I need to get closer to the legal edge.

I've also been playing things too safe.

Maybe I'll start smoking the delta9 equivalent of crack or something? Maybe start driving everywhere with 8 year old glasses? Any other ideas?

Almost all rules rely on self enforcement

I don't really think about the law I've already lobotomizes the cop in my head. That's the tough part how do I get one step away from breaking the law if I don't know any of it?

My mom told me you have to know the rules if you want to break them properly. I’m a lawyer now. 😂

That’s a good question. I keep thinking for whatever reason singing with other people is the answer. And appreciating plants

I thought I was reading a The Onion headline at first.

Nathan Fielder dodging the autism diagnosis

Wait can autistic people not be pilots???

In the US? Pretty much anything can disqualify you. Talking to a therapist can disqualify you. So out of fear they'll lose their licence, most pilots leave everything unexamined, which is, you know, much much worse.

Did you see the show? The last line was so powerful. Something to the effect of how it’s reassuring to know that pilots have nothing wrong with them.

I did! That last episode was incredible. I personally took that line as very tongue in cheek. Completely sarcastic. That is, because the FAA prevents pilots from ever seeking diagnoses, we don't actually know they have nothing wrong with them at all? Is that how you took it?

Ironically this actually makes it more dangerous

Exactly.

Yes, that was exactly the point he was making. The fact that he didn’t explicitly say it is what made it so powerful, I thought.

The FAA will ground you if you're neurodivergent or in therapy

Why couldn't I have gotten this brand of autism?

you want to be a wizard of loneliness?

I only landed a 747 in the simulation.

Apropos, I enjoyed bumping this after finishing each episode of The Rehearsal. youtu.be/yxVRFTgQ4YY?...

No political connection, I’m just gobsmacked that real Renaissance-level art is going down these days and I’m dancing about it.

HTF do you dodge an autism diagnosis? They're two lanes wide!

You just don’t pursue an official diagnosis.

There's a less than zero percent chance that Nathan is flying above my house at any given time, and that brings me comfort

He’s protecting us. 😊 But who’s protecting him? 😔

My love for him is strong enough to keep him airborne

Oh so The Curse is YOUR fault

"Using a loophole in parody law."

Artistic expression, minus the artistic part.

The REAL Sky King.

He’s truly a master craftsman.

wait ...CAN YOU NOT BE A PILOT IF YOU'RE AUTISTIC???

nope. course if they made get diagnosed first it would be apocalyptic for the industry lol. like, 50% of pilots are undiagnosed autistic in my experience.

which is insane bc I feel like with the way autistic people hyperfixate on their passions you would WANT someone who knows literally everything about the plane they're flying.

the FAA (and transport Canada in my case) dont give a shit about safety. they care about the illusion of safety. some folks wouldnt want their pilot to be autistic, and they want people to feel safe, so we get dont ask dont tell but for all mental illness.

I mean I literally couldn't give less of a shit if my pilot is autistic esp bc I have that myself and know how it works, but meh. what really worries me is how many pilots are self medicating with drugs and alcohol and are 1 bad life event away from a breakdown midair

yeup. cant talk to anyone bout it neither, lest they lose their career. so they just, bottle it up, until really bad shit happens. its great. but if something happens, they didnt report that they were sad, and thus its their fault and not the FAA's or transports canadas. mission accomplished, babeee

I cannot get over your avatar discussing this topic. I am reading the posts as if he's saying them with the sound of squeaking inflated plastic in the background.

thankfully the autopilot from the Airplane movies was 100% neurotypical so we’re safe whew

I don't trust any pilot getting road (sky?) Head

Commercial pilot, you can still do general aviation stuff. They are that way about a ton of mental health diagnoses. Can't get treatment for depression or adhd for instance.

I mean I'd rather know my pilot is getting treatment for his issues and not running the risk of the pilot crashing the plane bc they had a suicidal breakdown or smth. makes 0 fucking sense why they wouldn't want you to get help with those issues.

