Eric Harris is joined by his old friend Shay Arigbede, filmmaker and former competitive sled hockey player, to talk two big recent cultural events -- the 2026 Paralympic Winter Games and the 98th Annual Academy Awards. The two reminisce about their time as teenagers trying to find a channel that broadcast the Paralympics and reflect on how far the presence of the games has come today. They also discuss the Oscars, looking into some of the biggest wins, coolest allies, and some thoughts on disability representation on screen. It’s a conversation that sits at the cross-section of athletics and art, with disability square at the center.

Links:

· 2026 Paralympic Winter Games

· 2026 Academy Awards

· Paralympic sled hockey team

This time on The Game Plan, Eric interviews an old friend-- Emily Ladau, national disability rights activist, speaker, and author of the incredible Demystifying Disability, the practical guide that has rapidly grown to an essential tome of our movement. Emily reflects on her childhood experience guest-starring on Sesame Street, advocate origin stories alongside Eric in the AAPD internship program, and serves some breaking news from the publishing world(!)

For those just coming to understand disability, how it lives in our culture and societies, and how to embrace it throughout your life with kindness, you could not find a better starting place than Emily’s work.

Links:

· Demystifying Disability

· Sesame Street episodes

· American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD)

· Article: Wheelchair? Hearing Aids? Yes. ‘Disabled’? No Way.

Welcome back to the Game Plan! In this episode, Eric is joined by community advocate, Sacramento City Councilmember, and Congressional Candidate Mai Vang. Mai describes her experience growing up as a first-generation daughter of refugees and one of 16 siblings as part of Sacramento's large and historic Hmong community. They discuss being a "lone warrior" in Sacramento politics, some of her fights at the city level, why she is running to primary CA-07's incumbent Democrat, and her sense of great urgency to drive new policies that center human care.

Links:

· History of the Hmong Community in Sacramento

· maiforus.com

On this episode of the Game Plan, Eric is in conversation with two esteemed experts in the Black mental health space, Kelechi Ubozoh and Yolo Akili Robinson. Together, the three break down generational differences in perspectives on mental health, discuss shifting narratives around Black masculinity, and unpack the impacts of racism on the psyches of Black people. We’re honored to have this deep dive just in time for Black History Month; it's a conversation full of heavy truths that need to be aired as well as joy, levity, and hope.

Content warning: There is mention of suicide at 9:07-9:11 and at 31:03-31:10. If you are struggling, you are not alone, and support is there for you. Call or text 988, anytime.

Links:

· We've Been Too Patient: Voices from Radical Mental Health, by Kelechi Ubozoh : https://kelechiubozoh.com/weve-been-too-patient/

· martyr nurturing: https://beam.community/martyr-nurturing-vs-healing-centered-nurturing/

This time on The Game Plan, Eric is joined by Dolores Canales (director of community outreach for The Bail Project,) a national leader and incredible activist in the fight to end solitary confinement. Dolores and Eric talk about their lives, activism, the history and future of disability and incarceration movements intersecting, and their shared work in the California Mandela Campaign, which seeks to end the use of solitary by any name in the state's locked facilities. Dolores' personal connection to the work is remarkable, her own life and her family's has been both afflicted by these issues but also brought great joy from the community of resistance. Dolores has traveled, uplifting the real needs, experiences, and stories of incarcerated people, to the far reaches of California, to Washington, D.C., and in pursuit of new learning and new models, as far as Norway. Dolores’s passion and knowledge on this critical issue are luminous, and we’re thrilled to have her on the show.

Content warning: There is discussion of suicide at 19:27-19:42 and 30:08-30:50.

Links:

• Book recommendation: Ending Isolation: The Case Against Solitary Confinement

• The California Mandela Campaign

• The Bail Project

This episode of The Game Plan is historic—our first episode with two guests! We couldn’t think of two better people to join Eric than Conrad Crump and Tremmel Watson, whose friendship and connection to each other, and their work, are infectious. Together, they share about their disparate upbringings, which led to Conrad and Tremmel’s unlikely friendship, and their unique journeys with disability identity. The three also pay homage to two indomitable Black and disabled voices, activist Assata Shakur and R&B singer D’Angelo. Conrad and Tremmel’s mutual passion for activism, representation, and their roots is a call for a world where we can all find liberation. This episode is a balm for the soul, and we hope you enjoy. “Alexa, play some 90’s R&B.”

Content warning: There is discussion of violence and trauma at 20:35-21:00.

Links:

· Activating Change: https://www.activatingchange.org/

· The Autobiography of Malcolm X: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/106490/the-autobiography-of-malcolm-x-by-malcolm-x-as-told-to-alex-haley/

· Brad Lomax documentary: https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/brad-lomax-documentary/33589/

Links:

• The Festival of Philippine Arts and Culture Festival

• Access LA

Links:

· California Office of Emergency Services: https://www.caloes.ca.gov/

· Emergency Preparedness Block Party: https://www.disabilityrightsca.org/events/emergency-preparedness-block-party

• State of the State Report

• Artist Roberto Lugo

• Tracy Chapman – All That You Have Is Your Soul

On this inaugural episode of The Game Plan, Eric Harris is joined by Vanessa Ramos, all around kid dynamite and special advisor to DRC’s Investigations Unit. They dive into their mutual origin story opposing the CARE Act, the landmark mental health bill that set off California's current nightmare direction on homelessness and mental health policy, discuss advocating for people with mental health disabilities, Vanessa’s personal connections to her work, and her experience taking an outsider's approach to government. The Game Plan is a space to strategize, organize and posterize for the future of the disability rights movement – subscribe, rate, review, and join us!

Information about the CARE Act

Town Hall — Informing the Community about Bad Mental Health Bills in 2025

Vanessa’s Instagram

Substack on the current bad bills in CA