Press

Podcast and Radio Interviews

Screen Deep (Children & Screens: Institute for Digital Media and Child Development). Neurodivergent children and media use. April 2, 2025. (Podcast)

Peoples & Things (New Books Network). Kids Across the Spectrums: Growing Up Autistic in the Digital Age: A discussion with Meryl Alper. October 21, 2024. (Podcast)

Connected & Courageous (Spark & Stitch Institute). On showing up for kids across the spectrums with Dr. Meryl Alper. December 5, 2024. (Podcast)

The Current (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation/CBC Radio). Why adults love the children’s show Bluey. April 17, 2024. (Radio)

Cultural Studies (Toby Miller). Meryl Alper on young people, play, media effects, disability, Sesame Street, Nickelodeon, and autism. March 27, 2024. (Podcast)

How Do You Like It So Far? (Henry Jenkins & Colin Maclay). Episode 114: Growing up autistic in the digital age with Meryl Alper. March 15, 2024. (Podcast)

Tilt Parenting (Debbie Reber). Dr. Meryl Alper on screens and growing up autistic in the digital age. January 9, 2024. (Podcast)

Imagine Otherwise (Ideas on Fire). Meryl Alper on autistic kids’ digital media. September 20, 2023. (Podcast)

Welcomed by Design (University of Pittsburgh). Access as an ideal. April 24, 2023. (Podcast)

The Futures Archive (Design Observer). The microphone. August 4, 2022. (Podcast)

The Good Robot (University of Cambridge). Meryl Alper on ‘craptions,’ assistive technologies, and the real meaning of accessible technology. April 5, 2022. (Podcast)

One World One Network‽ (International Communication Association). “Oneness” in networks of children and families‽ December 24, 2021. (Podcast)

Critical Technology (University of Toronto). Kids across the spectrums. December 6, 2021. (Podcast)

Spark (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation/CBC Radio). Disability design. November 8, 2019. (Radio)

Spark (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation/CBC Radio). Can technology really give a voice to the voiceless? March 12, 2017. (Radio)

Media and Press Coverage

The Boston Globe. Parents fret for choices as cuts to PBS Kids squeeze quality shows. December 7, 2026.

Connected Learning Alliance. CLS2025 Keynote Speaker Meryl Alper on why we need connected learning now more than ever. September 9, 2025.

Northeastern Global News. How should you approach screen time with your child? Northeastern students create parental guides with help from ‘Bluey.’ April 16, 2025.

Northeastern Global News. YouTube star Ms. Rachel is bringing her children’s songs to Netflix. But are they good or bad for teaching children? January 21, 2025.

Education Week. Here’s when most Americans think cellphones should be banned. October 16, 2024.

TheWrap. The tao of ‘Bluey’: The magic of the show that captivates both kids and parents. June 7, 2024.

Children and Screens. Parenting tip sheets: Neurodivergent youth and digital media. April 26, 2024.

Northeastern Global News. April is Autism Acceptance Month. Public awareness helps those on the spectrum, expert says. April 2, 2024.

Northeastern Global News. Why kids love Peppa Pig and (some) parents loathe her. Relatable characters will offend someone, Northeastern experts say. March 7, 2024.

Children and Screens. After the smartphone: What now? January 23, 2024.

Children and Screens. Smartphones: Preparing for healthy use. January 19, 2024.

Children and Screens. Smartphones: Assessing readiness. January 16, 2024.

Psychology Today. Is technology hurting the neurodiverse? December 20, 2023.

Yahoo! Life. This school banned cellphones 4 years ago. Here’s how it’s going — and why others are now following suit. December 14, 2023.

Parents Magazine. The best smartwatches for kids, tested by real kids and their watchful parents. November 25, 2023.

Northeastern Global News. Cellphone bans in schools alone won’t curb distraction, says communication technologies expert. August 23, 2023.

Northeastern Global News. What parents, not just children, can learn from watching Bluey. June 15, 2023.

Northeastern Global News. ‘Digital Red Scare’ or Chinese propaganda tool? As legislators push to ban TikTok, many users wonder what will happen. March 7, 2023.

Women’s Health Magazine. How a community of TikTokers is debunking disability, one viral video at a time. July 26, 2022.

News @ Northeastern. Does TikTok pose ‘data espionage’ concerns for the US? The answer is complicated. June 14, 2022.

WIRED. I gave my child a smartphone and it’s been the best thing for her. February 20, 2022.

Experience Magazine. Sparkles, poo, and crying eyes: This website interprets emoji. February 2, 2022.

News @ Northeastern. Will the metaverse protect our privacy — or will it exploit us more than ever? December 22, 2021.

EdTech Magazine. How can universities help disabled students with remote learning? September 28, 2020.

New York Times. Disabled do-it-yourselfers lead way to technology gains. July 14, 2020.

La Diaria (Uruguay). Meryl Alper: “Hay que involucrar a la persona con discapacidad en la creación del producto que es para su beneficio.” August 22, 2019.

VICE Magazine. Facing tomorrow’s high-tech school surveillance. October 29, 2018.

News @ Northeastern. The power of ‘voice,’ and empowering the voiceless. April 17, 2018.

News @ Northeastern. TTYL, AIM: How we used AOL Instant Messenger, for better or worse. November 16, 2017.

TechRepublic. Microsoft’s new AI app to assist the blind could be a ‘game changer’ in accessibility. July 12, 2017.

Mental Floss. 7 academic studies of Instagram. July 7, 2017.

TechRepublic. Despite its promise, modern technology often fails to help disabled users. May 25, 2017.

Engadget. The enduring myth of the hacker boy-band. May 5, 2017.

Digg. Can Amazon’s Alexa be your friend? March 31, 2017.

News @ Northeastern. How new research and Sesame Street are expanding our understanding of autism. March 31, 2017.

News @ Northeastern. Professor examines benefits, social inequalities of voice technologies. February 28, 2017.

PRI’s The World. Barbie typewriter toys had a secret ability to encrypt messages — but they didn’t think girls would care. January 17, 2017.

The Guardian. Sesame Street’s Count von Count and the lack of foreign voices on children’s TV. January 15, 2017.

Tech Insider. If you have over 25 photos on Instagram, you’re no longer cool. May 26, 2016.

School Library Journal. Transmedia and education: How transmedia is changing the way we learn. June 11, 2014.

The Verge. You should be reading tween hacker magazines from the 1980s. June 5, 2014.

Gizmodo. How teen hackers were portrayed in 1980s family magazines. June 5, 2014.

The Atlantic. In defense of Instagramming conflict in Crimea. March 7, 2014.

ACM Computers in Entertainment. Playing with transmedia: An interview with Becky Herr-Stephenson and Meryl Alper. May 21, 2013.

WIRED. Babies and iPads: A new type of discussion. October 20, 2011.