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.)

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.

hi hello hey, yes—we’re still out here watching cartoons, and we’re very excited to talk about it.

This is our third installment in our cartoon-watching series (affectionately known as Buddy Watch). We keep joking that only three of you care, but based on the messages and suggestions we’ve received, we know there are some very dedicated cartoon lovers among you.

If you’re newer to Rare with Flair, cartoons are one of our many shared loves. We’ve been watching shows together almost daily since 2022, which puts our current total at around 14 series watched (and counting). In this episode, we break down the last five shows we watched—Fairly OddParents, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Gravity Falls, Star vs. the Forces of Evil, and Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse—and then run through our ever-growing (and slightly unhinged) watchlist.

We’re always taking recommendations—email us at hello@rarewithflair.com or slide into our DMs! We’ve fully committed to watching cartoons together until the day we die, so please send us your favorites that we should add to—or bump up on—our list.

Check out the previous installments in our cartoon series:

• 105. case & cass’ carTWOon adventures
• 69. cass & case’s cartoon adventures

hi hello hey, happy 2026! And more importantly… welcome to season SEVEN of Rare with Flair! 🎉

There’s no better way to kick off a new year than with one of our favorite traditions: vision boards. This year’s boards are our most ambitious yet, with over ten focus areas each—covering everything from mind and health to home, spirit, and the big-picture dreams we’re calling in. We love the practice of setting intention at the start of the year and creating something tangible we’ll see every single day.

They say vision boards have a way of coming true (often in the most unexpected ways), so we’re diving in with fresh habits, big hopes, and a few exciting announcements you definitely won’t want to miss. 👀✨

Do you make a vision board—or did listening to the pod inspire you to start one? We’d love to hear about it! Send us a note at hello@rarewithflair.com.

If you haven’t heard our 2025 recap episode, look back with us! 134. guide dogs, rings, and traveling things: 2025 recap

For our past vision board episodes, check out these episodes:

• 110. are we ready to thrive in 2025?
• 84. 2024 vision boards: moving forward with courage

hi hello hey, what do you mean 2025 is over??

We truly cannot believe another year (and season SIX of Rare with Flair) is coming to a close. Before we get sappy, we’re keeping up our longtime tradition of recapping the year. These episodes mean a lot to us—they’re like little time capsules of what our lives looked like at the end of each year.

It’s also a chance to pull back the curtain just a bit and let you in on what we were up to throughout the year (with boundaries, of course). Oh—and there’s a breaking announcement at the very beginning of this episode that we know you won’t want to miss!!

As we mention in the episode, we’re always intentional about how much we choose to share. By no means do we want y’all to think our lives were perfect—we simply try to strike a balance between openness and privacy. That said, we genuinely look forward to this episode every year, and it wouldn’t be complete without sharing our top artists from our Spotify Wrapped.

No matter what kind of year you had, we’re so grateful we got to be a small part of it. We hope you enjoy celebrating whichever holidays are meaningful to you, and we couldn’t be more thankful for such loyal listeners. Be sure to join us at the beginning of 2026 to find out what’s landing on our vision boards next year!

Check out other episodes we mention in this one for more fun from our 2025:

• 110. are we ready to thrive in 2025? what we put on our vision boards this year
• 117. few but many: hps conference 2025 our time at the Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome conference
• 120. still alive but barely breathing lmao: ats recap our time at the American Thoracic Society in 2025
• Our two-part series from when Cass went to guide dog training this year!
  • 127. guide dog training, part 1: meet cass’ new guide!
  • 128. guide dog training, part 2: come train with cass & mr. a!
• 132. yer a wizard, bestie: live from universal orlando! our trip to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter

If you’d like to binge our complete set of year-in-review episodes to see how we’ve changed over time, let us know if you take on the challenge!

• 109. our wildest vision board dreams came true! 2024 recap
• 83. getting personal: recapping 2023
• 59. recapping a wild & wacky year 2022 recap
• 36. 2021 wrapped: our year in songs & seasons
• 11. looking back & moving forward 2020 recap

hi hello hey — let’s chat about accessibility!