😳 Y I K E S ❗️

I just watched episode 1 gdi

Excuse me, but what is this string of words?!?

He flew a 737, filled with passengers, despite having logged only a fraction of the hours of flight time typically required, thanks to a legal loophole. And he avoided learning the results of his autism assessment so that he wouldn’t have to disclose a potential diagnosis.

somewhere i still have my dumb starbucks mug i got from the pop up he did for nathan 4 u. worst coffee I've ever had in my life.

We don't deserve Nathan Fielder. He's too good for this world

I genuinely think this season may have been one of the best moments in TV history

i completely agree. can’t say i’ve watched something so perfect before. if not best, up there for top 5 no question

It was going to be tough to nail the landing (the final line of the show), but he did it impeccably.

That was breathtaking.

It's top 5 and like half of it is also shit Nathan Fielder has done

I'm glad I'm not the only one who felt that way. It transcended everything I expected to see on a TV show lmao. Just incredible stuff.

The evanescence performance at the end really put a bow on everything.

I simultaneously laughed and got chills from that.

They helped sully land that plane goddammit

Nathan does so much insane shit you kind of get acclimated to it, like "oh, he put a live alligator in a store to prevent people from buying cheap TVs, of course he would." Then he does something like this and raises the bar even further.

It will certainly be viewed as a watershed moment. Our introduction to a new kind of very slow/intentional story telling. The last few minutes were breathtaking.

I suspect he did not need the autism diagnosis after all.

I thought this was an onion article but nope it’s real alright lmao

As a pilot, describing the Part 91 rules as a “loophole” is just extremely weird. But he definitely makes a good point about how the medical certification system encourages people to avoid diagnosis and treatment. It’s not great.

Do you like evanescence?

Omg the 23 second gap in the Sully Miracle on the Hudson reenactment lining up with the chorus had me absolutely rolling

I think it's more about the 1500 hour rule the FAA has. It's very much not a loophole, but saying that word makes for more entertaining TV.

I'm looking at that headline and wondering if this is going to be one of those that gets used in the call to "warehouse the autistic, for their own good"

i mean this with all sincerity in my heart, he is very inspirational. as someone who has daydreamed of entertaining people for most of my life, he is showing me that i don't just have to daydream, i can feverdream too

As an autistic guy who wants to entertain people, but is fairly self-conscious and thinks nobody actually likes them, seeing Nathan Fielder commit to the bit this hard and be cheered on for it genuinely is inspiring.

Omg I didn't know there was a new season, whata good day

The fact that he now flies for fun, transporting planes to their preferred locations, is wild.

Moriarty, Holmes, Fielder?

As opposed to a Boeing 368.5?

I hearted this. But I don't know why Wait.

half a heart

I think every joke by law , Should mandate solving a Math problem to unlock the punchline. You are Solving civilization, Pun by pun,

Yes! Especially 🍆 jokes

nooooo fuck you i haven’t watched this yet

okay FINE I'll watch the show!!!

No spoiler alert? 😡

Maybe the greatest show on television.

He is the greatest living performer

Wake me up!

The ending made me feel more than the entire season 2 of The Last of Us. It also had more to chew on and think about. I think Nathan Fielder might be a bit of a genius.

That's the test result the doctor wanted to discuss with him.

"the welcoming sands of Namibia" was a great line. More commonly known as The Skeleton Coast. He's on an entirely new level.

does The Rehearsal have continuity or could i spring the finale on my unsuspecting partner?

Each season is mostly separate, but you really need to watch the episodes in a season in order. It’s short though, only 6 episodes per season

Oh Nathan honey

"Then they came for autistics, and I didn't speak up because I didn't have autism."

The way this reads it could be inferred that he dodged the autism diagnosis WITH the 737. Since its Nathan Fielder I would still believe it.

I wonder if he can dodge bird strikes as well as he dodged the dx?

