1 00:00:03,600 --> 00:00:05,519 Speaker 1: Hey fam, Hello Sunshine. 2 00:00:05,640 --> 00:00:08,200 Speaker 2: Today on the bright Side, we're talking to the unstoppable 3 00:00:08,240 --> 00:00:12,440 Speaker 2: Sophie Morgan. She's a best selling author, fierce disability rights advocate, 4 00:00:12,760 --> 00:00:16,320 Speaker 2: and an NBC host for this year's Paralympics. Join us 5 00:00:16,320 --> 00:00:19,600 Speaker 2: as Sophie shares how she's changing the narrative around disability 6 00:00:19,640 --> 00:00:20,480 Speaker 2: in the media. 7 00:00:20,560 --> 00:00:22,400 Speaker 3: Honestly, I know this is a naughty thing to say. 8 00:00:22,400 --> 00:00:24,680 Speaker 3: We're going to say it anyway. I think the Olympics 9 00:00:25,160 --> 00:00:28,960 Speaker 3: is kinda boring compared to the Paralympics. I mean, watching 10 00:00:29,080 --> 00:00:34,680 Speaker 3: somebody who is blind skiing behind a guide at seventy 11 00:00:34,720 --> 00:00:37,360 Speaker 3: eighty miles an hour. You tell me that is not 12 00:00:37,440 --> 00:00:40,640 Speaker 3: more interesting to watch than just somebody who's regular skiing. 13 00:00:41,600 --> 00:00:45,040 Speaker 2: Plus, we'll take you behind the scenes at this year's Paralympics. 14 00:00:45,400 --> 00:00:48,320 Speaker 2: It's Thursday, September fifth. I'm Danielle Robe. 15 00:00:47,960 --> 00:00:49,080 Speaker 1: And I'm Simone Boyce. 16 00:00:49,280 --> 00:00:52,120 Speaker 4: And this is the Right Side from Hello Sunshine, a 17 00:00:52,200 --> 00:00:55,520 Speaker 4: daily show where we come together to share woman's stories, laugh, 18 00:00:55,840 --> 00:00:59,800 Speaker 4: learn and brighten your day. 19 00:01:00,120 --> 00:01:02,240 Speaker 2: Simone, we get to talk with one of our Hello 20 00:01:02,360 --> 00:01:04,840 Speaker 2: Sunshine girlies, one of our sisters today. 21 00:01:05,160 --> 00:01:08,039 Speaker 4: I'm so excited, you know, I love Sophie Morgan. She's 22 00:01:08,080 --> 00:01:10,440 Speaker 4: a powerhouse, and we had the pleasure of hanging out 23 00:01:10,440 --> 00:01:12,839 Speaker 4: with her this summer in Nashville. We all had brunch 24 00:01:12,880 --> 00:01:16,399 Speaker 4: together and I happened to sit across from Sophie and 25 00:01:16,480 --> 00:01:19,360 Speaker 4: my friend Danielle and we were just gabin having the 26 00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:22,640 Speaker 4: best time it was. Sophie is a great brunch partner 27 00:01:23,040 --> 00:01:26,080 Speaker 4: and so many other things too. She's so much fun. 28 00:01:26,800 --> 00:01:29,520 Speaker 2: But I want to give everybody a little bit of 29 00:01:29,560 --> 00:01:33,840 Speaker 2: her backstory. So Sophie became disabled as a teenager and 30 00:01:33,959 --> 00:01:36,399 Speaker 2: since then has been on a crusade to change the 31 00:01:36,440 --> 00:01:40,119 Speaker 2: perception of disabled people in the workforce and in the media. 32 00:01:40,480 --> 00:01:42,679 Speaker 4: Yeah, this makes me think about this conversation that I 33 00:01:42,720 --> 00:01:46,279 Speaker 4: had with Madeline Denono on our show about representation and media, 34 00:01:46,720 --> 00:01:49,600 Speaker 4: and she pointed to a study that highlighted that of 35 00:01:49,640 --> 00:01:52,680 Speaker 4: the moms in the title cast on television shows in 36 00:01:52,720 --> 00:01:56,240 Speaker 4: twenty twenty two, zero of them were disabled. 37 00:01:56,360 --> 00:01:59,040 Speaker 2: There's just not a lot of representation, and not a 38 00:01:59,040 --> 00:02:04,280 Speaker 2: lot of representation that's not pointed. So for instance, like 39 00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:07,640 Speaker 2: you can just cast a show and the mom happens 40 00:02:07,640 --> 00:02:09,920 Speaker 2: to be disabled, you don't have to make her a 41 00:02:09,960 --> 00:02:14,520 Speaker 2: disabled character, if that makes sense. But Sophie is changing 42 00:02:14,600 --> 00:02:16,800 Speaker 2: so much of this. She's the co founder of Making 43 00:02:16,880 --> 00:02:20,760 Speaker 2: Space Media, which focuses on producing TV, film and promotional 44 00:02:20,800 --> 00:02:23,800 Speaker 2: content that centers the disabled voice. She also has a 45 00:02:23,800 --> 00:02:26,200 Speaker 2: first look deal with Hello Sunshine and if you want 46 00:02:26,200 --> 00:02:28,440 Speaker 2: to check her out right now, she's a host of 47 00:02:28,480 --> 00:02:30,520 Speaker 2: this year's Paralympics on NBC. 48 00:02:30,760 --> 00:02:34,639 Speaker 4: Yes, the Paris Paralympic Games are officially underway and more 49 00:02:34,680 --> 00:02:38,440 Speaker 4: than four thousand athletes around the world are there right now, 50 00:02:38,480 --> 00:02:41,720 Speaker 4: competing in twenty two different sports. And what's interesting to 51 00:02:41,760 --> 00:02:44,120 Speaker 4: acknowledge is that a lot of people tend to conflate 52 00:02:44,160 --> 00:02:47,359 Speaker 4: the Olympics and the Paralympics, but the two organizations are 53 00:02:47,480 --> 00:02:51,440 Speaker 4: actually completely separate, and the prefix para doesn't have anything 54 00:02:51,440 --> 00:02:55,520 Speaker 4: to do with disability. It actually means alongside or parallel. 55 00:02:56,360 --> 00:02:57,640 Speaker 1: That's great to know. I didn't know that. 56 00:02:58,280 --> 00:03:00,520 Speaker 2: All right, we're going to talk to Sophie about all 57 00:03:00,560 --> 00:03:05,160 Speaker 2: these Paralympians and the awesome work she's doing. Sophie, Welcome 58 00:03:05,200 --> 00:03:06,120 Speaker 2: to the bright Side. 59 00:03:06,240 --> 00:03:08,200 Speaker 3: Thank you for having me. Oh, it's so us to 60 00:03:08,280 --> 00:03:08,639 Speaker 3: be here. 61 00:03:09,280 --> 00:03:12,359 Speaker 4: You just posted this throwback photo on ig that gave 62 00:03:12,400 --> 00:03:15,080 Speaker 4: me all the feels from twelve years ago when you 63 00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:17,720 Speaker 4: were reading the weather in the Paralympics Breakfast show on 64 00:03:17,840 --> 00:03:22,320 Speaker 4: Channel four. And now you are covering the Paralympics for 65 00:03:22,639 --> 00:03:26,520 Speaker 4: NBC and making history as you host your own show 66 00:03:27,080 --> 00:03:29,240 Speaker 4: right side Bessie. She literally just got off the air 67 00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:32,400 Speaker 4: a few minutes ago. What does this moment mean to 68 00:03:32,400 --> 00:03:33,160 Speaker 4: you personally? 