International eye care charity Orbis UK has partnered with Beedie on Eyewear: The Podcast for its second season, highlighting the global problem of avoidable sight loss to audiences in the optical sector.
Hosted by optometrist Beedie, the weekly podcast takes listeners behind the scenes of optometry, eye health, and eyewear, through candid, light-hearted conversations with leading industry voices. Season two features a wide range of guests, from ophthalmologists and optometrists to fashion psychologists and frame-makers – and through its partnership with Orbis UK, will discuss the urgent need to expand access to eyecare worldwide.
Moon, age two, received eye surgery during the Orbis Flying Eye Hospital programme in Kigali, Rwanda. Lucy Barker performed her surgery.
Globally, 1.1 billion people are living with vision loss, yet 90% of cases are avoidable. Most occur in low- and middle-income countries where access to trained eye care professionals and treatment is often limited. Working with hospitals, health providers and other local partners, Orbis trains entire eye care teams, strengthens health systems, and expands access to quality services in underserved communities. One area of Orbis’s work is the Flying Eye Hospital, the world’s only fully accredited ophthalmic teaching hospital on board a plane. International specialists and medical volunteers work alongside local eye care teams to provide treatment and training, helping them to deliver care and address the causes of avoidable sight loss independently.
Season two opens with Orbis UK Ambassador and recently retired ophthalmologist Larry Benjamin who shares his experience volunteering aboard the Flying Eye Hospital. Later this month, Lucy Barker, an Orbis UK medical volunteer and senior children’s eye specialist at Moorfields Eye Hospital, discusses squints, amblyopia and role of technology in paediatric eye care, drawing on her volunteering work in Rwanda with Orbis last year. Together, the episodes provide insight into how international collaboration, training and innovation, is key to building sustainable eye care systems in lower-resource settings, so no one has to experience the consequences of avoidable sight loss.
Season Two of Beedie on Eyewear The Podcast in Partnership with Orbis UK Launches with Orbis UK Ambassador and Volunteer Larry Benjamin.
Beyond a focus on global eye health, the podcast also explores business ownership, content creation, and the future of frame making in the UK, reflecting the breadth and creativity of today’s optical industry.
Speaking about the new season, Beedie said: “This season of Beedie on Eyewear: The Podcast is bigger, more exciting, and not to be missed. With an inspiring line-up of voices, the new season brings fresh perspectives from across optics. We’re partnering with Orbis UK this season, and I’m looking forward to listeners hearing more about the vital work they do to improve access to eye care worldwide.”
Colman Cawe, Director of Fundraising and Communications, at Orbis UK, said: “Avoidable sight loss remains one of the most solvable global health challenges, yet millions of people still lack access to basic eye care. Through our partnership with Beedie on Eyewear, we hope the podcast inspires listeners to learn more about the impact of untreated vision loss and the work that’s still needed to ensure everyone can access the care they deserve.”
New episodes are to be released weekly throughout March and April 2026, and are available on: YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts.
To find out more about Orbis’s work to end avoidable blindness, visit: https://gbr.orbis.org/en
