Why are disabled people still missing from mainstream media?

In this episode of The I Can’t Stand Podcast, host Peta Hooke speaks with Susan Wood, Senior Content Manager at Spinal Cord Injuries Australia and host of Have the Nerve, about disability, media exclusion, and representation in Australia.

Susan shares her lived experience of wanting a career in news media and being repeatedly locked out of work because of inaccessibility rather than ability. Together, they explore how systemic barriers limit disabled people’s participation in media, the long-term impact on confidence and mental health, and why ambition alone is often not enough in an inaccessible world.

This conversation looks at disability through the lens of employment, storytelling, and power, and asks what needs to change so disabled voices are no longer the exception in Australian media.

Content warning: this episode includes discussion of self harm and suicidal thoughts.

Beyond Blue: https://www.beyondblue.org.au/get-support

Lifeline: https://www.lifeline.org.au

Connect with Susan:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susan-g-wood/?originalSubdomain=au

Have the Nerve Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/5xxKaf3n2mupbS6zPplacy

Connect with Peta Hooke:

Instagram: @petahooke

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@petahooke

Website: www.icantstandpodcast.com

Email: icantstandpodcast@gmail.com

Episode Transcript:
www.icantstandpodcast.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Storm Menzies is the founder of ByStorm Beauty, a brand on a mission to make beauty more accessible, without sacrificing style or dignity. After injuring her dominant hand at the gym, Storm realised how much dexterity is assumed in everyday makeup tools, and how often disabled people are excluded from the beauty conversation altogether.

In this episode, Storm shares how she went from DIY clay prototypes to launching a national collaboration with Celeste Barber’s beauty brand, BOOIE. We talk about co-designing with disabled users, her frustrations with investors who say “disability is too niche,” and why she believes accessible design should never feel like charity.

Connect with Storm:

Instagram: @bystorm.beauty

Website: https://bystormbeauty.com

Tiktok: @bystorm.beauty

Connect with Peta Hooke
Instagram: @petahooke
Website: www.icantstandpodcast.com
Email: icantstandpodcast@gmail.com

Episode Transcript:
www.icantstandpodcast.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this short episode, Peta shares a personal reflection on 2025, a year defined more by endurance than spark. She talks about living through ongoing illness and injury, the role of work and conversation in keeping her grounded, and the relationships that carried her through a difficult year.

Peta also explains a brief pause to the podcast as she undergoes gallbladder surgery, and shares her hopes for 2026, choosing the word steady over spark.

Thank you for listening, for your patience, and for being part of this community. The podcast will return soon.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.