Speaker 1: All right, guys. In the world of trashy reality TV,
Speaker 1: there is a lot of it on the TV at
Speaker 1: the moment. I mean maths. We're seeing the drama, drama, drama.
Speaker 1: But there is another reality TV show that when it
Speaker 1: first came on the screens that absolutely stole everyone's heart.
Speaker 1: And I have gotten addicted to it again because it
Speaker 1: has just been released on Netflix and now the Australian
Speaker 1: version that is there, the US version, and it's called
Speaker 1: Love on the Spectrum. Oh my love, this wholesome.
Speaker 2: TV show that has ever exists.
Speaker 1: It's honestly so beautiful and I think also it's such
Speaker 1: an insight into how other people date, how other people live,
Speaker 1: and how everyone kind of interacts. But some of the
Speaker 1: stats around this is so interesting. So one in seveny
Speaker 1: Australians are on the autism spectrum. And also this TV
Speaker 1: show is Emmy Award winning. Now it's brilliant. If you
Speaker 1: haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend going and watching it.
Speaker 1: But we have joining us today Jodie Rodgers. She is
Speaker 1: a sex ologist. She's one of the counselors and the
Speaker 1: she's the relationship coach that's on this TV show. And
Speaker 1: like I said, It's very different to maths relationship coaches,
Speaker 1: where they're there and they're creating the drama. She's there
Speaker 1: really helping these individuals on the show date and find
Speaker 1: real love and real connections. It's so special. God, what
Speaker 1: a job I know. Jody, Welcome to the pick up.
Speaker 3: Hello, how are you going? Thank you for having me on.
Speaker 2: It's so nice to speak to you again. We spoke
Speaker 2: to you a little while ago on our podcast Life
Speaker 2: on Cut.
Speaker 3: That is right. I've just thought how quickly the world turns?
Speaker 3: Is the last.
Speaker 2: And now we're speaking to you here in the radio.
Speaker 2: We love Love on the Spectrum even more now than
Speaker 2: we did when we spoke to you. Why do you
Speaker 2: think Love on the Spectrum has catapulted to one of
Speaker 2: the most watched reality TV shows.
Speaker 3: I think there's a couple of reasons. I think one
Speaker 3: because people really relate to it, so, you know, even
Speaker 3: my way, it's really educational for the broader community about
Speaker 3: the diversity of autism. But it allows people to see themselves,
Speaker 3: allows that connection with people that they may not have
Speaker 3: even thought that they had things in common with. And
Speaker 3: I think all all of us know how complex dating is,
Speaker 3: so you know, many people just come out and say, oh,
Speaker 3: that's like me, or I do that, or that's where
Speaker 3: I've experienced. So I think that's one. But the other
Speaker 3: one is all the people who were on the show,
Speaker 3: the autistic people who are on the show. It's just
Speaker 3: so authentically themselves, and I think people can really see that.
Speaker 1: It's really different, isn't it when you see so many
Speaker 1: people these days go on reality TV shows for Instagram followers,
Speaker 1: and then you watch love on the spectrum and people
Speaker 1: are actually there for relationships, so to make connections. Jody,
Speaker 1: with your experience, I mean coming from being a sexologist
Speaker 1: and then being a relationship counselor what made you want
Speaker 1: to work with people who in you're a divergent.
Speaker 3: I've really worked with people with disabilities my whole life.
Speaker 3: But probably the biggest thing for me is the fact
Speaker 3: that when I started hanging out with autistic people, I
Speaker 3: was learning so much about a different way of seeing
Speaker 3: the world or a different perspective, and me to just
Speaker 3: open my eyes up completely to just how truly diverse
Speaker 3: we all are. And so I'll just keep learning. You know,
Speaker 3: I'm thirty years in and I'm still going, oh, I
Speaker 3: I never thought that I never knew. So yeah, I
Speaker 3: just love the fact that every single day I'll get
Speaker 3: my mind open to a different as the world.
Speaker 2: I think genuinely, like I've watched all the Aussie seasons,
Speaker 2: I've watched all the American seasons because I genuinely love
Speaker 2: the show, and I think we can all learn a
Speaker 2: lot from the way people on the spectrum interacts, Like
Speaker 2: I often I watch their interactions when they're like, Hey,
Speaker 2: I don't like you anymore, so honesty, like let's just
Speaker 2: be friends, And I'm like, man, if only every guy
Speaker 2: I ever dated just said that, it goes to me.
Speaker 2: But I have relationships in my life with people that
Speaker 2: are on the spectrum, and I learned so much from
Speaker 2: the shows in helping me understand them better and the
Speaker 2: way that I connect with them better. And you have
Speaker 2: just written a new book called Unique. What autism can
Speaker 2: teach us about different connection and belonging is that who
Speaker 2: have you aimed that at? Have you aimed at that at?
Speaker 2: Literally anybody that is interested in forming those connections?
Speaker 3: Everybody? Yeah, everybody, But in one way, you know, I
Speaker 3: read somebody had written the other day saying, I think
Speaker 3: this is Jodie's love letter to autism, and it really is.
Speaker 3: It's a celebration of all the autistic people in my life,
Speaker 3: but it's really for everybody because in my lifetime what
Speaker 3: has also happened with me is that autistic people have
Speaker 3: allowed me to understand one myself, but also every person
Speaker 3: in my life. And so it's really a book where
Speaker 3: it's all short stories, like you literally could pick it
Speaker 3: up at any point and just look at part of
Speaker 3: the way humans interact all of us. But it's really
Speaker 3: a story to say, you know, this is an experience
Speaker 3: I've had as an autistic person which has made me
Speaker 3: rethink all of my relationships with every single person I've
Speaker 3: come across, and how beautiful and wonderful that is. The
Speaker 3: teachers in my life are people that are many many
Speaker 3: people would consider to be so different, but yeah, there've
Speaker 3: been the people that have taught me about connection and relationships.
Speaker 1: That'd be a good reason.
Speaker 3: So beautiful that's required reading. I think Unique available tomorrow, Jody.
Speaker 1: Yeah, people can grab it very soon.
Speaker 3: Oh no, it's going to be all the book. Go
Speaker 3: and pick it.
Speaker 1: Up, Jody Rogers. Everyone from Love on the Spectrum, thanks
Speaker 1: for coming on the pickup.
Speaker 3: We do. Thank you.
Speaker 1: Love let's get out of here.
Speaker 3: We're done for the day.
Speaker 2: Guys.
Speaker 1: She's so cute, isn't she. She's so remarkable. Honestly, the
Speaker 1: show is brilliant. It's so much fun.
Speaker 3: All Right, let's go.
Speaker 1: We'll see tomorrow. Goodbye, guys,