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The Autistic Culture Podcast Network (ACPN)

The Autistic Culture Podcast Network (ACPN)

Written by: Autistic Culture Institute
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About this listen

This is the main feed for The Autistic Culture Podcast Network, the first podcast network created by and for Autistic people to celebrate our culture, our voices, and our contributions to the world. This feed has all of our shows in one place.


Across our shows, we spotlight actually Autistic perspectives and celebrate the depth, brilliance, and diversity of the Autistic experience. Whether you’re Autistic, questioning, or an ally looking to learn, the Autistic Culture Podcast Network invites you into a community where your weird is welcome, your passions are powerful, and your identity is culture.


While our content varies, our programming is rooted in the 10 Pillars of Autistic Culture and grounded in the social model of disability, our network offers a range of shows that explore everything from advocacy and identity to history, creativity, and Autistic joy.


Follow this feed and join a growing movement that redefines what it means to be Autistic.


🌈 Celebrate autistic voices with early access, ad-free listening, and our full archive at AutisticCulturePlus.com

🌐 Visit www.autisticculturepodcast.com

📲 Follow us on Instagram: @autisticculturepodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Episodes
  • How Sarma Realised She Was Autistic After Everything Fell Apart

    How Sarma Realised She Was Autistic After Everything Fell Apart
    Jan 23 2026
    In this meeting of The Late Diagnosis Club, Dr Angela Kingdon welcomes Sarma Melngailis, a late-identified Autistic woman whose life unfolded in public long before she had language for her neurodivergence.Sarma was once a celebrated New York restaurateur and entrepreneur. Years later, she became the subject of global scrutiny following a highly publicised documentary that framed her story through scandal rather than context. She was not diagnosed as Autistic until age 51, after everything had already happened.In this conversation, Sarma speaks candidly about sensory overwhelm, being misread as cold or suspicious, vulnerability to coercive control, and how not knowing she was Autistic shaped her relationships, business decisions, and sense of self. This episode is not about scandal — it’s about what happens when a life is interpreted through the wrong lens, and what becomes possible when the right one finally arrives.🪑 AttendeesChair: Dr Angela Kingdon — Author, community-builder, and Autistic advocateGuest: Sarma Melngailis — late-identified Autistic author and entrepreneurYou: The Listener!🗒️ Meeting AgendaOpening remarks from the ChairMember introduction: Public success without private understandingDiscussion: Late diagnosis, vulnerability, and coercive controlBeing misread: affect, communication, and media narrativesSensory processing, burnout, leadership, animals, justice sensitivity, and belongingKey learningsClub announcements🧾 Minutes from the Meeting1️⃣ Opening RemarksAngela introduces Sarma as a member whose story was widely told before it was widely understood. While the public narrative focused on spectacle and suspicion, Sarma’s lived experience was shaped by sensory overwhelm, misinterpretation, and deep vulnerability — all without the context of an autism diagnosis.2️⃣ Member Introduction: Sarma’s StorySarma describes growing up feeling different without knowing why, gravitating toward misfits and animals, and navigating adulthood with intense sensory sensitivity and a strong drive toward justice and care.Her autism was first suggested not by clinicians, but by viewers of a documentary who recognised themselves in her, many of them late-diagnosed Autistic adults.3️⃣ Discussion HighlightsLate diagnosis at 51: Recognition after public life and collapseMisinterpretation: Flat affect, pauses, and Autistic communication framed as guilt or deceptionCoercive control: How Autistic trust and literal thinking increase vulnerabilityBeing “seen”: Why manipulative attention can feel like understandingPublic narratives: Harm caused by edited stories and missing contextSensory overload: Sound, scent, and cumulative exhaustion in high-pressure environmentsAnimals and connection: Deep attachment as regulation and groundingSafeguards: Learning to listen to trusted outsiders and name red flags4️⃣ Key LearningsNot knowing you’re Autistic can increase vulnerability to exploitationBeing articulate and successful does not protect against harmAutistic affect is often misread through a moral lensClarity does not erase the past — but it can soften self-blameCommunity and outside perspective are protective factorsHaving language for your nervous system changes what you tolerate📌 Notice BoardPeople Magazine — Sarma Melngailis on Autism DiagnosisSarma Melngailis on InstagramThe Girl with the Duck Tattoo — Book WebsiteSarma Raw — Personal Website📣 Club Announcements🎧 The Late Diagnosis Club is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all major platforms.💬 Join our online meetups and community at latediagnosis.club.📌 Check the LDC Notice Board for Member Contributions💜 There is a small charge — but no one is turned away for lack of funds.🌈 Celebrate autistic voices with early access, ad-free listening, and our full archive at AutisticCulturePlus.com🌐 Visit www.autisticculturepodcast.com📲 Follow us on Instagram: @autisticculturepodcast🎙️ Executive Producers: Amy Burns, Anamaria B Call, Andrew Banner, Anna Goodson, Ashley Apelzin, Audrea Volker, Ben Coulson, Brian Churcek, Cappy Hamper, Carley Biblin, Charlene Deva, Chloe Cross, Clay Duhigg, Clayton Oliver, Danny Dunn, Daria Brown, David Garrido, Emily Burgess, Eric Crane, Erik Stenerud, Fiona Baker, Grace Norman, Helen Shaddock, Jaimie Collins, Jason Killian, Jen Unruh, Jennifer Carpenter, Julia Tretter, Kathie Watson-Gray, Kenneth Knowles, Kira Cotter, Kristine Lang, Kyle Raney, Llew P Williams, Laura Alvarado, Laura De Vito, Laura Provonsha, Lily George, Nelly Darmi, Nigel Rogers, Rachel Miller, Tim Scott, Tyler Kunz, Victoria Steed, Yanina Wood.🎧 Producers: AJ Knight, Bobby Simon, Da Kovac, Eleanor Collins, Emily Griffiths, Hannah Hughes, Jennifer Kemp, Jonas Fløde, Kate F, Katie N Benitez, Kendra Murphy, Lisa Dennys, Logan Wall, Louise Lomas, Melissa Nance, Nicola Owen, Rebecka Johansson, Sam Morris, Sarah Hannah Morris. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more ...
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    1 hr and 9 mins
  • Now Accepting Pitches: This Is Your Sign to Start an Autistic-Led Podcast