69 00:03:33,840 --> 00:03:35,200 Speaker 3: I don't know how to put words to it. I 70 00:03:35,280 --> 00:03:38,240 Speaker 3: tried and failed on that Instagram post because you know, 71 00:03:38,280 --> 00:03:41,240 Speaker 3: sometimes when you recognize that you've achieved something in your career, 72 00:03:41,800 --> 00:03:46,000 Speaker 3: there aren't I suppose social guidelines for how to celebrate 73 00:03:46,040 --> 00:03:47,600 Speaker 3: these things. I think that we have them with other 74 00:03:47,640 --> 00:03:50,320 Speaker 3: milestones that we have in our lives. But for me, 75 00:03:50,400 --> 00:03:53,200 Speaker 3: it was this like, Wow, I've achieved this thing I 76 00:03:53,240 --> 00:03:56,120 Speaker 3: set out to achieve all those years ago. It's such 77 00:03:56,200 --> 00:03:59,080 Speaker 3: a privilege to be part of the Paralympic movement and 78 00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:01,240 Speaker 3: to be broadcast day it. And like you said, like 79 00:04:01,280 --> 00:04:03,360 Speaker 3: at the beginning, I was just reading the weather. I 80 00:04:03,440 --> 00:04:06,400 Speaker 3: set out twelve years ago with the intention of you know, 81 00:04:06,440 --> 00:04:09,840 Speaker 3: becoming a host and having, yeah, my own show, and 82 00:04:09,880 --> 00:04:13,400 Speaker 3: the dream to take that mission from the UK over 83 00:04:13,440 --> 00:04:15,840 Speaker 3: to the US was always in the back of my mind. 84 00:04:15,960 --> 00:04:18,240 Speaker 3: I had no idea how I was going to do that, 85 00:04:18,520 --> 00:04:20,520 Speaker 3: So to be here now and to literally, as you say, 86 00:04:20,640 --> 00:04:24,279 Speaker 3: just come off air. I'm still really high, you know, 87 00:04:24,320 --> 00:04:27,160 Speaker 3: with adrenaline. I'm just I'm so buzzed and I'm so excited. 88 00:04:27,160 --> 00:04:29,000 Speaker 3: I think I just feel really proud. 89 00:04:29,560 --> 00:04:30,200 Speaker 1: I'm glad that. 90 00:04:30,160 --> 00:04:34,440 Speaker 4: You're actually vocalizing your pride. Because we're so socialized as 91 00:04:34,480 --> 00:04:37,880 Speaker 4: women to not do that. It's socially unacceptable. We have 92 00:04:37,960 --> 00:04:41,200 Speaker 4: to always be humble and never say that we're actually 93 00:04:41,279 --> 00:04:43,520 Speaker 4: proud of ourselves for our accomplishments, and. 94 00:04:43,520 --> 00:04:45,520 Speaker 3: I think we should. I do it to my friends 95 00:04:45,560 --> 00:04:47,480 Speaker 3: all the time, you know, and I'd make a point 96 00:04:47,520 --> 00:04:49,520 Speaker 3: to say, like, you just killed it in that promotion, 97 00:04:49,800 --> 00:04:51,920 Speaker 3: or well done, you know, standing up for yourself or 98 00:04:51,920 --> 00:04:54,160 Speaker 3: saying something in your job, or advocating for yourself in 99 00:04:54,200 --> 00:04:57,000 Speaker 3: your professional life or something right. But I think for me, 100 00:04:57,080 --> 00:04:59,320 Speaker 3: I am proud of where I've got to. It's not 101 00:04:59,360 --> 00:05:01,880 Speaker 3: been easy, and I I think I, as a disabled 102 00:05:01,920 --> 00:05:05,800 Speaker 3: woman as well, feel particularly like, yes, I'm representing, you know, 103 00:05:05,839 --> 00:05:09,080 Speaker 3: to be sitting on a studio in my wheelchair and 104 00:05:09,120 --> 00:05:11,400 Speaker 3: I'm one of the first women to ever do that 105 00:05:11,760 --> 00:05:15,080 Speaker 3: for NBC, it just feels hell. Yeah, I'm proud. 106 00:05:16,120 --> 00:05:19,800 Speaker 1: I'm really proud. Yeah, you hold a lot of titles. 107 00:05:19,880 --> 00:05:24,400 Speaker 2: You're a founder, you are now a broadcaster for NBC, 108 00:05:24,880 --> 00:05:30,240 Speaker 2: which is so major, and you're a disability advocate and Sophie, 109 00:05:30,320 --> 00:05:33,160 Speaker 2: I actually didn't know the story of how you became 110 00:05:33,200 --> 00:05:36,360 Speaker 2: disabled until I started researching for this interview. 111 00:05:36,800 --> 00:05:38,880 Speaker 1: Are you willing to share? Of course? 112 00:05:39,040 --> 00:05:40,840 Speaker 3: Of course, thank you for asking. 113 00:05:41,120 --> 00:05:41,320 Speaker 2: Yeah. 114 00:05:41,360 --> 00:05:44,080 Speaker 3: So I had a car crash when I was eighteen 115 00:05:44,160 --> 00:05:49,240 Speaker 3: years old. It was actually the day I left school, 116 00:05:49,400 --> 00:05:52,880 Speaker 3: so it was a very significant time in my life. 117 00:05:52,920 --> 00:05:54,839 Speaker 3: You know that time when you're just sort of stepping 118 00:05:54,839 --> 00:05:58,560 Speaker 3: out of girlhood into adult life. And I was so excited. 119 00:05:58,600 --> 00:06:02,200 Speaker 3: I was ready to go to become an adult and 120 00:06:02,600 --> 00:06:06,320 Speaker 3: I left school, and unfortunately I had a car crash 121 00:06:06,560 --> 00:06:09,240 Speaker 3: and I was driving. When I lost control of the 122 00:06:09,240 --> 00:06:11,520 Speaker 3: car I was driving, I wasn't very experienced, like I 123 00:06:11,600 --> 00:06:14,200 Speaker 3: kind of learned to drive once I passed my test, 124 00:06:14,279 --> 00:06:17,560 Speaker 3: really which was so dangerous, and I crashed the car, 125 00:06:18,240 --> 00:06:21,159 Speaker 3: lost control of it, and in the crash, a lot 126 00:06:21,200 --> 00:06:25,360 Speaker 3: of me was damaged. My face was almost completely destroyed. 127 00:06:25,400 --> 00:06:27,640 Speaker 3: I won't list out the actual injuries because it's a 128 00:06:27,640 --> 00:06:29,680 Speaker 3: bit gruesome, but it was really bad. And then my 129 00:06:29,800 --> 00:06:33,440 Speaker 3: spine was damaged at the point where the seat belt, 130 00:06:33,720 --> 00:06:36,560 Speaker 3: so the seatbuck crosses over you from right to left. 131 00:06:36,600 --> 00:06:38,960 Speaker 3: Obviously in the UK drive on the right, so that 132 00:06:39,000 --> 00:06:42,080 Speaker 3: seatbuck comes across and where the seatbuck crosses my chest, 133 00:06:42,400 --> 00:06:44,960 Speaker 3: it held me so tight that part of me twisted 134 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:48,279 Speaker 3: and part of my vertebrae twisted, so it damaged my 135 00:06:48,279 --> 00:06:51,440 Speaker 3: spinal cord and I was just paralyzed instantly. So I 136 00:06:51,520 --> 00:06:54,600 Speaker 3: went to hospital and I nearly died, but I came through, 137 00:06:54,839 --> 00:06:58,200 Speaker 3: and yeah, went into rehabilitation, and three months later rolled 138 00:06:58,200 --> 00:07:00,520 Speaker 3: out of that hospital as a wheelchair user. And so 139 00:07:00,720 --> 00:07:03,680 Speaker 3: now I'm a full time manual chair user and a 140 00:07:03,720 --> 00:07:06,840 Speaker 3: paraplegic from the chest down. So it's been a journey. 141 00:07:08,160 --> 00:07:10,840 Speaker 2: Is there something that you are aware of every day 142 00:07:10,880 --> 00:07:13,000 Speaker 2: now that you never thought of before? 