♪.

TED: COMING UP NEXT ON "ARIZONA HORIZON," A CLOSER LOOK AT ARIZONA'S WILDFIRE SEASON.

ONE OF THE WORST FOR WILDFIRE ACTIVITY IN RECENT YEARS.

>>> ALSO TONIGHT THE LEGACY OF TV TALK SHOW ICON PHIL DONAHUE.

>>> AND HOW A "SESAME STREET" PUPPETEER IS HELPING PEOPLE WHO ARE NEURODIVERGENT WITH THEIR OWN PUPPETS.

.

TED: GOOD EVENING, AND WELCOME TO "ARIZONA HORIZON."

I'M TED SIMONS.

IT'S OFFICIAL.

THE RECOUNT IS IN.

FORMER PHOENIX VICE MAYOR YASSAMIN ANSARI DEFEATED FORMER STATE SENATOR RAQUEL TERAN IN A DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY TO REPLACE CONGRESSMAN RUBEN GALLEGO.

ANSARI AHEAD BY ALL OF 39 VOTES, COMPARES TO THE POST-ELECTION MARGIN OF 42 VOTES, A MARGIN THIN ENOUGH TO TRIGGER THE RECOUNT.

ANSARI WILL GO UP AGAINST REPUBLICAN JEFF ZINK IN THE HEAVILY DEMOCRATIC DISTRICT.

>>> DAY TWO OF THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION IN CHICAGO WILL FEATURE A NUMBER OF REPUBLICANS ON STAGE, INCLUDING MESA MAYOR JOHN GILES WHO CO-CHAIRS THE REPUBLICANS FOR HARRIS NATIONAL CAMPAIGN.

GILES IN A WRITTEN STATEMENT PLANS TO DO EVERYTHING HE CAN TO ELECT HARRIS, AND HOPES TO MAKE HIS CASE DIRECTLY TO REPUBLICANS WITH HIS SPEECH TONIGHT AT THE DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION.

TONIGHT'S CONVENTION SCHEDULE IS HEADLINED BY SPEECHES BY FORMER PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA AND FORMER FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA.

AND STEPHANIE GRISHAM WILL REPORTEDLY SPEAK AT CONVENTION THIS WEEK.

SHE WORKED FOR THEN-ATTORNEY GENERAL TOM HORNE AND WORKED AS SPOKESPERSON FOR REPUBLICANS IN THE ARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

SHE THEN MOVED ONTO THE TRUMP WHITE HOUSE.

SHE RESIGNED AFTER THE JANUARY 6 ATTACK ON THE U.S. CAPITOL IN 2021.

>>> ONE MORE HEADLINE, THIS IS SCIENCE NOTE.

NEW RESEARCH SHOWS HUMANS ON A MOLECULAR LEVEL DON'T AGE GRADUALLY, INSTEAD ACCELERATED CHANGES IN PROTEINS AND RNA OCCUR AROUND THE AGES OF 44 AND 60.

THE FINDINGS ARE BASED ON THE STUDY OF MORE THAN 100 PEOPLE OVER SEVERAL YEARS, A KEY TAKEAWAY FROM THE RESEARCH IS THOSE CLOSE TO 60 YEARS OF AGE SHOULD KEEP A CLOSE WATCH ON CARBON TAKE AND DRINK ENOUGH WATER TO MAXIMIZE KIDNEY FUNCTION.

>>> ARIZONA'S BEEN HIT BY MORE THAN 1600 WILDFIRES SINCE THE START OF THE YEAR, MAKING THIS ONE OF THE WORST YEARS FOR WILDFIRE ACTIVITY IN THE STATE.

JOINING US NOW IS JOHN TRUETT, FIRE MANAGEMENT OFFICER AT THE ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY AND FIRE MANAGEMENT.

JOHN, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.

LAST I HEARD IT WAS 1200, NOW I'M HEARING 1600.

THAT'S A LOT OF FIRE.

>> A LOT OF FIRE GOING ON IN LANDSCAPE.

