Growing up, Georgina Kleege hated Helen Keller; she saw the famous author and activist as a reproach to her own experience as a young blind woman. But she found a new way to relate to Keller later on, writing her a book of letters. Kleege, a lecturer at University of California, Berkeley, offers her Brief but Spectacular take on blindness.

Women are routinely asked and expected to modify how they speak in order to not come across as too direct or harsh, says journalist Ann Friedman. But in pursuing her life’s work, she’s found greater confidence in her professional voice, and that her personal interests resonate with the female followers of the podcast she co-hosts with her best friend.

TV great Dick Cavett credits comedian Jack Paar with providing his talk-show hosting philosophy: Make it a conversation. Cavett offers his Brief but Spectacular take on his career.

Filmmaker Reid Davenport wants people to know that his biggest obstacle isn’t living with cerebral palsy, but how others perceive and respond to his diagnosis. Davenport, whose films focus on people living with disabilities, gives his Brief but Spectacular take on seeing the world through his lens.