Welcome to This Week in Autistic Culture
Welcome to another edition of This Week in Autistic Culture, our magazine podcast that brings together the stories, conversations and ideas shaping Autistic culture each week.
This week, Simon is back from holiday and joins Angela to unpack new guidance from the National Autistic Society stating that autism is genetic and lifelong. They discuss why that message matters, the misinformation that still surrounds the causes of autism, and why something seemingly so straightforward can still provoke disagreement.
They also turn to controversial proposals for tackling England’s huge ADHD assessment backlog, asking what happens when access to diagnosis and support is increasingly reserved for those deemed to have the greatest clinical need.
There’s also big news from ACPN as Angela and Simon reveal the first trailer for Season Four of The Autistic Culture Podcast, with Simon joining Angela as co-host when the show returns in October.
As always, we’ll take you through everything coming up across the Autistic Culture Podcast Network this week, before heading to the Community Notice Board for books, research, events and opportunities from across the wider Autistic community.
🎧 Start Here: Autistic Culture Radio
Looking for a different way to experience ACPN? Autistic Culture Radio is our curated Spotify listening experience, blending music with every programme released across the Autistic Culture Podcast Network.
Updated daily, each episode pairs carefully chosen songs inspired by its themes, creating a continuous soundtrack to Autistic culture. Save the playlist to your Spotify library and dip in whenever you want to discover new conversations, music and voices from across the network.
📻 On Air This Week:
Monday 28th September
Mindful Mondays with Ashley Dupuy
Ashley returns with another mindful reflection and guided meditation to help neurodivergent listeners begin the week with intention and regulation.
The Still Growing Up Film Club - Episode 5: How to Graduate at the Top of Your Class AND Have Fun with Booksmart
In this episode of The Still Growing Up Film Club, Cece Fanning heads back to high school with Booksmart, following best friends Molly and Amy as they attempt to squeeze four years of missed parties, bad decisions and teenage chaos into one unforgettable night before graduation.
As their carefully constructed plans spectacularly unravel, Cece explores what the film can teach us about perfectionism, achievement, friendship and the danger of assuming we already understand the people around us. She also looks at the pressure to be known for one particular thing — whether that’s being smart, successful or neurodivergent — and what happens when other people see a very different version of us from the person we know ourselves to be.
Tuesday 29th September
Autistic Standpoint Theory - Episode 3: Autistic Cognition and Religious Trauma
In this episode of Autistic Standpoint Theory, Isha Snow is joined by AuDHD seminary student Willow Shirtz for a deeply personal conversation about autistic cognition, faith, identity and religious trauma.
Raised in a devout Mormon household, Willow reflects on entering missionary service with genuine belief and the experiences that eventually forced them to question both their faith and the expectations placed upon them. They discuss what it means to process belief, morality and contradiction through an autistic lens — particularly when the systems around you demand certainty and conformity.
Content note: This episode contains discussion of religious trauma, mental health, psychiatric treatment and difficult family experiences, as well as strong language.
Wednesday 30th September
The Neurocomplex Creative - Season 2 Episode 4: Your Seat Is Still Warm
In this episode of The Neurocomplex Creative, Vicki Peterson sits down with her executive producer Angela Kingdon, co-founder of the Autistic Culture Podcast Network, for a behind-the-scenes conversation about creating when your brain and body no longer allow you to work the way you once did.
Vicki and Angela explore skill regression, autistic burnout and the grief of changing capacity, alongside the importance of building creative practices around real human needs rather than conventional ideas of productivity.
Angela shares how her own experience of burnout changed the way she thinks about supporting creatives, and why podcasting can offer neurodivergent creators greater autonomy over how, when and where they work.
Clinical Misfits - Season 2 Episode 2: Are We Getting Neurodivergent Accommodations Wrong?
In this episode of Clinical Misfits, Dr Mary explores the relationship between dysautonomia, neurodivergence and the need for school and workplace accommodations. She questions whether current assessment processes adequately recognise physical symptoms such as fatigue, brain fog, dizziness, pain, sensory sensitivities and difficulties regulating heart rate, blood pressure and body temperature.
Dr Mary looks at how dysautonomia might be recognised and investigated in healthcare, and argues for greater involvement from medical professionals when determining the support someone needs. She also discusses practical routes towards better quality of life, from physical and occupational therapy to nutrition, movement and other forms of ongoing support.
Thursday 1st October
The Neurodivergent Experience - Episode 130
Jordan James and Simon Scott return for a conversation about the Neurodivergent Experience!
NEW SHOW - The Dialogues - Episode 1: Autistic Advocacy, History and the Neurodiversity Movement
New Episodes on the first of the month!
In the first episode of The Dialogues, Kassiane Asasumasu, Morénike Giwa-Onaiwu, Renae Martin, and Oswin Latimer explore the history, politics, and lived realities of Autistic advocacy.
Drawing on decades of experience within the Autistic and disability communities, the group discusses the growing use of terms such as “profound autism”, the complicated relationship between diagnosis and support needs, and what happens when disabled people are denied the resources and autonomy they need to live in their communities.
They also reflect on the history of Autistic-led organising, the early online communities that helped shape the neurodiversity movement, and the personal cost that advocacy has sometimes carried for the people doing the work.
📚 From the Archive - Friday 2nd October
Autistic Culture Podcast Rewind – McEnroe is Autistic
In this episode of The Autistic Culture Podcast, hosts Matt Lowry, LPP and Dr Angela Kingdon take a fresh look at tennis legend John McEnroe, reframing his legacy through a neurodiversity-affirming lens.
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📌 Community Noticeboard
The Community Noticeboard is your space to share what’s happening across autistic culture. Whether you’re launching a book, hosting an event, releasing a podcast, starting a creative project, celebrating a milestone, or have something you’d like the community to know about, we’d love to hear from you.
Send your announcements, links and updates to autisticculturepodcast@gmail.com, and we’ll feature as many as we can in a future edition of This Week in Autistic Culture.
This Week’s Topics:
The National Autistic Society finally says Autism is Genetic
ADHD symptoms should not lead to automatic diagnosis, says review
Plan to limit NHS diagnoses of ADHD attacked as ‘rationing’ healthcare
Books and Research:
Events:
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Have a Show Idea?
The Autistic Culture Podcast Network is always looking for new voices and new perspectives.
If you have an idea for a podcast grounded in Autistic lived experience, culture, identity, advocacy, creativity, or special interests, we’d love to hear from you.
Yay! It's coming! So excited to hear how our first episode with ACPN turns out!