Welcome to the Autistic Culture Podcast. Each episode we dive deep into Autistic contributions to society and culture by introducing you to some of the world’s most famous and successful Autistics in History!

Whether you are Autistic or just love someone who is, your hosts, Dr. Angela Lauria, the Linguistic Autistic and Licensed Psychological Practitioner, Matt Lowry, welcome you to take this time to be fully immersed in the language, values, traditions, norms, and identity of Autistica!

Learn more about Matt at Matt Lowry, LPP

Join Matt’s Autistic Connections Facebook Group

Learn more about Angela at AngelaLauria.com and Difference Press

Follow Angela on Twitter and TikTok

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

Welcome to Autistica, from the Autistic Culture Podcast Network.

Each episode dives deep into the contributions Autistics have made to society and culture—spotlighting some of the world’s most famous and influential Autistics throughout history.

Whether you are Autistic yourself or love someone who is, your hosts, Dr. Angela Kingdon (the Linguistic Autistic) and Licensed Psychological Practitioner Matt Lowry, invite you to immerse yourself in the language, values, traditions, norms, and identity of Autistica.

This is more than a podcast. It’s a celebration of Autistic pride, community, and culture!

🌟 Connect With Us

📱 Follow us on Instagram

🎧 Find us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify

🛍️Our Autism-affirming merch shop

🌐 Learn more at www.autisticculturepodcast.com

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

In this episode of The Autistic Culture Podcast, hosts Dr. Angela Kingdon and Matt Lowry, LPP explore the Autistic roots of the Ghostbusters franchise and how Dan Aykroyd’s autism shaped its creation.

🎧 What You’ll Learn:

• How Dan Aykroyd’s childhood autism diagnosis and early special interests in ghosts and law enforcement inspired Ghostbusters.
• The Autistic-coded traits found in the films, from masking and challenges with eye contact to sensory sensitivities.
• Why special interests, when embraced, can fuel world-changing creativity and storytelling.
• Matt’s favourite Autistic “moments” in the Ghostbusters universe, shared with Angela’s insights on culture and identity.
• How Ghostbusters models Autistic community through teamwork, passion, and finding belonging in being “different

Resources:

• The Paranormal Life Of Hans Holzer, America’s First Ghost Hunter
• Dan Aykroyd, still autistic after all these years
• 'I have Asperger's - one of my symptoms included being obsessed with ghosts': Under the microscope with Dan Aykroyd
• Dan Aykroyd's 'obsession with ghosts and law enforcement' is due to Asperger's

🌟 Connect With Us

📱 Follow us on Instagram

🎧 Find us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify

🛍️Our Autism-affirming merch shop

🌐 Learn more at www.autisticculturepodcast.com

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

In this episode of The Autistic Culture Podcast, hosts Dr. Angela Kingdon and Matt Lowry, LPP uncover the Autistic traits and cultural legacy of 18th-century poet Emily Dickinson.

🎧 What You’ll Learn:

• How Dickinson’s obsessive love of reading and writing reflects classic Autistic special interests.
• Why her refusal to conform to gender norms and social expectations marks her as a cultural rebel.
• The significance of publishing only 10 poems in her lifetime while leaving behind a vast body of work that transformed literature.
• How her credo, “Tell all the Truth but tell it slant,” resonates with Autistic communication styles and honesty.
• Dickinson’s legacy of authenticity, healthy boundaries, and creative rule-breaking as a model for Autistic pride.
• Why her poetry continues to speak to Autistic readers navigating difference, resilience, and expression.

Resources:

• Her Own Society: A new reading of Emily Dickinson
• Patrick Jasper Lee on Literary Autism
• Emily’s White Dresses

🌟 Connect With Us

📱 Follow us on Instagram

🎧 Find us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify

🛍️Our Autism-affirming merch shop

🌐 Learn more at www.autisticculturepodcast.com

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

In this episode of The Autistic Culture Podcast, hosts Dr. Angela Kingdon and Matt Lowry, LPP explore how George Lucas’s company Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) modelled an Autistic-friendly workplace where innovation thrived.

🎧 What You’ll Learn:

• How ILM’s culture of valuing skills over credentials created space for Autistic innovators.
• Why flexible schedules, freedom to experiment, and room for monotropic focus made ILM a haven for Autistic creators.
• How Autistic views of money differ from allistic norms, with passion and creation taking priority over status.
• Why time—not profit—is the most valuable workplace resource for neurodivergent people.
• The importance of clear, direct communication to bridge the “double empathy problem” in mixed-neurotype teams.
• Why rigid 9–5 workplaces often fail Autistics, and how Autistic-centered environments enable groundbreaking contributions.
• How meaning, joy, and special interests drive Autistic work culture and lead to revolutionary outcomes like Star Wars.