143 00:07:14,200 --> 00:07:18,640 Speaker 3: I mean everything listeners to this who identify as disabled, 144 00:07:18,840 --> 00:07:22,280 Speaker 3: perhaps if they've acquired that disability, if they weren't born 145 00:07:22,320 --> 00:07:25,800 Speaker 3: with it. I think when you live in a new body, 146 00:07:26,240 --> 00:07:29,920 Speaker 3: you genuinely see the world in a very different way 147 00:07:30,160 --> 00:07:32,720 Speaker 3: all the time, every day. And I'm not just talking 148 00:07:32,760 --> 00:07:35,480 Speaker 3: like the obvious things like, for example, the lack of 149 00:07:35,520 --> 00:07:38,480 Speaker 3: access somewhere, lack of ramps, although that is something that 150 00:07:38,520 --> 00:07:42,520 Speaker 3: you do obviously see. I think it's more the subtle 151 00:07:42,600 --> 00:07:45,920 Speaker 3: nuances around how other people treat you, how other people 152 00:07:46,000 --> 00:07:49,000 Speaker 3: behave around you, the awkwardness that comes with being a 153 00:07:49,000 --> 00:07:52,239 Speaker 3: wheelchair user, the fear that people have, or the pity, 154 00:07:52,760 --> 00:07:55,480 Speaker 3: all these kind of emotions that I don't really want 155 00:07:55,520 --> 00:07:57,680 Speaker 3: to be around. You know, I as certainly as a 156 00:07:57,680 --> 00:08:01,880 Speaker 3: young woman, I was really confronted by and struggled. Now 157 00:08:01,920 --> 00:08:04,320 Speaker 3: I'm better prepared and I know how to deal with it, 158 00:08:04,400 --> 00:08:07,760 Speaker 3: but it's ongoing and obviously it changes everywhere you go. 159 00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:10,800 Speaker 3: So yeah, I think, to be honest, it's a hard 160 00:08:10,880 --> 00:08:12,880 Speaker 3: question to answer because I think the list is so long. 161 00:08:12,960 --> 00:08:15,160 Speaker 3: I see things so differently, But you know, it's not 162 00:08:15,200 --> 00:08:17,520 Speaker 3: all negative. I would love to just say that that 163 00:08:18,120 --> 00:08:20,880 Speaker 3: I do think I see the world from a different 164 00:08:20,880 --> 00:08:24,160 Speaker 3: perspective now, which brings me a huge amount of gratitude 165 00:08:24,200 --> 00:08:28,040 Speaker 3: and joy. I'm a very glass half full kind of person, 166 00:08:28,160 --> 00:08:30,600 Speaker 3: and I think that's got exaggerated after my injury. You know, 167 00:08:30,640 --> 00:08:33,400 Speaker 3: I'm grateful to be alive. I'm always like, yes, I'm 168 00:08:33,440 --> 00:08:36,000 Speaker 3: so happy to be here, and so like, I'm always 169 00:08:36,080 --> 00:08:38,160 Speaker 3: kind of looking for the joy where I can because 170 00:08:38,160 --> 00:08:40,720 Speaker 3: I'm alive, and yes, I might be disabled, but there's 171 00:08:40,840 --> 00:08:43,240 Speaker 3: worse fates, Sophia. 172 00:08:43,280 --> 00:08:45,760 Speaker 4: I think we have so much to learn from people 173 00:08:45,760 --> 00:08:49,680 Speaker 4: who have endured near death experiences like yourself. And I've 174 00:08:49,679 --> 00:08:54,000 Speaker 4: heard you talk about this one voice that came to you. 175 00:08:54,160 --> 00:08:55,600 Speaker 4: I don't want to tell the story for you because 176 00:08:55,600 --> 00:08:58,200 Speaker 4: it's so powerful, but would you tell us what that 177 00:08:58,240 --> 00:09:00,440 Speaker 4: conversation was and how it's you. 178 00:09:01,000 --> 00:09:03,800 Speaker 3: So just after my injury, I was probably three days 179 00:09:03,880 --> 00:09:07,000 Speaker 3: post injury, and I was in intensive care and my 180 00:09:07,040 --> 00:09:10,360 Speaker 3: body was failing, like I think my lungs were filling 181 00:09:10,559 --> 00:09:14,080 Speaker 3: with fluid and everything was just packing in. And I 182 00:09:14,120 --> 00:09:16,760 Speaker 3: think at that point they had told my parents to 183 00:09:16,840 --> 00:09:20,880 Speaker 3: prepare for the worst. And from the way I piece 184 00:09:20,920 --> 00:09:22,840 Speaker 3: this together is it's quite hard to explain it. But 185 00:09:22,960 --> 00:09:26,720 Speaker 3: what happened for me internally was I may have been 186 00:09:26,760 --> 00:09:30,200 Speaker 3: in a body that was close to death and really 187 00:09:30,240 --> 00:09:33,360 Speaker 3: outwardly struggling. So I was convulsing and there was a 188 00:09:33,360 --> 00:09:36,440 Speaker 3: lot of trauma, and I think it must have looked 189 00:09:36,480 --> 00:09:39,560 Speaker 3: really scary the state I was in, But inwardly I 190 00:09:39,800 --> 00:09:43,520 Speaker 3: was in this beautiful space. I was so warm, I 191 00:09:43,640 --> 00:09:48,800 Speaker 3: was so comfortable, and I went away to somewhere else 192 00:09:48,920 --> 00:09:51,600 Speaker 3: and I honestly I think I write about it better 193 00:09:51,640 --> 00:09:53,640 Speaker 3: than I can speak about it. And I wrote about 194 00:09:53,640 --> 00:09:55,160 Speaker 3: it in my book and it took me a long 195 00:09:55,200 --> 00:09:57,080 Speaker 3: time to draft that chapter because I was like, I 196 00:09:57,080 --> 00:09:59,360 Speaker 3: need to put words to this correctly. So I did. 197 00:09:59,360 --> 00:10:02,600 Speaker 3: I went this space and I felt this warmth and 198 00:10:02,640 --> 00:10:05,000 Speaker 3: I was gone. I was away, and I felt good 199 00:10:05,000 --> 00:10:07,480 Speaker 3: with that. But then I heard this voice and the 200 00:10:07,640 --> 00:10:12,000 Speaker 3: voice said, don't go. You have to come back. Don't go, 201 00:10:12,160 --> 00:10:15,200 Speaker 3: please come back, And so I kind of listened to 202 00:10:15,200 --> 00:10:18,000 Speaker 3: that voice and I did. I came back. I mean, 203 00:10:18,040 --> 00:10:20,920 Speaker 3: I don't really know how to explain that, articulate that well, 204 00:10:20,960 --> 00:10:25,280 Speaker 3: but I came back and I went into intensive care 205 00:10:25,559 --> 00:10:28,400 Speaker 3: kind of recovery state. And now, anyway, a few months, 206 00:10:28,440 --> 00:10:30,920 Speaker 3: a few weeks, I don't know what. Sometime later, I 207 00:10:30,960 --> 00:10:33,240 Speaker 3: had this conversation with my mum and I was like, 208 00:10:33,720 --> 00:10:36,800 Speaker 3: do you remember that time when you told me? Because 209 00:10:36,960 --> 00:10:38,360 Speaker 3: I knew it was her voice, I felt like it 210 00:10:38,400 --> 00:10:40,120 Speaker 3: was her voice that was what made sense to me. 211 00:10:41,200 --> 00:10:42,679 Speaker 3: I said, Mum, do you remember that time when you 212 00:10:43,120 --> 00:10:45,679 Speaker 3: told me that I should come back, just around the 213 00:10:45,679 --> 00:10:47,640 Speaker 3: time I think when you thought that I was going 214 00:10:47,720 --> 00:10:50,360 Speaker 3: to go. And she was like, what are you talking about? 