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Talking Simpsons - Brother's Little Helper With Drew Mackie (Patreon)

Published:
2020-06-10 04:00:01
Imported:
2026-06
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Returning guest Drew Mackie from the Gayest Episode Ever Podcast joins us for this season 11 episode all about pharmaceuticals! Travel with us back to a time when Ritalin was new and Mark McGwire was a respected homerun slugger. A time when you could steal a tank and blast a satellite out of sky. Listen to learn more, but be careful to make sure no air is in your syringe!

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Comments

Frank Grimes

Wow, this was a S11 ep? Thought it was later in the show, like 13/14. Smart Bart was fun to see, ending and the MLB stuff was lame though.

Dayken

What really makes that "volunteer firefighters that go around robbing houses" episode frustrating (well, beyond the usual reasons that a Reign of Jean episode is) is that the characters involved don't make sense. Homer and Moe I can absolutely buy doing that, but Apu runs a business prone to being robbed and Skinner is...well, Skinner.

The Home Video Update

This has some amazing lines in it that I forgot were from this episode as I had written it off as bad! The list of things Bart could shoot, the Frame Store being a highlight! And the Drinking fountain line got a big laugh from me. Also noticed a ton of gay references on the rewatch that I am not sure I picked up on before.

Joe Hodgson

Steroids were so rampant in baseball in the 90s that McGwire had a vial of androstenedione brazenly sitting in his locker during the summer of 98. MLB cared so little that andro wasn't technically banned, though they had a ban on your garden variety steroids at the time, but with no testing and no enforcement. Andro would eventually be added to their banned substances list, as it is an anabolic steroid, but basically no one cared that McGwire was brazenly juicing during this era (talk about white privilege). Most of the stigma wouldn't come until 2002, after Bonds (playing the role of unlikable, superstar, black athlete) broke the record and the player's union was prepared to strike and cancel the 02 season over MLB adding testing to the game. A correction on Bill Buckner. It was often spun as "Bill Buckner cost the Red Sox a World Series," when the reality was less dramatic. By the time Buckner let the ground ball slip past him, the Red Sox bullpen had already blown the lead in the game on a 2-out wild pitch by Calvin Schiraldi. If he makes the play, the game just continues into the 11th inning. Plus, it was Game 6 so they had another game to play the next day, where once again, the Red Sox relief crew blew a lead. And to top it all off, Buckner was an older player who was often substituted late in games because of his bad knees, but Red Sox manager John McNamara left him in that night so he could be on the field to celebrate a World Series win.

Lockerus

I was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder in high school in the early aughts and was prescribed Ritalin. It didn’t really solve my attention “issues” (and not to self-diagnose but I am fairly sure now almost 20 years removed I was misdiagnosed) and it just made me listless and suppressed my appetite. I stopped taking it pretty shortly afterwards of my own volition.

Sasha Mikhail

Im 24 and take Adderall (which is just the two different "types" of amphetamine out together in a 50/50 ratio). So understanding the reason it works requires a bit of an understanding of how ADHD works. 'Attention Deficit Disorder' is kind of a misleading name. It's better to think of it as an 'Attention management disorder'. The brain has a difficult time maintaining focus because its density of dopamine receptors is lower than average. Because the brain isn't getting the dopamine it wants it will be more quick to switch where it's attention is in search of a more dopamine giving activity. By taking amphetamines, you are raising the baseline level of dopamine in the brain so that you can be satisfied by activities that are less dopamine releasing, which causes you to be able to stay on task, and if you have the hyperactive subtype of Adhd, then you will appear to be more calm. I really simplified this for brevity. If any other Adhd people find that explanation problematic please let me know so I can refine my elevator pitch.

Chris Dobson

This episode stinks, but another great episode of the podcast. I agree that Henry's Marge is great, it always cracks me up. Definitely check out the Bash Brothers Lonely Island special on Netflix. However! I regret to inform you that Henry has confused Thundra, a Roy Thomas Fantastic Four supporting character from the 70's, with Titania, the Secret Wars creation and She-Hulk enemy who is normally in a relationship with Absorbing Man. Thundra occasionally gets used as a pawn by baddies, but for the most part is a supporting character of The Thing. I hope someone is fired, etc. etc.

