In our second episode, we talk with Arik Marmostein; he is a serial entrepreneur who’s founded Mimoona, RefreshBox, and most recently Spectroomz, a remote freelance blog for autistic talent. Arik lives in Israel with his wife and his autistic son.

• Website: Spectroomz.com
• Facebook: AutismJobsBlog
• Twitter: @Spectroomz

0:38 Greetings and quarantine 1:11 Arik as a serial entrepreneur 3:00 How Arik manages all of his projects 4:43 Ro’im Rachok: Autistics in the Israeli Defense Force 6:40 Major corporations specifically hiring autistics 8:15 Corporations resist neurodiversity 10:14 Autistic work preferences 11:16 Matt’s bad work experience 11:46 Martin’s work preferences 12:00 Arik loved studying law but not practicing it 14:35 Arik’s aspie traits and broad autism phenotype 15:15 Rare mutation turns Arik’s son into an autistic X-Men 16:23 Arik’s son suffers a seizure 17:45 Arik embraces his son’s autism 18:35 Autistics speak on the torture of ABA therapy 19:35 Eye contact can be tough 20:45 Arik’s son’s diagnosis 21:22 Verbal, high IQ autistic kids dig older folks but struggle with other kids 23:10 The issue of a lack of knowledge on autism 24:50 Autism had awful public relations 26:22 Matt’s 25-year-long journey to receive an autism diagnosis 28:23 River otters spotted! 29:18 Autism research focused on children (particularly boys) at the expense of adults 30:00 Gatekeeping achievements 31:40 “If he didn’t have that mutation, he’d be a genius” 32:50 Googling for hope: Autistic geniuses 34:00 Autistics withheld from showing off their talents 34:46 Remote work to help autistics and NTs 35:17 Autistics are more than code monkeys 38:23 The variety of behaviors on the spectrum 39:53 Autistics prefer detailed instructions and minimal social interactions 41:20 The sociological issues of the treatments of autistics 42:55 MDMA reduces anxiety in autistic study participants 46:22 Supposed empathy deficits in autism really caused by co-occurring alexithymia 47:25 Coming out as autistic at work 48:22 Everyday discrimination 50:02 The Moses of neurotypes: How Arik bridges the autistic–NT divide 54:00 Neurodiversity isn’t a priority at most organizations 56:00 Fluorescent lighting sucks 56:26 Accommodations at work 57:36 Bigger organizations lack flexibility 58:45 The mission of Spectroomz 1:00:17 What Arik’s learned from working with autistic people 1:02:08 Nevo’s (Arik’s son) special interests 1:05:38 Arik doesn’t dig the Foo Fighters 1:06:46 Arik and Nevo’s Infinite Playlist 1:08:18 Two very important questions 1:08:51 The best hummus in Israel 1:09:53 The great US hummus hoax 1:10:39 More on Sonya Bot 1:12:00 How Arik created Sonya Bot 1:13:18 Sonya Bot is universal 1:14:28 Sign up for Spectroomz! 1:15:10 Arik’s social media