Em Rusciano spills on her worst critical person interview | I’ve Bought News For You

Whenever I go for a run when I get home I love smelling my shorts then for the recip into me the late singer sat there with his middle finger up at me the whole like the it was actually quite impressive had any run-ins with Kyle in the past sure probably in your newspaper it's a website thank you for.

Reading uh when I was hosting breakfast radio and Sy surely we would have had I mean yeah Jackie is lovely I've met Jackie a few times she's always very ni um I am not saying anything else well emano is a writer a singer a standup comedian a podcaster and now my guest thank you so much for coming on I've got news for you thank you for.

Having me backck here you have had a pretty chaotic few years can you just give everyone a quick summary of what you've been through well there was this little once in a-lifetime pandemic don't know if you heard of it as a life performer the lockdowns I'm from the home of lockdowns Melvin you're welcome and so uh yeah we went through that then.

I was diagnosed with ADHD I found out I was autistic and then I found out I was an early menopause you've been through it look I'm an overachiever you know and I feel like I had to really just get every diagnosis that I could possibly get let's speak about ADHD and autism if we can um just those little light topics that no one freaks out about when I.

Speak about it well I would love to know what life is like for you so I I'm going to like give you a scenario let's say you're walking into a social Gathering and there are some people there that you don't know very well but you have to mingle what are the thoughts that go through your head well your first mistake is that I'm at a social.

Gathering I tend to not go to social Gatherings well before I into a social Gathering I usually practice what I'm going to say and think of things so I don't offend people and then I'll walk in and then usually the music and the smells and the sounds and the clinking of the glasses will hit me so then I'll try and deal with that and then I'll try.

And pick a person that I think I maybe know or maybe I like their outfit or maybe there's something about them that I can mention and compliment them on so we've got something to talk about then I'll go over to that person and then I'll think about the right amount of eye contact I'm supposed to make is it too much is it too little sometimes it's.

Like really creepy and then sometimes not enough then I'll go and try and find an animal or a child to stand with because I always feel safe with animal or children genuinely if I've gone missing at a party look for the dog or the kid and I will be nestled up next to them chatting about whatever they want to talk about so for me it's generally.

An assault on my senses and a worry that I'm going to offend everyone and be asked to leave but then ultimately I am hoping to be asked to leave so that's why I stay home Bucky wow that's a lot U I have heard that uh neurod Divergent people use called masking in social situations can you explain what that is well masking is hiding certain.

Attributes about yourself as well as you can in order to assimilate and fit into the neurotypical people around you now masking is a privilege in some ways also because not all autistic people can mask uh but a lot of women are highly masked so it's just a way to I guess protect ourselves from ridicule or someone noticing that there's something.

Different about us and it's something that girls do especially from a very young age age so you basically have to be a different version of yourself that must be exhausting it is um I think women Full Stop in the aab community are taught when we're very little that you know you got to be good and little boys are taught that they've got to be brave.

So from the moment we're kind of cognizant we are trying to fit a stereotype that Society has deemed a woman should be and when you quickly figure out as I did that I didn't fit that stereotype I had to figure out ways to kind of put my human suit on every day and fit in which I didn't do very well but I did try and it is exhausting.

Essentially playing a role every day so do you feel like you can take that human suit off now and be free yes good love that I I do feel somewhat unmasked I mean not now not with you because I'm wary of anything I say like I'm thinking twice and speaking once like grandmother always said um but I'm certainly presenting a much more it it's what the.

World gets of me now is is is very much me uh you were diagnosed with ADHD a couple of years ago why is it that so many more women seem to be getting diagnosed later on in life well it's an overcorrection of a chronically underdiagnosed condition right basically so many of us were missed so early on because the prototype for ADHD when you.

Think about it is Bart Simpson if I ask you to think about ADHD it's a 10-year-old boy bouncing off the walls not an exhausted 40-year-old mother of three so the problem is there's this symptom recognition bias and when you when you find out you do have ADHD initially you think no I'm not I'm not a hyperactive 10-year-old boy and when we.