Sabrina

I’m an elementary special education teacher and have taught many students with ADHD, both medicated and unmedicated. My understanding is that ADHD is caused by an imbalance of dopamine in the brain and stimulants increase dopamine, allowing students to focus better. I have seen ADHD meds really improve some children’s school performance but there are also a lot of side effects. Students sometimes feel and act like they are in a fog when they are coming down from the meds— which is scary for a 10 year old. It can mess up their sleep patterns. The medication also can suppress appetite and it can be really difficult to get some kids to eat anything at all during the school day. Then, they binge at night after the medication has worn off. Caffeine seems to help ADHD too. I have one (unmedicated) student who drinks coffee in the morning and it really does improve her focus for the first few hours of the day. Running around at recess provides another boost. But almost all of my students are worn out by 1:30 in the afternoon.

mavrick

very important question: which would you rather eat? a whole beef heart, a horse testicle, shredded newspaper, old gym mats, or beetle mash?

Mike Mariano

Henry asks, "Is the joke that Martin's voice would be much higher if he wasn't taking hormones?" I think it was an inside joke—if Martin's voice was higher he'd be Minnie Mouse!

Andrew Giachetti

I have adhd, ODD and dysthymia. I also have a masters degree in cognitive neuroscience with focuses on neuropharmacology among other things. Theres a lot I want to say about this episode and how it was handled on the show from a personal and academic pov. A lot was good, some was harmful and illuminates how those with neurological disability are subjegated in society even by well meaning individuals. When i can return to my computer ill add to this with academic sources and personal experience on the pharmacology of adhd specifically and in psychiatry in general. I would do it know but i am recovering from not sleeping for 24 hours, a routine experience for many with adhd. Will return soon. Was on many drugs for 18 plus years. Update incomming today, will post each topic in the outline in the replies. Here is the outline and source doc: 1. what the show did/podcast did well 2. Potentially harmful things that need to be addressed, corrections and sources below 3. Pharmacology in psychiatry 4. Rights issues, intersection with race and gender 5. My thoughts on this episode, the south park episode, and what i think the best portrayal of an ADHD charcter on TV is (TLDR, Its Hank Venutre) Let me add that if anyone is struggling with ADHD as a child or an adult, Ive been there and am here to listen if you need to talk. Sources & Resources: 1. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd/index.shtml 2.Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) among longer-term prison inmates is a prevalent, persistent and disabling disorder https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3016316/ 3. https://add.org/undiagnosed-adult-adhd-a-high-cost-for-society/#:~:text=Denver%2C%20December%2019%2C%202014%3A,the%20general%20population%20has%20ADHD. 4. https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/mental-illness-and-violence 5.https://www.who.int/mental_health/management/psychotropic/en/ 6. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1946468/ L-Dopa Therapy in Parkinson's Disease 7. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2800957/ The role of lithium in the treatment of bipolar disorder: convergent evidence for neurotrophic effects as a unifying hypothesis 8. https://www.drugs.com/methylphenidate.html [Ritilan is not amphetamine, adderall is.] Ritilan can cause facial ticks tho 9. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0890856709626241 Gender Differences in ADHD: A Meta-Analysis and Critical Review 10. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/oppositional-defiant-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20375831

Frank Grimes

coincidental with the Showgirls talk, since that documentary just came out, You Don't Nomi

ShyRanger

There's another bit of very small satire in this that I think could've been bolstered more. It's the scene where Bart says drugs aren't the answer and Homer and Marge try to convince him to take it. When I heard that, I imagined how in school Bart is probably still seeing all those Say No to Drugs things (those were still going on) and it's hammered into him how bad drugs are, and now he's being told he should take it. If this was pushed more, it could've been used as a "Yes, we don't want kids to ever think about taking drugs, that is except for the ones WE say are good for them."

