Ep. 39 - [Outer] Space, [Spiritual] Space, & [Cultural] Space! (with Pugal Sivasankar) Bruce, Kara, and guest Pugal Sivasankar, a doctoral student in aerospace engineering, talk about a wide range of subjects, from the big bang, the Big Bang Theory, another big bang (the atom bomb), bottom-up thinking, and much more! Pugal shares his personal discovery of being autistic; how his understanding of autism has evolved and some influences such as Olga Bogdashina's writings. We also dive into spirituality, cultural conceptions of autism, and growing up (at the time undiagnosed) autistic in a small village in India. GUEST BIO: Pugazhenthi (Pugal) Sivasankar, born in Tamil Nadu, India, is researching Space Situational Awareness in Florida. After his undergrad in India, he moved to the Netherlands for his Master's degree where he received his ASD diagnosis. Besides explaining a lot of aspects of his life, the diagnosis helped him to get help to change for the better. During his Masters, he traveled to Belgium, China, and Sweden for various trainings. Upon completing his Masters, he moved to the US to pursue research. Besides research, Pugal practices spirituality, and helps people in need (gardening with his old neighbor, food donations, free math tutoring, etc.). His hobbies include swimming, hiking, yoga, martial arts, and volleyball. His social media presence is minimum and he can be reached through LinkedIn and YouTube. Pugal's Socials: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pugazhenthisivasankar
https://youtube.com/@pugazhenthi6868?si=DWIG73tnG2iSR8uf __________
Autistic Tidbits & Tangents is a biweekly podcast, co-hosted by Kara Dymond, Maja Toudal, and Bruce Petherick. It is centered around topics relevant to autism and the lives of autistic people. We are autistic professionals with a passion for broadening and advancing accessibility for autistic people and understanding of autism and neurodiversity. We approach our work with the combination of our personal and professional experiences. Episodes can be found on Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts and with video on YouTube.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Kara: www.karadymond.com / YouTube - Dr. Kara Dymond / Facebook - @drkaradymond / Twitter - @drkaradymond / Instagram - @drkaradymond
Maja: www.majatoudal.com / YouTube - An Autistic Psychologist / Facebook - @majatoudal / Twitter - @majatoudal / Instagram - @majatoudal
Bruce: Facebook - @BrucePetherickMusic / Instagram - @bpetherick
SPECIAL THANKS:
-Theme composed by Bruce Petherick
-Today's guest, Pugal Sivasankar! #Autistictidbits&tangents #autismpodcast #neurodiversity #actuallyautistic #adhd