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Can we talk? The question (a favorite prompt of the late comedian Joan Rivers) evokes a feeling of being intimately and sometimes uncomfortably open, frank, and honest, both with others and ourselves. This event, a conversation between Prof. Elizabeth Ellcessor (Indiana University) and Prof. Meryl Alper (Northeastern University, Berkman Klein Center\u200b), points the question at the topic of disability, technology, and inclusion in public and private, and in digital and digitally-mediated spaces. Ryan Budish (Berkman Klein Center) and Dylan Mulvin (Microsoft Research) will serve as discussants.\n\nCan we talk?, with respect to different degrees of potential access (in its social, cultural, and political forms) that new media constrains and affords for individuals with disabilities. Can we talk?, with respect to who does and does not take part in the ongoing research, development, and critique of accessible communication technologies. Can we talk?, with respect to whether or not talking, or its corollary "voice," is an adequate metaphor for conversation, participation, and agency?\n\nAlper and \u200bEllcessor and draw upon their recent respective books, \u200bGiving Voice: Mobile Communication, Disability, and Inequality (MIT Press, 2017) and \u200bRestricted Access: Media, Disability, and the Politics of Participation (NYU Press, 2016).\n\nFor more info on this event visit:\nhttps://cyber.harvard.edu/events/2017/luncheon/05/Canwetalk