In this episode of The Autistic Culture Podcast, hosts Dr. Angela Kingdon and Matt Lowry, LPP explore the Autistic origins and cultural impact of My Little Pony.

🎧 What You’ll Learn:

• How Autistic creator Bonnie Zacherle and Autistic writer Linda Woolverton shaped the original My Little Pony, despite facing workplace marginalization.
• The Autistic-coded storytelling of Lauren Faust’s My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, and why it became so meaningful to Autistic fans.
• The sensory-seeking joys, relatable characters, and fantasy worlds that continue to resonate deeply with Autistics.
• The therapeutic connection between horses and Autistic individuals, including co-regulation benefits for emotional and sensory regulation.
• Angela’s personal story about how horse therapy improved her mental health and helped her identify signs of dysregulation.
• The rise of the Brony fandom and how it created belonging, acceptance, and identity for young adult fans, including many Autistics.

Resources:

Crunch Dog episode of My Little Pony

Related Episodes:

Fairy Tales are Autistic

Disney is Autistic

Beauty and the Beast is Autistic

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📱 Follow us on Instagram

🎧 Find us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify

🛍️Our Autism-affirming merch shop

🌐 Learn more at www.autisticculturepodcast.com

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In this episode of The Autistic Culture Podcast, hosts Dr. Angela Kingdon and Matt Lowry, LPP dive into Netflix’s hit series Wednesday and the debate over whether the character authentically represents Autistic culture.

🎧 What You’ll Learn:

• The Autistic-coded traits Wednesday displays—flat affect, dislike of touch, focused interests, and social rejection—and why they don’t add up to authentic representation.
• How Wednesday reflects an allistic perspective of autism, using coding and tropes instead of casting Autistic actors.
• Comparisons to other caricatured Autistic-coded roles like Sheldon Cooper (The Big Bang Theory) and the problem of “Autistic face.”
• Why the show’s arc of “fixing” Wednesday to be more socially acceptable undermines genuine Autistic identity.
• How physical attractiveness and conventional storytelling influence audience acceptance of disabled-coded characters.
• Why some Autistic viewers may still connect with Wednesday, even if the portrayal isn’t fully authentic.

Resources:

• HERE WE WOE I’m neurodivergent and here’s my issue with Netflix’s Wednesday
• 15 Ways Wednesday Addams is Cool and Autistic
• Wednesday's neurodivergent coding is both good and bad
• As more women than ever are diagnosed with ADHD and autism, here's why neurodivergent characters like Wednesday Addams are so important
• Autistic Connections Facebook Group
• Demystifying The Autism Spectrum & Autistic People Classes
• Maisie Soetantyo

Related Episodes:

Sherlock is Autistic

Doctor Who is Autistic

Tim Burton 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

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In this episode of The Autistic Culture Podcast, hosts Dr. Angela Kingdon and Matt Lowry, LPP explore why Pokémon resonates so deeply with the Autistic community.

🎧 What You’ll Learn:

• How Pokémon creator Satoshi Tajiri’s childhood special interest in collecting bugs—rooted in his own autism diagnosis—inspired one of the world’s most successful franchises.
• Why the urge to collect, categorize, and analyse Pokémon appeals strongly to Autistic skills and motivations.
• The concept of “Flow” and how Pokémon’s immersive gameplay provides Autistics with joy, focus, and persistence through special interests.
• A critique of how allistic perspectives dismiss Autistic passions as “obsessions,” contrasted with the Autistic experience of joy, fun, and fulfilment.
• How Pokémon fosters authentic Autistic socializing and builds community through shared interests.
• Why Pokémon exemplifies Autistic culture as a celebration of curiosity, focus, and intrinsic motivation.

Resources:

• See Mew
• Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience

Related Episodes:

Ponies are Autistic

Dungeons & Dragons is Autistic

Animation 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

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

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In this episode of The Autistic Culture Podcast, hosts Dr. Angela Kingdon and Matt Lowry, LPP celebrate climate activist and Autistic culture icon Greta Thunberg.

🎧 What You’ll Learn:

• How Greta’s autism diagnosis (OCD, and selective mutism) shaped her unique strengths and fuelled her climate activism.
• Why Autistic traits like pattern detection, logic, and justice-sensitivity make her especially attuned to the urgency of the climate crisis.
• How Greta’s refusal to compromise her values, her blunt honesty, and her intense focus exemplify Autistic pride.
• The story of her school strikes that grew into a global youth movement, earning her Time’s Person of the Year.
• How Greta has endured bullying and dismissal from world leaders while modelling integrity, resilience, and conviction.
• The viral moment when she clapped back at Andrew Tate online, leading to his downfall and cementing her as a cultural force.
• Why Greta proudly calls her autism a superpower—and what that means for Autistic children, teens, and adults worldwide.