Started to realize you know there's different symptoms and different presentations then it the Diagnostics were corrected women got together online through social media we were able to meet and compare notes and experiences and realize there's a really nuanced presentation of ADHD there's not just one thing yeah and so finally there's a.

Much needed overcorrection in Diagnostics because there's so many of us lined up backlogged are you on medication for ADH sure how quickly after you first took meds did you notice a change and what was that change for me stimulants worked and medication certainly isn't for everybody and you know I always I always speak about.

Medication with real caution because you know it is it's really individual and ADHD is like a fingerprint in people it shows up differently for all of us for me within half an hour of taking the stimulants you know I've said this before it's like when you live in a house when you have ADHD it's like you're living in a dark house and when.

You have the stimulant it's like you get given a torch and you can shine your attention on certain things in a streamlined fashion it's been called glasses for brain for me there's always been a lot of internal monologue four or five shouty voices and commentating my every move thought and action and it kind of whittel that down to just one.

Exhausted woman chatting for me it was lifechanging but I also appreciate that's not the case for everybody um so meds have helped you but what is one small thing that all neurotypical people can do to help neurodivergent people just to make life a little bit easier for them I think educate yourself on our communic communication Styles I think.

One of the things a lot of neurod diversion people find difficult is um we often are blunt with our communication we're very honest and open and sometimes we take things literally so you might ask our opinion on something and we won't understand that you just want some support in that moment we'll actually tell you the truth I think it's just a.

General understanding of the way neurod Divergence functions and you know offering supports in workplaces noise cancelling headphones staggered start times working from home finding out what their special interest are it's just knowing more about neurod Divergence cuz someone at your work someone in your family someone you love is neurod.

Divergent no it's not a rare thing and if you're able to understand how to support them they can be their best self and that ultimately helps everybody so if you have trouble lying what do you think of this outfit you think I'm rocking it today or I think you look like an Immaculate gay man accurate all right we are on to part two.

Amazing em you recently announced a brand new national tour it is called outgrown this is your first national tour since 2019 I think it is going to travel the country in July and August I haven't had the priv privilege of going to one of your shows yet but several of my friends have they say that it is kind of like attending a hill song church.

Service but without all the religious stuff what exactly happens at an emano show I think that's a compliment people do like in my show to going to church but without the religious stuff without the shame and guilt um oh God I shouldn't have said that so not all churches like that I appreciate that but I grew up Italian.

Catholic so you can understand um my shows I aim to create an experience for my community where they feel like they belong I think I've realized that you know you teach the lessons you need to learn my whole life I felt like an outsider and I think subconsciously I've created a community and a universe and an experience where other people who.

Have felt othered can come together and feel like they're part of something and um there's every single you know uh pen in my pencil Coast is used there's standup there's singing There's dancing there's music there's puppetry there's all sorts of things um this show especially is a bit of a love letter to the neurod Divergent community and I.

Hope that neurotypical people come along and feels like they're sitting inside my brain for 90 minutes cuz I really want to give an experience and a ro map um as to how I experience the world and do that through the last five years of interesting um but everything I've experienced is universal you know di interesting Diagnostics and every single.

Person with ovaries uh will go through menopause so it's not a niche topic I'm hitting on there but I do it in a way that I hope makes things a bit easier for people and outgrown is going to be a multisensory show tell me more about that we're really looking at uh lighting soundscapes um actual physical things falling from the roof when I there's a.

Autistic people have special interest topics which means when we hit on a topic we know a lot about we just we we just talk about it non-stop we go into like this deep dive dissertation on it and there's a couple times in the show where I'm going to go into a deep dive on my special interest topic and we'll illustrate that with light and sound.

Autistic people especially are often in awe of things like there's just I always feel in awe of the world and I take everything in everywhere all at once so I want to create a feeling of awe with music I don't want to give too much away there'll be big puppet things and there'll be music there'll be sounds so what about smells are there going to be.