215 00:10:50,679 --> 00:10:52,840 Speaker 3: I said, you know when you said, don't go come back. 216 00:10:52,920 --> 00:10:55,640 Speaker 3: She said, I was nowhere near you. I was gone, 217 00:10:55,720 --> 00:10:58,080 Speaker 3: like they had moved me from the hospital room because 218 00:10:58,280 --> 00:11:00,439 Speaker 3: you were about to die. So it was just this 219 00:11:00,720 --> 00:11:04,520 Speaker 3: magical I know, right. I still just I get goosebumps 220 00:11:04,520 --> 00:11:07,880 Speaker 3: thinking about it. Whether it was my mum, my higher self, 221 00:11:08,400 --> 00:11:11,160 Speaker 3: whatever it was, something told me to come back, and 222 00:11:11,200 --> 00:11:14,360 Speaker 3: I think that sense of purpose has never left me. 223 00:11:14,880 --> 00:11:17,920 Speaker 3: I constantly strive to find why did I come back? 224 00:11:18,360 --> 00:11:20,880 Speaker 3: What was the reason? You know, and some people might 225 00:11:20,880 --> 00:11:23,560 Speaker 3: call that a coping mechanism for ending up with a 226 00:11:23,559 --> 00:11:26,080 Speaker 3: life changing injury. I don't care if there's a cynical 227 00:11:26,120 --> 00:11:28,679 Speaker 3: of that. It's helped me. It served me to kind 228 00:11:28,679 --> 00:11:31,280 Speaker 3: of find a sense of purpose and come back for 229 00:11:31,320 --> 00:11:33,920 Speaker 3: a reason. What is that reason? So yeah, it was 230 00:11:34,440 --> 00:11:35,600 Speaker 3: pretty amazing. 231 00:11:36,200 --> 00:11:38,320 Speaker 2: We're taking a quick break, but we'll be right back 232 00:11:38,400 --> 00:11:51,320 Speaker 2: with more from Sophie Morgan. Stay with us, and we're 233 00:11:51,360 --> 00:11:52,600 Speaker 2: back with Sophie Morgan. 234 00:11:53,400 --> 00:11:55,960 Speaker 4: Sophie, I know that you've said that when you came 235 00:11:56,000 --> 00:11:59,800 Speaker 4: out of the hospital as a paraplegic at eighteen, doctors 236 00:11:59,840 --> 00:12:02,040 Speaker 4: told you there were things you want to be able 237 00:12:02,040 --> 00:12:04,360 Speaker 4: to do or places you couldn't go. But the thing is, 238 00:12:04,640 --> 00:12:07,360 Speaker 4: before your accident, you were always an adventurer, you were 239 00:12:07,400 --> 00:12:11,320 Speaker 4: a traveler, you were skydiving, and so this is always 240 00:12:11,360 --> 00:12:12,480 Speaker 4: in your DNA. 241 00:12:12,760 --> 00:12:15,880 Speaker 1: How does it feel to prove them wrong now? 242 00:12:17,120 --> 00:12:19,320 Speaker 3: I You know, I think life is one big game 243 00:12:19,400 --> 00:12:22,640 Speaker 3: of proving people wrong. You know, whether you're a disabled person, 244 00:12:22,800 --> 00:12:25,040 Speaker 3: whether you're a woman, I don't know. You know, there's 245 00:12:25,080 --> 00:12:27,640 Speaker 3: just so many limits that we have on each other. 246 00:12:28,000 --> 00:12:30,160 Speaker 3: And I did come face to face with those very 247 00:12:30,160 --> 00:12:33,839 Speaker 3: early on after my injury, and they really affected me. 248 00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:36,120 Speaker 3: I think because I was such a kind of rebellious 249 00:12:36,120 --> 00:12:38,840 Speaker 3: little kid, and I mean I was a baby, so 250 00:12:38,880 --> 00:12:40,640 Speaker 3: I hadn't done a lot of traveling, but in my heart, 251 00:12:40,679 --> 00:12:43,400 Speaker 3: I'd always wanted to adventure and I've been some places, 252 00:12:43,440 --> 00:12:46,280 Speaker 3: and yes, I'd been skydiving, I'd done some adventurous and 253 00:12:46,280 --> 00:12:49,199 Speaker 3: exciting things. So I felt like I was only getting started. 254 00:12:49,320 --> 00:12:52,480 Speaker 3: And then the fact that my legs didn't work anymore, 255 00:12:52,720 --> 00:12:56,400 Speaker 3: I was like, oh, well, why can't I travel? Why 256 00:12:56,440 --> 00:12:59,480 Speaker 3: can't I go places like I wanted to before? And 257 00:12:59,520 --> 00:13:03,000 Speaker 3: the answer to those questions really became a guiding force 258 00:13:03,040 --> 00:13:05,760 Speaker 3: for me. Somebody's going to say you can't do something now, 259 00:13:05,760 --> 00:13:07,200 Speaker 3: you need to go and check it out and see 260 00:13:07,200 --> 00:13:10,040 Speaker 3: if that's actually true. Not to be fair. As a paraplegic, 261 00:13:10,080 --> 00:13:12,800 Speaker 3: there are some places I can't go, but there are 262 00:13:13,160 --> 00:13:15,720 Speaker 3: so many places I can still go. And I think 263 00:13:15,760 --> 00:13:18,679 Speaker 3: that's where I do get that motivation to kind of 264 00:13:18,720 --> 00:13:20,480 Speaker 3: be a little bit like one finger up. Don't tell 265 00:13:20,520 --> 00:13:23,320 Speaker 3: me what I can't do. I can, you know, let's see. 266 00:13:23,720 --> 00:13:25,720 Speaker 3: And I think that again has been a motivator for 267 00:13:25,760 --> 00:13:28,439 Speaker 3: me for twenty years now. I've been paralyzed yet twenty 268 00:13:28,480 --> 00:13:32,880 Speaker 3: one years this summer, and I have been testing the limits. 269 00:13:32,960 --> 00:13:35,640 Speaker 3: I think since the moment someone said you can't do that, 270 00:13:36,480 --> 00:13:37,040 Speaker 3: I still do. 271 00:13:37,440 --> 00:13:38,440 Speaker 1: Yeah. 272 00:13:38,480 --> 00:13:40,840 Speaker 2: It's funny that you say that, because when I think 273 00:13:40,880 --> 00:13:43,240 Speaker 2: of you, that is the phrase I think of when 274 00:13:43,240 --> 00:13:46,800 Speaker 2: someone tells Sophie Morgan not you tell yourself yes. And 275 00:13:47,760 --> 00:13:51,440 Speaker 2: I think that you've done that again, most recently leading 276 00:13:51,600 --> 00:13:54,719 Speaker 2: the Rights on Flights campaign in the UK, which is 277 00:13:54,760 --> 00:13:56,800 Speaker 2: in support of a new law that could be passed 278 00:13:56,840 --> 00:13:59,600 Speaker 2: to protect the dignity of disabled travelers on planes. 279 00:14:00,840 --> 00:14:01,760 Speaker 1: I'm wondering if it. 280 00:14:01,720 --> 00:14:05,319 Speaker 2: Was a specific experience that set this passion and movement 281 00:14:05,360 --> 00:14:05,760 Speaker 2: off for you. 282 00:14:05,920 --> 00:14:09,720 Speaker 3: Yeah, you're nodding, Yeah, it was. It was so I 283 00:14:09,760 --> 00:14:13,360 Speaker 3: had my wheelchair broken by an airline last year. And 284 00:14:14,040 --> 00:14:16,319 Speaker 3: for anyone again who might be listening to this who 285 00:14:16,360 --> 00:14:19,200 Speaker 3: uses a wheelchair or has a mobility device, you'll know 286 00:14:19,240 --> 00:14:20,920 Speaker 3: what I mean when I say it's like having your 287 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:24,800 Speaker 3: legs broken. It is so hardcore because you can't move. 288 00:14:24,840 --> 00:14:27,600 Speaker 3: I mean, my life just stops when my wheelchairs broken. 