VoiceOver to Voice Lines: Radio, Rails, and Accessibility with Austin Seraphin

Evan Starnes sits down with accessibility consultant, amateur radio operator, and co-founder of Philly Touch Tours, Austin Seraphin. They trace his journey from the Apple IIe and BASIC to Linux and open-source advocacy; revisit the “Eliza” moment that sparked a lifelong love of programming; and dig into why universal design beats retrofits and overlays every time. Austin shares memories of the Braille ’n Speak (and today’s BT Speak), the iPhone’s inflection point for accessible tech, and practical guidance for developers—ship with native controls, respect platform semantics, and test with screen readers. They close with the lasting impact of Philly Touch Tours and where to find Austin’s current consulting work.

Contact Info
Guest — Austin Seraphin: austinseraphin.net
Aftersight (feedback & voicemails): [e-mail]
| [phone]
Producer credits: Produced by Jonathan Price for Aftersight. Host: Evan Starnes.

Show Credits
Host: Evan Starnes
Guest: Austin Seraphin
Producer: Jonathan Price
A Production of Aftersight

Chapter Markers
00:00 — Cold open & show intro
00:32 — Guest setup: who is Austin Seraphin
02:37 — Early sparks: Apple IIe, Echo, and BASIC
07:29 — The “LIST” epiphany: Eliza source code moment
09:41 — From Apple IIgs to DOS and the early screen reader era
12:02 — Linux today: Arch, Slint, and accessibility trade-offs
14:24 — Braille ’n Speak to BT Speak: tools that shaped a generation
16:44 — iPhone 3GS and the mainstreaming of mobile accessibility
19:08 — Apps, color identifiers, and learning the new paradigm
21:33 — Teaching kids to code: Swift Playgrounds and beyond
23:55 — Philly Touch Tours: origin story and tactile learning
29:02 — Universal design in practice: chisels, ramps, and patterns
31:37 — Why “accessible from day one” beats retrofits
36:25 — Platforms compared: native controls vs. the web wild west
38:50 — Electron, performance, and the cost of abstraction
41:18 — Accessibility overlays: why quick fixes fail users
42:55 — Consulting reboot and where to find Austin
43:42 — Wrap-up, future episodes, and Aftersight CTAs