Rare with Flair

Casey Greer and Cassandra Mendez
  • 4.9 (84)
  • Personal Journals
  • Updated Biweekly

Casey + Cassandra are a pair of best friends with the same rare disease. Their goal is simple: sharing their lives to showcase the beauty and normalcy in disability, while having fun together. They’ll also touch on accessibility, friendships, style, and everything in between as they live their best, rare, lives! For show notes, go to rarewithflair.com

  1. 2d ago

    144. we need more hobbies apparently

    hi hello hey — apparently we needed more hobbies??This week, we’re catching up on all the deeply important developments in our lives: hair journeys, nail journeys, emotional support apps, LinkedIn games, coloring books, rock climbing, baking projects, and the media consuming habits of two visually impaired women with access to streaming services. Basically, this is our annual “what are we into lately?” episode where we talk about the random little things currently bringing us joy and occupying our brains. From Case setting goals with Finch to our shared obsession with Phineas and Ferb, consider this a cozy catch-up and proof that hobbies are, in fact, alive and well. Case + Cass showing off what they’re into lately, including nails and rock climbing, 2025

    1h 1m

  2. May 12

    "anyways, i'm disabled"

    hi hello hey — we’re visually impaired Hopefully this isn’t news to our audience considering we’ve made nearly 150 episodes of us yapping, largely about our blindness. We’ve done many an episode about disclosing our disabilities in different settings — jobs, friendships, dating, and learning how to say just enough without accidentally info-dumping on unsuspecting strangers. Even with the same jobs and friends, we still find ourselves disclosing all the time, but nowhere does it feel more constant than while dating. Cass is out there, and before meeting the love of her life, Case also often found herself playing what felt like a game: trying to disclose casually in a way that felt conversational instead of Serious™. Somewhere along the way, we realized we’d both become oddly skilled at finding ways to bring up blindness in nearly any topic of conversation. Naturally, we decided to turn it into an actual game. In this episode, we put our disclosure abilities to the test: can we find a way to disclose our blindness with any conversation prompt? related episodes For more episodes on disclosing, check these out: 14. life, love, & dating with a disability for our thoughts on dating way back in 2021 38. our jobs, discrimination, & unattainable goals on disclosing for work 44. the beginner’s guide to disclosing disability on disclosing in dating and beyond 97. how we stopped word-vomiting all our struggles on oversharing or disclosing too soon 114. please, read the room!!! on when to disclose vs. when to let it go 124. we’ve changed our minds?: our 5 year podaversary on the ways we’ve changed over the years, including disclosure and accepting help Case + Cass during Case’s bachelorette, 2026

    55 min

  3. Apr 28

    we secured the grant: HPS conference 2026 recap

    hi hello hey… we’re not ready to be back Physically, we’re home, but mentally, we’re still at the Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome Conference. This year was extra special because we secured a Grant—Newkirk, that is. Case’s fiancé, Grant, joined the conference chaos for the first (and certainly not the last) time, and it made everything even more fun. We get into the excitement (and vulnerability) of bringing someone new into a space that feels so unique to our community—and spoiler alert: Grant was welcomed with open arms. This year’s conference was on the smaller side, but still just as meaningful. We’re recapping it all—from our many involvements to our favorite moments. To everyone we saw—old friends and new—it’s always such a joy to connect with this community. HPS is just the first of three conferences we’ll be at this year, so stay tuned for more recaps in the coming months… some of which may turn into chaotic live episodes. Case + Grant (+ Cass) at the HPS conference, 2026 related episodes Check out past HPS conference eps to relive the magic 16. a family reunion with blood draws: the hps conference (2021): a primer on all things conference 66. hps conference: reuniting our community after four years (2023) 91. doctors at a bar, cute lab mice, & dancing dinosaurs: hps conference recap (2024) 117. few but many: hps conference 2025 Still on a conference kick? Enjoy other episodes where we recap conferences: 50. squinting in orlando: albinism conference recap NOAH 2022 98. rolling out the red carpet for the albinism conference NOAH 2024 120. still alive but barely breathing lmao: ats recap our time at the American Thoracic Society in 2025

