This Week in Autistic Culture

This week, Angela and Simon dive into a growing debate about neurodiversity language. Are terms like neurodivergent, neurodiverse and Autistic becoming blurred together — and does that matter? Responding to new research questioning how broadly neurodiversity terminology is used, they explore why umbrella terms can be incredibly useful, where specificity still matters, and what we lose when very different neurotypes and experiences are treated as interchangeable.For our second excavation into the Autistic Culture Archive, Simon is taking Angela to Arrakis. Using the Ten Pillars of Autistic Culture as their guide, they dig into Frank Herbert’s Dune, uncovering extraordinary world-building, systems within systems, pattern-matching, passionate superfanning and a fictional universe that rewards you for wanting to know absolutely everything about it. By the end, there’s only one question left: is Dune Autistic culture?And if our trip to Arrakis leaves you wanting to dig even deeper, you can explore the full Dune Field Report in the Autistic Culture Archive, where Simon brings together the research, evidence, rabbit holes and connections to the Ten Pillars that couldn’t fit into the show — and, as always, you can add your own field notes, because the archive is never finished!As always, we’ll take you through everything coming up across the Autistic Culture Podcast Network this week!🌐 Subscribe to our newsletter and read our Autistic Culture Archive Field Reports: www.autisticculturepodcast.com🎧 Listen: This Week in Autistic Culture is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and all major podcast platforms.🌈 Become a Culture Builder: Get early access, ad-free listening and our full podcast archive at AutisticCulturePlus📲 Follow us on Instagram: @autisticculturepodcast

This week, Angela and Simon dive into new research about Autistic traits and romantic relationships — and find themselves questioning some of the assumptions behind it. From attachment styles and relationship maintenance to masking, regulation and the need for connection, they explore what happens when Autistic experiences are measured against expectations that may not have been designed with Autistic people in mind.It’s time to open the vaults for our brand-new segment: The Autistic Culture Archive!Each week, Angela and Simon will become cultural archaeologists, excavating a film, book, musician, fandom, hobby or cultural figure and using the Ten Pillars of Autistic Culture to uncover the Autistic fingerprints hiding in plain sight.First into the archive is The Rocky Horror Picture ShowAnd if our first excavation leaves you wanting to dig deeper, every entry in the Autistic Culture Archive will have its own Field Report, bringing together the research, evidence, rabbit holes and connections we couldn’t squeeze into the show — and inviting you to add your own field notes to an archive that is never truly finishedAs always, we’ll take you through everything coming up across the Autistic Culture Podcast Network this week!Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror:Prime Video UK listingApple TV UK listingJustWatch UKPrime Video US listing🌐 Subscribe to our newsletter and read our Autistic Culture Archive Field Reports: www.autisticculturepodcast.com🎧 Listen: This Week in Autistic Culture is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and all major podcast platforms.🌈 Become a Culture Builder: Get early access, ad-free listening and our full podcast archive at AutisticCulturePlus📲 Follow us on Instagram: @autisticculturepodcast

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.📌 Community NoticeboardThe 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 GeneticADHD symptoms should not lead to automatic diagnosis, says reviewPlan to limit NHS diagnoses of ADHD attacked as ‘rationing’ healthcareKennedy names new chair for US autism advisory panelBooks and Research:Overcoming the Wall of Awful: Why It’s Hard to Get Things Done with ADHD, Autism, and Anxiety (and how to do them anyway)“A Delightful Embodiment of Dichotomies”: A Qualitative Exploration of Self-Concept and Identity Among Autistic and Non-Autistic People🎧 This Week in Autistic Culture is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all major platforms.🌈 Celebrate autistic voices with early access, ad-free listening, and our full archive at AutisticCulturePlus.com🌐 Visit www.autisticculturepodcastnetwork.com📲 Follow us on Instagram: @autisticculturepodcast

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.With Simon away on a much-needed holiday, Angela is joined by ACPN’s Head of Finance — and her husband — Paul Kingdon. Together, they dive into journalist and broadcaster Scott Bryan’s story of discovering he was Autistic at 34, after experiencing sensory overwhelm while working at Eurovision. His lifelong love of the competition had already helped shape his career, bringing together late diagnosis, fandom and the power of special interests.That leads into a wider conversation about what happens when a special interest becomes your job. Angela and Paul reflect on their own experiences of turning passions into professions, and ask whether something can still provide the same comfort, joy and regulation once deadlines, expectations and sensory demands become attached to it.As always, we’ll also take you through everything coming up across the Autistic Culture Podcast Network this week, including Bridget Jones’s Diary on Still Growing Up Film Club, cultural mismatch on Autistic Standpoint Theory, sensitivity and belonging on The Neuro Complex Creative, the return of Clinical Misfits, another Neurodivergent Experience and a Friday rewind exploring Autistic productivity.Plus, we head to the Community Notice Board for new books, research, resources and events from across the wider Autistic community, including a free programme for recently identified Autistic adults, new research into Minecraft and sensory regulation, and opportunities for Autistic young people.📌 Community NoticeboardThe 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:Eurovision helped TV critic Scott Bryan discover he was Autistic at 34.Helen Edgar of Autistic Realms and Thriving Autistic has announced this week that The Discovery Programme for recently identified Autistic adults.Books and Research:The Complete College Skills Guide for Neurodivergent Students Understanding the Science of Learning for Academic Success By Florencia ArdonTailoring DBT for Autistic Clients by Amara Brook and Rachel Leah Kraus Events:GROVE - Online Community for Autistic Young People is kicking off their autumn round of Being Me programs on October 5th.Jess Telling’s production of her play Chamelon - Friday, 25th September 2026 (7pm - 8pm)📻 Listen to Autistic Culture Radio🌈 Celebrate autistic voices with early access, ad-free listening, and our full archive at AutisticCulturePlus.com🌐 Visit www.autisticculturepodcastnetwork.com📲 Follow us on Instagram: @autisticculturepodcast

