Minds Eye’s listeners now have the power to listen to their favorite programs whenever they want. All of Minds Eye’s programs are now available as podcasts at www.mindseyeradio.org.

Minds Eye’s traditional way of providing magazines, newspapers, and books to people with vision loss worked well for thousands of our listeners. Many continue to enjoy the simplicity of turning on the radio at a given time to listen to their favorite newspaper. Sitting down at 8:00 a.m. with a cup of coffee to listen to the St. Louis Post Dispatch and Belleville News Democrat is a cherished routine for listeners like Mary from East St. Louis who told us that she listens nearly every day. “Without Minds Eye, I would not be aware of what is going on in the world and especially what is
going on in politics and the county I live in,” she said.

As we all have gotten busier, there’s no doubt Minds Eye’s listeners have gotten busier too. Too often, listeners who work call to say that they’d love to hear a program like People Magazine,
but just didn’t have the time during the regular broadcast. Another called to tell us that she’d really like to be able to sit down and listen to the Schnuck’s ad right before she makes her list. Others called to say that their busy volunteer schedules kept them from catching the obituaries of the day
and they missed the passing of an old friend and the chance to say goodbye. There was even a listener who called to lament that he missed the last hour in an 8-hour book because he had to
go to a doctor’s appointment.

The solution for those listeners is Minds Eye’s new Listener Site on the Minds Eye website. All listeners need to do is sign up for a new account on the webpage, and then they have access to a live stream of Minds Eye’s programming that they can listen to live on their computer and access to
podcasts of the latest version of all of Minds Eye’s programs.

The live stream is a perfect solution for listeners who want to have Minds Eye to listen to as they work, they can just log on and listen through their computer speakers. The signal is also significantly clearer than the radio signal, particularly in the outlying areas of Minds Eye’s service area.

The archives section, or podcasts, is a great solution for the listener on the go. Using this option, listeners have on demand access to the newspapers, magazines, and books that they want to listen to. They can even download a show and put it on their iPod or computer to listen to later! A listener who is busy at 9:30 a.m. can hear the sports section of the Post Dispatch and Belleville News Democrat at 2:00 p.m., 2:00 a.m., or whatever time suits them.

Like the rest of Minds Eye’s website, the Listener Site has been designed to be screen reader and magnifier friendly. This way, people with visual impairments can navigate the website aided by software that either reads the screen to them or magnifies the screen to a large enough font so it can be easily read.

While it is still new, Minds Eye’s listeners are already sending in their thanks. One listener, Ryan from Belleville, liked the Listener Site so much that he sent back his radio, saying, “The sound is so much better, and I can easily listen at home or in my office. This is perfect for me.”

mindsEye...bringing printed words to life