In this episode of Autistic Culture 101, Dr. Angela Kingdon explores Pillar 7: Boldly Creating with special guest Nina Danon—composer, sound artist, and doctoral researcher whose work focuses on the rich intersections between autism, music, sensory experience, and creativity.

This episode is about making art that’s true, not palatable. It’s for every autistic person who has ever created from a place of emotional intensity, sensory immersion, or special interest—and wondered if it “counts.”

Together, Nina and Angela discuss how stimming, repetition, texture, and rhythm form the basis of autistic artistic practice, and how creative expression becomes a radical act of self-regulation, connection, and authenticity.

🎧 What You’ll Learn

• Why autistic creativity often rejects genre, structure, and perfectionism
• How bottom-up processing fuels invention and form-breaking in autistic art
• How stimming, fandom, and fiber arts like knitting function as bold creative acts
• Nina’s upcoming publication on Musical Neuroqueering and her Stimming Wheel toolkit
• How autistics create to regulate, connect, and process the world through sensory-emotional fusion
• The power of embracing creative process—not just polished outcomes

Featured Guest: Nina Danon

Nina’s work centers autistic creativity as embodied, non-linear, and radically expressive. Her Musical Neuroqueering research will be published in Neuroqueer Theory and Practice (2026, edited by Dr. Nick Walker).

• 📧 Contact Nina: [email protected]
• 🩵 Nina on BlueSky: @ninadanon.bsky.social
• 🎵 “Volcano” – A Neurodivergent Sonic Experience (with Francesco Cassino)
• 🎤 “Composing Neurodivergence” – King’s College Talk (Feb 2025)

Further Reading Recommendations from Nina:

📘 Designing an Autistic Space for Research – Bertilsdotter Rosqvist et al., Neurodiversity Studies (Routledge, 2020)

🎭 Look, I Made a Hat – Stephen Sondheim (Knopf, 2011)

Related Episodes:

Eminem (Ep19) - Bold lyrical precision & emotional vulnerability

Questlove (Ep29) - Rhythmic innovation through sensory hyperfocus

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🌐 Learn more at www.autisticculturepodcast.com

🎙️ 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.

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