ABOVE THE AVERAGE OF WHAT WE'RE USED TO EXPERIENCING AND KEEPING US BUSY THIS YEAR.

TED: COMPARED TO LAST YEAR, WHAT ARE YOU SEEING THIS YEAR?

>> WE'RE SEEING THE CONTINUOUS GRASS CROP THROUGHOUT THE SONORAN DESERT AND THE LOWER DESERTS.

THE FIRES HAVE NO NATURAL BARRIERS WHERE GAME TRAIL OR THE TWO-TRACK ROAD THAT WOULD HALT THE FIRE FOR US, IT'S A CONTINUOUS FUEL BED AND SEEING OUR BURN PERIODS GO 24 HOURS SO WE'RE HAVING THE VERY ACTIVE FIRE THROUGH THE NIGHT.

>> THE CONTINUOUS BURN BED, THOSE AREAS THAT WERE STARK BEFORE ARE NOW FULL OF GRASS?

>> EXACTLY.

AREAS THAT HAVEN'T SEEN FIRE ARE SEEING FIRE NOW, AND IT'S A CONTINUOUS VEGETATION.

TED: YOU MENTIONED 24-HOUR BURN CYCLE.

THE OVERNIGHT TEMPERATURES, ANYONE WHO'S BEEN UP LATE AT NIGHT OR EARLY IN THE MORNING KNOWS IT FEELS DIFFERENT THIS YEAR, DOES IT FEEL DIFFERENT THIS YEAR?

>> IT DOES.

WE'RE NOT GETTING THE RELATIVE HUMIDITY AT NIGHT.

STAYING DRIER.

AND THAT FUELS THE GRASS BED THAT CARRIES THE FIRE THROUGH THE NIGHT.

TED: SEEMS LIKE 1600 IS AN AWFUL LOT OF FIRE AND HAVEN'T HAD THE HEADLINE GRABBING MASSIVE MONSTER MAGILLA FIRE.

A WHOLE LOT COVERING ACRES BUT NOT ENOUGH ACRES COVERING A MASSIVE FIRE, WHAT ARE YOU SEEING WITH THIS?

>> IT'S MORE CONCENTRATED.

WE HAVE RESOURCES IN THE AREA.

IT'S A SUSTAINED RESOURCE SYNC.

WHEN YOU HAVE MULTIPLE FIRES, 10,000, 20,000, MULTIPLE FIRES ACROSS THE STATE, IT PUTS A DRAW ON THE RESOURCES BECAUSE WE HAVE TO RESPOND TO THE MULTIPLE FIRES GOING ON, AND THAT DOESN'T ALLOW FOR US TO CONCENTRATE IN ONE BIG AREA.

TED: IS IT EASIER TO GET RESOURCES FROM OTHER STATES, OTHER AGENCIES WHEN IT IS A MASSIVE FIRE AS OPPOSED TO SMALLER FIRES IN SO MANY DIFFERENT AREAS?

>> THE AVAILABILITY OF RESOURCES NATIONALLY DEPENDS ON OUR PL LEVELS, OUR FIRE DANGER LEVELS, SO AS THEY INCREASE AND THEN THAT FIRE BECOMES A HIGH-PRIORITY FIRE THROUGH THE NATION, THEN WE CAN RECEIVE OUTSIDE HELP, AND ADDITIONALLY, WE JOINED WHAT I CALL THE GREAT PLAINS COMPACT.

EIGHT DIFFERENT STATES IN A COMPACT.

WE CAN GO STATE TO STATE INSTEAD OF HAVING TO GO THROUGH THE NATIONAL REQUEST FOR RESOURCES.

TED: INTERESTING.

AS FAR AS THE MONSOON IS CONCERNED, FOR SOME OF US IN THE PHOENIX AREA, WE GOT NEXT TO NOTHING, YET THERE ARE OUTLYING AREAS THAT ARE GETTING SWAMPED.

HOW IS THIS MONSOON SEASON SO FAR?

