Proud Stutter11 Feb 2022

Stuttering in the Newsroom with Pro Publica’s Mariam Elba

The movement to expand diversity and inclusivity in newsrooms is growing. Yet stuttering, a speech disability affecting nearly 1% of the population, is seldom talked about in the newsroom.

This week, Mariam Elba speaks with Maya and Cynthia about what it’s like to have a stutter in the newsroom. Mariam, a woman who stutters, is a research reporter at Pro Publica and an adjunct professor at CUNY’s Craig Newmark Journalism School. Mariam talks about her journey to becoming a reporter and how she didn’t let her stutter get in the way of pursuing journalism as a career and teaching.

“Don't be afraid to kind of go after what you feel really passionate about. Like if there are stories that you like, that you're seeing, and that you want to write about and report on that you're not seeing elsewhere, you should be the person to do that reporting. And that like, you know, your stutter doesn't like make you any less qualified to be someone speaking in like a public-facing setting.”

Episoder(119)

This Model and Stuttering Advocate Auditioned for Victoria's Secret

When Lisbeth Peguero was a little girl, her mom took her to speech therapy once. Inside the office, she did not stutter at all. The therapist told her mom she was fine and did not need help. Walking o...

23 Aug 41min

Growing Up, Stuttering, and Finding Your Place

Isaiah was in third grade when his teacher called on someone else while he was still in the middle of answering a question. He had the answer. He just stuttered getting it out. That was the moment he ...

26 Jul 38min

The Story Behind The Stuttering Journal

Bryan Matthews still remembers the moment everything changed — he was in ninth grade, giving an oral report in American history class, when classmates began mocking his stutter while his teacher just ...

27 Jun 40min

Breaking the Walls of a Stutter with Mutalaathem Founder Saad Al-Munajem

As a child growing up in Saudi Arabia, Saad Al-Munajem learned how to build a wall around himself. After being laughed at while trying to read aloud in class, he spent years hiding his stutter — avoid...

26 Mai 46min

Healing, Advocacy, and Reclaiming Your Stutter

In this episode of Proud Stutter, Maya talks with Elizabeth Escobar, a person who stutters, substitute teacher, and advocate, about trauma, healing, and learning to reconnect with herself after years ...

15 Mai 47min

Stuttering, Comedy, and Embracing Uncomfortable Situations

In this episode of Proud Stutter, Maya talks with Joze Piranian, a comedian, speaker, and author, about growing up with a stutter and how early experiences shaped his relationship with speaking. Joze ...

20 Apr 38min

Episode Swap: Down To The Struts

This week, we’re doing something a little different on Proud Stutter. We’ve partnered with the podcast Down to the Struts for an episode swap, sharing each other’s work as a way to support disabled cr...

23 Mar 35min

The Story She Needed as a Kid: Jennifer Dickinson on Writing a Young Girl Who Stutters

Maya talks with fiction writer and teacher Jennifer Dickinson about her new middle grade novel featuring a young girl who stutters. Jennifer shares how her own experiences growing up with a stutter sh...

11 Mar 31min