When the Government Starts a List — Who’s on it Next?

When the U.S. government creates a registry of people with autism, is it about research — or control? This episode unpacks Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s controversial autism data initiative and reveals how identity-based tracking has led to discrimination, sterilization, and persecution throughout history.

From Nazi Germany to apartheid South Africa to the Lavender Scare in 1950s America, this isn’t the first time governments have cataloged citizens for who they are — and it’s never ended well. We connect the dots between past abuses and present-day proposals, and explain why even if you’re not in a marginalized group, your civil liberties are still at stake.

This isn’t about fear — it’s about facts. Because when norms break, it’s never just political. It’s personal.