Kat Heagberg

My mom was an elementary school teacher, and one day I was watching a rerun of this episode on our local Fox affiliate with her. As soon as Focusyn was introduced she was like “oh, no, THIS is where ‘Focusyn’ comes from?” Apparently she had been talking to a parent who expressed frustration that his kid had tried multiple things for ADD, and was like “we tried everything! Ritalin, that other one . . .” And my mom helpfully responded “Focusyn?” She said that she had kind of suspected that he was stifling a laugh at that response and couldn’t figure out why. I always think of that whenever I see this episode.

RVG

My father-in-law, wife, and son all have ADHD. Having just recently gone through the formal process of getting a child diagnosed, I can tell you that the psychological community has really pulled back from wanting to prescribe drugs as a primary response. That is where we wound up, but that's after years of non-medical interventions including weighted blankets, fidgets, compression shirts, and paras. As for the effectiveness of the drugs, when correctly prescribed, it's night and day. My son has been on an IEP and receiving in-classroom and out-of-classroom interventions since he's been in school and in the course of about 3 weeks on medication, the school saw a big enough turnaround to propose phasing out those measures. More importantly, he feels happier and more confident taking medicine since he does better on his schoolwork and doesn't get singled out for his behavior as often. All that said, it wasn't an easy decision to make to have him put on medication. My wife was convinced early on that he had ADHD, but so much of his behavior reminded me of myself at the same age, I was more reluctant to admit that might be the case. I was very concerned that his personality might become repressed or that he'd be less creative. She was worried about the potential for stigma, both if he had to take medication and if he didn't receive it and we had to continue the IEP. Fortunately, neither fear proved to be a problem. While I sympathize with a lot of the takes on the over prescription of ritalin that really became a thing in the late 90s, I think that perspective took on a moral panic all its own. We're probably in the process of seeing the same thing with regards to opioids today. People that need help wind up scapegoated when the real villain is how profit motive perverts and exploits real needs to prey upon populations that don't and can't have the ability to make informed decisions about their health.

Riley Hall

There is a danger in over prescribing and there's a danger in thinking ADD is a myth. My mom was of the "My kids don't need drugs" school of thought. Not having tried adderall until my late 20s, I never knew what it was like to normal functioning brain. I hate to break your heart Ma, but it turns out I needed drugs the whole time.

Andrew Bryson

The reason people used to fall asleep with lit cigarettes is that they were taking Quaaludes! It's all connected, maaan

Daran

The Dollop did an episode on the Tank guy, and it was a fucking trip! Yup, a meth head who built an entire unsuccessful gold mining operation in his backyard. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFPCXe2HNPs Bobby's Ritalin subplot in King of the Hill is one of my favorites. His dazed linereads of "There are 96 ridges on every checker... Except for this one" and "There's some milk that's about to go baaaad... And there it goes..." gets me every time I watch that one.

Dan Z

until I saw the spelling I thought the guest was Bob's brother. would you ever bring a family member on the show?

Alex Forsyth

*Genius at work voice* Ken Griffey Jr hit 56 home runs in 1997 so to say nobody came close before Sosa and McGwire in 1998 is incorrect. His production actually declined as he aged unlike Sosa, McGwire and Bonds so Griffey probably hit them without the juice. Also regarding having Major League Baseball be the group spying. I think it was just integration with the baseball rights they purchased. They had a lot of baseball players appear on various shows right after they first got the broadcasting rights for MLB. There were several players that did a guest spot on that one Married With Children Episode. Mike Piazza and Frank Thomas among others. Bobby(Still being paid by the Mets. Google Bobby Bonilla Day) Bonilla was on an episode of Living Single. Those are the only ones I remember, there's probably others.

