The Telepathy Tapes: Talk Tracks Ep. 14

Testing Telepathy: Trevor’s Story and a New Scientific Tool
Host: Ky Dickens
Air Date: July 20, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode explores the extraordinary telepathic abilities of non-speaking autistic individuals, focusing on Trevor, a 26-year-old non-speaker from Reno, and his mother, Laura Hirsch. Their story exemplifies both the deeply personal and scientifically testable aspects of telepathy. The episode follows their telepathic song identification experiments, their collaboration with neuroscientist Dr. Jeff Tarrant using new software aimed at rigorously testing psi abilities, and the wider implications for how we understand non-speaking autistics. Listeners are invited into Trevor's world, where music, animals, and silent communication intersect in both astonishing and hopeful ways.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introduction: Challenging What’s Possible

• Ky Dickens sets the stage by describing a surge in testimonials from families claiming telepathic abilities among non-speaking autistics, suggesting a movement where the "impossible is happening every day."
• Laura Hirsch’s emails about her son Trevor’s abilities become the focal point for this episode.

2. Trevor’s Perspective: The Lightworker

• In a callback to a previous episode, Trevor’s own words are highlighted:
  • “I want them to see us in a different light. I am an intelligent man with remarkable spiritual gifts. I wish they would presume competence in non speakers and for humanity. I desire compassion and understanding for who we are. We are lightworkers.” (Trevor, 01:58)

3. Laura and Trevor’s Journey of Discovery

• Laura recounts how, after listening to the podcast, she tested Trevor’s mind-reading abilities with random number sequences and song snippets—he answered each correctly.
• Laura: “I had a dream that I could sing in my head and he could hear me singing... And in my mind, I sang ‘Puff the magic dragon lives by the sea’, hand him his board, and he spells it.” (Laura, 04:23)
• Routine at home: nightly music sessions, deep love of singing and piano.

4. Telepathic Communication Beyond Music

• Trevor’s telepathic communication is not limited to people—he reports deep connections with horses, animals, and even plants.
• Example: Trevor learned about a horse’s death from another horse, not a person, demonstrating the breadth of his psi abilities.
  • “Blackjack was sad today because Buck died... Blackjack told me.” (Laura recounting Trevor’s spelling, 06:53)

5. Scientific Testing with Dr. Jeff Tarrant

• Collaborative experiments are conducted to eliminate bias and chance using new web-based software designed by Dr. Tarrant, enabling controlled and remote telepathy testing.
• The system uses three computers: one for a manager, one for the sender, one for the receiver.
  • Jeff: “Because it’s web-based, we could keep these as separate as possible. They could be in different rooms, they could be in different states and we could do this testing.” (Jeff, 13:25)

6. The Musical Telepathy Experiment in Reno

• Experiment involves using ChatGPT to randomly generate 80s rock songs, so Laura can silently “sing” them in her mind while Trevor, unable to see or hear the selection, spells out the title.
• Example: Song “Hold the Line” by Toto.
  • Trevor spells H-O-L-D T-H-E L-I-N-E. (Trevor, 15:51)
  • “Wow. Awesome. Trevor, that was so cool.” (Katherine & Laura, 16:06)
• Trevor consistently identifies songs and artists—even obscure ones—regardless of prior familiarity.

7. Learning Curve: From Letterboard to Computer

• Initial struggles adapting from a laminated letterboard to a computer interface due to apraxia and motor planning challenges.
• With supportive coaching and practice, Trevor achieves 100% accuracy independently:
  • “Practice makes permanent is what they say in SCC.” (Laura, 19:18)

8. Statistical Improbability and Scientific Implications

• Dr. Tarrant notes the statistical impossibility of Trevor’s consistent telepathic accuracy, especially in tests where random words, numbers, or Zener cards are used.
  • “He really wasn’t missing any. Statistically, it’s just ridiculous... especially with open responses... even getting one correct is totally improbable, and again, he would get several correct in a row...” (Jeff, 20:58)

9. Ensuring Scientific Rigor: Addressing Skepticism

• Laura’s involvement as a potential source of unintentional cues is carefully controlled, with non-verbal behavior observed and non-counted when possibly influencing results.
  • “With Laura doing nothing, she’s not vocalizing, she’s not touching anything... he’s still getting 95% correct.” (Jeff, 22:48)

10. Expanding the Research & Technology

• Software is evolving to include tests with images, videos, and short stories to sustain engagement.
• Aim: test more non-speakers, increase independence (separate rooms/tests), and gather compelling scientific evidence.

11. Trevor’s Voice: Reflections on Telepathy, Autism, and Hope

• Trevor shares insights on his experience as a telepathic non-speaker via spelling, with Laura reading his answers.
  • “It feels natural. It’s easier than speaking. And I can read anyone’s mind if I want to.” (Trevor, 28:41)
  • On autism: “I have gifts that I had to develop and can show others what is possible.” (Trevor, 29:30)
  • His message of hope: “I am an example of what autistic non speakers are capable of. Don’t give up.” (Trevor, 29:46)

12. Closing with Music

• The episode ends with Trevor playing and singing his beloved “Puff the Magic Dragon,” underscoring both his musical and psychic gifts.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Trevor (via Laura, 28:41):
  • “It feels natural. It’s easier than speaking. And I can read anyone’s mind if I want to.”
• Trevor (via Laura, 29:30):
  • “I have gifts that I had to develop and can show others what is possible.”
• Ky Dickens (01:10):
  • “Since the release of the Telepathy Tapes, our team has had a huge influx of email testimonials from families claiming that telepathy is also in their home or who didn't know their child was telepathic, tested them and found out...”
• Dr. Jeff Tarrant (20:58):
  • “He really wasn’t missing any. Statistically, it’s just ridiculous… especially with open responses… even getting one correct is totally improbable, and again, he would get several correct in a row…”
• Laura (19:18):
  • “Practice makes permanent is what they say in SCC.”
• Katherine Ellis (16:24):
  • “We continued to randomly select songs and every time Trevor got it right multiple times. To Laura's surprise, half the time she couldn’t even believe he knew the names of so many of the artists, as that's not something they regularly discuss.”

Timestamps of Important Segments

• 01:58: Trevor’s perspective: “We are lightworkers.”
• 04:23–06:40: Laura’s discovery of Trevor’s telepathy and musical connection.
• 06:53: Animal communication and example with horses.
• 12:34–13:45: Dr. Tarrant explains the telepathy testing software.
• 15:20–16:24: Song guessing experiment with Trevor and Laura.
• 17:18–19:18: Challenges moving from letterboard to computer; learning curve and statistical analysis.
• 20:58–22:48: Dr. Tarrant on accuracy, statistical likelihood, and rigorous controls.
• 28:33–29:46: Trevor answers questions about his experience, autism, and message of hope.

Conclusion

This episode bridges the deeply personal with the rigorously scientific, showcasing Trevor’s story as a microcosm of a much wider phenomenon. Through the eyes of Trevor, Laura, Dr. Tarrant, and the Telepathy Tapes team, listeners witness both the everyday wonders of telepathic connection and the efforts to ground them in empirical research. Whether in homes, on scientific platforms, or in the shared resonance of song, the episode ultimately argues for openness: about what’s possible for non-speaking autistics, and about the nature of consciousness and communication itself.

Further Resources:

• More Than Meets the A: A Non Speaker’s Journey Through Music, Spelling to Communicate, and Becoming a Divine Messenger by Laura and Trevor
• Watch extended segments and demos on The Telepathy Tapes YouTube channel