289 00:14:28,160 --> 00:14:31,080 Speaker 3: And so that was the sort of the catalyst for 290 00:14:31,200 --> 00:14:35,000 Speaker 3: me going out and using my platform that I don't 291 00:14:35,040 --> 00:14:36,960 Speaker 3: have a huge platform, but I have a platform enough 292 00:14:37,280 --> 00:14:39,520 Speaker 3: that when I spoke about it on social media and 293 00:14:39,760 --> 00:14:42,600 Speaker 3: actually subsequently on television in the UK. Worked on a 294 00:14:42,640 --> 00:14:44,920 Speaker 3: show that was a little bit like The View in 295 00:14:44,960 --> 00:14:46,920 Speaker 3: the US, a kind of chat show of women. And 296 00:14:46,960 --> 00:14:47,920 Speaker 3: I was on that show. 297 00:14:48,280 --> 00:14:51,960 Speaker 1: Is this Loose Women? Yes, I don't ever the moon. 298 00:14:52,160 --> 00:14:55,440 Speaker 1: I love this show? Are you jokers? 299 00:14:55,960 --> 00:14:58,880 Speaker 3: Lose Women? Okay, yeah, I know right, so lose Women. 300 00:14:59,080 --> 00:15:01,360 Speaker 3: So I was on these women in the next day 301 00:15:01,480 --> 00:15:03,400 Speaker 3: and I was, you know, bless them. They gave me 302 00:15:03,440 --> 00:15:05,600 Speaker 3: the mic to have a good old rant and I 303 00:15:05,680 --> 00:15:08,120 Speaker 3: did about this situation i'd found myself in just the 304 00:15:08,160 --> 00:15:11,120 Speaker 3: day before with my chair breaking. And again it was 305 00:15:11,120 --> 00:15:14,560 Speaker 3: like the catalysts. People were listening to what had happened 306 00:15:14,600 --> 00:15:16,680 Speaker 3: to me and were like asking questions themselves, and a 307 00:15:16,760 --> 00:15:18,480 Speaker 3: number of people reached out to me saying how can 308 00:15:18,520 --> 00:15:20,400 Speaker 3: we help, and one of them was an MP and 309 00:15:20,440 --> 00:15:22,640 Speaker 3: Member of Parliament in the UK, and that was the 310 00:15:22,640 --> 00:15:25,840 Speaker 3: beginning of this campaign what we're now calling Rights on Flights, 311 00:15:25,880 --> 00:15:30,480 Speaker 3: which is just a mission to make air travel more 312 00:15:30,520 --> 00:15:35,080 Speaker 3: equitable for disabled people. It's complicated the challenges that we face, 313 00:15:35,520 --> 00:15:37,880 Speaker 3: and every person with the disability will have a different 314 00:15:37,960 --> 00:15:40,640 Speaker 3: challenge when they fly, but for wheelchair users in particular, 315 00:15:41,200 --> 00:15:43,720 Speaker 3: the problem is you have your wheelchair taken away from 316 00:15:43,760 --> 00:15:45,880 Speaker 3: you when you get on the airplane. That's the process 317 00:15:45,920 --> 00:15:47,960 Speaker 3: because you're you know, an aeroplane's not designed to have 318 00:15:47,960 --> 00:15:50,560 Speaker 3: a wheelchair on board, so that means you face a 319 00:15:50,560 --> 00:15:53,480 Speaker 3: lot of problems such as your wheelchair can get lost, 320 00:15:53,520 --> 00:15:56,360 Speaker 3: it can get broken, it can get damaged, and you 321 00:15:56,440 --> 00:15:59,640 Speaker 3: as an individual on an aeroplane without your equipment, you 322 00:15:59,680 --> 00:16:01,960 Speaker 3: can all get hurt and things like you can't get 323 00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:05,600 Speaker 3: around the aircraft itself. So for me, I can't mobilize 324 00:16:05,600 --> 00:16:08,000 Speaker 3: a tool without my chair, I can't go to the toilet. 325 00:16:08,400 --> 00:16:11,760 Speaker 3: It's really really dangerous and it's hard, and I think 326 00:16:11,840 --> 00:16:13,800 Speaker 3: that's where people kind of go Oh my gosh, I 327 00:16:13,800 --> 00:16:16,160 Speaker 3: had no idea. So one of the reasons why the 328 00:16:16,160 --> 00:16:18,200 Speaker 3: campaign is important is to raise awareness, but the other 329 00:16:18,280 --> 00:16:20,480 Speaker 3: is yet to really hold the airlines to account. And 330 00:16:20,920 --> 00:16:23,720 Speaker 3: also that governments. I just can't get over how they 331 00:16:23,760 --> 00:16:26,080 Speaker 3: know that this problem is happening to thousands of disabled 332 00:16:26,120 --> 00:16:29,520 Speaker 3: people on a daily basis, like we're getting discriminated against 333 00:16:29,760 --> 00:16:32,240 Speaker 3: and they're not doing enough. So the campaign has been 334 00:16:32,480 --> 00:16:37,200 Speaker 3: really effective at speaking truth to that power, and we've 335 00:16:37,240 --> 00:16:40,080 Speaker 3: had some traction. We've had the government in the UK's 336 00:16:40,120 --> 00:16:41,880 Speaker 3: listening and now we're going to be working with them, 337 00:16:41,920 --> 00:16:45,680 Speaker 3: which is so exciting, and the US government also amazing. 338 00:16:46,240 --> 00:16:47,480 Speaker 3: So it's been really good. 339 00:16:47,800 --> 00:16:51,000 Speaker 4: I do want to talk about your documentary, Sophie Morgan's 340 00:16:51,040 --> 00:16:51,520 Speaker 4: Fight to Fly. 341 00:16:52,280 --> 00:16:52,600 Speaker 1: Sophy. 342 00:16:52,640 --> 00:16:54,120 Speaker 4: You told me about your film when we were in 343 00:16:54,200 --> 00:16:56,360 Speaker 4: Nashville together, and I came home and watched it, and 344 00:16:56,840 --> 00:17:02,560 Speaker 4: it is so profoundly compelling. It was so substantial and meaty. 345 00:17:02,840 --> 00:17:06,200 Speaker 4: It made me so emotional. And there's a particular scene 346 00:17:06,480 --> 00:17:09,800 Speaker 4: that really stood out to me. It's when you go 347 00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:14,320 Speaker 4: zero gravity and there's this image of you floating, truly 348 00:17:14,440 --> 00:17:17,959 Speaker 4: just floating, and then floating next to you is your 349 00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:20,840 Speaker 4: wheelchair and it's this just this surreal It's almost like 350 00:17:20,840 --> 00:17:24,159 Speaker 4: a painting, Sophie, It's so surreal to see. But I 351 00:17:24,200 --> 00:17:26,119 Speaker 4: want to hear it from your perspective. What did it 352 00:17:26,200 --> 00:17:28,840 Speaker 4: feel like to go zero gravity in the making of 353 00:17:28,880 --> 00:17:29,320 Speaker 4: your film? 354 00:17:30,160 --> 00:17:35,919 Speaker 3: Honestly, I cannot tell you how extraordinary that experience was 355 00:17:36,400 --> 00:17:40,720 Speaker 3: for a number of reasons. So firstly, the actual act 356 00:17:40,800 --> 00:17:44,159 Speaker 3: of going into zero gravity in itself felt just I mean, 357 00:17:44,200 --> 00:17:47,640 Speaker 3: I think I'm the first British paraplegic woman to do that, 358 00:17:47,680 --> 00:17:50,920 Speaker 3: which felt you've already like, you know, great in a way. 359 00:17:51,320 --> 00:17:53,480 Speaker 3: I think the other part of it was this sense 360 00:17:53,520 --> 00:17:56,560 Speaker 3: of like, how am I here? This is the future? 