>> IT'S SPOTTY RAIN, AND WHEN WE GET SPOTTY RAIN, WE GET A LOT OF LIGHTNING AROUND THE RAIN BANDS.

WE'VE HAD INCREASE IN LIGHTNING FIRE, IT'S INCREASED RESPONSES.

WE WENT FROM 400 LAST YEAR TO 600 AS FAR AS FIRE STARTS FROM THAT.

THE STRIKES YOU HAVE BASICALLY DOUBLED IN THAT.

WE GET AN OVERNIGHT AVERAGE OF 2,000 STRIKES.

TED: AND THE FIRE SEASON ITSELF USUALLY LASTS FROM WHEN TO WHEN?

>> USUALLY START GETTING OUR EXTENDED ATTACK FIRES, WE CALL, ABOUT MARCH AND WAIT FOR THE SEASON ENDING MONSOON ABOUT MID-JULY.

AND THIS YEAR THERE HAS BEEN NO SEASON ENDING, IT'S SO SPOTTY.

TED: COULD THE FIRE SEASON GO ON INTO SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER?

>> WE'RE ANTICIPATING A BUSY FALL FIRE SEASON THIS YEAR.

TED: WOW, ALL RIGHT.

WE MENTIONED DRY LIGHTNING STRIKES IS CAUSE FOR FIRE.

THERE WERE REPORTS THAT THE ROSE FIRE DAMAGED AND DESTROYED HOMES IN THE WICKENBURG AREA THAT RAILROAD MAINTENANCE MAY HAVE BEEN A FACTOR THERE.

IS THAT UNUSUAL, CONSTRUCTION MAINTENANCE, THESE KINDS OF THINGS, HOW OFTEN DOES IT HAPPEN?

>> HAPPENING MORE AND MORE NOW, WITH RELATION TO THE FUELS OUT THERE AND THE ENCROACHMENT OF DEVELOPING THOSE WILD LANDS INTO URBAN INTERFACES NOW.

SO A LOT OF THE FIRES OF THE DIAMOND FIRE, THE ROSE FIRE, SIMMONS FIRES IN KEARNY, A LOT OF THE FIRES ARE BASICALLY STARTED BY CONSTRUCTION NOW.

TED: YEAH, AND SOME PEOPLE WILL LAUGH WHEN THEY HEAR DON'T DRAG YOUR CHAINS WHEN YOU ARE DRIVING UP TO THE MOUNTAINS, AS IF EVERYONE IS RIDING AROUND IN VEHICLES DRAGGING CHAINS.

THAT REALLY IS A FACTOR, ISN'T IT?

>> MULTIPLE STARTS ALONG THE STRETCH OF ROAD.

THREE, FOUR, FIVE-MILE STRETCH OF RESOURCES.

TED: PEOPLE HAVE BEEN EVACUATED AROUND THE STATE.

IT'S GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT YEAR AS WELL.

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SEE PEOPLE TAKE WHEN THEY ARE TOLD TO EVACUATE OR GET THE HECK OUT?

>> IT'S ALMOST IMMEDIATE.

THERE'S VERY LITTLE TIME.

TO HAVE A GO BAG THAT HAS PHONE CONTACTS, MEDICATION, VERY IMPORTANT PAPERS LIKE ADVANCED DIRECTIVES, THINGS LIKE THAT, A SMALL FIRST AID KIT IN CASE YOU HAVE TO WAIT TO GET TO THE EVACUATION CENTER.

A LOT OF THE THINGS ARE ITEMS YOU SHOULD HAVE READY TO GO ALL THROUGH THE NOT ONLY THE FIRE SEASON BUT DURING MONSOON, FLOOD, ANYTHING ELSE.

TED: IN YOUR EXPERIENCE, HOW OFTEN DO PEOPLE HAVE THESE THINGS READY?

>> NOT REALLY, NOT TOO MANY.

ANY MORE, WE'RE GETTING THE FIRES ENCROACHING ON URBAN INTERFACES WITHIN MINUTES.

