In this year’s Disability ReFramed panel discussion, Celebrating Our Childhood on TV, we spotlight the recently launched American Archive of Public Broadcasting (AAPB) Special Collection: Representing Children with Disabilities on Public Television, which illustrates how public media has consistently led the way in improving accessibility, representation, and inclusive storytelling. Our panelists, disability rights activist and author Emily Ladau and violinist Adrian Anantawan, share how their lives were impacted by seeing themselves represented onscreen during their formative years. The conversation is moderated by Donna Danielewski, the executive director of accessibility at GBH.

Public media has always told the stories that speak to all viewers in the most accessible way. The GBH show “ZOOM” was the first open-captioned children’s television show and — funded by the Department of Education — featured disabled “ZOOMguests” to support the transition of disabled students into mainstream schools. Other shows like “Feeling Free” created a place just for disabled children, while still others — including “Sesame Street,” “Mister Rogers Neighborhood,” and “Arthur” — featured disabled actors, guests, or characters. For an entire generation, these were memorable television firsts.

View our shared and living Resource Document from the event. Please feel free to reach out via email to Accessibility@WGBH.org with any edits or comments.

Visit the AAPB donation page to give today, and type “Disability ReFramed ” in the dedication box when you submit your gift. Organizations interested in partnering with the AAPB to enhance this collection should reach out directly at aapb_notifications@wgbh.org.



Plus, view behind-the-scenes items from the Special Collection . . .


Before the discussion, join us in the GBH Atrium for a light reception and view select items from the new special collection, highlighting public media’s long‑standing work to amplify the experiences of children with disabilities — many in shows produced right here at GBH! A joint project of the AAPB, MLA, NCAM, and the Media Access Group, this collection reflects a shared commitment to accessibility across GBH.


Do you have a memory or impact story to share for possible inclusion in our event? We want to hear from you!

DM us to share your story or fill out this brief form.


Disability ReFramed is a GBH annual conversation that imagines what the future could be.

This event is presented with support from our sponsors: Learn Behavioral BCI Centers, PNC Bank, and Vinfen.
Accessibility: This event was captioned using CART, and featured American Sign Language interpreters (ASL). Both available for live and virtual audiences.

Everyone notices birds. But how many of us are birders?

There is a difference, and it comes with its own language. Lifers and listers. Twitchers and stringers. Spark birds and nemesis birds. Birding is a subculture with its own rules, its own ethics, and its own obsessions, and right now, it is one of the fastest-growing communities in America.

Something unexpected is fueling this growth. Technology. The same force often blamed for pulling us indoors has become an unlikely ally. Platforms that track sightings, map migrations, and connect birders across the world, are transforming a solitary pastime into a global community. And they are raising new questions about ethics, competition, and what it means to love birds responsibly.

Scientists are also paying attention. What birding does to the brain, who is joining the community and why, and what this ancient practice of patient attention offers a generation raised on overstimulation. These are open questions, and the answers are only beginning to emerge.

Join John W. Fitzpatrick, Director Emeritus of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and Erik Wing, neuroscientist at York University and Baycrest Hospital in Toronto, for a conversation about birds, brains, and a culture that is booming with young and old alike.

Peter Levine, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs & Lincoln Filene Professor, Tisch College at Tufts University, welcomed guests to the Civics in Higher Education National Summit that took place on the Tufts University campus on April 10, 2026.

As part of the The Massachusetts Historical Society's look at the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, GBH's Debra Adams Simmons will sit down with Jordan Taylor of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and Michael D. Hattem of the Yale-New Haven Institute to examine commentary in Revolutionary-era newspapers and broadsides, consider how understanding of the Revolution has changed over time, and reflect on how the public sees the nation’s founding today. 

Jonathan Holloway, President & CEO of the Luce Foundation, greeted guests attending the Civics in Higher Education at Tufts University in April, 2026. He shares his own career journey and how he sees the opportunity for colleges and universities to play a transformative role in the lives of those who do not come from college-going traditions.

Paris Alston, host of the GBH show Rooted, moderates a discussion about loneliness, technology, and what it means to truly connect in the age of artificial intelligence, with Dr. Jen Hartstein, psychologist, and Oluwaseun Sanwoolu, PhD Candidate in Philosophy at the University of Kansas.

Some higher ed institutions have developed curricular programs within a liberal arts curriculum for civic education, ranging from courses to majors and even schools. Political scientist Josiah Ober moderates a discussion focused on the importance of introducing primary sources, grounding teaching in great works of literature and why it’s important to include lived experience into the classroom. Panelists also highlighted the significance of developing cultural competency to make historic sources relevant and how prioritizing students’ critical thinking and reflection in the classroom is essential.

Some institutions are deeply engaged with their neighboring communities, and they understand that partnerships provide opportunities for civic learning while generating knowledge and other public goods. Three educators shared the details of their local civic involvement.

The only university-wide college of its kind, the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life studies and promotes the civic and political engagement of young people at Tufts University, in our communities, and in our democracy.

The Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University, in partnership with the Alliance for Civics in the Academy and GBH, …hosted a one-day national summit in April 2026 for faculty, administrators and students from across the country to explore, discuss and compare models of civic practice in higher education.Visit the summit page for more details about each panelist and participant. Summit speakers and panelists recorded by the GBH Forum Network and presented here include Amy Binder, Mary Clark, Michael Clune, Dayna Cunningham, Andrew Delbanco, Fonna Forman, Bryan Garsten, Leslie Garvin, Caroline Attardo Genco, Tetyana Hoggan-Kloubert, Jonathan Holloway, Jessica Kimpell Johnson, Peter Levine, Marisol Morales, Jennifer Brick Murtazashvili, Josiah Ober, Eboo Patel, Mindy Romero, Jenna Silber Storey, Leela Strong, Amber Wichowsky, and more.More moments from the summit will be published here soon. Please check back. Photography by Laurie Swope/Tufts University