Andrew Giachetti

weird, my other comment was deleted. Ill just ask people to read this. Its damaging to suggest in anyway that ADHD is overdiagnosed, when in fact the opposite is true to debilitating extremes. it may be misdiagnosed, but its more likely than not to be missed entirely, especially in girls and women. And while drugs may seem to be an extreme solution, a lot of times the difference between undiagnosed and untreated ADHD and ADHD that had been caught early and treated with medication or therapy is literally jail, substance, suicide, etc. etc. Plus a life time of being told your a speed freak, the association with speed freaks, a misunderstanding of what the drugs are and how they work. I was literally told by a research professor of mental health stigma in grad school that my ADHD wasnt real and I needed to grow out of it. And when I reported it to the school, the said it wasnt a real discrimination case and I should just drop it because they wouldnt waste their time on it. Its literally dangerous to downplay the significance of ADHD/ Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) among longer-term prison inmates is a prevalent, persistent and disabling disorder "ADHD is a common, inherited and disabling developmental disorder with early onset. Most often ADHD persists across the life span, affecting 2-4% of adults [1]. The core symptoms of ADHD are inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. Further, deficits in executive functioning are commonplace, such as planning, organising, exerting self-control, working memory, and affect regulation. Therefore, ADHD affects educational and occupational performances, psychological functioning, and social skills. Adults with ADHD are at increased risk for unemployment, sick leave, coexisting disorders, abuse, and antisocial behaviour leading to conviction [2,3]. Nearly 80% of adults with ADHD present with at least one coexisting psychiatric disorder [3,4]. " "The estimated prevalence of adult ADHD among longer-term inmates was 40%. --Only 2 out of 30 prison inmates confirmed with ADHD had received a diagnosis of ADHD during childhood, despite most needed health services and educational support.-- All subjects reported lifetime substance use disorder (SUD) where amphetamine was the most common drug. Mood and anxiety disorders were present among half of subjects; autism spectrum disorder (ASD) among one fourth and psychopathy among one tenth. Personality disorders were common; almost all inmates presented conduct disorder (CD) before antisocial personality disorder (APD)." https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3016316/ Kind of fucked up my comment calling out harmful information was deleted. Anywhere here is exactly what you need to know about ritalin, its literally not just straight amphetamine. Thats adderall. https://www.drugs.com/methylphenidate.html

TruckNuttz 420

I just came on here to let people know what a “farm team” was. I did not realize this wasn’t a well-known thing, but then again I’m from Michigan and it’s sort of a big midwestern culture thing. Farm teams are like minor league baseball teams. Lots of small towns in MI and other Midwestern states had/have these teams. They used to be a pipeline for players to the MLB. Sort of like a baseball version of the OHL

Alex mitchell

Great podcast as always guys, and a better episode than I remember! Just to weigh in on the ADHD discussion, my 6 year old son has been diagnosed with ADHD. His description of his symptoms is that his head feels busy and when its at its highest he can't think/see/hear/listen and he will get very upset and usually buries his face in a pillow im guessing to get away from the noise. I'm not sure how things work in the US but in the UK after the doctor diagnoses he starts you off with some ideas/exercises to try to help and then you report back at your next appointment so they don't go straight to meds. After 6 months there wasn't a great deal of difference in him so we and the doctor decided to try the meds, not sure whether its ritalin or not as we don't really do drug brand names here but i think its the same stuff. We've noticed an improvement for the most part however he still has good and bad days but far fewer bad days than before, he's far better at school and he seems much happier and its lovely that he can actually focus now, for example he can sit down and watch a whole film now which was impossible before. We did find as well that before the diagnosis he was simply considered a bad child at school and now he has been diagnosed there is more effort to understand him and help him and also extra funding is given to schools in the uk after diagnosis so he also gets support from a teaching assistant for parts of the school day. Most importantly he's still him, just him on a good day and he's happier

Dylan (batmanboy11) Freitag

I love the design changes that Bart goes through this episode as he gets more maniac and paranoid, they're creepy and very well done. Even with the end of the episode really coming from nowhere and kind of amounting to a shrug, and the commentary about educators failing kids/over prescribing problems getting lost, I think this is still a much stronger episode than the Mel Gibson-wank fest from last week. Luckily though, both episodes of this podcast were as strong as ever