    1h 12m

  4. Apr 14

    passenger princesses: zero miles driven

    hi hello hey, guess who has the best job?? us, because we don’t have to drive! We’re all well aware of the perks of driving—the privacy of your own car, the freedom to go anywhere at any time—but what about the perks of being a passenger princess (or prince)? Driving takes visual, mental, and physical energy that we simply don’t have to spend, which means more room to save money, relax, and stay relatively safe. We also talk about the importance of finding ways to navigate semi-independently and encourage y’all to lean into it when possible—whether that’s public transportation, rideshares, or tapping into your broader community instead of relying on the same person every time. However you do it, we hope you flex those mental muscles and get creative if you’re feeling stuck. We had so much fun recording this episode—something about it felt like classic Rare with Flair. Don’t worry though, we’ll be back to our usual shenanigans next episode as we recap the 2026 Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome conference! related episodes For more episodes where we talk about driving (or not driving), check these out: 23. two blind girls take a driving test: why we choose not to bioptic drive (+ a quiz that proves how little we know about driving) 65. feeling like a burden: a vulnerable discussion on how not driving makes us feel 111. lifting the burden: how we pay it forward: how we give back to those who help us out Case + Cass attempting to drive with their dads, 2019/2021

    52 min

  5. Mar 31

    snack tier list... don't be mad

    hi hello hey, you hungry? well… you’re about to be! Before we get into this week’s ep, thank you for your patience while we took a little break. Between travel and being sick, we wanted to wait until we had the time and energy to bring you a quality episode—and now we’re back and, frankly, starving. Want some snacks?? It’s been a minute since we did a “flair” ep, and this one was actually a brilliant idea from our girl ChatGPT (hate if you will, but she’s helpful!). You loved when we ranked assistive technology, so we’re back with another tier list—this time featuring (mostly) salty snacks. Expect some agreements, some disagreements, and some seriously salty takes. Have another tier list topic you want us to debate, or a favorite snack we missed? Email us at hello@rarewithflair.com! Cass & Case snackin, 2024/2025

    1h 14m

  6. Mar 3

    oops, all blindie moments

    hi hello hey, welcome to a normal day in our lives! If you’ve heard even one episode of our show, you know we tend to save some of our best blind/disability moments for the pod to really bring our lovely listeners into our world. Whether it’s helpful perspective for listeners without disabilities or catharsis for listeners like us, we usually pull out the wildest ones. What you may not know is that those big, shocking stories actually happen somewhat sparingly. The little moments? Those happen practically daily. They’re so normal to us that sometimes we don’t even think to share them with each other. This episode is a collection of those moments — the quiet, low-key, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it (well… metaphorically) blindie experiences that make up our actual, everyday lives. No dramatic plot twists. No public showdowns. Just the cozy, mildly chaotic reality of existing in the world as blind girls trying to find forks, navigate doctor’s offices, and keep it moving. Because this is what disability looks like on a random Tuesday. Case feeling attacked by the impossible “Magic Eye” book while Cass feels seen by the large print books display, 2026/2024 related episodes Ready for more story time, big or small? Check these episodes out: 31. too blind to be sighted; too sighted to be blind living in the “gray area” between sighted and blind. 40. this one’s tmi… some of our most unfiltered chronic illness stories. 52. our lives are just one long, awkward moment a series of uncomfy social situations caused by our low vision. 63. our uber funny rideshare stories some of our wildest (and weirdest) rideshare experiences. 79. our lives are one huge contradiction times we saw things we felt we shouldn’t… but couldn’t see things we should. 99. the unhappiest place on earth: discrimination at disneyland our humiliating attempt to get DAS at Disneyland in 2024. 104. did they really just say that?! a smattering of some of the most shocking things people have said to us 106. we’re delulu about what we look like in public why we can’t fake looking “normal” and the stories to prove it. 108. the wound that never heals: our discrimination stories the most deeply cutting discrimination we’ve experienced in our lives 112. a grocery delivery shopper yelled at cass?? chaos from the world of grocery delivery. 137. sorry, my brain was buffering stories of when our processing speed said “please hold.”

