Podcasts By Dr. Kirk Adams: Interview with Samuel Levine, Professor of Law & Director, Jewish Law Institute, Touro Law Center cover art

Podcasts By Dr. Kirk Adams: Interview with Samuel Levine, Professor of Law & Director, Jewish Law Institute, Touro Law Center

Podcasts By Dr. Kirk Adams: Interview with Samuel Levine, Professor of Law & Director, Jewish Law Institute, Touro Law Center

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 🎙️ Podcasts By Dr. Kirk Adams: Interview with Samuel Levine, Professor of Law & Director, Jewish Law Institute, Touro Law Center https://drkirkadams.com/podcasts-by-dr-kirk-adams-02-03-2026/ In this thought-provoking episode of Podcasts by Dr. Kirk Adams, Kirk sits down with Professor Samuel J. Levine, law professor at Touro Law Center, Director of the Jewish Law Institute, and founder of Touro's Disability Rights and Inclusion Project, to explore why advancing disability inclusion requires more than "laws on the books." Levine shares how his work blends legal analysis with broader cultural and human elements, compassion, storytelling, religion, the arts, and lived experience, because, as he and Kirk discuss, you can't "legislate compassion." Levine also describes the personal and scholarly path that led him to write Was Yosef on the Spectrum, viewing the biblical Joseph story through the lens of autism, and explains how community connections and shared purpose have helped the conference grow organically through relationships and advocacy. The conversation then turns to Levine's third annual Disability Rights and Inclusion Conference, happening March 12-13 at Touro Law Center in Central Islip (Long Island), with both in-person and free online options. Levine previews major highlights, including keynote speakers John Elder Robison (Look Me in the Eye) and Justice Richard Bernstein of the Michigan Supreme Court, and he emphasizes the conference's welcoming, solutions-focused tone. Kirk and Levine also dig into practical advocacy, especially in education, underscoring that families should know their rights (like IEP/FAPE protections) and seek experienced support when schools or employers try to "avoid" their legal obligations. Levine closes by inviting listeners to register through the Touro conference page (search "Touro Disability Rights and Inclusion") and to connect with him via email or LinkedIn, while Kirk shares his plan to participate virtually. TRANSCRIPT: ADVERTISEMENT: This podcast brought to you by Pneuma Solutions. ADVERTISEMENT: I can't see it. ADVERTISEMENT: ADA Title II has a real compliance deadline. April 2026. Public entities are required to make their digital content accessible, including websites, PDFs, reports, applications, and public records. If a document cannot be read with a screen reader, it is not compliant and if it is not compliant, blind people are still being denied equal access. For a clear explanation of what the rule requires, visit www.title2.info. It's one of the leading resources explaining what agencies must do and when. This message is brought to you by Pneuma Solutions, we have remediated hundreds of thousands of pages in days, not months or years, aligned with WCAG 2 AA guidelines at a fraction of traditional costs. Accessibility isn't a privilege, it's a right. Now that you know, ask your agencies a simple question, are your documents actually accessible? Podcast Commentator: Welcome to podcasts by Doctor Kirk Adams, where we bring you powerful conversations with leading voices in disability rights, employment and inclusion. Our guests share their expertise, experiences and strategies to inspire action and create a more inclusive world. If you're passionate about social justice or want to make a difference, you're in the right place. Let's dive in with your host, doctor Kirk Adams. Dr. Kirk Adams: Hello again, everybody, and welcome to podcasts by Doctor Kirk Adams. I am that Kirk Adams talking to you from my home office in Seattle, Washington. And today I have a guest that I connected with via LinkedIn as Professor Samuel Levine, a professor of law and a director of the Jewish Law Institute at the Touro Law Center, and he is founder of the Disability Rights and Inclusion Conference, the third annual conference coming up March 12th and 13th. We're going to be talking a lot about that. Welcome, Samuel. Samuel J. Levine: Thank you so much, Kirk. It's great to be here. Dr. Kirk Adams: For those of you tuning in for the first time, just very briefly Doctor Kirk Adams, as I said immediate past president and CEO of the American Foundation for the blind AFB, which was Helen Keller's organization prior to that, privileged to have the same leadership roles at the lighthouse for the blind here in Seattle. I am a blind person. My retina is detached. When I was five years old in kindergarten, went to Oregon State School for the blind and got my my braille skills and my strong internal locus of control, and then on to public school and fourth grade on through into some banking and finance experience and then into the nonprofit sector. Currently my consulting practice, Innovative Impact LLC, focuses on fun, innovative, high impact projects that will accelerate inclusion of people with disabilities with a particular focus on employment. So I'm happy to welcome Professor Levine today. Disability rights and inclusion, near and dear to my heart. And from the aspects of of ...
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