Lindi Marcusen On Finding Her Own Path To The Paralympics And Defending The Right To Travel While Disabled
Always Looking Up
11/18/25
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In this week’s episode of Always Looking Up I sat down with Lindi Marcusen. Lindi is a Paralympic sprinter and long jumper whose journey began after surviving a catastrophic accident in 2017 that resulted in the loss of her right leg and a traumatic brain injury. A former high-level gymnast, Lindi turned to adaptive sports during her recovery, finding purpose and power through competition. Now a 5x national champion and 100 meter American record holder, she represented the USA in the 2024 Paris Paralympics, proving that resilience and determination can redefine what’s possible. We discuss her Paralympic journey that started with learning to walk again, traveling while disabled, the structural and societal barriers that are put in place, and how she is working to dismantle them and much, much more.
All proceeds from purchasing this episode on my Patreon will be split between City Harvest and Food Bank For NYC.
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Follow Lindi: Instagram: @lindi.marcusen TikTok: @lindimarcusen
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All episodes are edited and produced by Ben Curwin.
Support Those Impacted By The Cutting Of SNAP Benefits:
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List Of NYC Food Pantries: https://www.nyc.gov/site/dycd/services/food_pantries.page
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Inland Coalition 4 Imm Justice (@ic4ij): In this week’s episode I sat down with Selene Luna. Selene is an actress and producer hailed by The New York Times as “a polished spitfire.” A magnetic live performer, she’s toured extensively alongside Margaret Cho and Dita Von Teese. We discuss the mask people with dwarfism are often forced to wear, the moment in her career where she was able to take the mask off, creating a character such as Soledad on Mayans M.C. and much, much more. All proceeds from purchasing this episode on my Patreon will be split between City Harvest and Food Bank For NYC. Join The Patreon: HERE Follow Selene: Instagram: @selene_luna Website: https://seleneluna.com Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast TikTok: @jillian_ilana Website: https://www.jillianilana.com Email: alwayslookingup227@gmail.com Read With Me: Support Those Impacted By The Cutting Of SNAP Benefits: Feeding America: https://www.feedingamerica.org World Central Kitchen: https://wck.org No Kid Hungry: https://www.nokidhungry.org List Of NYC Food Pantries: https://www.nyc.gov/site/dycd/services/food_pantries.page 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: November 25, 2025 84m In this week’s episode I sat down with Hillary Wool. Hillary is a disabled business strategist, model, and advocate reshaping how we think about ambition, style, and wellness for chronically ill and disabled women. As a partner at Boston Consulting Group, she led global research on the disabled workforce experience, which was covered in outlets including The New York Times and Forbes. She has also modeled in national campaigns with Target and Marshalls. Online, she shares her disability journey living with ankylosing spondylitis and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, including intentional style and adaptive fitness. We discuss being a disabled woman at the intersection of style and advocacy, good girl grief, navigating between what’s right with our bodies and what’s right for our careers and much, much more. All proceeds from purchasing this episode on my Patreon will be split between City Harvest and Food Bank For NYC. Join The Patreon: HERE Follow Hillary: Instagram: @hilla_rose TikTok: @hilla_rose Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast TikTok: @jillian_ilana Website: https://www.jillianilana.com Email: alwayslookingup227@gmail.com Read With Me: The StoryGraph All episodes are edited and produced by Ben Curwin. Support Those Impacted By The Cutting Of SNAP Benefits: Feeding America: https://www.feedingamerica.org World Central Kitchen: https://wck.org No Kid Hungry: https://www.nokidhungry.org List Of NYC Food Pantries: https://www.nyc.gov/site/dycd/services/food_pantries.page 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: PromotedPrevious Episode
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