SilkiePJ

To chime in on the ADD discussion, I am 31 and have ADHD and Depression. I was tested for ADD around the time I was 12 and was very close to taking Ritalin. I do distinctly remember there were a few perceptions about Ritalin at the time. A. It would turn you into a zombie B. If you mixed it with sugar it would actually make you twice as hyper. C. Kids who took it had a strong chance of suicide. My parents decided not to give me the medicine for Reason C and my dad being a superintendent said he saw way worse kids than me who didn't need the medicine. As of now, I have tried Ritalin and 4 other types with stimulants/stabilizers to different effects. If you know anyone with a disorder, you don't know what medicine works for you until you try out cause brain chemistry is too specific to the individual. Though I do think we know far more about ADHD these days then 2 decades ago, it's actually way more severe than people realized as I deal more often with executive dysfunction, sensory overload, and memory loss than problems with focus. This episode is not a good reflection on ADHD, but the King of the Hill subplot is far more true than you would believe. I hope that clears some things up!

DrKarate

I will always defend "the frame store, you monster" as a good joke and I love it. Also, the ending comment on Ritalin always felt like a "cause of and solution to all of life's problems" joke.

Guybrush

Thank you to everyone who is sharing their experiences with ADHD and medication. Really appreciate the opportunity to learn. While this is completely anecdotal, I have had a few experiences with friends who are pursuing diagnosis/treatment for their children, and in the process, realize that a lot of the characteristics of ADHD actually apply to them as well. I just find it interesting, since the mainstream understanding is that it was over diagnosed in the 80s and 90s, but still there are people who are having "ah ha!" moments in their adulthood, when never it never came up before then.

Kris

I took Ritalin from 5th through 8th grade It did wonders, but had a terrible effect on my mood, especially if I missed a pill so I ended up stopping in the summer before high school Ive learned coping mechanics

Stephen C. Nedell

(Apologies if this is posted twice...I was editing my post and might have deleted by mistake) I've been a fan of the Simpsons since the first short on Tracey Ullman and still watch the new seasons when I get a chance. Still, if there was an episode where I realized the best days were over, it was this one. I loved the episode itself, but the hearing the new voice actor for Maude caused my heart to sink. Sure Doris Grau and Phil Hartman both died but this was the first time a regular cast member was replaced (not counting Chris Collins). I hoped against hope that it was a mistake or hiccup, but fake Maude was in Tree House of Horror too. Reading why Maggie Roswell was gone a couple of weeks later was even more infuriating. This season also saw the first Simpsons song (We are the Jockeys) that make me think "ugh that sucked!" while Kid Rock was the first guest that made me feel truly disgusted. There's still plenty of Simpsons awesomeness ahead, but this was the point where I truly felt Homer had finally put on those proverbial water skis.

Jessica S

Apologies ahead of time for 1) posting two years and some change after this podcast ran and 2) not thoroughly reading the preceding comments before likely restating many people, lol. ADHD is, at least amongst the lead physicians and researchers on ADHD (Ned Hallowell and Thomas Brown are both great places to start to read more on this), being reimagined if you will away from the idea of the child who bounces off the wall or in other words is hyperactive. In reality, what is believed to be happening in the brain is UNDER stimulation and thus the “hyperactivity” is actually a manifestation of poor impulse control, leaping from one thing to another in an attempt to adequately stimulate certain parts of the brain (currently believe to be the prefrontal cortex, which controls our “executive functions”: impulse control, working memory, processing speed, delayed gratification in achieving goal, focus. Impairments here can affect more than just school or work, it even impacts social skills). Hyperactivity is therefore a poor descriptor. Nevermind that there is the “inattentive” subtype, more likely to be the quiet daydreamer that is hopelessly unorganized with a bent towards hyper focus. Except, even that distinction is flawed. A better descriptor for ADHD would be one that captures variable attention. It’s not so much that you CAN’T focus. But when you need to stop focusing on one thing and transition to another, and then to a third, and then return to the first picking up where you left off? Can you do this with little effort, and stay more or less emotionally regulated? (Behavior regulation issues usually flow from emotion dysregulation: all behavior is communication.) Medication *can* help with this but, as with many (most?) psychotropic drugs, it is most effective when paired with strategies to work around these neurological differences. Another thing that would benefit students is Universal Design for Learning. I won’t go into it, you can look it up to read more about it, but it basically offers teachers and students multiple ways to engage, respond and assess learning. Instead of listening to instruction, a student could have a print out of the instructions and begin working right away, without bother those that learn better by listening to instructions first. Kids that don’t work well in groups could instead take on a support role for several groups. And finally, you could prove mastery of materials by traditional means of writing an essay, or you could produce a podcast. UDL practices state that curriculum should be planned with this baked in so that teachers have zero extra prep needed and that any extra staff required must be in place beforehand. If I would’ve had choices like this 20+ years ago, school wouldn’t have been so traumatic. My son is autistic and just started middle school. They are rolling out UDL in addition to co-teaching. He no longer needs a 1:1 aide, which wasn’t developmentally appropriate for him any longer and he hated it understandably, as most of his classes have a teacher with special ed degree working alongside the general ed teacher. He is flourishing for the first time in years. Autism is indeed different from ADHD, but not as much as you might think. Both benefit from alternatives to our old way of schooling kids: “sit here, shut up and listen”.

