This Week in Autistic Culture #4 | Welcome to Our Sunday Magazine
Listen to this weeks offering of podcasts, news and culture from the Autistic Culture Podcast Network.
Welcome to the fourth edition of This Week in Autistic Culture
Welcome to This Week in Autistic Culture!
This week marks the beginning of a new chapter for the Autistic Culture Podcast Network as our weekly roundup evolves into a Sunday magazine podcast and newsletter that explores the stories, conversations, and ideas shaping Autistic culture.
Alongside a packed week of new programmes, we’re introducing our new Community Noticeboard segment, creating space to celebrate the people, projects, events and achievements happening across our community. Whether you’re launching a book, hosting an event, starting a podcast or have something you’d like to share, we’d love to hear from you.
You’ll also notice the continued evolution of our listening experience. What began as the Autistic Culture Mixtape is growing into something much bigger: a curated stream of Autistic-led conversations and music designed to accompany your week. It’s our vision of Autistic Culture Radio - a place where you can simply press play and immerse yourself in the sound of Autistic Culture.
This week we’re discussing the FIFA World Cup, Taylor Swift, SZA’s autism diagnosis, the latest developments in autism research, and, of course, bringing you another fantastic week of podcasts from across the network.
Thanks for spending your Sunday with us. Let’s dive in.
🎧 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 is paired with 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 13th July
Theatrically Authentic – Episode 4: Committing to the Bit
Sarah Atherton-Knight and Simon Scott explore what it actually means to be a neurodivergent performer and committing to the bit — from auditions and rejection sensitivity to character building, hyperfocus, and the emotional intensity of stepping on stage.
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.
Tuesday 14th July
Drinking to Mask and Unmask - Episode 3: Masking Is Real
Chelsey Flood speaks with researcher Dr Laura Hull about the science of masking, the experiences that masking describes, and why having language for these behaviours matters
Regulation Station – Episode 4: Work the Way You Are
Becca Engle is joined by neurodivergent business coach and former educator Megan Bonde to explore what happens when we stop trying to fit ourselves into systems that weren’t designed for us.
Wednesday 15th July
Clinical Misfits - Episode 3: Exaggerated Immune Responses
Dr Mary explains how the autonomic nervous system and the immune system provide a protective net over the entire person.
NEW SHOW - Two Mics No Masking - Episode 1: You’re Too Much / You’re Not Enough
In the first episode of Two Mics, No Masking, Katie Scott and Jenna Goldstein explore one of the most familiar experiences for neurodivergent people: being told you’re simultaneously “too much” and “not enough.”
Thursday 16th July
Autistic Rant Hour – Episode 5: Exact Sciences: Or Are They?
Exact Sciences are things folks who consider themselves rational and logical assume can be trusted. And they would be, but scientists are only human, and some of them aren’t even autistic, gasp!
The Neurodivergent Experience - Episode 119
Jordan James and Simon Scott return for a conversation about the Neurodivergent Experience!
Friday 17th July
Hot Topic Friday
A new discussion from The Neurodivergent Experience team, tackling a fresh topic from the world of neurodivergence.
Collecting Fish– Episode 4: The Future of Fishkeeping
In the final episode of this series of Collecting Fish, James Hepworth reflects on the current state of the aquarium hobby. From online education and captive breeding to social media, consumerism, and sustainability, this episode explores both the strengths and contradictions of modern fishkeeping.
📚 From the Archive - Saturday 18th July
Autistic Culture Podcast Rewind – Apple is Autistic
Rewind with an Autistic Culture Podcast classic, as we re-run Apple is Autistic, exploring how Steve Jobs’ Autistic traits shaped Apple’s revolutionary success.
Please rate, share and review our shows, as it helps them grow and reach more people! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
📌 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 simply 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.
Cultural Autism Studies at Yale - Thursday, July 16th - 5 pm to 6 pm UK Time - Free
TOPIC: Bronwyn’s Journey: From Quiet Child to Public Speaker. A Story of Resilience.
DESCRIPTION: Bronwyn shares their journey of “rebuilding” after a lifetime of navigating a world not designed for them. They will discuss the reality of growing up as an undiagnosed autistic child, where struggles were met with interventions that lacked a name for their experience. Bronwyn will touch on: the “lost” years - growing up quiet, navigating school with a single best friend, and the intense anxiety of being misunderstood. Workplace friction: the challenge of entering the professional world, where open-plan offices and social “teamwork” led to frequent overstimulation and shutdowns. The turning point: how a formal diagnosis at age 30 finally provided the tools needed to lead an improved quality of life. A new chapter: their success in returning to university to study neurodiversity, turning their personal hardships into a master’s thesis aimed at improving workplace rights for the autistic community.
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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.
Hello!
I thought I would take advantage of the post being sticky and pinny
to talk about THEATRICALLY AUTHENTIC and all the reflections about fandom
and how Simon and Sarah dealt with rejection sensitivity and opportunities in the theatre
and Simon's work on television [I had seen MASTERS OF THE AIR - a couple of episodes].
I also listened to parts of WORK WHERE YOU ARE [on the REGULATION STATION]
just missed THE FUTURE OF FISHKEEPING. [really enjoyed the Freshwater and Saltwater making - there is a really cool article in my newspaper of record about aquaria - how the person's first words weren't "Mum" or "Dad" - they were "fish"].
https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life-and-relationships/no-screens-no-problem-aquascaping-is-the-niche-hobby-transforming-homes-20260625-p60a45.html
written by Courtney Thompson in Brisbane, Queensland