TED: ISN'T THAT INTERESTING?

BACK TO THE WEATHER, WE HAD AN EL NINO LAST YEAR, LOTS OF RAIN AND SNOW, LOTS OF GRASSLAND FIRES WHICH WE'RE SEEING RIGHT NOW.

LA NINA IS FORECAST FOR THIS WINTER.

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN AS A FIREFIGHTER?

>> USUALLY A DRIER PATTERN, SO THAT'S WHY WE'RE ANTICIPATING A BUSY FALL BECAUSE WE'RE NOT GOING TO GET THE EARLY ONSET WINTER RAINS AND WHATNOT.

WE ARE LOOKING AT THAT, AND AGAIN, WITH THE WEATHER SERVICE, AGAIN, IT'S A KIND OF A 40, 60% OF IF IT'S DRY OR WET.

WE ANTICIPATE THE WORST.

TED: BUT I WOULD IMAGINE HIGH COUNTRY MIGHT GET THE WORST IN A LA NINA WINTER?

>> IF THEY STAY AS DRY AS THEY ARE RIGHT NOW.

THEY HAD THE SPRING AND SUMMER RAINS.

IF THEY STAY DRY THROUGH THE FALL, IT'S GOING TO DRY OUT FUEL BED AND WE'LL HAVE A BUSIER FALL FIRE SEASON.

TED: JOHN TRUETT, STATE FIRE MANAGEMENT OFFICER, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US, GOOD TO HAVE YOU HERE.

>> THANKS, TED.

.

TED: LONGTIME TV TALK SHOW HOST PHIL DONAHUE DIED SUNDAY NIGHT FOLLOWING A LONG ILLNESS.

HE WAS 88.

HE PIONEERED ISSUE-BASED TALK SHOWS WITH AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION AND DOING SO CHANGED THE COURSE OF TV HISTORY.

JOINING US IS BILL GOODYKOONTZ TV CRITIC FOR "ARIZONA REPUBLIC."

WHAT IS PHIL DONAHUE'S LEGACY IN FILM BROADCASTING?

>> YOU'RE IT.

HE DID SOMETHING THAT NOBODY HAD DONE BEFORE, AND I THINK THAT OVER THE COURSE OF A TELEVISION HISTORY, RECENT TELEVISION HISTORY, IT'S GOTTEN LOST A LITTLE BIT.

HE HASN'T BEEN ON THE AIR FOR A COUPLE DECADES NOW.

HE HAS BEEN SICK, AS YOU SAID.

AND SHE SAID THIS HERSELF, WITHOUT PHIL DONAHUE THERE IS NO OPRAH WINFREY, AND WITHOUT PHIL DONAHUE, THERE IS PROBABLY NO SALLY JESSE RAFAEL AND THOSE KIND OF THINGS, MORTON DOWNEY, JR., TO DREDGE UP A NAME FROM THE PAST.

YOU CAN GO HIGH OR LOW WITH THESE THINGS.

DONAHUE DID BOTH, AND THAT'S WHY HE IS CERTAINLY IS A TRUE TV PIONEER.

I THINK OF PEOPLE IN THAT REGARD, DAVID LETTERMAN OR JOHNNY CARSON, IN HIS WAY, DONAHUE WAS AT LEAST INFLUENTIAL AS THOSE GUYS AND SOME OTHER PEOPLE.

AND IT'S A PRETTY SMALL HANDFUL OF PEOPLE WHO, YOU KNOW, WERE THE SOURCE OF THESE THINGS.

I THINK HE WAS ONE OF THEM.

HE WAS NOT -- WHEN PEOPLE DIE, YOU SEEM TO THINK, OH, HE WAS SUCH AN INSPIRATION TO SO MANY PEOPLE.

IT WASN'T ALWAYS A GOOD INSPIRATION.

YOU KNOW, HE WAS NOT ABOVE, YOU KNOW, GOING FOR THE LOWEST COMMON DENOMINATOR, AND HE DIDN'T RUN FROM THAT.

