The New Reality: Oct. 21

Spencer West has summited Mount Kilimanjaro and travelled the world giving motivational speeches. And he’s done it all without legs. Taylor Lindsay-Noel went from Olympic gymnastics hopeful to life in a wheelchair after a training accident. She has become the CEO of a burgeoning tea company, gaining the attention of Oprah Winfrey. Spencer and Taylor are among a growing number of online influencers who have built large social media platforms to advocate for accessibility, so that it becomes normal for people with disabilities to participate fully in public life. On this week’s episode of The New Reality, Marianne Dimain shows us the fine balance they’ve struck between advocacy and entertainment, and how it is beginning to change how we see disability. Plus, it’s an ancient form of art, but now origami is providing modern solutions in the fields of space, engineering, mathematics, and medicine. Canadian aerospace engineer, Manan Arya, has been working for years on a galactic puzzle – how to block starlight in a universe with up to one septillion stars. Eric Sorensen sat down with Arya to see how origami can help in future space explorations.