Resources:

• Light & Magic on Apple TV+
• Phil Tippett’s Mad God

Related Episodes:

Motion Pictures are Autistic

🌟 Connect With Us

📱 Follow us on Instagram

🎧 Find us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify

🛍️Our Autism-affirming merch shop

🌐 Learn more at www.autisticculturepodcast.com

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

In this episode of The Autistic Culture Podcast, hosts Dr. Angela Kingdon and Matt Lowry, LPP uncover the Autistic roots of Washington D.C., designed in part by Autistic trailblazers Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Banneker.

🎧 What You’ll Learn:

• How Benjamin Banneker’s systematic, mathematical brilliance shaped D.C.’s logical street grid and quadrants.
• Why Jefferson and Banneker’s Autistic traits—pattern recognition, hyperfocus, and justice sensitivity—were key to their accomplishments.
• How the two men connected as Autistics, supporting each other’s work while debating slavery and social justice.
• The role of Autistic empathy and the “double empathy problem,” including how allistics often misinterpret Autistic communication.
• Why Autistic giftedness often includes both technical genius and a strong drive for fairness and advocacy.
• The challenges Jefferson and Banneker faced in masking and navigating allistic power structures of their time.
• Why D.C.’s order, symmetry, and logical design can be seen as an expression of Autistic culture.

Resources:

• Biography on Banneker
• Roberta Grimes on Jefferson, Asperger’s, and Race
• Letter to Jefferson from Banneker

Related Episodes:

Questlove is Autistic

Apple is Autistic

🌟 Connect With Us

📱 Follow us on Instagram

🎧 Find us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify

🛍️Our Autism-affirming merch shop

🌐 Learn more at www.autisticculturepodcast.com

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

In this episode of The Autistic Culture Podcast, hosts Dr. Angela Kingdon and Matt Lowry, LPP uncover the Autistic culture woven through Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events.

🎧 What You’ll Learn:

• How the Baudelaire children embody Autistic traits through monotropic focus, deep research, and inventive problem-solving.
• Why libraries serve as safe havens for Autistics seeking knowledge, stability, and refuge from uncertainty.
• The Autistic tendency to form deep connections with fictional characters and how hyper-empathy shapes reading preferences.
• Count Olaf as an example of masking—and why masking can protect but also cause burnout, shame, and harm.
• How communication differences fuel the “double empathy problem” and why mutual understanding—not overcoming difference—is key.
• Why Sonny, as a nonspeaking character, affirms that speech does not equal intelligence or awareness.
• How community and cultural identity help Autistics find belonging in an allistic-centric world.
• The ways A Series of Unfortunate Events reflects Autistic values of truth-seeking, direct communication, and authentic self-expression.

Related Episodes:

Sherlock is Autistic

Sesame Street is Autistic

🌟 Connect With Us

📱 Follow us on Instagram

🎧 Find us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify

🛍️Our Autism-affirming merch shop

🌐 Learn more at www.autisticculturepodcast.com

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

In this episode of The Autistic Culture Podcast, hosts Dr. Angela Kingdon and Matt Lowry, LPP explore how Steve Jobs’ Autistic traits shaped Apple’s revolutionary success.

🎧 What You’ll Learn:

• How Jobs’ attention to design details—every bevel, chamfer, and colour shade—reflects Autistic hyperfocus and precision.
• Why his personal uniform of black turtlenecks and jeans embodies Autistic values of simplicity, comfort, and consistency.
• How his dislike of buttons and love of clean design align with Autistic sensory preferences.
• Why Jobs’ direct communication style was often misunderstood as narcissism, when it was actually clarity and problem-solving.
• How his practice of Zen Buddhism intersected with special interests in technology to spark ground-breaking creativity.
• The role of Autistic innovation in Apple’s most iconic contributions, from the buttonless mouse to the iPad.
• Why Apple’s “Think Different” campaign perfectly captures the Autistic spirit of misfits and world-changers.

Resources:

• Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
• The Iconic Think Different Apple ad
• Was Steve Jobs Autistic?
• Steve Jobs’ Commitment to Great Design

Related Episodes:

Andy Warhol is Autistic

Tim Burton is Autistic

Washington, D.C. is Autistic

🌟 Connect With Us

📱 Follow us on Instagram

🎧 Find us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify

🛍️Our Autism-affirming merch shop

🌐 Learn more at www.autisticculturepodcast.com

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