Smells pumped in through the we are looking we were looking at that but I'm Al conscious that a lot of my audience are neurod Divergent and sensitive to smell all right so I did at one point think about it but we're just going with something else um that's not a smell but it will be a show that I just want people to feel I want them to feel.

Magical I want them to feel like they've left just you know that feeling when your mom first put the glowy Stars on your roof and turn the lights off and you're a kid I want that feeling in my audience uh slightly off topic just on the sense no such thing I'm the side quest queen go okay on the sense of smell is there a smell you love that.

Most people would find odd because I if we're going to do confessions here whenever I go for a run when I get home I love smelling my shorts too much wow I love that for you yeah that is super freaky I I reckon Hees of guys do it do they yep I in on my bingo card today I did not think Bucky that that was what I was going to.

Get out of you I I just love the smell of nail polish like that's for me I love love nail polish but now I'm going to be forever in a day thinking about you sniffing your shorts after you go for a jog I actually love that about you that's made me love you even more I can send you a pair if you'd like please don't okay I have sensory issues I smell.

Everything everywhere all at once but yeah I really love really strong yeah nail polish um fumes love a fume dry cleaners yes chemical smells heavily chlorinated indoor pool as well yes can't do florals though no ionically my whole show is flowers but yeah um I know that outgrown is going to be a massive success because all your National tours.

Are huge successes but I would like to know just between us girls do you make much money out of them or do they put cost heaps of money to put on wow yeah they cost heaps of money because what people don't realize is I'm the artist I'm producing the show Frontier are touring me but I pay for all the crew I pay for all the venue hire I pay for the.

Band I pay for costuming I pay for everything so they are expensive in that sense but I guess for me I have this amazing responsive audience who buy tickets who come along who support me they know that I'm doing it myself I'm neurod Divergent I'm a woman and um I don't have big companies backing me so they're generally really supportive and.

Yeah I mean I make a good living off what I do I've been in it for 20 years I work really hard so um it's taking me a while but yeah I I do I do okay I love say that let's talk showers okay you've had a very successful career uh but I would like to ask about something you wrote on your blog a few years ago you said commercial TV in Australia doesn't.

Want a bar of me what makes you say that well I'm not on Commercial TV in Australia am I but have you have you gone for shows that you've been knocked back from I've gone for lots of shows I always get down to the last two and that I'm their quirky option I'm their dangerous Choice me the white middle class Suburban mother um can your name.

Drop some sh absolutely not but I did actually miss out on One show that I was sad about was it's a knockout and I got down to the last two for the it's a knockout reboot and I really wanted that cuz I grew up loving it's a knockout Jackie McDonald like the Daryl the whole thing the outdoor of it the queens landess of it um I've got down to last.

Year for quite a few shows but yeah I don't generally get across the line I've always wanted to make my own TV show I want a Big Shiny show variety shiny floor variety show where I'm Judy gin I'm gra Norton you know like I'm all those things I've got guests I'm singing with band My ultimate dream is to one day make that so I've just got to get.

Successful enough that I can just self- produce it which is what I do with my podcast what I do with everything now my production company makes it um but I just think now things are changing with streamers and there's more diversity on telly but remember when I was trying to crack Telly it was early 2000s and we were seeing you know not ethnic tattooed.

Shad women on the television and that's that's the truth it just there was none of us there was no one so I was probably up against it from the start who ended up hosting it's a knockout I can't remember I want to say Charlie Delaney maybe from high five oh I lost a lot of gigs to her and Shelly craft and when you think about it if they're going to.

Hire beautiful Shelly craft they're not going to hire B baly brassi and russiano I was just there for shits and giggles uh you've been on radio for a number of years here in Australia you're on radio in Perth in Sydney as well uh breakfast radio hosts in particular get to meet and interview so many celebrities who's the best one you ever met I got to.

Interview so many great celebrities I got to interview Merill stre and Pierce broen for Mama Mia wow and that was Merill was amazing that was but my favorite ever interview was Lady Gaga in Perth she was supporting the Pussycat Dolls she was the support that doesn't make any sense I know as a gay man bey's just G what and she was there with a.