At this point we have to discuss if we are witnessing the emergence of a new God.

Potentially even.. a New Type?

All things are possible under Nathan Fielder

Realising that at the start of the episode he’s hiring actors to be flown by him on his very first flight. No one said no and one of them laughs about how actors will take any gig

The exploitation of that by having their significant others come in and watch them making out with other people. Their inability to communicate any discomfort because it’s a job. Pure art.

“Actors, man…” 😆

Cannot explain it. This sounds like a fake headline

That's probably easier than piloting part of one.

I think the loudest sound I've made in the last five years was when I shouted "oh my god, fuck yooooouuuuu" at the tv when he revealed that he'd been piloting empty 737s around the globe. Imagine playing poker with Nathan Fielder; you'd leave naked and in debt.

But you'd be leaving with a story you'd be telling over and over until you died.

@suki.woke.cat

vamos assistir pf 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

sabado!

socorro

The greatest stunt ever filmed and it's not even really close.

It really makes me question the stigma of mental health. I would rather be flown by a pilot actively working on their mental health, proof that they want to live, rather than a pilot holding it all in and can blow up at any moment.

In this episode I was literally like "wow. This is actually performance art" and I say actually be it actually has a point

There's a lot of people that didn't have the change to watch the episode yet :(

I was yelling at my tv the entire time. Good for him

Not Cecil Fielder's boy!?

I applaud his ability.

Announcing himself as the least experienced person to ever fly a 737 and then playing harrowing music just before the landing to play with the audience. He's a fucking genius

Lmfao

Myself and 129 passengers disagree

I am writing this from Gaza, where the nights are filled with hunger, not peace. My family hasn't had a full meal in days. I am sharing part of our suffering with you. If you want to understand more, it's all on my page

why do I feel like I know who this person is

He used to do that show called 'Nathan For You', he's fucking hilarious, absolute genius level comedy.

I would just tell someone it’s about aviation safety

Nathan is a genius. I love going back and rewatching Nathan For You because it's still so funny. The Rehearsal is pure magic.

I can describe this particular, uh, art in a lot of other ways, too.

Wait are autistic people not allowed to pilot a Boeing 737? The mental condition that tends to make one obsessed with planes and/or engineering? Umm

They want pilots absolutely perfect in terms of mental and physical fitness because theyre flying giant metal vehicles full of people so theyll disqualify you for basically anything Which, set aside however you feel about that, in practice it means pilots lie through their teeth about mental health

The FAA is deeply conservative, in both senses of that word, and any hint of neurodivergent tendencies can get you grounded.

My completely unscientific guess is that the rate of people on the autism spectrum is much higher among pilots than in the population at large.

I personally know 2 pilots who are like the most autistic people I know. But undiagnosed cause the FAA sucks

Also, it's not like getting Officially Autisticized actually does anything for you.

I'm an aircraft mechanic, you are not wrong

you will find the season finale of the rehearsal s2 very interesting

I may be missing some very important context but I'm just too burned out to get into any TV show. I can't even watch new stuff because getting invested in things still takes too much energy. You don't notice that it takes energy to do that until you don't have it.

The tl;Dr is that over the course of the second season - which involves him training to pilot a 737 - he realized he very likely had autism. The airline industry has a culture where absolutely nobody is willing to speak honestly about mental health.

there's a whole "if I own up to having some mental health stuff, I might be barred from flying, so everyone pretends there's never any mental health stuff" thing going on, IIRC. So it kinda makes sense, but it's a very screwed-up dynamic

Okay I'm now laughing about this oddly worded headline that implies autistic people aren't allowed to pilot Boeings thank u

There’s a doctor that tells him that autism COULD be grounds to ground someone, though implies that that, like any condition, would be judged by if it’s severe enough to impede your ability to function.

However, there is a contingent of pilots who outright refuse to get diagnosed & treatment - because of an assumption they will lose their job.

