Email or phone your contributions in for this weekend's Mosen At large. Could we be nearing the end of the guide dog era?

Kia ora Mosen at largers. One of the things I love about this show is the diversity of perspectives we hear from around the world. As always I have some ideas about what we might talk about, but you’re welcome to make a contribution on whatever’s on your mind.

Do you think technology will ever replace the guide dog? Sure, people feel deeply attached to their four-legged companions, but people felt that way towards horses at one point, and cars largely replaced them as a means of transportation. With robotics, GPS and other technology improving constantly, are we going to get to the point soon where a guide robot will be cheaper to manufacture than a guide dog is to train, doing much more than a guide dog can? There might be fewer instances of discrimination, and the robot won’t get sick or poop.

The iPhone 12 and 12 Pro are out. Do you have one? Inquiring minds want to know how you’re liking it, especially if you’re rocking the 5G. We have the usual does of healthy Apple feedback, and I’ll report on my efforts to get decent battery life from my Apple Watch.

The grass always seems greener on the other side, but no country is perfect. We discuss immigration discrimination against disabled people in New Zealand, and I’d be interested in other examples about how the immigration of disabled people is handled around the world.

Did you always want to get to one of those big assistive tech conferences but never made it? I’ll be speaking with acclaimed technology journalist Ned Desmond about a new virtual conference he has started called Sight Tech Global. It’s free to attend, fully accessible and has an impressive line-up of speakers. I’ll ask Ned how he came to organise a conference like this, what we can expect, and of course why a conference for blind people has the word “sight” in its name.

There are hints on troubleshooting your computer problems calmly and rationally, an eerie look at how good deep fakes are getting, and more on education.

There are plenty of other interesting contributions coming in, so if you’d like to raise something completely different, feel free.

Getting your contributions in ahead of time leaves you free to hear the show, and gives me a chance to organise them all, so go for it. Please don’t be shy, I’d love to hear from you. To contribute, send an email with an audio attachment or just written down to Jonathan at MushroomFM.com, or call the listener line, +18646066736, that’s 1-864-60Mosen.

The best way to hear Mosen At Large is when it airs live and in full on Mushroom FM at 2 PM Eastern, 7 PM UK on Saturday. It will then be available in abridged form on the Mosen At Large podcast, available anywhere you get podcasts.

Thank you so much for listening and contributing to the show, and see you soon for Mosen At Large.