Subtitle Services – Captioning Superpowers with Tasha Ghouri

Back in May 2023, Jodene Antoniou, co-owner of Capital Captions, spoke with Tasha Ghouri’s father, Tarek Ghouri, about providing subtitle services (in the form of closed captions) for her podcast, Superpowers with Tasha.

As a family-run business with personal experience of hearing loss, the prospect of working on the series filled us with immediate excitement. So, following on from a very long chat where we shared mutual stories about our journeys as parents of children with hearing loss, we were given the greenlight to caption the show! Yay! With a genuine interest in providing quality closed captioning for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, we have a huge amount of respect for Tasha’s work as an ambassador for the Deaf community, advocating for greater representation, standing up against ableism and celebrating each of her guests’ ‘superpowers’, the things that make each of them different.

So, first of all, here’s a brief summary of the show…

Since leaving Love Island as the first Deaf contestant in 2022, Tasha Ghouri has appeared as a presenter and celebrity guest on a number of shows. During that time, Tasha has used her voice and online platform to advocate for greater inclusion and stand up against widespread ableism, where biases and judgements are made on what is considered as ‘normal’ and where the needs of non-disabled people in society are prioritised.

In the podcast series, Superpowers With Tasha, she speaks with a variety of guests, talking through their ambitions, struggles and successes, and finally focusing on what they identify as their superpower, the very thing about them that they are most proud of, that makes them unique.

Superpowers with Tasha, episodes featured:

Lucy Edwards On Blindness

Being credited as the first blind presenter on BBC Radio One in 2019, Lucy Edwards promotes disability inclusion through her consultancy work and has a huge TikTok and Instagram following. She has the genetic condition, incontinentia pigmenti and lost eyesight in her right eye at the age of 11 and her remaining eyesight, at the age of 17. One of the highlights of the video for us was where Lucy discusses how she opened up to the idea of exploring the world, pushing outside of her comfort zone and realising the benefits and joy of travel.

Tyreeceinheels: Be Unapologetically Yourself

Tasha’s best friend, Tyreece discusses his journey to first coming out as gay and later down the line, identifying as non-binary. The tone of the video is so relaxed and the chemistry between the two best friends really adds a warm feel to this podcast. Our favourite moment has to be when Tyreece recounts his pseudonym, ‘Desire’s’, viral video, falling into the pool. It’s impossible to watch without googling the moment which in the humour stakes, does not disappoint.

Meryl Williams: Use Your Difference To Make A Difference

Winner of BBC’s The Traitors, Meryl Williams has achondroplasia, a type of dwarfism and uses her online platforms, especially TikTok, to educate and provide much needed representation around dwarfism. Meryl regales us with tales of the staring and pointing she sometimes faces in public and the extortionate amounts of money required to buy herself a nice pair of heels. The ups and downs in her life are a joy to listen to – she is one adaptable gal.

Izzie Rogers: Embracing Acne And Skincare Confidence

Skin-positive influencer on Instagram talks through her acceptance of her acne and how her online presence has shaped her confidence in herself. Izzy gives some great tips for youngsters today on how to boost their own confidence, feeling comfortable in their own skin.

Dr. Alex George: Keeping Your Mind Clear

An A&E doctor with a huge online presence, advocating for mental health awareness, diagnosed with ADHD, takes us on a journey through his life, struggles and personal losses in an inspiring, uplifting podcast. The highlight for us on this podcast is how educational it feels. Mental health has so many other aspects; physical health, emotional health, financial health and sexual health. He covers everything.

Liv Bentley: Living Your Life With Alopecia

Made in Chelsea star, Liv Bentley, shares stories of living with the ups and downs of Alopecia. Using her platform to help increase awareness of the condition, she’s totally honest and covers a huge amount of ground with both inspiring and hilarious stories of her hair loss. A conversation that’s confident, sassy and no-holds-barred.

Andrew Le Page: Staying Positive Through Tough Times

Tasha Ghouri’s partner and Love Island co-star, Andrew Le Page talks through the challenges he has faced during his life journey so far. We don’t want to ruin any surprises on this one, but the key message to take from this one is anyone can struggle and life can throw you a curve ball at any time. It’s all about staying positive.

Tom Malone Jr: Living With Autism

Gogglebox regular, Tom Malone, talks about Autism, the impact it’s had on his life so far and how a diagnosis can change things. There is such a personal feel to the podcast and Tom shares family stories not just around how he came to be on Gogglebox, but since then, his reasons for seeking out a diagnosis and how that’s helped his family.

Josh Hughes: Tourette’s And Finding Your Confidence

A barber with a huge TikTok and social media following and viral videos, Josh Hughes talks about Tourette’s; when it started, how it impacts his life and how he keeps confident. Easy going, honest and totally talkative, Josh and Tasha’s chat is a pleasure to listen to.

Nicky Young And Tarek Ghouri: Raising A Superhero

The final episode in the series is an interview with Tasha’s parents, Nicky Young and Tarek Ghouri. It’s an in-depth look into Tasha’s hearing loss journey, from being diagnosed as profoundly Deaf at the age of one, to being a role model and providing amazing representation for the Deaf community today. The podcast follows two different perspectives, with insights from both Tasha’s and her parent’s point of view. Weaving between emotional, inspiring, funny and thought provoking, this one is a rollercoaster and definitely our favourite episode!

Subtitle Services – Captioning Superpowers with Tasha

As we shared earlier on in the blog, we were contacted to work on the captions for Superpowers with Tasha. For a podcast centring so much on inclusivity and accessibility, accurate professional subtitling services are a must and we made sure to split the subtitles in the best way possible to ensure easy reading whilst covering the tone and content of everything that was said.

So, following on from looking into what exactly is involved in the show, let’s look at how it was to caption.

Throughout every single interview, Tasha allows her interviewee the time and freedom to answer questions fully. All too often when captioning interviews, egotistical presenters interrupt their interviewees, but not Tasha. She is empathetic, compassionate and kind, offering verbal nods as required, never speaking over her guests. The podcasts are refreshing and a joy to watch because Tasha shows a true acceptance in genuinely listening to what her guests have to say. This is also great from a captioning perspective because the subtitling can flow without interruption, at a reasonable pace.

Captioning

Captioning the podcast talking with Josh Hughes deserves a mention as a truly enjoyable, eye-opening experience in terms of inclusion. All too often, captions are truncated to allow for reading speeds and repetitions or ‘naughty’ words are censored or overly edited. In Josh’s case, some ticks included swearing which it was important to include within the captions to reflect accurately his Tourette’s, what he was saying and the impact on his life. An assumption on captions is to question whether words should be censored, but anything included within the sound, should also be included within the captions.

There is no reason that a Deaf or hard of hearing viewer’s experience of video content should be any different to a hearing viewer’s and there’s also no reason that Josh’s speech shouldn’t be captioned absolutely accurately to reflect the truly awesome guy he is.

Subtitling Services and Accessibility

At Capital Captions, our ethos centres around equality and accessibility, whether it be videos on social media, broadcast television or Video on Demand Services. With the ever-growing video boom, we believe every viewer should have equal access to and enjoyment of video content. We contribute to this through our services, creating closed captions and BSL interpreting for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, audio description services for the Blind, and subtitle services and subtitle translations for foreign speakers.

If you are interested in getting Subtitle Services, Closed captioning for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing or any other great service we deliver then why not choose from the options below and get your quote today.