THAT'S WHAT'S INTERESTING ABOUT HIM.

HE REALLY UNDERSTOOD A MISSING MARKET IN TV.

WOMEN WATCHING IN THE MORNINGS OR THE AFTERNOON.

THEY WERE NOT EVERYBODY -- THEY JUST WANT TO WATCH SOAP OPERAS, NO, OBVIOUSLY, THAT IS NOT TRUE, AND HE TREATED THEM WITH, DESPITE SOME OF THE MORE LOWER RENT THINGS HE DID, HE TREATED THEM WITH THE RESPECT THEY HADN'T GOTTEN BEFORE, AND CLEARLY, FOR A LONG TIME, HE WAS THE KING.

TED: YEAH, HE -- I THINK HE CALLED SALLY JESSE RAFAEL AND JERRY SPRINGER HIS ILLEGITIMATE CHILDREN, BECAUSE HE WAS A FACTOR.

HE STARTED OFF SERIOUS.

I REMEMBER THE FORMAT OF HIS SHOW.

ONE-ON-ONE INTERVIEW, VERY INTIMATE.

HE COMES CHARGING INTO THE MICROPHONE AND SHOVING IT INTO THEIR FACE, AND TAKING PHONE CALLS ON THE AIR.

THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS INTRINSIC IN FORMAT.

IT WAS INTERESTING TO WATCH.

>> AND IT WAS DIFFERENT.

WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE OTHER SHOWS, THE TV TALK SHOWS, AFTERNOON SHOWS, DURING THAT TIME, IT WAS LIKE MIKE DOUGLAS OR MERV GRIFFIN OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.

AND MIKE DOUGLAS HAD JOHN AND YOKO ON AS HOSTS.

IT WASN'T LIKE HE WAS NOT DOING COOL THINGS BUT VERY MUCH THE TRADITIONAL THE AUDIENCE SITS WHERE THE AUDIENCE SITS AND APPLAUD WHEN THE SUN COMES UP.

BUT THIS MADE THEM AN ACTIVE PARTICIPANT IN THE SHOW, AND THAT HADN'T BEEN DONE BEFORE.

TALK ABOUT AN UNTAPPED RESERVOIR OF INTEREST AND OF EXCITEMENT, AND YOU THINK OF HOW THIS IS -- I WAS THINKING ABOUT THIS TODAY.

OBVIOUSLY, OPRAH TOOK THE FORMAT AND RAN WITH IT, IT BECAME SO POPULAR THAT, REMEMBER, DURING THE 1996 REPUBLICAN CONVENTION, ELIZABETH DOLE, WHEN SHE GAVE HER SPEECH AT THE CONVENTION, SHE DID WHAT EVERYBODY CALLED THE OPRAH MOVE, AND SHE WENT OUT IN THE AUDIENCE WHILE SHE WAS SPEAKING, AND INTERVIEWED DELEGATES.

THAT ALL GOES BACK TO DONAHUE, AND I GUESS THE REASON HE DID IT -- AND I FOUND THIS INTERESTING -- WAS HE WOULD TALK TO AUDIENCE MEMBERS DURING COMMERCIAL BREAKS AND REALIZED THEY WERE ASKING QUESTIONS THAT WERE BETTER THAN THE ONES HE WAS ASKING, SO HE THOUGHT, HEY, WHY NOT GIVE THEM A MICROPHONE AND LET THEM ASK IT.

TED: BILL, HE WAS A PINNACLE.

HE WAS EVERYWHERE ALL THE TIME.

IF YOU WERE A PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, YOU HAD TO APPEAR ON THE SHOW.

IF YOU DID A CROSS-DRESSING EPISODE, HE HAD TO APPEAR IN A DRESS, BUT THE WHOLE NINE YARDS.

BUT IT FADED AND ENDED AND THE MORE SALACIOUS TOPICS WERE MORE FREQUENT AND THAT DID NOT HELP MATTERS.

A, DO YOU BELIEVE THAT, AND, B, WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM?

