We are going to explore a question that may seem beyond the scope of our program. Over the past few months we have spent quite a lot of time discussing

chat bots. Recently we have seen lots of evidence that they can get things amazingly wrong in terms of information. Our friend Jonathan Mosen reported that he and his partner Bonnie were described as having been married for the past thirty years. This is certainly not true but it highlights that there is another element of our lives where misinformation can happen, whether intentionally or not. At the same time, there are news stories that indicate that actors from China and Russia have flooded our mass media with disinformation about the arraignment of Donald Trump aimed at deepening the division within the United States. Obviously, in general, it is very difficult to know what is true and what is not. What can we do to make it less likely that we will spread information that isn't true? How do we know that what we read and hear and see is true? Do we on Tuesday Topics have responsibilities? What are they? It is a little frightening to suggest that that the field of blindness and visual impairment is rife with misinformation. But why should that topic be off limits? ACB and NFB have their own versions of truth! Agencies may want to emphasize elements that do not paint as clear a picture of the services they provide that they might! How do we explore what is true in the blindness field? All of us want to find ways to make our point of view seem stronger! We are not purposely propagating disinformation but we are certainly selectively choosing the facts and arguments that bolster our notions of what is right and good. Does ACB have propaganda? What's it like? How about other organizations? What might their predilections in terms of information look like? We hope that many listeners will want to help us explore how we protect the truth and learn to think critically! Chat Bots, bad actors and propaganda are the subject of our next Tuesday Topics!

Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co

How well did voting work last year at ACB? What changes, if any, can we look forward to this year? How did people vote who were at the convention? Did

many need assistance? How did affiliate voting work? Are there going to be any changes in how affiliates vote this year? What do we know about who voted? Everybody voted digitally. We know that but what proportion of the vote was done by folks who were at the convention and what proportion of the vote came from those who were not there? Can we even tell? Are there ways we can encourage more voters? Will we have a candidates' forum this year? How about candidates' pages? Will there be any changes there? All of these questions will help us have a sense of where we are at a process which is still pretty new for ACB! Voting privately and independently is an important new characteristic of ACB elections. How has the new voting system affected elections? When elections only included people who attended conventions, there were expectations about how things would go. What are the expectations that the new election system creates? Members of the voting task force will be our guests next week. We don't know just who will join us from that group but believe that two or three of the members of that committee will be with us. We are looking forward to hearing from them and to an open discussion of what the new normal look like. You, our listeners, will have a chance to ask questions and to share your impressions of how things went last year and what we can expect this year.

Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co

Don't miss a chance to choose from three issues!

Several weeks ago Tuesday Topics asked all of you to come up with subjects for us. However, we indicated that we would put together a series of topics in case our listeners did not come up with discussion issues. We did not have to use those ideas then so we will now offer three of them for this week's Tuesday Topics.

1. What piece of technology would you most like to see that doesn't currently exist? Others tell us by the technology they make available what we can have! I do not know of any company who has asked folks what they really want! Tuesday Topics is asking you!

2. What new application or device have you started using over the past year and how has that been for you? Have you found the device or app meets your needs?

3. ACB says it is interested in receiving feedback from its members! Here is your chance! What activity or approach or initiative that you think ACB is not doing much about would you like the organization to pursue. Think out of the box! What do people who are blind need? What does the rest of the world need to know about blind people that ACB can tell them? These are three questions that we will explore on Tuesday Topics on Tuesday Topics on April 4 at 7 PM on ACB Media One!

Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co

Remember to join us when David Trott is our guest on Tuesday Topics!During that period, we will invite David Trott to share with us a notion of where ACB

is financially and in terms of membership. During the in-person segment of ACB'S recent meetings in Alexandria Virginia those present were invited to talk about membership and money. That element was moderated (David Trott. We will explore what came out of that meeting. We will look at where ACB is in terms of money and will explore the trends in membership. Have state affiliates grown since the start of the pandemic? What about special interest affiliates? Have members-at-large become more important. What might the future of membership be like? Where does the money come from that makes our organization run? Is there a change in where our funds come from? Do we have more money than we used to have? David is our current treasurer and can give us a sense of where we are and where we might want to go?

Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co

Ever since he was a student at university, Eric Bridges has been active in ACB. For much of his career he has worked for ACB. For the last several years

Eric has been ACB'S Executive Director. Virtually all the members of ACB are almost certainly aware that Mr. Bridges has been chosen to become the Executive Director of the American Foundation for the Blind. His last day at ACB will be March 21, a Tuesday. I was in DC last week end and asked Eric whether he would consider coming on Tuesday Topics to reflect on his time with ACB. Perhaps it is too early to talk about his role at the American Foundation for the Blind but we will certainly see what he can tell us about his plans. Obviously, all of you will have the opportunity to ask questions of Eric and may want to say some farewells to him. We are truly excited to have Eric be our guest on Tuesday Topics as, essentially, his final act as Executive Director of ACB. We are very much looking forward to an opportunity to hear Eric's notions about where ACB is, and whatever else he is minded to share.

Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co

Some of our Tuesday Topics people have been in Washington over the last week. There were programs that were on in DC last Tuesday so we decided to step

aside for one week. We are back and feel like there are a number of topics which may be a part of our Tuesday. We have had a request from ACB'S Employment Committee to invite them to report on some of their activities. We now know they will join us during our second hour to tell us what they are up to. During our first hour we would like to give our listeners an opportunity to choose what we discuss. So join us and talk to us about an issue you believe deserves our attention. We have some thoughts about appropriate things to talk about but we will only use them if you fail us, listeners. We hope you will not!

Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co

As often seems to happen, our program last week intended to cover

two topics but only got to one. That left the accessibility of large appliances as essentially undiscussed. On the last day of February, then, that will be our topic. Where are we with this issue? Historically, how did we handle access. How has the "internet of things" changed our situation. Does having an appliance that connects with the lady a or Google home or siri assure accessibility? What steps can we take when buying new appliances to be certain we can use all or most of their features? Where does braille fit into this mosaic? Are there still overlays? Do we seem to be moving forward or backward in terms of access to the internet of things? What can we do to assure that we are heard? We need to hear your experiences with new appliances. Have you had to pay more to get what you need? Have you been able to get what you need? Join us as we explore how stoves and refrigerators and air conditioners and washers and dryers and furnaces and security systems all stack up in today's economy.

Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co

Last week we discussed new devices that are expected this year and, after that, barely scratched the surface

with a discussion of phones. As a result, we will begin this edition with a discussion of the three main groups of phones used by people who are blind or have low vision. We will talk about the iPhone and will explore how it has morphed into so much more than just a device for making calls. We will look at Android phones and explore who uses them and, with your help, maybe come to understand why people like them. The third group of phones are beginning to have a renaissance of sorts. These are phones which are specifically designed for people who are blind or have low vision. They are push button cell phones that have an overlay of features that are built on top of the operating system specifically aimed at people who are blind or have low vision. Whereas, in the past, many features that were available on iPhones and androids were not available on this group of phones, that has changed. Who likes these phones and why? What can these phones now do? Are there shortcomings that should be considered? We hope that people who have android phones as well as phones from the third group will call in and tell us about their experiences.

Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co

Once more Tuesday Topics will depend on you for our success. We are once more going to try for a double feature. Those of you who have been a part of Tuesday

Topics for a while know that this means we are going to choose two topics which we will discuss. The idea is that we will find one that encourages folks to call in and participate. We are competing with Valentine's Day so we probably have no way of knowing whether folks will be billing and cooing rather than coming.

One of our two topics concerns technology for people who are blind. What trends can we identify? Are these "hybrid" devices becoming the norm? Is there a role for braille note takers an more? If so, what is that role? What has happened with low vision devices? What do we know about new devices that are likely to happen this year? What is missing? By that I mean, what do we know of that we can't easily do using current hardware and software? Our second topic is also technological but it focuses on one particular device, the cell phone. There are basically three main cell phone categories. First and probably the most popular is the iPhone. Second, of course, are android phones. Third and, oddly en, the most recent in a way is the blind shell phone. We thought it might be interesting to see what people are doing with their phones. Are we using them mostly as phones or do we do other things than call most of the time? Are there new apps we have found that we want to share? Why has the Blind Shell phone garnered such interest? There will perhaps be more issues we explore as we examine devices that are, potentially, much more than phones to see how you, our listeners, are using them!

Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co

February is a month full of significant events. The Grammies will happen before our next Tuesday Topics. The Superbowl, number 57, is on February 12. Valentine's

Day is on February 14. Later in the month are the birthdays of Washington and Lincoln. We will look at all of these elements and other February phenomena. What do the two Presidents represent and what should we be celebrating with both? What kinds of memories do we have of valentines? Tell us about your experiences! Do you have predictions about the Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles? Are there elements of February we have missed? There is Ground Hog Day! It will happen tomorrow so we will know how winter will fare by the time of our next appearance! Do you have thoughts about the efficacy of forecasting weather this way?

Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co