Voices of Monterey Bay / Gray Area Podcast
Travels with Corbett
“Travels with Corbett” opens with a direct and candid perspective: “The world always wants us dead.”
The speaker, disability rights activist Corbett O’Toole, continues: “Disabled people know that, every day of our lives: The world doesn’t want us around and wants us dead.”
The story focuses on O’Toole, who lives in a van in the desert, part of a community of nomads. O’Toole reflects on her advocacy, including participating in the Section 504 sit-ins of the 1970s, protests that pushed for an end to discrimination in federally funded programs against people with disabilities.
O’Toole’s perspective is part of a broader focus on elder survivors of injustice and historical trauma.
“The storytelling was exceptional,” a judge wrote. “The way each individual’s story was presented offered real depth and perspective—I felt fully immersed in the lives of these brave individuals. It was also clear that the reporter took great care to build trust with the people featured, which made the work feel both thoughtful and deeply respectful.”
The piece captures the “intertwined history of the disability rights movement and folks involved in it now finding community in a contemporary nomad movement,” another judge wrote.
Read the Winning Work
Travels with Corbett May 7, 2025
Full transcript
Finalists
AfroLA
Foster Care Funding
Elizabeth Moss