As a follow-up to the “Very Special and Horrifying Announcement” released earlier this week Esme provides some much needed perspective. According to her, there’s a slight possibility that Marcus was misrepresenting the immediate danger to Crazy Together studios and the family as a whole. It turns out, the walls of their house might not be teeming with bats. That said, there’s no way to tell exactly what was crawling around behind the walls that night, and she is unable to disprove the possibility of interdimensional demons.

Esme then provides a quick update of her gardening/dopamine management wins. Then, she and Marcus discuss why the world needs a little more Elisabeth Shue.

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Something is lurking within the walls of the O'Kayvius household. Neither Marcus or Esme has spotted the beast yet, but they have heard it's frantic scratching. While Esme isn't prepared to hazard a guess as to the genus or species of their wall-dwelling intruder, Marcus is almost certain it's a bat (but he's also not willing to rule out the possibility of an interdimensional traveller with nefarious intent). The problem is, the scratchy tresspasser is slowly making its way through the walls to the basement, where there are multiple egress points for the creature to emerge and take over the O'Kayvius's recording space. As a consequence, the Crazy Together podcast will be going on a brief hiatus until the appropriate pest removal experts can be brought in to reclaim the space, ethically displace the offending creature, and, if necessary, exercise any offending demons. May God have mercy on us all.

As a thank you to their listeners, Marcus and Esme are celebrating the release of the 100th episode of Crazy Together with a free merch giveaway to five lucky winners. Just go to crazytogetherpod.com and complete the 100th Episode Mug Giveaway form (look for the bouncing mugs). The first five listeners to submit an entry will automatically win!

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Frisson is amazing. It’s a physical response some people experience from exposure to powerful and emotional stimuli such as music and art. While most people are capable of experiencing it from time-to-time, emerging research suggests it may be more common – and more intense – among neurodivergent individuals.

In this episode, Marcus and Esme discuss their experiences and history with this incredible phenomenon. They also attempt to explain why frisson is so much more prevalent among neurodivergent people, and how we might use it to enrich our lives.

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Sources for this episode include:

• Partridge, Alex. “ADHD and autistic ‘frisson.’” Instagram Reel, Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/reels/DXBmDF2DcXb.
• Saville, Phoebe, et al. “Exploring the Intersection of ADHD and Music: A Systematic Review.” Behavioral Sciences, vol. 15, no. 1, 2025, p. 65, doi:10.3390/bs15010065. PubMed Central, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11762814/.
• Enright, Jillian. “ADHD and Autistic Assets.” Neurodiversity Manitoba, 10 Feb. 2022, https://neurodiversitymb.ca/advocacy/f/adhd-and-autistic-assets.
• Cherry, Kendra. “How Bottom-Up Processing Works.” Verywell Mind, 26 Feb. 2026, https://www.verywellmind.com/bottom-up-processing-and-perception-4584296.
• Haar Horowitz, Adam. “Frisson: Interoceptive Technologies—Inducing Emotions from the Body Up.” MIT Media Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, https://www.media.mit.edu/projects/frisson/overview.
• Westmaas, Reuben. “What Getting Chills from Music Says About Your Brain.” Discovery, 1 Aug. 2019, https://www.discovery.com/science/Getting-Chills-from-Music.

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Marcus is absolutely flummoxed by the advertising campaign for a product that is being marketed to people with anxiety issues. Specifically, he can’t figure out why someone would decide the best way to motivate anxious people to buy their product is by creeping them out. Esme is so entertained by Marcus’ musings she forgets her own hyperfocus topic, but contributes gleefully to the discussion.

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Hyperfocus can be a strength when it’s being applied to something worthwhile or meaningful. However, even when we’re using it “productively*” it comes at a cost: our energy.

In this episode, Marcus and Esme discuss hyperfocus hangovers – the emotional and even physical exhaustion many people with ADHD experience following prolonged periods of hyperfocus. They explain why hyperfocus can be so taxing on our minds and bodies, and the extra energy people with ADHD need to expend to direct our attention to less interesting tasks. They also discuss what we can do to mitigate the effects of hyperfocus hangovers, and how even being aware of the phenomenon might help us let go of some of the shame we constantly carry around.

*Note: “Productive” use of hyperfocus is difficult to define; nevertheless, the various jagweeds who sign our checks will invariably attempt to determine this for us in ways that are both arbitrary and stupid. Therefore, whenever possible, it might be more fruitful to apply our hyperfocus to efforts we find “worthwhile” or “meaningful” rather than efforts someone else deems “productive.”

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Sources for this episode include:

• Manos, Michael. “Understanding Hyperfocus and ADHD.” Cleveland Clinic, 9 Dec. 2022, https://health.clevelandclinic.org/hyperfocus-and-adhd.
• Cootey, Douglas. “After the Thrill: Avoiding a Hyperfocus Hangover.” ADDitude Magazine, 9 May 2025, https://www.additudemag.com/adhd-hyperfocus-crash.
• Guy‑Evans, Olivia. “ADHD Hyperfocus: The Phenomenon of Intense Fixation.” Simply Psychology, 26 Jan. 2024, https://www.simplypsychology.org/hyperfocus-in-adhd.html.

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Picture this: you’re actively working on something that requires a lot of attention (e.g., homework, an assignment at work, an e-mail to a boss who requires communication that is somehow both succinct and robust, etc.). But then, all of a sudden – whoosh – your mind goes blank. No thoughts. Just blank. It would be a real Zen sound of one-hand clapping moment if the timing wasn’t so inconveniant. Because, eventually, you snap back to attention. You shake your head, bewildered by the experience, and upset that you allowed yourself to lose focus again.

But what if it wasn’t entirely up to you whether you lost focus or not? In this week’s episode, Marcus and Esme review two recent studies that suggest: a) those moments where we lose focus, trail off in thought, or just go blank are a product of naturally occurring phenomena in our brains; and b) there are structural differences in our brains that differentiate our experiences from those of neurotypical people. What does it all mean? Well, maybe we can start by being a little kinder to ourselves.

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Sources for this episode include:

• Pinggal, Elaine, et al. “Sleep-like Slow Waves During Wakefulness Mediate Attention and Vigilance Difficulties in Adult Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.” Journal of Neuroscience, 16 Mar. 2026, doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1694-25.2025.
• Currie, Jake. “Adults With ADHD Experience Sleep-Like Brain Waves While Awake.” Nautilus, 18 Mar. 2026, https://nautil.us/adults-with-adhd-experience-sleep-like-brain-waves-while-awake-1279024.
• Pan N, Long Y, Qin K, et al. Mapping ADHD Heterogeneity and Biotypes by Topological Deviations in Morphometric Similarity Networks. JAMA Psychiatry. Published online February 25, 2026. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2026.0001
• Bradshaw, Helen. “There Might Be 3 Different Types of ADHD, New Brain Study Suggests.” National Geographic, 3 Mar. 2026, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/health/article/adhd-brain-study-three-subtypes.

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Esme reaches an important milestone with a new endeavor and shares a few valuable lessons she learned along the way. Marcus attempts to manpower his way through a landscaping task that is best left to machines; and much like John Henry, the "steel driving man" of legend, he pays a price for it.

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Our theme music

• Midnight—Declan DP [Audio Library Release] Music provided by Audio Library Plus Watch: • Midnight — Declan DP | Free Backgroun... Free Download / Stream: https://alplus.io/midnight-declan-dp