Jessica S

Also, to correct Henry a tad, I would argue that doctors were NOT better at diagnosing back then. In fact, girls were flat out exempt in many physicians minds and hugely underrepresented or misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder (post-puberty, PMS + ADHD looks a hell of a lot like bipolar! I was treated for years with bipolar meds until I found a doctor specialized in ADHD). Inattentive cases were also underrepresented. Kids who were actually experiencing social anxiety can look hyperactive - “misbehavior often is stress behavior” - that’s an example of someone who should NOT be on stimulants. Their brain is literally too active! Don’t conflate increases in diagnosis with increases in medication. Increases in diagnosis of ADHD ( along with autism and other learning disorders) is a result of improved screening. (Using autism screening as an example, I can look back at things from my son’s first year that indicate autism, but only in the last few years (he’s 12) has then been a consensus about those indicators so it’s neither here nor there. And knowing earlier could’ve given him a head start for independence at school being eligible for the special education preschool in our district. He couldn’t maintain enough control to be successful at general preschools, not that we tried many.) Part of the problem with diagnosing ADHD responsibly is that typical development of executive function skills can be delayed as late as 11-12 years of age, although the average age to master self-regulation skills (wait your turn, did you do your homework?, where is your lunch, don’t pull Janie’s hair, mental flexibility) I’d around 7-8. Some kids start kindergarten just BARELY 5 years old. My daughter is a July baby and we waited a full year to enroll her. Thank god we did - she would’ve started kindergarten the year everything shut down for COVID! At it was, her first 5 months of kindergarten was online. It was f’ing madness, but she was way better off at newly 6 than newly 5. And mind you, she has somehow escaped the EF challenges both my husband and I have (ADHD/ADD) and her brother. She’s as “typical” as they come from a check-the-box perspective. But a perfectly “typical” kid could still be delayed in developing these skills as late as fourth or fifth grade!! Imagine how many kids are diagnosed with development impairments, not b/c doctors are dumb or corrupt, or schools and parents are lazy, but - as Bob absolutely nailed the problem - because our broken education model offers NO OTHER ALTERNATIVES. Responsibly, ADHD shouldn’t be considered until closer to 10, 8 at the EARLIEST. Therefore, curriculum should largely focus on experiential learning (think exploration and projects vs memorization and assessment) and interpersonal skills - especially the latter. Kids who will go on to be great at math or reading may not bloom until 8 years old. If you want to kill a kids love of learning, force one of those kiddos to achieve external benchmarks before their brain will comprehend. If all behavior is communication, think of all the ways their little bodies and voices will resist. It’s heartbreaking really. I am grateful to have two kids so wonderfully distinct in their strengths and weakness - it’s given me a perspective of what’s broken and also how silly it is to reward or build policy around those kids who so easily fall into the round hole. My daughter is smart and talented, but her ability to “do school” with no extra help is not because she tries harder. She does it b/c she CAN. My son doesn’t because he can’t. Less focus should be put on fixing the child to fit the environment and instead see that the environment is what’s broken, not the kid. For proof of this, you just have to witness how a small change like headphones, seating assignments, typing instead of handwriting can fundamentally alter “misbehavior”. It’s the environment, not the child.