The first guest this morning on Cool Science Radio is Jon Ronson, author of the book, So You’ve Been Publically Shamed. Ronson is no stranger to the darker corners of humanity: he investigates the world of public shaming, where social media has made everyone a vigilante, and where a poorly phrased tweet or comment can catapult a person to Public Enemy No. 1 overnight.
Today's second guest is Dr. Barry Prizant, author of Uniquely Human: A Different Way of Seeing Autism. Autism therapy typically focuses on ridding individuals of “autistic” symptoms, such as difficulties interacting socially, problems in communicating, sensory challenges, and repetitive behavior patterns. Now Dr. Prizant offers a new and compelling paradigm: the most successful approaches to autism don’t aim at fixing a person by eliminating symptoms, but rather seeking to understand the individual’s experience and what underlies the behavior.