Welcome to another edition of This Week in Autistic Culture, our Sunday magazine podcast that brings together the stories, conversations and ideas shaping Autistic culture each week.This week, Angela and Simon dive into the unexpected new Elizabeth Holmes documentary You Can See Everything, created by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim. From Fielder’s famously awkward interviewing style and fascination with aviation to Holmes’ carefully constructed public persona, routines and intense eye contact, they explore the Autistic traits they recognise in both figures — and what happens when we look at familiar cultural stories through an Autistic lens.That conversation also raises a bigger question about so-called “armchair diagnosis”. Is there a difference between diagnosing somebody and recognising Autistic traits in another person? And why can simply suggesting that somebody might be Autistic provoke such a strong reaction? Angela and Simon consider whether some of that discomfort reveals more about the stigma still attached to autism than the act of recognising those traits itself.As always, we’ll also take you through everything coming up across the Autistic Culture Podcast Network this week, including the launch of Isha Snow’s Autistic Standpoint Theory, alongside new episodes exploring Zombieland, friendship and creativity, nervous-system regulation, Neurodivergent tales from Reddit, Alfred Kinsey and a joyful deep dive into the world of Pokémon.Plus, we head to the Community Notice Board for books, events and opportunities from across the wider Autistic community.📌 Community NoticeboardThe 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:New Nathan Fielding/Lance Oppenheim releasing Elizabeth Holmes surprise movieIf you don’t know Nathan Fielding, watch this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8AYmVyIFscElizabeth Holmes podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-dropout/id1449500734Matt Lucas has publicly shared for the first time that he is autistic, disclosing while speaking to Romesh Ranganathan on BBC Radio 2.Books and Research:Burning The Behaviorist Blueprint by Scott R Frasard, PhDEvents:XMTR.FM/FESTIVAL - Annual Audio Arts Festival in St Leonards-on-Sea. 25th-27th September 2026📻 Listen to Autistic Culture Radio🌈 Celebrate autistic voices with early access, ad-free listening, and our full archive at AutisticCulturePlus.com🌐 Visit www.autisticculturepodcastnetwork.com📲 Follow us on Instagram: @autisticculturepodcast

Welcome to another edition of This Week in Autistic Culture, our Sunday magazine podcast that brings together the stories, conversations and ideas shaping Autistic culture each week.This week, Angela and Simon explore what it means to find your people, after a story from Boomtown Festival about an Autistic festivalgoer who arrived alone and left with a whole new group of friends. Simon reflects on his own experiences of finding community through music festivals, and how a muddy field in Leeds became one of the first places he experienced neurodivergence without deficit.They also dive into new research using lab-grown brain models to study differences in synaptic pruning, and the uncomfortable questions raised when understanding Autistic brains becomes intertwined with attempts to change them. If science could one day offer a pill that altered the neurological differences associated with autism, would we want it? And where would improving someone’s quality of life end and changing who they are begin?As always, we’ll also take you through everything coming up across the Autistic Culture Podcast Network this week, including the return of The Neuro Complex Creative for its second season, new episodes exploring the Kākāpō, The Princess Diaries, Autistic menopause, burnout, Neurodivergent tales on Reddit and Andy Warhol.Plus, we head to the Community Notice Board for books, events and opportunities from across the wider Autistic community.📌 Community NoticeboardThe 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.This Week’s Topics: Strangers at festival help autistic man realise dreamLargest ever ‘map’ of autism may hold clues for new targeted therapiesBooks and Research:Focus: The ADHD guide to productivity - by ADHD experts and co-hosts of the popular ADHD Adults podcast, Professor James Brown and Sam BrownFocus Pocus: A Parent’s Guide to Fostering Concentration, Resilience, and Academic Achievement in a Distracted World - by Nancy Howes, MEdEvents:Angela’s guest appearance on the ‘Every Day's a Train Wreck’ podcastDivergent Doodler’s Symposium - Recovery College Collective Newcastle upon Tyne, England - Wednesday, September 9 • 5:30 PM - 7:30 PMBuilding Our Resilience Course with Joe Lenton - NeuroHub Community Ltd - Starts Sunday, September 6th - 6 to 7 pm - Pay what you canTransitions, Change & Uncertainty - Choose Your Way ND BrainSpace - Tuesday, September 8th - 12 to 1 pm - FreeBeyond RSD: Building Confidence as a Neurodivergent Business Owner with Suzi Payton - Inclusion Support Hub - Wednesday, September 9th - 2 to 3 pm - Free📻 Listen to Autistic Culture Radio🌈 Celebrate autistic voices with early access, ad-free listening, and our full archive at AutisticCulturePlus.com🌐 Visit www.autisticculturepodcastnetwork.com📲 Follow us on Instagram: @autisticculturepodcast