    1h 4m

  7. Feb 17

    blame it on bestie

    hi hello hey, get ready for a real love fest today Do you ever spend so much time with someone that you slowly start becoming them? Or worse… you start liking things you swore you’d never like? After nearly 12 years of friendship (and almost 6 years of being best friends), we’ve influenced each other in ways both small and genuinely life-altering. From music, style, and products to deeper things like our perspectives, habits, and who we’ve grown into as people, we honestly wouldn’t recognize our lives without each other in them. This episode is exactly what it sounds like: a cute, sappy, slightly embarrassing bestie love fest. We talk about the ways we’ve shaped each other—sometimes intentionally, sometimes completely by accident—and how we’ve made each other better along the way. So grab a cozy drink, settle in, and blame it on bestie. Have we influenced you in any way, big or small? We’d love to hear about it! Send us an email at hello@rarewithflair.com. related episodes for episodes we mention in this one, check out: 137. sorry, my brain was buffering our most recent episode on visual processing 135. our most ambitious vision boards yet!! for our 2026 vision boards 93. the great cardigan debate: our style roots for proof Cass used to be a cardigan hater 61. is reading an audiobook really reading? to hear about Cass’ grad school project on reading with low vision (and BARD Mobile!) 46.5. pale skin & green thumbs on our love for plants 34. shouting from the rooftops about assistive technology for proof Case used to be a dark mode hater 7. thank you for the music for proof that Cass used to be a Taylor Swift hater 1. intro: welcome to rare with flair! for our incentive of hearing Case’s “dog voice” for Rupert if we hit 100+ reviews 51. blind beauty tips for actually hearing Case’s ridiculous dog voice (that is now part of Cass’ life) for other cutesy episodes about friendship: 89. the moments that defined our ten-year friendship 77. only disabled friends talk about this 73. the alternate life where we wouldn’t be friends 34.5. are we really best friends? the ultimate friendship test

    1h 9m

  8. Feb 3

    sorry, my brain was buffering

    hi hello hey… oh, are you waving at us?? We’ve done many an episode about the unique situations we find ourselves in while navigating a world with limited vision, and this one offers a fresh take on a very enduring experience. After living for 30 years (an average of our ages), we’ve realized our brains aren’t exactly built for speedy visual processing. When your vision is limited, your brain gets less information to work with—and sometimes it feels like it’s just… buffering. This isn’t a visual processing disorder; it’s simply our brains doing their best with what they’ve got. The result? Occasional awkward pauses, missed cues, and moments where we look completely spaced out. But there’s also a flip side. Because we don’t get bogged down in tiny visual details, our brains have learned to compensate in pretty cool ways. We make decisions based on shapes, colors, patterns, and context—and honestly, we’re often surprisingly accurate. (And when we’re not, the fails are at least validating proof to our friends that no, we’re not being dramatic about our vision.) related episodes If you want more proof that our eyes love putting us in funny situations, check out these episodes: 52. our lives are just one long, awkward moment for more on navigating social situations with low vision. 114. please, read the room!!! on choosing our battles—when to disclose and ask for accommodations, and when to let things go. 17. do we want a cure? our thoughts on not fixing our vision. And an episode we reference in this one: 107. blind gamer girlies on playing video games with low vision. Case + Cass enjoying some exercise (& processing visually), 2025

    49 min
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4.9
out of 5
84 Ratings

About

Casey + Cassandra are a pair of best friends with the same rare disease. Their goal is simple: sharing their lives to showcase the beauty and normalcy in disability, while having fun together. They’ll also touch on accessibility, friendships, style, and everything in between as they live their best, rare, lives! For show notes, go to rarewithflair.com

Information

  • Creator
    Casey Greer and Cassandra Mendez
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    148
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2024, Rare with Flair
  • Show Website
    Rare with Flair

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