    Now Accepting Pitches: This Is Your Sign to Start an Autistic-Led Podcast
    Jan 20 2026

    The Autistic Culture Podcast Network is officially open for new podcast pitches, and we’re calling on Autistic creators to help shape the future of an Autistic-led audio network. This short promo invites storytellers, culture-builders, deep divers, and passionate voices to bring their ideas to life, whether they’re rooted in special interests, history, art, games, science, sound, or navigating work and school systems.


    You don’t need fancy gear or a perfect plan, just your perspective, your curiosity, and the topics your brain could talk about forever. If you’ve been dreaming of starting a podcast that reflects lived experience, culture, and joy, this is your sign.


    Pitch deadline: January 31, 2026

    Apply here or Email: info@autisticculturepodcast.com


    We can’t wait to hear what you’re dreaming up!

    🎙️ Executive Producers: Amy Burns, Anamaria B Call, Andrew Banner, Anna Goodson, Ashley Apelzin, Audrea Volker, Ben Coulson, Brian Churcek, Cappy Hamper, Carley Biblin, Charlene Deva, Chloe Cross, Clay Duhigg, Clayton Oliver, Danny Dunn, Daria Brown, David Garrido, Emily Burgess, Eric Crane, Erik Stenerud, Fiona Baker, Grace Norman, Helen Shaddock, Jaimie Collins, Jason Killian, Jen Unruh, Jennifer Carpenter, Julia Tretter, Kathie Watson-Gray, Kenneth Knowles, Kira Cotter, Kristine Lang, Kyle Raney, Llew P Williams, Laura Alvarado, Laura De Vito, Laura Provonsha, Lily George, Nelly Darmi, Nigel Rogers, Rachel Miller, Tim Scott, Tyler Kunz, Victoria Steed, Yanina Wood.


    🎧 Producers: AJ Knight, Bobby Simon, Da Kovac, Eleanor Collins, Emily Griffiths, Hannah Hughes, Jennifer Kemp, Jonas Fløde, Kate F, Katie N Benitez, Kendra Murphy, Lisa Dennys, Logan Wall, Louise Lomas, Melissa Nance, Nicola Owen, Rebecka Johansson, Sam Morris, Sarah Hannah Morris.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    1 min
  • How George Realised They Were Autistic While Studying Autism

