate for change. If you are disabled and need assistance, the National Disability Rights Network can help connect you with legal advocacy and suppor… ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/assembly-required-with-stacey-abrams-6977119/episodes/why-is-disability-still-an-afterthought/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/assembly-required-with-stacey-abrams-6977119/why-is-disability-still-an-afterthought.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.