Jillian Ilana Curwin On Looking Ahead, Looking Back, And Always Looking Up
Always Looking Up
08/18/25
•29m
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This episode celebrates 200 episodes of Always Looking Up, an incredible milestone that I am so incredibly proud of and grateful for. I wanted to take the time to reflect on what it means having gotten this far and the journey to get here, highlighting some milestone moments, look ahead towards where I want to be, where I want the podcast to be, and to say thank you to my brother, the audience, and guests past, present and future.
As always, height is just a number, not a limit.
Read the transcript: HERE
Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast TikTok: @jillian_ilana Website: https://www.jillianilana.com Email: alwayslookingup227@gmail.com
Read With Me:
Support Immigrant Communities (all links came from @chnge):
The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (@chirla_org): https://www.chirla.org/donatenow/
Immigrant Defenders Law Center (@immdef_lawcenter): https://www.immdef.org
Inland Coalition 4 Imm Justice (@ic4ij): https://secure.actblue.com/donate/jornaleros
Relief For Disabled People Impacted By The Los Angeles Fires:
Richard Devylder Disaster Relief Fund: https://disabilitydisasteraccess.org/rd-relief-fund/
United Spinal Disaster Relief Grant: https://unitedspinal.org/disaster-relief-grant/
Inevitable Foundation Emergency Relief Fund: https://www.inevitable.foundation/erf
Previous Episode
Sheila Xu On Her Mission To Becoming The First Deaf Astronaut
August 11, 2025
•48m
In this week’s episode I sat down with Sheila Xu and her interpreter Justin Baldi. Sheila is an oral and signing Deaf woman who broke barriers as one of the first deaf commercial analog astronaut trainees and the first deaf Asian female pilot. As Director of Development at AstroAccess, a non-profit advancing disability inclusion in the space sector, she holds degrees from MIT, Harvard, and Wharton and promotes the leadership potential of deaf and hard-of-hearing people and people with disabilities in all sectors. Justin is an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter with over 20 years of experience focusing on space and other STEM related fields. We discuss the importance of investing in disability entrepreneurship, how she is redefining who can be an astronaut and making outer space accessible, and much, much more.
Read The Transcript: HERE
Follow Sheila: Instagram: @sheilazxu LinkedIn: Sheila Xu Website: https://sheilaxu.com
Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast TikTok: @jillian_ilana Website: https://www.jillianilana.com Email: alwayslookingup227@gmail.com
Read With Me:
Support Immigrant Communities (all links came from @chnge):
The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (@chirla_org): https://www.chirla.org/donatenow/
Immigrant Defenders Law Center (@immdef_lawcenter): https://www.immdef.org
Inland Coalition 4 Imm Justice (@ic4ij): https://secure.actblue.com/donate/jornaleros
Relief For Disabled People Impacted By The Los Angeles Fires:
Richard Devylder Disaster Relief Fund: https://disabilitydisasteraccess.org/rd-relief-fund/
United Spinal Disaster Relief Grant: https://unitedspinal.org/disaster-relief-grant/
Inevitable Foundation Emergency Relief Fund: https://www.inevitable.foundation/erf
Next Episode
Violet Ferguson On Materialists And The Perceptions Of Height And Stature
August 25, 2025
•57m
In this week’s episode I sat down with Violet Ferguson. Violet is an emerging producer, content creator, and disability advocate based near Toronto, Ontario. Over the past few years, she’s focused on sharing disability-led stories and supporting disabled voices through her filmmaking and advocacy work. She recently served as the associate producer on the award-nominated series The Squeaky Wheel: Canada, a disability-focused production that prioritized accessibility and disability representation both in front of and behind the camera—now heading into its second season. We discuss the 2025 film Materialists starring Dakota Johnson, Pedro Pascal, and Chris Evans. More specifically, we discuss a topic that’s not often mentioned on-screen. Spoilers ahead.
Follow Violet: Instagram: @itsvioletferguson TikTok: @itsvioletferguson Website: https://violetferguson.ca
Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast TikTok: @jillian_ilana Website: https://www.jillianilana.com Email: alwayslookingup227@gmail.com
Read With Me:
Support Immigrant Communities (all links came from @chnge):
The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (@chirla_org): https://www.chirla.org/donatenow/
Immigrant Defenders Law Center (@immdef_lawcenter): https://www.immdef.org
Inland Coalition 4 Imm Justice (@ic4ij): https://secure.actblue.com/donate/jornaleros
Relief For Disabled People Impacted By The Los Angeles Fires:
Richard Devylder Disaster Relief Fund: https://disabilitydisasteraccess.org/rd-relief-fund/
United Spinal Disaster Relief Grant: https://unitedspinal.org/disaster-relief-grant/
Inevitable Foundation Emergency Relief Fund: https://www.inevitable.foundation/erf
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