We’ve touched on accessibility throughout past episodes, but this week we’re giving it the spotlight it deserves. It’s a topic close to both our hearts — especially Cass’, since she works in digital accessibility! There’s a common misconception that making something accessible somehow makes it worse, but in reality, designs created for people with disabilities often end up benefiting everyone. In the accessibility world, this is known as the curb-cut effect: curb cuts were originally made to help wheelchair users navigate sidewalks, but they also help anyone rolling a stroller, suitcase, delivery cart — basically anything on wheels.

The reverse can happen too: products never intended for accessibility can unexpectedly become invaluable for disabled folks. We dive into some of our favorite examples of this “secret assistive tech,” from GPS to permanent bracelets.

Do you have your own examples of hidden assistive tech? Send them our way at hello@rarewithflair.com — we’d love to shout you out on the pod!

Check out some other episodes we mention!

• 87. the definitive ranking of all assistive technology
• 61. is reading an audiobook really reading?
• 34. shouting from the rooftops about assistive technology

hi hello hey, we finally got our Hogwarts letters!!!

Okay, not really, but our long-awaited trip (a year and a half in the making!) finally happened. We took Rare with Flair to Universal Studios Florida and spent two magical days exploring the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

We’re not superfans, per se, but we absolutely adore the cozy vibe of a well-told story about best friends adventuring in a beautiful fantasy world. Naturally, we showed up in full house-pride outfits—Casey in Ravenclaw blue, Cassandra and Anaheim proudly repping Gryffindor—and soaked up all the details: the whimsical storefronts, the classic British fare, and the iconic sweets like chocolate frogs.

In this episode, we also get into what the accommodations process is like at Universal, what it’s like navigating a theme park with a service dog, and how two blind girls (and one stellar guide dog) made an A+ navigational team. Come hang out with us and relive all the magic!

For more episodes where we get to record in the same room (!!!):

• 32. reunited at the happiest place on earth! our Disney trip in 2021
• 57. live from memphis: recording together for the first time! when Cass visited Case in Tennessee for her 30th in 2022
• 103. live from columbus: recapping our amazing weekend when Case visited Cass in Ohio in 2024
• 120. still alive but barely breathing lmao: ats recap our time at the American Thoracic Society in 2025

• Cass talked about Universal’s disability access process which was really smooth, so if you’re going to Universal with a disability be sure to check it out!
• Case & Cass mentioned the video they used to learn about easter eggs in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter

hi hello hey, helping is a fine line… but we’re here to help you help (sort of).

We’ve done many an episode about living in the gray area of low vision—especially how tricky it can be for the sighted people in our lives. When we might be someone’s first experience with the disabled community, we get why people instinctively jump in to help… or avoid helping altogether.

In this episode, we unpack that blurry line between helping so much that it feels condescending and not helping at all. We talk about what it feels like to receive help in a way that honors our independence while still extending kindness.

And don’t worry: this is NOT meant to scare anyone off from offering help just because you’re afraid of doing it “wrong.” Truly, we all have a part to play. One of the most helpful things you can do is simply ask what someone needs.

For disabled folks, we also chat about communicating lovingly with the overly helpful people in your life, expressing gratitude for their intentions while also reminding them that you’ve got autonomy too.

We mention a few past episodes in this one. Check them out for more stories and laughs:

• 8. dear sighted people things sighted people do that are wonderfully helpful
• 85. hold up, sighted people things sighted people do that are… less than helpful
• 65. feeling like a burden the emotional challenge of repeatedly receiving help
• 111. lifting the burden: how we pay it forward the ways we express reciprocity to the people who help us

For episodes where we get to record in the same room (!!!):

• 32. reunited at the happiest place on earth! our Disney trip in 2021
• 57. live from memphis: recording together for the first time! when Cass visited Case in Tennessee for her 30th in 2022
• 103. live from columbus: recapping our amazing weekend when Case visited Cass in Ohio in 2024
• 120. still alive but barely breathing lmao: ats recap our time at the American Thoracic Society in 2025

hi hello hey, cuddle up for some cute slumber party vibes!

We’ve had some fun “rare” episodes lately—talking guide dogs, blind perks, and all things life with a twist. So this week, we’re bringing back the flair!

Join us for a round of “Friendship Fight Club,” where we debate our mildly controversial opinions. From whether pineapple belongs on pizza to the correct way to eat cereal (yes, there’s a wrong way, and we’re probably doing it), we’re sharing our most unserious hot takes.