Rose Rimler

But where it gets really interesting is that the host of the show doesn't just take people at their word for this. She goes and she specifically does tests to test that they are in fact telepathic.

But where it gets really interesting is that the host of the show doesn't just take people at their word for this. She goes and she specifically does tests to test that they are in fact telepathic.

Well, so for example, in the first episode, she goes to visit a young woman from Mexico who is supposedly telepathic with her mom. And so like I described, this is a nonverbal autistic person who communicates by pointing at a board with letters and numbers on it.

Well, so for example, in the first episode, she goes to visit a young woman from Mexico who is supposedly telepathic with her mom. And so like I described, this is a nonverbal autistic person who communicates by pointing at a board with letters and numbers on it.

And so this is the kind of test that Kai sets up. So she'll show something only to the mom, make sure the daughter can't see it.

And so this is the kind of test that Kai sets up. So she'll show something only to the mom, make sure the daughter can't see it.

And, you know, the the daughter can't see it. Sometimes she's blindfolded or they'll put a partition between the mom and the daughter. So the daughter can't see the picture. But then the mom says, OK, what am I looking at? Read my mind. What am I looking at? And we hear and I'll I'll play a little bit for you.

And, you know, the the daughter can't see it. Sometimes she's blindfolded or they'll put a partition between the mom and the daughter. So the daughter can't see the picture. But then the mom says, OK, what am I looking at? Read my mind. What am I looking at? And we hear and I'll I'll play a little bit for you.

The daughter, even though she can't see the picture, she starts pointing at letters and she slowly spells out. Remember, this is a picture of a pirate or pirata in Spanish. Who?

The daughter, even though she can't see the picture, she starts pointing at letters and she slowly spells out. Remember, this is a picture of a pirate or pirata in Spanish. Who?

This is the cameraman.

This is the cameraman.

Yeah, hearing the cameraman's reaction is pretty compelling because you're like, wow, he was actually in the room and looking carefully, right? And he said it seemed real. But the thing is, when autism experts hear about this, they immediately see a problem.

Yeah, hearing the cameraman's reaction is pretty compelling because you're like, wow, he was actually in the room and looking carefully, right? And he said it seemed real. But the thing is, when autism experts hear about this, they immediately see a problem.

And it goes back to how people are communicating and the history of people trying to communicate with those who can't speak. I talked about this with Katherine Beals. She's an adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania and elsewhere. And I talked to her specifically about this case. So does this impress you?

And it goes back to how people are communicating and the history of people trying to communicate with those who can't speak. I talked about this with Katherine Beals. She's an adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania and elsewhere. And I talked to her specifically about this case. So does this impress you?

The perfect storm to see what's actually going on here. And Catherine says we got to go back a few decades. Actually, the story starts in Australia, Wendy. You'll be happy to know.

The perfect storm to see what's actually going on here. And Catherine says we got to go back a few decades. Actually, the story starts in Australia, Wendy. You'll be happy to know.

Someone there had invented a special way for people who can't speak to communicate. And in the 90s, this technique spread from Australia to the U.S. And it really took off here. It's a bit different from the way people are communicating in the telepathy tapes. With the letter board. The letter board. This is called facilitated communication. Here's how it works.

Someone there had invented a special way for people who can't speak to communicate. And in the 90s, this technique spread from Australia to the U.S. And it really took off here. It's a bit different from the way people are communicating in the telepathy tapes. With the letter board. The letter board. This is called facilitated communication. Here's how it works.