The Autistic Neanderthal with Frank Ludwig

Welcome again Cave Dweller faithful, and welcome to any newcomers of the podcast, The Neanderthal Mind. Some of you know me already, but for those who do not, I am Anthony Yocolano, your host, and Leader of the Pack of The Neanderthal Mind. On this episode, we sit down with Frank Ludwig. Frank L Ludwig was born in Hamburg, Germany in 1964 and has lived in Sligo, Ireland since (6237 RT) Recorded Time, or 1996, something we will cover in the conversation with Frank. He is a poet and qualified childcare worker. In 6240 RT (1999 CE) Frank published “The Reaper's Valentine”, his first poetry collection, he was awarded a scholarship to the Yeats Summer School (where Seamus Heaney complimented him on "A very good feeling for the rhythm and the rhyme") and won his first poetry competition. Franks poems were published in magazines and anthologies in Ireland, the UK, the US, Switzerland, and Germany. As a progressive traditionalist, Frank took up Poetry where it left off - the Industrial Revolution - and brought it right into the Nuclear Age. In 2013, at the age of 49, he realized he was autistic, and at the age of 50, Frank was diagnosed as Autistic. Since then he has advocated for autism appreciation, and in 2017 he developed the Autistic Neanderthal Theory... something we will go into during this conversation. Frank had the opportunity of his lifetime to present at the “AUsome” (reason for the spelling)Training Conference. AUsome training is for the parents of Autistic children, which we will go a little deeper into in the interview. Frank discusses how Autism played a tremendous role in our History, and inventions that created this world that it is today. A quick quote Frank shared with us, “People who try to fit in, will never standout” Frank explains how he started learning about Neanderthals and when he finally made the connection with Neanderthals and Autism. A roughly 40-year journey to discover the validity of his Theory “The Autistic Neanderthal. We also go into Franks, “Liberal Neanderthal Hypothesis”. All links will be included in the show notes. Frank explains how the assimilation of the two Human Species, was necessary for the survival of both. Frank talks about his influences for writing poetry, i.e. Thaddeus Stevens and Charles Sumner, and the influences used for his 5000 line poem, and self-published books. We touch lightly on his passion for photography.