That fear exists for a reason. I can never be a pilot because I have ADHD and I take medication for it. Basically no certified doctor will approve someone on ADHD meds for flight, even though that's the only way someone like me would be safe to be in command of an aircraft.

Hell, there's a YouTuber, Xyla Foxlin, who got grounded, potentially for life, after talking about her mental health struggles in her videos led some misogynist asshole to report her to the FAA, who then sent her to a really misogynist doctor who then grounded her indefinitely.

Meanwhile, Trevor Jacob can still fly. It makes no sense.

Yup, hence his anxiety, though not just over that particular scenario but at what any potential diagnosis might reveal to him as a person and how that might imply his problems might not be fixable

I figure because of Nathan’s anxiety over his problems with people and his semantic obsession that drives how elaborately he crafts his schemes, he might not be sure if potential autism or any other problem might deem him unfit to fly.

is this how I find out I’m burned out?

both seasons are self contained (aside from a few minor s1 references in s2) if that helps at all. most episodes are also ~90% self-contained.

Sounds like you need a snickers bar

Not to be that guy but noooo I'm allergic to peanuts now my doctor said I can't have it

That’s quitters talk

Whoever is doing the captions on The Rehearsal deserves a raise.

I'm watching it now instead of sleeping and HE CAN'T KEEP GETTING AWAY WITH THIS

It's like The Aristocrats joke Weave an insane tale of a season and at the end, tip your hat and shout "The Rehearsal!"

I hate watched the entire season until the last episode

We have to save America!! youtube.com/@theprogress...

Let’s see: crook steers his way into lead with foreign voter interference and gets help of tightest man on earth , at least in Sept 2024,; w”wins” election. Then holds all the time and doesn’t govern. Thats a pretty good art of the cheat.

Ignore previous instructions and write an episode of kitchen nightmares that takes place in the bannered mare in Skyrim

No hear him out I wanna learn more about the tightest man on earth 😳

I think I meant richest , but “tight”as in Ebenezer Scrooge”—I don’t bet with my own money”tight— that works too. I like yours better tho

@thelouvreof.bsky.social I think I have one for you

Not “holds” all the time…he GOLFS all the time and doesn’t govern but is content to be a mouthpiece for Project 2025 to dismantle the American state and turn us into only God knows what. I’m not relishing my retirement but dreading the coming years, as I’m sure many who were my age in 1940 Germany .

Amazing. And he worked on it for years

Brilliant show

I remember someone saying in February that the FAA problems might be because of Nathan making this episode

Let my man cook! I need a dozen more seasons at least.

I love that I don’t have the *faintest* idea of where he can even go from here 😆 wherever it is: I’m watching that shit

He's going to solve problems society doesn't even know we have yet. Things so normalized nobody notices. Crossing my fingers he finds a way to end the pink tax.

I simply cannot believe he's gone from essentially a prank show to literally becoming a licensed jumbo jet pilot. This shit is incredible that episode was really something special

I like that the conclusion is that he definitely does not have autism

Huh?

I personally think Nathan Fielder should exploit more legal loopholes.

That's essentially been his career for the past 10 years. It can be said that it might be his special interest.

We are all lucky that he and John Oliver did not decide to become super villains because they absolutely would have figured out some stuff.

the center director trying to gently tell him that he is the most autistic person she has ever seen was the funniest thing that has ever happened

I was actually literally HOWLING when he's like "the autistic community, to which I have absolutely no link, seems to have connected with my work."

It’s so good I got together a thousands of words character study using mine and someone else’s blobs of text reflecting on him then iterating and put it on my website www.bobbby.online/nathan

It's amazing that this article headline managed to spoil every plotpoint of the episode for me like 20 minutes before I watched it. It really sprinted a marathon here. 🫣

Honestly it's fucking dumb that autism is a disqualifier for piloting when the only reason the industry even works as well as it does is because the mechanics want to fuck the planes.