361 00:17:56,640 --> 00:17:59,040 Speaker 3: This is what The reason I do it as part 362 00:17:59,040 --> 00:18:01,240 Speaker 3: of the documentary is just set up this story around 363 00:18:01,280 --> 00:18:04,119 Speaker 3: the fact that travel should be for everybody and the 364 00:18:04,200 --> 00:18:07,760 Speaker 3: future of travel is space travel, and how are we 365 00:18:07,840 --> 00:18:10,239 Speaker 3: going to make that accessible? We need to, you know, 366 00:18:10,320 --> 00:18:12,959 Speaker 3: start working with the space industry to make sure that 367 00:18:13,000 --> 00:18:17,560 Speaker 3: they set the standards for accessibility from the outset as 368 00:18:17,560 --> 00:18:19,760 Speaker 3: opposed to retrofitting access like which one to do with 369 00:18:19,800 --> 00:18:23,040 Speaker 3: the airline industry, right, So there's that element to it, 370 00:18:23,200 --> 00:18:25,240 Speaker 3: But there's also this sort of like for me as 371 00:18:25,280 --> 00:18:28,800 Speaker 3: a paraplegic getting into zero gravity and not needing my 372 00:18:28,840 --> 00:18:32,680 Speaker 3: wheelchair and just being able to mobilize like a little 373 00:18:32,680 --> 00:18:36,120 Speaker 3: bit like I'm in water. But it's profoundly different, and 374 00:18:36,840 --> 00:18:38,360 Speaker 3: it's trippy. It's trippy. 375 00:18:38,400 --> 00:18:40,600 Speaker 1: My head, my little head was like, oh my gosh. 376 00:18:40,440 --> 00:18:41,200 Speaker 2: What is going on? 377 00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:46,359 Speaker 3: It's really exurreal and amazing. And you know what, there's 378 00:18:46,400 --> 00:18:49,359 Speaker 3: also this wonderful thing for me again the privilege of 379 00:18:49,400 --> 00:18:52,760 Speaker 3: being able to experience it, which was one thing and 380 00:18:52,880 --> 00:18:55,040 Speaker 3: understand that the impact it could have both on the 381 00:18:55,080 --> 00:18:57,760 Speaker 3: space industry and seeing people with disabilities in those spaces 382 00:18:57,760 --> 00:18:59,560 Speaker 3: and seeing how important it is to include us. 383 00:19:00,040 --> 00:19:01,280 Speaker 1: But then there's the joy of. 384 00:19:01,320 --> 00:19:05,240 Speaker 3: Watching it on television and seeing how it was put together. 385 00:19:05,480 --> 00:19:08,879 Speaker 3: And I think the thing for me which brought me 386 00:19:08,920 --> 00:19:11,480 Speaker 3: to tears when I watched it was the song that 387 00:19:12,080 --> 00:19:14,399 Speaker 3: we edited together to put over the song, which is 388 00:19:14,640 --> 00:19:16,879 Speaker 3: the song from the Barbie soundtrack, which is what was 389 00:19:16,880 --> 00:19:19,640 Speaker 3: I made for? And the music comes in and that 390 00:19:19,800 --> 00:19:23,000 Speaker 3: is thanks to a woman named Sarah Laismbee who is 391 00:19:23,359 --> 00:19:26,919 Speaker 3: a Hello Sunshine, and she is just genius at what 392 00:19:27,040 --> 00:19:30,200 Speaker 3: she does, and she positioned the song just so perfectly 393 00:19:30,760 --> 00:19:34,040 Speaker 3: that it really packs us punch to a viewer sort 394 00:19:34,040 --> 00:19:36,399 Speaker 3: of question what are we made for? What are we 395 00:19:36,480 --> 00:19:39,119 Speaker 3: here for? What is their purpose? And I think it 396 00:19:39,320 --> 00:19:42,880 Speaker 3: leaves a viewer with this sense of like questioning your 397 00:19:42,920 --> 00:19:44,879 Speaker 3: own ideas of what you can and can't achieve as 398 00:19:44,880 --> 00:19:47,760 Speaker 3: a human being. And we really wanted to put that 399 00:19:47,800 --> 00:19:50,120 Speaker 3: out there in the dock, that we all as human 400 00:19:50,160 --> 00:19:52,880 Speaker 3: beings have this potential to be so much more than 401 00:19:52,960 --> 00:19:55,159 Speaker 3: people think that we can be, perhaps more than we 402 00:19:55,200 --> 00:19:56,240 Speaker 3: think that we can be. 403 00:19:56,800 --> 00:19:59,600 Speaker 4: It's really significant that the work that you're doing, the 404 00:20:00,080 --> 00:20:03,520 Speaker 4: roots work that you're doing, has led to significant change 405 00:20:03,520 --> 00:20:04,119 Speaker 4: in the past. 406 00:20:04,680 --> 00:20:06,760 Speaker 1: What makes you hopeful in this fight? 407 00:20:07,320 --> 00:20:10,879 Speaker 3: I think it's important to remain hopeful but also remain realistic. 408 00:20:11,480 --> 00:20:14,919 Speaker 3: And I think I feel hopeful in the sense that 409 00:20:15,040 --> 00:20:19,480 Speaker 3: I trust in the perseverance and the resilience and the 410 00:20:19,520 --> 00:20:25,840 Speaker 3: tenacity of my community. I know we will not stop. 411 00:20:26,160 --> 00:20:28,520 Speaker 3: It's almost like that adage, you know, if you don't quit, 412 00:20:28,600 --> 00:20:31,720 Speaker 3: you won't fail. It's like we will get the work done. 413 00:20:31,800 --> 00:20:33,919 Speaker 3: It's just a matter of time. So I feel hopeful 414 00:20:33,960 --> 00:20:36,919 Speaker 3: because I trust in us as a group to keep 415 00:20:37,200 --> 00:20:40,439 Speaker 3: pushing and keep fighting for change. I also feel hopeful 416 00:20:40,440 --> 00:20:45,359 Speaker 3: because I think that leaders recognize that now they're like, 417 00:20:45,359 --> 00:20:47,879 Speaker 3: oh gosh, they're not going anywhere. Oh these disabled people, 418 00:20:48,280 --> 00:20:51,399 Speaker 3: they won't quit and we won't quit. So yeah, I 419 00:20:51,440 --> 00:20:53,960 Speaker 3: do feel hopeful, but caasri on another day when I'm 420 00:20:54,320 --> 00:20:56,840 Speaker 3: struggling to get my emails responded to and the fight 421 00:20:56,960 --> 00:20:59,160 Speaker 3: is hard, and sometimes I do get the advocacy burnout 422 00:20:59,560 --> 00:21:02,400 Speaker 3: and it's but today it feels good. 423 00:21:03,160 --> 00:21:05,280 Speaker 4: We need to take another short break. We'll be right 424 00:21:05,320 --> 00:21:15,600 Speaker 4: back with Sophie Morgan. We're back with Sophie Morgan, disability 425 00:21:15,640 --> 00:21:19,040 Speaker 4: rights activist and host of this year's Paralympics on NBC. 426 00:21:20,000 --> 00:21:23,000 Speaker 2: Everybody is going to be watching you cover the Paralympics, 427 00:21:23,520 --> 00:21:28,080 Speaker 2: which is so exciting and it's really happening because of 428 00:21:28,119 --> 00:21:31,560 Speaker 2: making space that there will be an unprecedented amount of 429 00:21:31,640 --> 00:21:36,320 Speaker 2: disabled people covering all of the competitions, Like you fought 430 00:21:36,400 --> 00:21:37,879 Speaker 2: really hard to make this happen. 431 00:21:38,200 --> 00:21:43,879 Speaker 3: Yeah, they had never had a disabled person host the Paralympics, 432 00:21:44,359 --> 00:21:48,760 Speaker 3: and now there are several of us hosting, so that 433 00:21:48,760 --> 00:21:53,520 Speaker 3: that's crazy. So what they have had is they've had experts. 