Seen and Not Heard

Seen and Not Heard  is a fictional story created by Caroline Mincks about Bet Kline, a woman who has almost entirely lost her hearing and is adjusting to her new reality. The show depicts her daily life, using the podcast form to explore how ableism manifests. We experience Bet’s frustration in learning American Sign Language when no one else around her will. Her decision to avoid group outings makes sense once you experience them from her perspective, including the muffled sounds of conversations she can’t make out. Her family, her friends, and even a date resist repeating throwaway comments she doesn’t hear, and Bet becomes exasperated by the cumulative effect of being excluded so many times. Listeners will hear themselves in the people who fail her.  Seen and Not Heard  outlines the gaps in understanding between those who can and can’t hear—an excellent achievement for a show in any format, but especially one that relies on audio.