HE LOST RATINGS BIGTIME IN THE 90s.

>> FRAGMENTATION OF MEDIA DIDN'T JUST BEGIN WITH THE ONSET OF THE INTERNET, YOU KNOW.

I THINK THAT CABLE AND A LOT OF DIFFERENT FACTORS PLAYED INTO THAT.

I THINK HE DID PROBABLY TRIED TO LEAN INTO THE SALACIOUS STUFF A LITTLE TOO MUCH.

I THINK THAT WAS JUST TO GET RATINGS.

IF YOU'RE SITTING THERE AND INVENTED A GENRE BASICALLY AND THE PEOPLE GETTING THE RATINGS ARE THE ONES THROWING CHAIRS AT EACH OTHER, YOU'RE THINKING MAYBE WE OUGHT TO THROW A CHAIR OR TWO.

IF THAT HITS, WE THINK WE'LL THROW A COUPLE MORE CHAIRS.

BY THE END OF IT, IT'S A CHAIR-THROWING SHOW.

DESPITE HIM DIPPING INTO THAT SOMETIMES, THAT REALLY WASN'T AT THE HEART OF DONAHUE.

HE AND ALAN ALDA ARE LIKE THE OG FEMINISTS, RIGHT?

HE WAS ONE OF THE FIRST PEOPLE TO REALLY EMBRACE HOMOSEXUALITY IN A WAY THAT WASN'T DEMEANING ON TELEVISION AND TO AN AUDIENCE THAT WASN'T USED TO SEEING THAT KIND OF THING.

IN A LOT OF WAYS HE BROKE A LOT OF BARRIERS BUT I THINK, YOU KNOW AS WELL AS EVERYBODY ELSE, IT'S A TV SHOW AND IF PEOPLE AREN'T WATCHING IT, YOU MIGHT AS WELL TYPE IT UP AND NAIL IT ON THE TREE IN THE PARK.

TED: WITH THAT IN MIND, LAST QUESTION HERE, IN THE FRACTURED LANDSCAPE, IT ISN'T WHAT IT WAS.

YOU DON'T HAVE AN ANCHOR FOR A NETWORK ABSOLUTELY SUPERSEDING EVERYTHING ALL THE TIME LIKE WALTER CRONKITE, YOU DON'T HAVE THE PHIL DONAHUES, WE COULD GO ON AND ON FROM CAROL BURNET TO LUCILLE BALL.

CAN THERE BE ANOTHER PHIL DONAHUE?

>> ASK JOE ROGAN.

TED: I THINK MOST OF OUR AUDIENCE DOESN'T KNOW WHO JOE ROGAN IS?

>> THERE CAN BE INFLUENCE IN TERMS OF NUMBERS IN THAT REGARD.

PODCASTS THAT ARE SUPER POPULAR.

THEY MAY SPRING UP A TALK SHOW HOST HERE AND THERE, I DON'T THINK IN TERMS OF CULTURAL INFLUENCE OF CHANGING THE GAME TO BRING OUT A CLICHE, I DON'T KNOW THAT'S STILL POSSIBLE.

TED: BILL GOODYKOONTZ, "ARIZONA REPUBLIC," TV CRITIC, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US, APPRECIATE THE TIME.

>> THANKS SO MUCH.

.

TED: A NEW PROGRAM CALLED PUPPET PIE INVOLVES USING PUPPETS TO HELP THOSE WHO ARE NEURODIVERGENT BETTER EXPRESS THEMSELVES AND DESIGNS CUSTOM PUPPET DESIGNS.

WE'RE JOINED BY STACEY GORDON FOUNDER OF PUPPET PIE AND THE PUPPETEER OF JULIA THE FIRST "SESAME STREET" CHARACTER OF JULIA WITH AUTISM.

I THINK I SAID FORMER "SESAME STREET" PUPPETEER.

HOW LONG WERE YOU WITH THEM?

>> SINCE 2016.

TED: HOW DID THAT GET STARTED?