434 00:21:53,560 --> 00:21:57,879 Speaker 3: So former paralympians who have retired or who haven't retired 435 00:21:57,920 --> 00:22:00,320 Speaker 3: but aren't competing, come into the studio and do like 436 00:22:00,600 --> 00:22:03,440 Speaker 3: punditry right, talk about what you're going to see in 437 00:22:03,480 --> 00:22:05,359 Speaker 3: the sport. They've had that, but they've never had a 438 00:22:05,359 --> 00:22:07,640 Speaker 3: host with a disability on the games, which is why 439 00:22:07,760 --> 00:22:09,959 Speaker 3: I feel so incredibly lucky to be where I am. 440 00:22:10,000 --> 00:22:13,719 Speaker 3: I'm so proud. So Making Space partnered with NBC about 441 00:22:13,760 --> 00:22:18,320 Speaker 3: a year ago with the intention of finding and upskilling 442 00:22:18,840 --> 00:22:22,240 Speaker 3: new and existing disabled talent to see if they could 443 00:22:22,240 --> 00:22:25,240 Speaker 3: fit into that host role because NBC are really passionate 444 00:22:25,240 --> 00:22:28,600 Speaker 3: about getting representation right and they know that people with 445 00:22:28,680 --> 00:22:31,800 Speaker 3: disabilities will bring another lens to the broadcasting. I mean, 446 00:22:31,800 --> 00:22:33,960 Speaker 3: that's why our company is called Making Space. We made 447 00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:36,720 Speaker 3: space for disabled talent so to be able to see 448 00:22:36,720 --> 00:22:39,720 Speaker 3: her shine and thrive. It's brilliant, feels great. 449 00:22:40,800 --> 00:22:44,240 Speaker 2: One of the best marketing campaigns that I've seen in 450 00:22:44,359 --> 00:22:46,919 Speaker 2: the last five years came out of the Paralympics. They 451 00:22:46,960 --> 00:22:51,760 Speaker 2: went viral on Instagram. A ton of Paralympians posted a 452 00:22:51,800 --> 00:22:55,600 Speaker 2: photo of them in motion of whatever sport that they 453 00:22:55,600 --> 00:22:59,040 Speaker 2: were in, and they wrote, I am competing, and the 454 00:22:59,119 --> 00:23:01,640 Speaker 2: idea of it it is that I am competing versus 455 00:23:01,680 --> 00:23:04,760 Speaker 2: I am participating. Because when people speak about the Paralympics, 456 00:23:04,760 --> 00:23:08,600 Speaker 2: they often speak about it as participation and they're like, no, 457 00:23:08,840 --> 00:23:11,720 Speaker 2: I am a competitor, what did you think about this? 458 00:23:12,800 --> 00:23:15,760 Speaker 3: I love it. I love it when Paralympians get feisty 459 00:23:15,880 --> 00:23:20,880 Speaker 3: and just say stop underestimating us. There's a perception that 460 00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:25,199 Speaker 3: Paralympians don't bring the same level of athleticism or you know, 461 00:23:25,280 --> 00:23:28,919 Speaker 3: elite talent and skill and sportsmanship to what they're doing, 462 00:23:29,280 --> 00:23:33,040 Speaker 3: and they do. Trust me, like, I've been following these 463 00:23:33,160 --> 00:23:35,879 Speaker 3: this movement now since I started in twenty twelve, and 464 00:23:35,920 --> 00:23:38,040 Speaker 3: I have been in so many different games, whether the 465 00:23:38,040 --> 00:23:41,359 Speaker 3: summer or winter. I honestly, I know this is a 466 00:23:41,400 --> 00:23:43,000 Speaker 3: naughty thing to say. We're going to say it anyway. 467 00:23:43,119 --> 00:23:47,520 Speaker 3: I think the Olympics is kind of boring compared to 468 00:23:47,520 --> 00:23:50,280 Speaker 3: the Paralympics. I'm just going to say it because I swear. 469 00:23:50,640 --> 00:23:56,600 Speaker 3: I mean, watching somebody who is blind skiing behind a 470 00:23:56,680 --> 00:23:59,159 Speaker 3: guide at I mean, how many miles an hour? Like 471 00:23:59,200 --> 00:24:02,439 Speaker 3: seventy eighty miles an hour? You tell me that is 472 00:24:02,480 --> 00:24:05,840 Speaker 3: not more interesting to watch than just somebody who's regular skiing. 473 00:24:06,119 --> 00:24:08,520 Speaker 3: I know I'm biased because I'm disabled, but I just 474 00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:10,479 Speaker 3: think it just adds a whole nother layer of like 475 00:24:10,640 --> 00:24:13,600 Speaker 3: badass to the sport. And I also know how hard 476 00:24:13,640 --> 00:24:15,560 Speaker 3: it is to be a disabled person in this world 477 00:24:15,600 --> 00:24:19,760 Speaker 3: and to actually be able to just do the basics. 478 00:24:19,760 --> 00:24:22,080 Speaker 3: I mean even just getting to a gym, even getting 479 00:24:22,119 --> 00:24:25,600 Speaker 3: to equipment, even getting access to fitness and training and 480 00:24:25,760 --> 00:24:29,639 Speaker 3: all of those things. It's really challenging. So those layers 481 00:24:29,640 --> 00:24:31,560 Speaker 3: and layers that they have to break through the barriers, 482 00:24:31,600 --> 00:24:34,240 Speaker 3: they come through and then they go and do their sport. 483 00:24:34,560 --> 00:24:38,440 Speaker 3: And so I think the Paralympics just blows the Olympics 484 00:24:38,440 --> 00:24:40,439 Speaker 3: in a sense out of the water for me. And 485 00:24:40,760 --> 00:24:43,240 Speaker 3: I just want more audiences to come to the games 486 00:24:43,280 --> 00:24:45,520 Speaker 3: because I think they'll love it, if not as much, 487 00:24:45,600 --> 00:24:47,040 Speaker 3: maybe more. That's all I'm saying. 488 00:24:47,440 --> 00:24:51,360 Speaker 2: So the twenty twenty four Paralympic Games wrap up this weekend. 489 00:24:51,920 --> 00:24:54,920 Speaker 2: Who has been some of the outstanding competitors this year? 490 00:24:55,160 --> 00:24:58,879 Speaker 3: So Alie Truett has an amazing story. She was a 491 00:24:58,920 --> 00:25:01,960 Speaker 3: swimmer in college. She went on holiday with her girlfriends 492 00:25:02,440 --> 00:25:04,920 Speaker 3: and when she was out swimming in Tucks and Caicos, 493 00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:07,880 Speaker 3: she got attacked by a shark. The shark bit off 494 00:25:07,880 --> 00:25:11,919 Speaker 3: her foot and she basically swum through the boat to 495 00:25:11,960 --> 00:25:14,840 Speaker 3: this boat. She had her foot tourniquade by a friend 496 00:25:14,880 --> 00:25:17,119 Speaker 3: of hers who was swimming with her. They saved her 497 00:25:17,200 --> 00:25:20,399 Speaker 3: life and less than a year later she's competing at 498 00:25:20,400 --> 00:25:24,240 Speaker 3: the Paralympics and she is incredible, Like I mean, talk 499 00:25:24,240 --> 00:25:28,000 Speaker 3: about a story of overcoming adversity. She's an extraordinary young woman. 500 00:25:28,240 --> 00:25:31,080 Speaker 3: There's also another woman called Sarah Adam who is the 501 00:25:31,119 --> 00:25:35,639 Speaker 3: first woman to ever compete in wheelchair rugby. And again 502 00:25:35,720 --> 00:25:37,800 Speaker 3: for people who aren't familiar with wheelchair rubby, it's got 503 00:25:37,800 --> 00:25:42,680 Speaker 3: a nickname murdible because it's really hardcore. So it's great 504 00:25:42,680 --> 00:25:45,280 Speaker 3: to see a woman in that space. Like she's in 505 00:25:45,280 --> 00:25:48,920 Speaker 3: a really inspiring athlete too. She's just had a diagnosis 506 00:25:48,960 --> 00:25:51,840 Speaker 3: of MS and she's found the sport as this like 507 00:25:52,320 --> 00:25:56,080 Speaker 3: release for her, and it's just again another really incredible story. 