Listen to This, Read That: Autism Edition

Coincidences and unplanned overlap make life a little more interesting, don’t you think? I used to love when I would be learning about the same material in different classes (completely different classes, think ‘Medical Narratives’ vs. ‘Sports in American Society’). Well, a similar thing just happened to me last week — I was reading a book narrated by someone on the autism spectrum and then I took a break to listen to a new podcast series. Well, that podcast ended up being all about an Autistic man! And the parallels were fascinating. Both the podcast and the book were real good and so here I am, recommending them to you.

“The Rosie Project” by Graeme Simpsion

This is a fiction novel written in 2013 by an Australian data-modeller-turned-author, which is so random. It’s narrated by a man named Don Tillman who has undiagnosed Asperger’s Syndrome. This makes the book really unique. All of Don’s decisions are based 100% on logic and 0% on emotion. He is never late for anything, always cooks the same meals every week, and cannot detect sarcasm. He tells you about his day with specific time stamps and always includes a character’s age and estimated BMI upon introduction. It’s hilarious. And that’s okay.

I am not sure how dramatized Don’s behaviors are compared to someone in real life who actually has Asperger’s Syndrome, but even so, this novel can really help you understand where they’re coming from, why they may act differently in certain situations, and how much of a boss they could be in other situations.

The book’s plot revolves around Don’s interest in finding a wife. He calls it The Wife Project (There’s also The Father Project, The Reform Don Project, The Rosie Project, etc…). Don crafts a questionnaire for prospective female partners to answer so that he can weed out all of the incompatible ladies — if you are a vegan, a smoker, a drinker or a late arriver, you’re not for Don. Or so he thinks. The book takes a turn when he meets Rosie, an adventurous redhead who definitely doesn’t fit the bill. I promise this book will make you laugh. It’s charming, adorable, witty and informative. And while Don is looking for love, you might just fall in love with him. Enjoy!!

Oh, and the book is such a hit that it’s on its way to becoming a movie.

On the Inside, Reply All

Reply All is a podcast all about the internet, created by my *fave* podcast company, Gimlet. The 2 hosts are hilarious and I highly suggest you listen to their episodes outside of this series. This one, where host PJ tries micro-doses of LSD(!) at work (!!) for a week (!!!), unbeknownst to his co-workers(!!!), is a must-listen.

BUT Reply All did something out of the ordinary a few weeks ago and published a four-part series called “On The Inside.” USA Today raved over the series and basically said if you were into Serial, you’ll love this.

Created by producer Sruthi Pinnamaneni, the show originally was supposed to just be about a blog on the internet. Written by a guy convicted of murder. From his prison cell.

His name is Paul Modrowski and he has actually been in prison since before the internet became a thing. So he actually wrote all of his blog posts by hand, mailed them to his mother, and had her type them up to post online. (They’re really long, so this is quite impressive for both parties.)

Anyways, the more Sruthi dug into the murder story — which may or may not involve chicken wings and a decapitation—the more questions she had. Just like Adnan from Serial and Steven Avery from Making a Murderer, Paul is adamant about his innocence. Sruthi does a great job interviewing sources, sifting through court documents and not backing down when people get angry. At one point I fear for her safety while she’s interviewing an ex-con in his car. He storms outside, asking her to follow him without the recorder. You’ll have to tune in to find out what happens next ;)

But in the end, Paul’s innocence is still up in the air.

What’s interesting about Paul’s case, though, is that he is autistic, and he thinks his disorder impacted the jury’s conviction. The judge and jury actually had no idea about Paul’s autism during the trial, and the judge admitted to Sruthi that the outcome could have been different if this fact was known.

Paul is unemotional and lacks empathy…just like Don. Paul starts out as this socially awkward person who slowly becomes more and more comfortable speaking to Sruthi…just like Don, with Rosie. It was really cool digesting both stories at once and I feel like, as a result, I understood both of these characters even better.

So if you’re looking for something to do this week, I highly recommend you check out the material above. And if you want to learn more about autism, click here, here or here.