hi hello hey… we’re not ready to be back

Physically, we’re home, but mentally, we’re still at the Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome Conference.

This year was extra special because we secured a Grant—Newkirk, that is. Case’s fiancé, Grant, joined the conference chaos for the first (and certainly not the last) time, and it made everything even more fun. We get into the excitement (and vulnerability) of bringing someone new into a space that feels so unique to our community—and spoiler alert: Grant was welcomed with open arms.

This year’s conference was on the smaller side, but still just as meaningful. We’re recapping it all—from our many involvements to our favorite moments. To everyone we saw—old friends and new—it’s always such a joy to connect with this community.

HPS is just the first of three conferences we’ll be at this year, so stay tuned for more recaps in the coming months… some of which may turn into chaotic live episodes.

Check out past HPS conference eps to relive the magic

• 16. a family reunion with blood draws: the hps conference (2021): a primer on all things conference
• 66. hps conference: reuniting our community after four years (2023)
• 91. doctors at a bar, cute lab mice, & dancing dinosaurs: hps conference recap (2024)
• 117. few but many: hps conference 2025

Still on a conference kick? Enjoy other episodes where we recap conferences:

• 50. squinting in orlando: albinism conference recap NOAH 2022
• 98. rolling out the red carpet for the albinism conference NOAH 2024
• 120. still alive but barely breathing lmao: ats recap our time at the American Thoracic Society in 2025

hi hello hey, guess who has the best job?? us, because we don’t have to drive!

We’re all well aware of the perks of driving—the privacy of your own car, the freedom to go anywhere at any time—but what about the perks of being a passenger princess (or prince)? Driving takes visual, mental, and physical energy that we simply don’t have to spend, which means more room to save money, relax, and stay relatively safe.

We also talk about the importance of finding ways to navigate semi-independently and encourage y’all to lean into it when possible—whether that’s public transportation, rideshares, or tapping into your broader community instead of relying on the same person every time. However you do it, we hope you flex those mental muscles and get creative if you’re feeling stuck.

We had so much fun recording this episode—something about it felt like classic Rare with Flair. Don’t worry though, we’ll be back to our usual shenanigans next episode as we recap the 2026 Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome conference!

For more episodes where we talk about driving (or not driving), check these out:

• 23. two blind girls take a driving test: why we choose not to bioptic drive (+ a quiz that proves how little we know about driving)
• 65. feeling like a burden: a vulnerable discussion on how not driving makes us feel
• 111. lifting the burden: how we pay it forward: how we give back to those who help us out

hi hello hey, you hungry? well… you’re about to be!

Before we get into this week’s ep, thank you for your patience while we took a little break. Between travel and being sick, we wanted to wait until we had the time and energy to bring you a quality episode—and now we’re back and, frankly, starving. Want some snacks??

It’s been a minute since we did a “flair” ep, and this one was actually a brilliant idea from our girl ChatGPT (hate if you will, but she’s helpful!). You loved when we ranked assistive technology, so we’re back with another tier list—this time featuring (mostly) salty snacks. Expect some agreements, some disagreements, and some seriously salty takes.

Have another tier list topic you want us to debate, or a favorite snack we missed? Email us at hello@rarewithflair.com!

hi hello hey, welcome to a normal day in our lives!

If you’ve heard even one episode of our show, you know we tend to save some of our best blind/disability moments for the pod to really bring our lovely listeners into our world. Whether it’s helpful perspective for listeners without disabilities or catharsis for listeners like us, we usually pull out the wildest ones.

What you may not know is that those big, shocking stories actually happen somewhat sparingly. The little moments? Those happen practically daily. They’re so normal to us that sometimes we don’t even think to share them with each other.

This episode is a collection of those moments — the quiet, low-key, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it (well… metaphorically) blindie experiences that make up our actual, everyday lives.

No dramatic plot twists. No public showdowns. Just the cozy, mildly chaotic reality of existing in the world as blind girls trying to find forks, navigate doctor’s offices, and keep it moving.

Because this is what disability looks like on a random Tuesday.

Ready for more story time, big or small? Check these episodes out:

• 31. too blind to be sighted; too sighted to be blind living in the “gray area” between sighted and blind.
• 40. this one’s tmi… some of our most unfiltered chronic illness stories.
• 52. our lives are just one long, awkward moment a series of uncomfy social situations caused by our low vision.
• 63. our uber funny rideshare stories some of our wildest (and weirdest) rideshare experiences.
• 79. our lives are one huge contradiction times we saw things we felt we shouldn’t… but couldn’t see things we should.
• 99. the unhappiest place on earth: discrimination at disneyland our humiliating attempt to get DAS at Disneyland in 2024.
• 104. did they really just say that?! a smattering of some of the most shocking things people have said to us
• 106. we’re delulu about what we look like in public why we can’t fake looking “normal” and the stories to prove it.
• 108. the wound that never heals: our discrimination stories the most deeply cutting discrimination we’ve experienced in our lives
• 112. a grocery delivery shopper yelled at cass?? chaos from the world of grocery delivery.
• 137. sorry, my brain was buffering stories of when our processing speed said “please hold.”

hi hello hey, get ready for a real love fest today

Do you ever spend so much time with someone that you slowly start becoming them? Or worse… you start liking things you swore you’d never like?