>> LOOKING FOR A PERSON WHO HAD A STRONG CONNECTION TO AUTISM TO PUPPETEER THIS CHARACTER THEY PREVIEWED THE PREVIOUS OCTOBER, AND THE PUPPETRY COMMUNITY IS SOMEWHAT SMALL.

A COUPLE KNEW ME, KNEW MY SON IS AUTISTIC AND I'D WORKED WITH AUTISTIC CHILDREN AS A HABBILTATOR, AND SO THEY REACHED OUT, AND I, THROUGH A SERIES OF AUDITIONS, AM GRATEFUL TO BE THE PERSON SELECTED TO PORTRAY HER ON THE SHOW.

TED: WOW, AND CONGRATULATIONS ON THAT.

>> THANK YOU.

TED: IN TERMS OF PUPPETS, PUPPETEERING, THE WHOLE NINE YARDS AND DEALING WITH NEURODIVERGENT FOLKS, SEEMS TO BE A SPECIAL CONNECTION.

>> YEAH.

TED: WHY IS THAT?

>> FIRST OF ALL, I WOULD SAY THAT RATHER THAN WE'RE DEALING WITH NEURODIVERGENT FOLKS, NEURODIVERGENT FOLKS ARE DEALING WITH US, IN A NEUROTYPICAL WORLD.

THAT'S THE BIGGEST HURTLE, RIGHT?

THERE'S SO FEW PLACES WHERE ANYBODY CAN JUST BE THEMSELVES AND NOT WORRY ABOUT HOW THEY'RE EXPRESSING THEMSELVES, AND ONE IN FIVE PEOPLE, ONE IN FIVE KIDS WORLDWIDE IS NEURODIVERGENT, WHETHER IT'S AUTISM, WHETHER IT'S ADHD, MENTAL HEALTH CHALLENGE, SOMETHING LIKE THAT.

SO THERE'S MORE PEOPLE WHO ARE NEURODIVERGENT THAN I THINK EVER GETTING DIAGNOSED, AND JUST DOING ARTS AND CRAFTS CAN HELP YOU EMOTIONALLY REGULATE, THINGS LIKE THAT.

73% OF THE KIDS WHO ARE NEURODIVERGENT REPORT CHALLENGES EXPRESSING AND SHARING THEIR EMOTIONS.

TED: AND WE GOT THE PUPPETS.

>> AND WE'VE GOT PUPPETS.

TED: IT SEEMS LIKE THERE'S A SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP WITH THIS ACTIVITY?

>> THERE IS.

AND YALE UNIVERSITY DID A STUDY WITH THE JIM HENSON FOUNDATION, WHERE THEY STUDIED THE RESPONSES FOR AUTISTIC CHILDREN SPECIFICALLY AND NEUROTYPICAL CHILDREN WHERE THEY MEASURED THE EYE CONTACT WITH EYE-TRACKING SOFTWARE, AND WHEN THERE WAS A PUPPET ON THE SCREEN, THE INCREASE OF EYE CONTACT WAS ALMOST UNREMARKABLE -- ALMOST THE SAME AS NEUROTYPICAL PEERS.

THERE ARE FEWER THINGS TO PAY ATTENTION TO.

MY FACE MOVES SO MUCH.

TED: NUANCES.

>> SO MANY NUANCES AND MUSCLES, WHEREAS A PUPPET SAYS WHAT IT MEANS, IT'S NOT NEARLY AS DIFFICULT TO FIGURE OUT, AND FRANKLY IT'S A LOT MORE FUN TO PRETEND AND TELL YOUR CHALLENGES OR EVEN EXPRESS YOUR CHALLENGES THROUGH A PUPPET.

I KNOW THAT I CAN MAKE PUPPETS SAY THINGS THAT I CAN'T GET AWAY WITH.

TED: SURE.

IN TERMS OF PUPPET PIE.

THESE FOLKS DO, THEY MAKE THEIR OWN PUPPETS AND MAKE THEIR OWN PUPPETS UNDER CERTAIN GUIDELINES?

