Podcast: in defence of paper Braille, Le French Gut, a pioneering midwife

About this episode

The episode discusses the challenges faced by France's largest Braille publisher, a study on the microbiome, and the historical significance of midwife Louise Bourgeois.

France's largest Braille publisher struggles to continue producing embossed books in the digital age. Researchers delve into people's guts with a large-scale study on the French population's microbiome. And Louise Bourgeois, the French midwife who in 1609 became the first woman in Europe to publish a book about medicine. As France marks 200 years since Louis Braille invented his system of raised dots allowing blind people to read by touch, we visit the country's only remaining Braille printing house. At the CTEB in Toulouse, a team of 12 staff and mainly blind volunteers transcribe more than 200 books each year for both adults and children, along with bank statements, brochures and other documents. Despite extremely high production costs, the centre sells its books at the same price as the originals to ensure equal access. Now deeply in debt, it's calling for state aid to survive – arguing that, even in the age of digital Braille and audio books, turning a page is important in learning to read. (Listen @3'15'') Scientists are increasingly convinced that the trillions of bacteria living in the human digestive system also contribute to health and wellbeing. Le French Gut is a…

Topics covered

• Braille
• microbiome
• health
• education
• French history

Keywords

• Braille
• microbiome
• Louise Bourgeois
• CTEB
• French Gut
• health study
• embossed books

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: CTEB, Le French Gut

Places: France, Toulouse

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