Mangesh Hattikudur

Oh, my God. And roasting is the wrong word.

Until the 1980s? Yeah. That's crazy.

I mean, that still must be the case, right? Like there's so many like. High-performing, perfectionist parents who have kids who are autistic. One, they don't want to believe their kids are autistic for a very long time. They don't see it in front of them. But that sense that you can fix it or cure it is so desperate for so many of them.

Right. Yeah. No, I mean, there's an article, like an opinions piece in the New York Times this week from the editor of the journal Science who has, you know, said he figured out he had autism at age 53 and was talking about how like, you know, it's made him so much better of a scientist and he sees things that other people don't.

But also that late understanding that like he's in this field and didn't realize that he had autism until such a late period.

Thank you so much for having me, Robert and Sophie. I'm thrilled to be here.

When you think about these parents, obviously they spend so much time warning the kids that they thought they'd have, right?

they're engaging with appreciating and raising their child I mean you see that with like like kids who don't play like the the high school jock who's like kid doesn't play soccer as well as he does or whatever right like and you think about the difference between you know that expectation versus someone who's severely autistic

Yeah. I mean, a jolly pirate, I hope.

Yeah, I know. I have two kids. I have zero control over them.

But that's it. Well, you should teach him to scrub a computer early. You got to teach him to be able to fucking clear those files.

That is so sweet. It really is. It's like the way that we used to talk in college, really nerdy and late into the night and just making each other laugh. And it feels nice that we get to do that still all these years later. Excellent.

Yeah.

Every time you say it, I was thinking about the exclamation point, so I'm glad you're also making the audience think about it.

Are you talking about Dr. Oz right now? Is that who you're talking about? No, I'm not even shitting on Dr. Oz.

I was so excited to come here and just have a box of popcorn and listen to you tell me stories.

It's just such a grift. It's unbelievable.

It is amazing that, like, obviously, like, mercury poisoning and mad hatters and all that, like, you know that mercury has effects on people.

But we're, like, we're totally cool with, like, Botox being botulism, but you, like, can't differentiate between, like, the mercury in a vaccine.

When you mentioned hyperbaric therapy, I know there are so many wealthy families that have tents and stuff in their house, and they're trying to reverse their kids' autism. I had never heard of the glass tube. That is just horrifying.

Misplaced exclamation point.

I love that. I love that it cures everything from autism to jet lag. Yeah.

10,000 kids.

Right.

Yeah, you want everything possible. Yeah.

It's like that old sailor saying, right? Like if you can't tie a good knot, tie a lot of bad ones, right? It feels like that. But I mean, I was just thinking about like the IV aspect of it. Like, IV looks like the most scientific of those things, right? Like if someone prescribed you a cream, like this is serious medicine.

And so she's just like overprescribing for everyone to save every kid, essentially.

Yeah. I mean, it feels like a different type of horrible than like the person who was sending text messages about the- Right, right, right.

Oh my God. It's just so, it's so horrifying that like, The treatment itself is horrible. And then you're shotgunning the treatment. And then, and this kid is, is like strapped down and there aren't professionals there.

I have to say, I mean, this is the most I've smiled in an episode about children dying. It's so sad.

Me too.

You know, we also talk about terrible things, but our terrible things on Part-Time Genius are more like the sunniest place to hide your taxes or like why Ayn Rand took Social Security and was a total hypocrite and stuff like that. But it's, I don't know. I would love for people to check out the show.

We did a really fun one recently on Pablo Escobar, the guy who was stealing rare bird eggs. Excellent.

Oh, that's for like the bends or whatever.

And don't they use it for NFL players? I feel like certain athletes do it, right? Yeah.

Yeah, that's not what my understanding was.

It doesn't seem like a smart idea.

And so for these treatments, are they just coming like once? Is it like one a done?

Oh, so like, and was this the first time that this kid had been there or had it been a number of times?

Wasn't Jenny McCarthy's kid also like, she said he was autistic and then he wasn't autistic?

Even the microbiome being different of autistic kids and diet not being able to affect it, right?

I haven't.

Also, you can see how you slip from one to the next to the next because you're increasingly desperate. But once you're dealing with a shaman and it feels like someone in your life would tell you.

Well, I mean, especially when like everyone in the autism community is telling you that like there's a ticking clock, right? Like you're trying to race and beat the clock.

Well, also, once your kid has autism and then you get a scan, you can point to anything and say, like, this is the cause of it.

100%.

I mean, just robbing yourself of, like, the joy of being able to enjoy your kid and see them, you know, is stunning because you're so worried.

Yeah, as a guinea pig.

Yeah.

160 times feels very, very thorough.

It's just so hard to listen to.

I'm so glad you're coming with the solution.

Well, it's coming from... Honestly, because he's a radio host.

I know.

I just don't understand like how, like, it's so shameless. Like going from children to like people with autism to like everyone with cancer to like, it's just unbelievable.

Wow. I can't imagine like... I can't imagine ordering something online and being like, yeah, I should shoot my kid with it.

Completely.

Also, like, like, I'm sure some of this was causing some sort of delirium and the kids were talking to that.

But it's also, like, such a hydra, right? Like, it feels like you cut off the head and, like, all these others emerge. It's awful.

Yeah, definitely. I did a show called Skyline Drive, which is about a skeptical look at astrology. It's really good. And I would love for people to check it out if they have the time. But honestly, Robert, Sophie, this is so fun. I know I was just shocked and saying, oh, my God, more than I probably should have. Yeah. It was both horrifying and, I don't know, really enlightening.

And now I need that Snickers bar of Xanax. That's right.

The fact that his skill is that he can swallow seven pills at a time.

I love that, like, you know you're a redneck if, like, is the format for this.