HOW DOES IT WORK?

>> H-P ASKED ME TO COLLABORATE ON A PROJECT THAT KIDS CAN MAKE PUPPETS AT HOME BECAUSE MOST PEOPLE DON'T JUST HAVE A PUPPET LYING AROUND THAT'S GOING TO EXPRESS HOW THEY FEEL.

I CREATED A COUPLE OF PUPPET FACES, TWO DIFFERENTED HADS, BODIES ARE KIND OF SIMILAR.

I MADE ONE THAT IS SIMILAR, SORRY YOU'RE GOING TO BITE THE HEAD WHILE I PUT THIS ON.

THIS WAS EASIER TO OPERATE FOR YOUNGER KIDS.

THIS IS A LITTLE MORE COMPLEX BECAUSE WE ALL KNOW PEOPLE WHO LOVE TO GET INTO A PROJECT, AND THERE'S A SHEET OF ICE, HANDS, FEET, BODIES AND CAN YOU PRETTY MUCH CUSTOMIZE IT TO BE WHATEVER YOU WANT AND HOWEVER YOU WANT TO FEEL.

TED: AND THE CREATION OF THE PUPPET ITSELF, THAT FACTORS INTO THE COMMUNICATION AND THE IDENTIFICATION AND THE RELATIONSHIP ASPECT.

>> ABSOLUTELY.

HAVE YOU EVER JUST SLOWED DOWN AND COLORED SOMETHING IN?

TED: SURE, SURE.

>> IT ALLOWS YOU TIME TO THINK AND PROCESS.

TED: I'VE INTERVIEWED COMEDIANS WHO IT PUPPETS AND THEY'D BE ON THE SHOW, WHETHER IT'S RADIO OR TV, AND THE PUPPET WOULD DO A SMART ALECKY THING, I'M STARING AT THE PUPPET.

NOT LOOKING AT THE PERSON TALKING, I'M STARING AT THE PUPPET.

THAT IS OUR NATURAL INCLINATION.

>> I'VE HAD PEOPLE TRY AND MIC MY PUPPETS BEFORE TO FIND OUT WHERE THE SOUND COMES FROM.

TED: WHAT KIND OF RESPONSE ARE YOU GETTING THIS.

THE PUPPET PIE RESPONSE.

>> THE PRINT HOUSE IS HONESTLY AMAZING.

I WAS SENT, A MOM MADE HER SON'S BIRTHDAY PARTY WITH ALL OF HIS LITTLE FRIENDS, AND REALLY HONESTLY THE BIGGEST AND BEST REACTION I'M GETTING IS FROM THE NEURODIVERGENT COMMUNITY IN THAT IT'S -- I TESTED THIS WITH A LOCAL SCHOOL FOR NEURODIVERGENT KIDS, AND SEEING THEM REGULATE AND PROCESS AND FIGURE OUT HOW THEY WANTED TO EXPRESS THEMSELVES, THAT WAS REALLY, REALLY -- GETTING TO SEE IT FIRSTHAND WAS THE BIGGEST IMPACT FOR ME, BUT THE STORIES I'M GETTING FROM THERAPISTS, TEACHERS AND PARENTS, GIVING THEM A WAY TO HELP THEIR KIDS REGULATE AND EXPRESS IS REALLY JUST BEEN OVERWHELMINGLY POSITIVE.

TED: I'M SURE IT'S VERY, VERY REWARDING AND GREAT TO KNOW THAT JULIA IS BASED RIGHT HERE IN PHOENIX.

>> YES, ABSOLUTELY.

TED: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR STOPPING BY WITH ALL YOUR FRIENDS AND JOINING US, AND GREAT INFORMATION, GOOD TO KNOW THAT JULIA IS THERE, PUPPET PIE IS THERE, YOU ARE ALL THERE.

>> WE ARE ALL AROUND.

TED: THAT'S IT FOR NOW.

I'M TED SIMONS.

THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.

YOU HAVE A GREAT EVENING.

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