Reminder for journalists and others: It can be ableist to refuse to interview people who decline to speak via audio. When people respond to requests by offering email, chat, or other methods, consider that it may be the best way for them to talk to you. Don't take it personally.

There are many reasons people may decline an audio voice interview, including: hearing and/or speech disability, gender identity and expression, anxiety, telephobia, glossophobia, history of misuse of recordings, experiences of bullying or harassment, Introversion, and many more.

If you choose to exclude people from your research or journalism because they won't or can't perform audio voice for you in an interview, consider what that means about the data you're collecting and how you're limiting it. It's excluding people who may already be marginalized.

We can always be rethinking all our communicative practices to make them as inclusive as possible. When you reach out to people about interviewing them, let them know that you're happy to communicate in whatever way works best for them.