508 00:25:56,200 --> 00:25:58,880 Speaker 3: And then there's the greats, the kind of the perhaps 509 00:25:58,920 --> 00:26:02,800 Speaker 3: more well known athlete. It's you know, Tatiana McFadden, Jessica Long. 510 00:26:03,040 --> 00:26:04,680 Speaker 3: I mean, the list goes on and on and on. 511 00:26:05,080 --> 00:26:06,080 Speaker 3: There's loads to watch. 512 00:26:06,560 --> 00:26:07,040 Speaker 1: Amazing. 513 00:26:07,240 --> 00:26:11,640 Speaker 2: Yeah, Sophie, you're leading a campaign, you released a documentary, 514 00:26:11,760 --> 00:26:15,000 Speaker 2: and you're hosting the Paralympics this year. Like I said before, 515 00:26:15,680 --> 00:26:19,280 Speaker 2: you have many titles, So before you go, can you 516 00:26:19,320 --> 00:26:22,400 Speaker 2: tell us where that fire, that you have to figure 517 00:26:22,440 --> 00:26:25,240 Speaker 2: something out or push against something when people tell you no. 518 00:26:25,880 --> 00:26:26,920 Speaker 1: Where does that come from? 519 00:26:27,440 --> 00:26:31,160 Speaker 3: I don't know. My mum gets asked this all the time. 520 00:26:31,760 --> 00:26:34,680 Speaker 3: Was she always like that? People always ask her Anna? 521 00:26:34,920 --> 00:26:38,480 Speaker 3: I I sometimes ask her too, I'm like, Mom, Was 522 00:26:38,520 --> 00:26:41,359 Speaker 3: I always like this? I think I was to an 523 00:26:41,440 --> 00:26:43,960 Speaker 3: extent as a young girl, I was always a little 524 00:26:44,000 --> 00:26:47,880 Speaker 3: bit like pushy and difficult. I was a difficult girl. 525 00:26:48,040 --> 00:26:50,920 Speaker 3: You know those girls that we get that word difficult, 526 00:26:50,960 --> 00:26:53,280 Speaker 3: like I was that word. That was my label. And 527 00:26:53,320 --> 00:26:56,639 Speaker 3: I've always said difficult girls make for great women. I 528 00:26:56,800 --> 00:26:59,639 Speaker 3: just think I believe that because there's something in us 529 00:26:59,640 --> 00:27:01,600 Speaker 3: that kind of just goes, well, we're going to think 530 00:27:01,640 --> 00:27:04,160 Speaker 3: outside the box, we're gonna do things our way now. 531 00:27:04,160 --> 00:27:07,240 Speaker 3: That can be a destructive force. And of course I have, 532 00:27:08,280 --> 00:27:11,359 Speaker 3: you know, hurt myself with my actions. My injury was 533 00:27:11,400 --> 00:27:15,000 Speaker 3: caused by myself, and I hold myself responsible. So I 534 00:27:15,000 --> 00:27:18,600 Speaker 3: suppose there is an element to being difficult that is problematic, 535 00:27:18,640 --> 00:27:21,760 Speaker 3: but there's also an element to it that's just It's 536 00:27:21,800 --> 00:27:24,639 Speaker 3: something I celebrate in myself and I fire. I don't know, 537 00:27:24,680 --> 00:27:28,880 Speaker 3: I just I get off on that, like, don't limit us. 538 00:27:29,160 --> 00:27:33,959 Speaker 3: I do think it is heightened by being very visibly disabled, 539 00:27:34,200 --> 00:27:37,400 Speaker 3: and a wheelchair comes with a huge amount of stigma, 540 00:27:38,359 --> 00:27:40,679 Speaker 3: and you know that kind of that gets put on 541 00:27:40,720 --> 00:27:42,879 Speaker 3: me everywhere I go, whether I like it or not. 542 00:27:43,320 --> 00:27:46,840 Speaker 3: It feels good to just prove yourself and prove others 543 00:27:46,960 --> 00:27:51,160 Speaker 3: wrong and at the same time encourage and inspire and 544 00:27:51,280 --> 00:27:55,879 Speaker 3: motivate other people who also live within those confines of 545 00:27:55,880 --> 00:27:59,000 Speaker 3: those imitations to kind of go, oh, I don't know 546 00:27:59,000 --> 00:28:00,680 Speaker 3: if you could do that, Maybe I could do that. 547 00:28:00,680 --> 00:28:04,439 Speaker 3: That feels so good too. It's like a recharger, you know. 548 00:28:04,640 --> 00:28:06,919 Speaker 3: It's like when your battery gets depleted, what fills it 549 00:28:06,960 --> 00:28:10,160 Speaker 3: back up? And those things fill my battery back up. 550 00:28:10,240 --> 00:28:12,920 Speaker 3: They kind of make me go, right, let's go again. 551 00:28:13,000 --> 00:28:14,520 Speaker 3: You're going to tell me no, okay, Well, I'm going 552 00:28:14,600 --> 00:28:16,840 Speaker 3: to find a way to say yes. Like just being 553 00:28:16,880 --> 00:28:20,480 Speaker 3: on TV today, ye maybe somebody watched that and when 554 00:28:20,680 --> 00:28:23,600 Speaker 3: oh h, the stories that I shared of the paralympians 555 00:28:23,680 --> 00:28:26,719 Speaker 3: like Ali Truett, who I'd just talked about. I know 556 00:28:26,800 --> 00:28:29,480 Speaker 3: that the impact is profound on others when they see 557 00:28:29,520 --> 00:28:31,320 Speaker 3: other people doing things that they didn't think that they 558 00:28:31,320 --> 00:28:33,720 Speaker 3: could do. And I want to be an example, I think, 559 00:28:33,880 --> 00:28:36,000 Speaker 3: But yeah, I don't know. I've just got a lot 560 00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:36,480 Speaker 3: of energy. 561 00:28:37,480 --> 00:28:41,080 Speaker 1: Well, Sophie, we love you. Thank you so much for 562 00:28:41,120 --> 00:28:42,760 Speaker 1: bringing your life to the bright side. 563 00:28:43,120 --> 00:28:46,040 Speaker 3: MATHA, thanks babes, thanks for yeah, thank you for having me. 564 00:28:48,040 --> 00:28:52,880 Speaker 2: Sophie Morgan is a BAFTA nominated TV broadcaster, disability rights advocate, 565 00:28:52,960 --> 00:28:56,160 Speaker 2: and author of the memoir Driving Forwards. You can catch 566 00:28:56,200 --> 00:29:04,760 Speaker 2: Sophie hosting this year's Paralympics at Nbcolympics dot com. 567 00:29:04,800 --> 00:29:05,920 Speaker 1: That's it for today's show. 568 00:29:05,960 --> 00:29:08,920 Speaker 4: Tomorrow, we're popping off with Emmy nominated TV host and 569 00:29:09,000 --> 00:29:10,719 Speaker 4: fashion designer Nina Parker. 570 00:29:11,640 --> 00:29:14,560 Speaker 2: Listen and follow the bright Side on the iHeartRadio app, 571 00:29:14,640 --> 00:29:17,320 Speaker 2: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 572 00:29:17,560 --> 00:29:18,440 Speaker 1: I'm Simone Boye. 573 00:29:18,480 --> 00:29:21,920 Speaker 4: You can find me at Simone Voice on Instagram and TikTok. 574 00:29:22,280 --> 00:29:25,040 Speaker 2: I'm Danielle Robe on Instagram and TikTok. 575 00:29:25,200 --> 00:29:28,160 Speaker 1: That's r O b A. Y. See you tomorrow, folks. 576 00:29:28,280 --> 00:29:32,240 Speaker 4: Keep looking on the bright side.