After nearly 12 years of friendship (and almost 6 years of being best friends), we’ve influenced each other in ways both small and genuinely life-altering. From music, style, and products to deeper things like our perspectives, habits, and who we’ve grown into as people, we honestly wouldn’t recognize our lives without each other in them.

This episode is exactly what it sounds like: a cute, sappy, slightly embarrassing bestie love fest. We talk about the ways we’ve shaped each other—sometimes intentionally, sometimes completely by accident—and how we’ve made each other better along the way.

So grab a cozy drink, settle in, and blame it on bestie.

Have we influenced you in any way, big or small? We’d love to hear about it! Send us an email at hello@rarewithflair.com.

for episodes we mention in this one, check out:

• 137. sorry, my brain was buffering our most recent episode on visual processing
• 135. our most ambitious vision boards yet!! for our 2026 vision boards
• 93. the great cardigan debate: our style roots for proof Cass used to be a cardigan hater
• 61. is reading an audiobook really reading? to hear about Cass’ grad school project on reading with low vision (and BARD Mobile!)
• 46.5. pale skin & green thumbs on our love for plants
• 34. shouting from the rooftops about assistive technology for proof Case used to be a dark mode hater
• 7. thank you for the music for proof that Cass used to be a Taylor Swift hater
• 1. intro: welcome to rare with flair! for our incentive of hearing Case’s “dog voice” for Rupert if we hit 100+ reviews
  • 51. blind beauty tips for actually hearing Case’s ridiculous dog voice (that is now part of Cass’ life)

for other cutesy episodes about friendship:

• 89. the moments that defined our ten-year friendship
• 77. only disabled friends talk about this
• 73. the alternate life where we wouldn’t be friends
• 34.5. are we really best friends? the ultimate friendship test

hi hello hey… oh, are you waving at us??

We’ve done many an episode about the unique situations we find ourselves in while navigating a world with limited vision, and this one offers a fresh take on a very enduring experience.

After living for 30 years (an average of our ages), we’ve realized our brains aren’t exactly built for speedy visual processing. When your vision is limited, your brain gets less information to work with—and sometimes it feels like it’s just… buffering. This isn’t a visual processing disorder; it’s simply our brains doing their best with what they’ve got.

The result? Occasional awkward pauses, missed cues, and moments where we look completely spaced out. But there’s also a flip side. Because we don’t get bogged down in tiny visual details, our brains have learned to compensate in pretty cool ways. We make decisions based on shapes, colors, patterns, and context—and honestly, we’re often surprisingly accurate. (And when we’re not, the fails are at least validating proof to our friends that no, we’re not being dramatic about our vision.)

If you want more proof that our eyes love putting us in funny situations, check out these episodes:

• 52. our lives are just one long, awkward moment for more on navigating social situations with low vision.
• 114. please, read the room!!! on choosing our battles—when to disclose and ask for accommodations, and when to let things go.
• 17. do we want a cure? our thoughts on not fixing our vision.

And an episode we reference in this one:

• 107. blind gamer girlies on playing video games with low vision.

hi hello hey, yes—we’re still out here watching cartoons, and we’re very excited to talk about it.

This is our third installment in our cartoon-watching series (affectionately known as Buddy Watch). We keep joking that only three of you care, but based on the messages and suggestions we’ve received, we know there are some very dedicated cartoon lovers among you.

If you’re newer to Rare with Flair, cartoons are one of our many shared loves. We’ve been watching shows together almost daily since 2022, which puts our current total at around 14 series watched (and counting). In this episode, we break down the last five shows we watched—Fairly OddParents, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Gravity Falls, Star vs. the Forces of Evil, and Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse—and then run through our ever-growing (and slightly unhinged) watchlist.

We’re always taking recommendations—email us at hello@rarewithflair.com or slide into our DMs! We’ve fully committed to watching cartoons together until the day we die, so please send us your favorites that we should add to—or bump up on—our list.

Check out the previous installments in our cartoon series:

• 105. case & cass’ carTWOon adventures
• 69. cass & case’s cartoon adventures

hi hello hey, happy 2026! And more importantly… welcome to season SEVEN of Rare with Flair! 🎉

There’s no better way to kick off a new year than with one of our favorite traditions: vision boards. This year’s boards are our most ambitious yet, with over ten focus areas each—covering everything from mind and health to home, spirit, and the big-picture dreams we’re calling in. We love the practice of setting intention at the start of the year and creating something tangible we’ll see every single day.

They say vision boards have a way of coming true (often in the most unexpected ways), so we’re diving in with fresh habits, big hopes, and a few exciting announcements you definitely won’t want to miss. 👀✨

Do you make a vision board—or did listening to the pod inspire you to start one? We’d love to hear about it! Send us a note at hello@rarewithflair.com.

If you haven’t heard our 2025 recap episode, look back with us! 134. guide dogs, rings, and traveling things: 2025 recap

For our past vision board episodes, check out these episodes:

• 110. are we ready to thrive in 2025?
• 84. 2024 vision boards: moving forward with courage