What can puppets teach children about disability, identity, empathy, and belonging?
Noel MacNeal—the puppeteer and voice behind Bear in the Big Blue House—joins Devon Wieters for a wide-ranging conversation about his career, the power of children’s television, and why meaningful representation matters both on screen and behind the scenes.
Noel traces his path from studying puppetry and working as Big Bird’s wrangler on Sesame Street to landing the role of Bear. He shares stories from The Puzzle Place, Between the Lions, and Julie’s Greenroom, including what it was like working with Julie Andrews and Carol Burnett.
The conversation also explores disability representation in children’s programming, the impact Bear had on autistic and disabled viewers, Noel’s concept for The Show Me Show, and his belief that representation must include writers, directors, performers, and other decision-makers—not just faces in a cast photo.
Wheel With It was formerly called Real Talk: All Things Inclusion. This episode was originally released under the Real Talk name and is now part of the Wheel With It archive.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
• Noel’s love of Sesame Street led him to study puppetry, work as Big Bird’s wrangler, and learn body puppetry from Caroll Spinney before becoming a performer himself.
• Bear in the Big Blue House used stories about differences and limitations to show children that people can participate, have fun, and contribute in different ways.
• Noel describes how The Puzzle Place, Sesame Street, Between the Lions, and Julie’s Greenroom incorporated racial, cultural, and disability representation into children’s programming.
• Families told Noel that Bear’s calm, reassuring style became a safe and comforting presence for autistic children and viewers with other support needs.
• Noel argues that authentic representation requires marginalized people in empowered creative roles—including the writing room, directing, production, and post-production—not token visibility.
If this conversation brought back memories of Bear in the Big Blue House, share your favorite moment in the comments and subscribe to Wheel With It for more candid conversations about disability, inclusion, advocacy, and everyday life.
👉 Subscribe to this channel and hit the bell so you don’t miss future podcast episodes and other fun content!
👉 Connect with Devon & Wheel With It
📲 Follow us on social media: wheelwithit.com/followus
📤 Contact us: wheelwithit.com/contact
🎁 Support Wheel With It 💙
If you enjoy the Wheel With It Podcast and would like to support me personally, contributions help with my disability-related needs, everyday living expenses, and travel expenses. Contributions are directed to my ABLEnow account.
There are two ways to give, and either is perfectly acceptable. These are the only two authorized ways to contribute. Find them and get more information at wheelwithit.com/give
These are personal contributions to my ABLEnow account and are not tax-deductible charitable donations.
Find out more about our fight to reform welfare at welfarereformnow.com
© Wheel With It / Devon Wieters. All rights reserved.
#WheelWithIt #NoelMacNeal #BearInTheBigBlueHouse #Puppetry #DisabilityRepresentation #InclusiveMedia #ChildrensTelevision #RealTalkPodcast
subscribe by going to wheelwithit.com/subscribe