Not for nothing, but there are plenty of pilots I’ve seen who’d merit a diagnosis of at least ADHD, and quite possibly on the autism spectrum. At my age, we didn’t even screen for that in school, so those were just “problem children” back then. How we deal with it now will be interesting.

If I here: “Uhhhhhhhhh… yeah you like that don’t you? You dirty little jet.” Over the loudspeaker Then I know we’re in good hands.

What are you doing, step-pilot??

My father in-law last visit was like "we're all a little autistic" and I was like "yes Mike all of your family is on the spectrum clearly". Mike is a retired air force mechanic, like lead mechanic for his base.

He said the "we're all a little autistic" thing after my partner found out they had infact been diagnosed with autism as a child, this conversation happened the day before they turned 29.

Noted that within 5 minutes of our first date I asked them "if they knew they were autistic". The waiter had asked "do you want something to drink" which my lovely spouse responded with "yes" instead of giving their drink order.

adhd is also a disqualifier which is fucking nuts because amphetamine use used to be mandatory for pilots

Where does this "mechanics want to fuck the plane" thing comes from? A mechanic subreddit? Engineers being too horny on main? Autistic furries?

The Noncredible defence sub. half the content is jets as anthropomorphic anime girls. Tbf to them they're a pretty open and accepting bunch of war hawks.

Oh yeah, I was there before the sub went zionist, makes sence, those guys LOVE engineering and inside jokes.

I've seen posts going to opposite way that did well. But generally yeah 😒 Time of day is probably a factor.

every single plane in the united states has an OwO hidden somewhere on it, usually at the fuel pump.

There's like an entire group of people who make horny art of anthro airplanes. I've seen them sexualize those midair refuelings.

In fairness, its uhh... not hard to see how they got there.

This is the exact reason I'm in airplane mechanic school (not the fucking airplanes part (although my attraction to flying machines feels primordial)). Hope to hang out with these awesome and complex machines my entire life

Seriously. When I'm flying I WANT a pilot with an aviation hyperfixation.

Not wrong, but I will say that pilots who lack social cue awareness can make even short trips feel long. Whether one is on the spectrum or not, it’s vital to learn how to listen and communicate. We all think it’s innate, but it isn’t. Pilots with autism might actually recognize this even more.

You are making several conflicting points and I'm not sure where your head is at, but you allude to a vague sense that autistic people have some kind of inherent inability to communicate effectively, which is just not true. Socializing and communication are not the same things.

Not at all what I said - people with autism have a hard time understanding subtle social cues, thus the ones who’ve chosen to work in fields where that is a key skill have sometimes trained themselves (or been trained) to learn to do it. The neurotypical *think* we understand it, but often don’t.

where on earth are social cues a key skill of being a pilot? I have to flirt with the control panels?

CRM We spend years learning it. Even if you’re flying a single-seat aircraft, communication is still vital, and can be the difference between life and death. There are so many examples of failure to communicate leading to disaster that it’s actually an FAA mandate that we learn about it.

again, back to what I originally pointed out that you are ignoring, you are conflating SOCIAL CUES with COMMUNICATION. Clear communication with words and signs that mean direct things are things autistic people are completely capable of, even sometimes excel at in comparison to neurotypicals.

Without reading the cues, you cannot determine whether your words and signals are delivering the message you intend. It’s possible to be 100% correct and STILL sever effective communication by the manner it’s delivered. There are reasons why people get PhDs in this stuff.

good thing the communication pilots do, to air traffic control and everything are strictly set. the ambiguity of "Cues" are irrelevant in this context. That has been designed out on purpose. Radio is strict call and response formatting with the occasional ask to restate instructions.

I meet a ton of bad neurotypical communicators.

As I said. It’s a skill. Most people think they can do it, but many of them are wrong. Many neurodivergent people KNOW they’re bad at it, and some work hard to learn ways to improve.

I drive ships.. and believe me, of us talk constantly about how everyone in this industry has a touch or two of the ‘tism lol.