    How George Realised They Were Autistic While Studying Autism
    Jan 16 2026
    In this meeting of The Late Diagnosis Club, Dr Angela Kingdon welcomes George Watts, a neurodivergent researcher, parent, and PhD candidate whose path into autism research began before realising they were autistic themselves.George first studied autism from the outside, absorbing dominant behavioural frameworks and evidence-based models that promised to “help” Autistic people. It wasn’t until they encountered Autistic voices, community, and their own reflection in the literature that their understanding — and their life — fundamentally shifted.Together, Angela and George explore late identification, burnout, childbirth, internalised deficit models, the harm of behaviourism, and what becomes possible when Autistic people stop being studied in isolation and start building community together. This episode centres Autistic quality of life — not as an abstract metric, but as a lived, relational experience grounded in belonging, autonomy, and joy.🪑 AttendeesChair: Dr Angela Kingdon — Author, community-builder, and Autistic advocateGuest: George Watts — Autistic researcher, PhD candidate, and parentYou: The Listener!🗒️ Meeting AgendaOpening remarks from the ChairMember introduction: Childhood signs without diagnosisDiscussion: Burnout, childbirth, late identification, unlearning behaviourism and deficit-based modelsAutistic parenting and education research shaped by lived experienceKey learningsClub announcements🧾 Minutes from the Meeting1️⃣ Opening RemarksAngela introduces George as a researcher whose academic path into autism began long before they understood their own neurodivergence. Early training framed autism as a problem to be fixed — with behavioural intervention positioned as the solution. This episode traces what happens when that framework begins to crack.2️⃣ Member Introduction: George’s StoryGeorge returned to university as a mature student, studying autism after years of precarious work, burnout, and unrecognised neurodivergence. As they immersed themselves in autism literature, moments of resonance accumulated — until self-recognition became unavoidable.Childbirth, sensory overload, and years of misattributed mental health struggles came into focus through a new lens. What had once been framed as personal failure or psychological fragility was re-understood as the cost of navigating a world not built for Autistic nervous systems.3️⃣ Discussion HighlightsLate identification: Studying autism before recognising it in yourselfBurnout and childbirth: Sensory overwhelm and unmet support needsCommunity as intervention: Autistic people supporting each otherQuality of life: Shifting research focus from causes and cures to belongingAutistic parenting: Reducing unnecessary demands and honouring regulationResearch from the inside: Autistic-led questions shaping the field4️⃣ Key LearningsUnderstanding autism can reframe decades of self-blameBehavioural compliance is not the same as well-beingQuality of life looks different for Autistic people — and should be defined by themCommunity and belonging are not extras; they are foundationalAutistic-led research changes what we ask — and what matters📌 Notice BoardGeorge Watts — YouTube talkAutism Studies (FutureLearn course)Research paper: A Certain MagicGrove Neurodivergent Mentoring and EducatingAutistic Quality of Life Measure (ASQoL)📣 Club Announcements🎧 The Late Diagnosis Club is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all major platforms.💬 Join our online meetups and community at latediagnosis.club.📌 Check the LDC Notice Board for Member Contributions💜 There is a small charge — but no one is turned away for lack of funds.🌈 Celebrate autistic voices with early access, ad-free listening, and our full archive at AutisticCulturePlus.com🌐 Visit www.autisticculturepodcast.com📲 Follow us on Instagram: @autisticculturepodcast🎙️ Executive Producers: Amy Burns, Anamaria B Call, Andrew Banner, Anna Goodson, Ashley Apelzin, Audrea Volker, Ben Coulson, Brian Churcek, Cappy Hamper, Carley Biblin, Charlene Deva, Chloe Cross, Clay Duhigg, Clayton Oliver, Danny Dunn, Daria Brown, David Garrido, Emily Burgess, Eric Crane, Erik Stenerud, Fiona Baker, Grace Norman, Helen Shaddock, Jaimie Collins, Jason Killian, Jen Unruh, Jennifer Carpenter, Julia Tretter, Kathie Watson-Gray, Kenneth Knowles, Kira Cotter, Kristine Lang, Kyle Raney, Llew P Williams, Laura Alvarado, Laura De Vito, Laura Provonsha, Lily George, Nelly Darmi, Nigel Rogers, Rachel Miller, Tim Scott, Tyler Kunz, Victoria Steed, Yanina Wood.🎧 Producers: AJ Knight, Bobby Simon, Da Kovac, Eleanor Collins, Emily Griffiths, Hannah Hughes, Jennifer Kemp, Jonas Fløde, Kate F, Katie N Benitez, Kendra Murphy, Lisa Dennys, Logan Wall, Louise Lomas, Melissa Nance, Nicola Owen, Rebecka Johansson, Sam Morris, Sarah Hannah Morris. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    50 mins
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