Cardboard box and two backup like it was so lowii and she destroyed and then PCD came on and half the crowd left she was amazing and when I interviewed her it was Gaga in full flight she was Rockstar then same as now she believed in herself the the self-belief that she had was oozing and she was did not disappoint it was incredible I went to that tour I.

Have a feeling that um LMFAO came on after Lady Gaga and I was like excuse me where is LM FAO where are they now he working at a pub down the road I'm not entirely sure surely not um we spoke about the best celebrity who was the biggest dick though everybody knows this story and for some reason it's been doing the r sounds early days in radio I.

Interviewed the lead singer of Snow Patrol and um we got told before the interview don't bring up the fact that their song got huge on um Ali MC one of those medical shows here you know that song was it Alie MC they're like they don't like to talk about it don't bring it up and I'm like we we're commercial radio like I have to.

Mention we I have to position you for everyone so I just said obviously you know you got huge Fame from grz anatomy and then for the rest of the interview the late singer sat there with his middle finger up at me the whole like the it was actually quite impressive now I look back on it as a young like I just started in radio I was.

People pleasing I didn't want to be seen as anything you know difficult or believe it or not and um now if someone did that to me I would just derail the entire chat and we would just go right into their childhood as to why they feel like they're doing this but it was wild I sat there the whole time and all the team everybody could see he was doing it.

But me and my co-host were so shocked and just wanted the interview to be okay that we just it it's wild and I wish that we had video cuz back there was no filming of radio back then but yeah that was the lead s I'm sure he's a lively guy I just annoyed him and he really made a strong choice is he the one that is dating Courtney Cox at the moment is.

It is that I'm not sure there is a Snow Patrol guy that's dating maybe you know he's you know his things have turned around I just got him on a bad day but he was the most hectic and it was early days uh given that you've had so much experience in radio would love to get your thoughts here on kyl and jackieo expanding into Melbourne possibly other.

Cities they could be National in the next year or two uh do you think they'll rate outside of Sydney sure I think they're really successful what do you want me to why you what do you want me to do sit here and say what no I'm I want your opinion I wish them well I do I think they're gosh the long how long have they been in the industry oh 20.

Years now forever and they're they're doing something right yeah but I yeah good good luck I they didn't they just start this week in Melbourne they did yeah I mean time will tell who knows I haven't really I haven't listened to radio since I left really have you had any Runnings with Kyle in the past sure probably in your newspaper it's a.

Website thank you for reading uh when I was hosting breakfast radio in Sydney surely we would have had I mean yeah Jackie is lovely I've met Jackie a few times she's always very nice um I am not saying anything else I wish them well I wish them uh Prosperity health and um I'm sure they'll be hugely successful in whatever they do and.

Wherever they go I have some uh rapid fire questions for you I'm going to put 60 seconds on the clock are you ready yes here we go Taylor Swift or Beyonce Beyonce woo what's the most public place you've done the deed Shez Louise uh probably in the bush somewhere I grew up in the country when you say the bush you mean.

Outdoors right okay not okay probably in a bush who was your favorite radio co-host Sam Mack love Sam Mac uh what's your party trick I can do the splits three ways no I'm not doing three yeah one two three uh what's a TV show that in your opinion is massively overrated uh um Three Men and three men three those what's the one with Charlie.

Sheen and I never two men never understood the appeal uh me either um is there a radio co-host that you didn't get on with so well no comment no comment what is the best compliment you've ever received uh you make me want to be the best version of me who's the hottest Royal uh Megan how often do you wash.

Your bed sheets twice a week twice a week yeah and that is Extreme oh time's up says the guy who sniffs his shorts okay well we don't need to keep bringing that up he absolutely do it is a touchstone now it's my call back M outgrown is going to be a huge success I know don't keep saying you're a huge success.

And then say I haven't seen you you better be there I don't have to go to know that you're going to be a success but I will be there I'll be rooting for you um anyone can get all the ticket information at your website and at the frontier touring website thank you so much for coming in thanks for having me.

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