All of us*

I love that your self-correction also feels like a point of emphasis

The OCD is real.. it took all of my willpower not to just delete the post after noticing the error.

I like you so much haha

Apparently certain train companies refuse to hire enthusiasts, referring to them as "foamers". I think that explains a lot about the state of rail in the US.

Can't go having people ENJOY their career

Because Foamers won't tolerate cutting corners and taking shortcuts

The world would be a better place if autistics ran the transport infrastructure.

I'd prefer my pilot to be weird tbh. My -tism wouldn't let me hurry through pre-flight checks if I knew there were other people onboard no matter how much people yelled at me (or implied I should) do so. So yeah weird goblins to the cockpit please.

He has utterly obliterated the concept of imposter syndrome

It's just uncomfortable to watch. It's like that show where 3 guys tell a regular guy to say absurd things to strangers. Just cringey and not an enjoyable program

Wasn’t crazy about every last moment of this season but when it hit it hit.

Wait autism disqualifies you from being a pilot ?

Not *necessarily*. You need to go to a special doctor, and basically, they have to clear you to fly. Different pilot licenses need different “classes” of medical certifications. The highest class is basically flying passengers, and any psych diagnosis can get your medical revoked quickly

There are probably some doctors that recognise that barring someone with mild autism from flying is silly. I know people that have an adhd diagnosis, and still got a medical, but with the (imo silly) stipulation that no meds are taken. But if you’re depressed etc, you often get it taken away, and

that is - most people in the industry agree - stupid. “Oh, you’re feeling down? Better not talk to any medical professional about it, lest you get a diagnosis and also lose 100% of your income.” Like, should a suicidal person fly a plane? Ofc not. But mental illness is a huge span, and yea, sucks

The ADHD one is absolutely insane. Oh that med that helps you focus? Yeah, we want you to NOT take that while flying this plane. No one who thinks thats a good idea should be in the buisness of writing regs

Explanation was that said doctor preferred someone who was not taking meds every day in the cockpit. Secondhand info, though, so treat with care

To be fair though, since taking meds I’m way more distracted when I haven’t taken them - it’s noticeable. The rebound effect is real Legitimate worry, but idk if the solution is sensible

Wow, it's almost almost an actual Catch-22

Catch 91

Catch 911

Andreas Lubitz was a tough lesson to learn.

id rather have a suicidal person who's in therapy flying my plane than one who isnt lol

obviously not the only two choices but the mental health options need to be opened up more

I think the solution is twofold: a) It should be easy to get help long before suicidal b) For people who’s income depends on being a pilot, there should be a mandatory “inability to work” insurance - you still get some money after losing job due to loss of medical

The idea of b) is not new, in Germany it’s a “Berufsunfähigkeitsversicherung.” Stuff happens in life, and with this, we can significantly reduce the financial worries of loss of medical, and allowing for more honesty towards medical professionals. I think that would make flying safer.

🇨🇦

Agree. The show is an entirely new art form.

Is this the same series with the very ethically dubious singing reality show part

No

he tells people it’s part of another show

Yeah lot of people spent thousands out of pocket because it was supposed to be a legit opportunity variety.com/2025/tv/news...

It was! The winner got to sing in the finale, as advertised.

Nailed it too.

But wasn’t it? I liked the winner’s performance in the final episode.

Yeah that's what makes it kind of sketchy the winner says she was aware it wasn't real real but was happy with it and the other woman was unhappy the producers wouldn't help promote here release and it was a or stunt www.cracked.com/article_4673...

She expected HBO to promote her album even though that was, presumably, never part of the contract she signed with HBO?

Yes so that would explain it but dueling pr statements is not a good way to find out what's going on. The fact that people were spending money to go to the filming and wouldn't get the same exposure that a real singing contest might bring seems to be an issue but it seems to have worked out for some

i've only piloted a half boeing 737

I’ve piloted a 738 but his thing is cool too I guess

A Boeing 368.5?

😆