125 episodes

Where the visuals of current events and the world around us get hashed out in description-rich conversations. J.J. Hunt is an innovative Audio Describer and a natural-born storyteller. Christine Malec is a perpetually inquisitive member of the blind and partially sighted community who’s always wondering about something. In Talk Description to Me, their discussions plunge into current events and topical issues to explore the content of important images, and help place vivid descriptions in their cultural context. Lively, hard-hitting, witty, vibrant, and fun, this is conversation with a view!

Talk Description to Me Christine Malec and JJ Hunt

    • Society & Culture
    • 4.8 • 27 Ratings

Where the visuals of current events and the world around us get hashed out in description-rich conversations. J.J. Hunt is an innovative Audio Describer and a natural-born storyteller. Christine Malec is a perpetually inquisitive member of the blind and partially sighted community who’s always wondering about something. In Talk Description to Me, their discussions plunge into current events and topical issues to explore the content of important images, and help place vivid descriptions in their cultural context. Lively, hard-hitting, witty, vibrant, and fun, this is conversation with a view!

    Episode 124 - AI Description Part 2

    Episode 124 - AI Description Part 2

    Part 2 of 2. 

    Love them or hate them, AI writing tools like Chat GPT have the potential to change the way we write, communicate, and learn. One group looking to harness the technology with, and for, the Blind community is Be My Eyes, an outfit which  connects Blind and low-vision users with sighted volunteers through live video calls. Now,  Be My Eyes has partnered with OpenAI to create Be My AI, a free app-based service that provides AI-generated descriptions of user photos. The tech is currently being tested and played with by a large group of users, Christine among them. This week, Christine shares illuminating examples of what the service can -- and can't yet -- do, and JJ breaks down the AI descriptions from a Describer's point of view. 

    Talk Description to Me is not affiliated with, nor sponsored by, Be My Eyes or OpenAI.
    Support the show

    • 37 min
    Episode 123 - AI Description Part 1

    Episode 123 - AI Description Part 1

    Love them or hate them, AI writing tools like ChatGPT have the potential to change the way we write, communicate, and learn. One group looking to harness the technology with, and for, the Blind community is Be My Eyes, an outfit which  connects Blind and low-vision users with sighted volunteers through live video calls. Now,  Be My Eyes has partnered with OpenAI to create Be My AI, a free app-based service that provides AI-generated descriptions of user photos. The tech is currently being tested and played with by a large group of users, Christine among them. This week, Christine shares illuminating examples of what the service can -- and can't yet -- do, and JJ breaks down the AI descriptions from a Describer's point of view. Part 1 of 2.

    Talk Description to Me is not affiliated with, nor sponsored by, Be My Eyes or OpenAI.
    Support the show

    • 37 min
    Episode 122 - Warden Woods Ravine Walk

    Episode 122 - Warden Woods Ravine Walk

    Ravines are a distinctive part of the urban landscape of Toronto. They create a network of natural green space that is one of the city’s defining features.  Edited by Christine and introduced by JJ, you’re about  to experience a described walk through part of one of them, led by Arborist Todd Irvine, funded by Park People's Ravine Champions program and organized by Katherine Sanders and guest Describer Rebecca Singh, this piece guides and informs as it walks you through the stories that exist in Toronto’s Urban Forest.



    Support the show

    • 51 min
    Episode 121 - Backyard Trek Talk

    Episode 121 - Backyard Trek Talk

    The Star Trek universe is alive, well, and moving at warp speed. To celebrate Star Trek Day JJ joins Christine in her backyard for a casual  conversation about the visuals of two Trek shows, the animated series Lower Decks, and the live action prequel Strange New Worlds. Fast-paced animation, and the complexities of prequel aesthetics, are too much for traditional inline description, so with the sound of passing shuttlecraft and starships overhead (ok, maybe they're just planes headed to the airport!) Christine and JJ indulge in a geeky, chit-chatty, description deep dive. 
    Support the show

    • 51 min
    Episode 120 - The Grinch!

    Episode 120 - The Grinch!

    Christmas is a wonderful time to get in touch with old friends, to catch up over a warm mug of hot chocolate, to say "How have you been? I've really missed you!" Well, we've really missed you!

    This year, to celebrate the season, we'd like to make this small Christmas offering: a reading of How The Grinch Stole Christmas by the one-and-only Dr. Seuss. But Christine is Christine, JJ is JJ, and this is Talk Description to Me, so in our reading of the classic Christmas tale, a few descriptions of the picture book illustrations have been woven into the text in playful Seussian rhyme!

    Now let's pour that hot chocolate and catch up, shall we?!
    Support the show

    • 11 min
    Episode 119 - Toronto and the Toronto Islands

    Episode 119 - Toronto and the Toronto Islands

    Talk Description to Me is hitting pause -- for the time being! To mark their final episode in this two-year run, Christine and JJ packed a picnic, hopped on a ferry, and headed to the Toronto Islands. Sitting on a park bench, facing the Toronto skyline, the two friends shared one last description-rich conversation before unplugging their mics for a spell. 

    To all of our listeners, thank you for taking this journey with us! Please stay subscribed so that you don't miss a moment when we plug back in!
    Support the show

    • 42 min

Customer Reviews

4.8 out of 5
27 Ratings

27 Ratings

goldfingas ,

👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽

Love this!!!

7-Mary-4 ,

A visual feast for everyone

JJ is a true artist when it comes to describing the visual experience. I would recommend this podcast for everyone, especially those who can see, but don’t observe their world.

Read2781 ,

Amazing

I’ve been legally blind since birth. I greatly appreciate the effort that has gone into creating these descriptions. Having descriptions of current events is a wonderful way for those with vision loss to remain connected to the world around us.

Top Podcasts In Society & Culture

This American Life
This American Life
Stuff You Should Know
iHeartPodcasts
MeSsy with Christina Applegate & Jamie-Lynn Sigler
Wishbone Production
The Viall Files
Nick Viall
Shawn Ryan Show
Shawn Ryan | Cumulus Podcast Network
Freakonomics Radio
Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher