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American Experience

They Took Sledgehammers to Sidewalks – Here’s Why | Extended Audio Description | The Curb Cut Effect

EAD Curb cuts—those small ramps at the edge of sidewalks—were not always a given.

Aired 03/25/2025

American Experience

They Took Sledgehammers to Sidewalks – Here’s Why | Extended Audio Description | The Curb Cut Effect

Clip: Season 37 Episode 2 | 8m 9s

EAD Curb cuts—those small ramps at the edge of sidewalks—were not always a given.

EAD Curb cuts—those small ramps at the edge of sidewalks—are now a standard part of city design, but they didn’t exist until disability rights advocates demanded them. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, students with disabilities at the University of California, Berkeley began organizing for better access to public spaces.

Aired 03/25/2025

Problems with Closed Captions? Closed Captioning Feedback

Problems with Closed Captions? Closed Captioning Feedback

Corporate sponsorship for American Experience is provided by Liberty Mutual Insurance and Carlisle Companies. Major funding by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

Support provided by:

Liberty Mutual InsuranceCarlisle

Audiobooks and the accessibility revolution | ASL | The Curb Cut Effect

Clip: S37 Ep2 | 6m 38s | Audiobooks are big business today—but they began as a vital tool for blind readers. (6m 38s)

Audiobooks and the accessibility revolution | Extended Audio Description | The Curb Cut Effect

Clip: S37 Ep2 | 7m 40s | Audiobooks are big business today—but they began as a vital tool for blind readers. (7m 40s)

Audiobooks and the accessibility revolution | The Curb Cut Effect

Clip: S37 Ep2 | 6m 38s | Audiobooks are big business today—but they began as a vital tool for blind readers. (6m 38s)

Chapter 1 | ASL | Change, Not Charity: The Americans with Disabilities Act

Video has Closed Captions

Clip: S37 Ep2 | 9m 17s | ASL Watch a preview of Change, Not Charity: The Americans with Disabilities Act. (9m 17s)

Chapter 1 | Change, Not Charity: The Americans with Disabilities Act

Video has Closed Captions

Clip: S37 Ep2 | 9m 17s | Watch a preview of Change, Not Charity: The Americans with Disabilities Act. (9m 17s)

Chapter 1 | Extended Audio Description | Change, Not Charity: The Americans with Disabilities Act

Clip: S37 Ep2 | 11m 31s | EXTENDED AUDIO DESCRIPTION A preview of Change, Not Charity: The Americans with Disabilities Act. (11m 31s)

How Captions Went from Niche to Necessity | ASL |The Curb Cut Effect

Clip: S37 Ep2 | 6m 48s | ASL The fight for closed captioning was a battle for access and inclusion. (6m 48s)

How Captions Went from Niche to Necessity | Extended Audio Description | The Curb Cut Effect

Clip: S37 Ep2 | 8m 33s | EAD The fight for closed captioning was a battle for access and inclusion. (8m 33s)

How Captions Went from Niche to Necessity | The Curb Cut Effect

Clip: S37 Ep2 | 6m 48s | The fight for closed captioning was a battle for access and inclusion. (6m 48s)

How one carrot peeler revolutionized design | ASL | The Curb Cut Effect

Clip: S37 Ep2 | 6m 18s | ASL Many household products were originally designed by or for people with disabilities. (6m 18s)

How one carrot peeler revolutionized design | Extended Audio Description | The Curb Cut Effect

Clip: S37 Ep2 | 7m 12s | EAD Many household products were originally designed by or for people with disabilities. (7m 12s)

How one carrot peeler revolutionized design | The Curb Cut Effect

Clip: S37 Ep2 | 6m 18s | Many household products were originally designed by or for people with disabilities. (6m 18s)

They Took Sledgehammers to Sidewalks – Here’s Why | ASL | The Curb Cut Effect

Clip: S37 Ep2 | 7m 1s | ASL Curb cuts—those small ramps at the edge of sidewalks—were not always a given. (7m 1s)

They Took Sledgehammers to Sidewalks – Here’s Why | The Curb Cut Effect

Clip: S37 Ep2 | 7m 1s | Curb cuts—those small ramps at the edge of sidewalks—are now a standard part of city design, but the (7m 1s)

Trailer | ASL | Change, Not Charity: The Americans with Disabilities Act

Video has Closed Captions

Preview: S37 Ep2 | 2m 23s | ASL The dramatic story of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990. (2m 23s)

Trailer | Change, Not Charity: The Americans with Disabilities Act

Video has Closed Captions

Preview: S37 Ep2 | 2m 24s | The dramatic story of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990. (2m 24s)

Trailer | Extended Audio Description | Change, Not Charity: The Americans with Disabilities Act

Video has Closed Captions

Preview: S37 Ep2 | 2m 50s | EXTENDED AD The dramatic story of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990. (2m 50s)

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Corporate sponsorship for American Experience is provided by Liberty Mutual Insurance and Carlisle Companies. Major funding by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

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