Resources:

• Greta Thunberg Likens Autism to Superpower
• Greta Thunberg’s Asperger's diagnosis and how being different is a 'superpower’
• Greta Thunberg on Her Autism Diagnosis and Climate Activism
• How Greta Thunberg’s autism helped make her the world’s most important person for 2020
• Vanderbilt University - Autistic Pride Month
• Greta Thunberg and Autism: Making the Most of Your Differences
• Greta Thunberg Book Details Her Autism Struggles In Childhood, Impact On Family

Related Episodes:

Poetry is Autistic

Parks and Rec is Autistic

The Trouble with Temple

🌟 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

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In this episode of Autistic Advocacy, hosts Dr. Angela Kingdon and Matt Lowry, LPP confront the systemic discrimination Autistics face in healthcare and why culturally competent medical care is desperately needed.

🎧 What You’ll Learn:

• The disproportionate health challenges Autistic people face, including sleep apnea, autoimmune disorders, gastrointestinal issues, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, POTS, mast cell activation syndrome, fibromyalgia, allergies, asthma, eczema, psoriasis, PCOS, Hashimoto’s, lupus, and more.
• How medical gaslighting, dismissal, and communication barriers prevent Autistic patients from receiving accurate diagnoses and proper treatment.
• Why bringing an ally to medical appointments can help combat discrimination and ensure Autistic voices are heard.
• Matt’s vision for a culturally competent Autistic health centre in Kentucky, designed by and for Autistic people.
• The importance of Autistic self-education, advocacy, and peer support to counter systemic barriers and reduce burnout.
• How disability justice, neurodiversity, and Autistic pride can guide the creation of more equitable healthcare systems.
• A tribute to an Autistic friend of the show whose passing underscores the urgent need for systemic change in medical institutions.

Resources:

• What is EDS?
• What is MCAS?
• POTS
• The POTS Facebook Group

Related Episodes:

Dimensions of Autistic Culture

Bad Autism Diagnosis

Autistic Medical Needs

🌟 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

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

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

In this episode of Autistic Advocacy, hosts Dr. Angela Kingdon and Matt Lowry, LPP examine the power of labels—whether they harm, help, or heal in Autistic culture.

🎧 What You’ll Learn:

• The difference between deficit-based medical labels like “autism spectrum disorder” and identity-affirming labels like “Autistic.”
• How pathologizing language props up harmful industries like ABA, while affirming language supports self-acceptance and pride.
• Why functioning labels (high/low functioning) are rejected as inaccurate and stigmatizing.
• How labels can strategically secure services and accommodations in a non-inclusive society.
• The history of neurodiversity as a movement, pioneered by Jim Sinclair in the 1980s.
• Why listening to Autistic people about the labels they prefer is essential to justice and representation.
• Comparisons between Deaf Culture and Autistic Culture, and how cultural identity builds pride and belonging.
• The link between labels, mental health, and self-advocacy for Autistics.
• How media representation and chosen labels shape public perception, combat stereotypes, and affirm humanity.

Resources:

• Autism Representation in the Media
• Carl Gustav Arvid Olof Croneberg’s NY Times Obituary
• Autism Rights Activist Jim Sinclair
• Spirit Airlines kicks 4-year-old boy with autism off flight for not wearing mask

Related Episodes

Welcome to Autistica

Bad Autism Diagnosis

Autistic Medical Needs

🌟 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

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In this episode of The Autistic Culture Podcast, hosts Dr. Angela Kingdon and Matt Lowry, LPP explore how Parks and Recreation reflects Autistic culture through its beloved characters.

🎧 What You’ll Learn:

• How Leslie Knope’s passion, focus, social awkwardness, and love of organization mirror common Autistic traits.
• Why Ron Swanson’s strict moral code, specialized interests, and preference for solitude resonate strongly with Autistic identity.
• How Ben Wyatt and Chris Traeger also embody Autistic qualities that highlight dedication, hyper-empathy, and purpose.
• The importance of nuanced, well-rounded portrayals of Autistics in media rather than stereotypes or caricatures.
• Why authentic representation fosters belonging, improves mental health, and helps allistics better understand Autistic perspectives.
• Matt and Angela’s critique of outdated diagnostic criteria and their belief that far more people may be Autistic than official numbers suggest.
• How Parks and Rec validates Autistic identity and models inclusivity through its characters’ strengths and humanity.



Resources:

Pop Culture and Identity: Autism in "Parks and Recreation"

Amazing Twitter Thread from Autistic Voices United 

Related Episodes:

Greta is Autistic

Poetry is Autistic

Industrial Light & Magic 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 investigate Sherlock Holmes as an Autistic-coded cultural icon.

🎧 What You’ll Learn:

• Why Sherlock’s outsider status and “alien vibe” resonate with Autistic experiences of being misunderstood.
• The Autistic good vibes of alone time, stimming (yes, pipes count!), deep research, and turning special interests into meaningful careers.
• How bottom-up processing and monotropic focus help Autistics spot details and uncover truths others miss.
• Why social batteries drain quickly for Autistics—and how ignoring this need for rest causes distress and breakdowns.
• How moral “inflexibility” and generosity, often seen as naivety, are actually positive Autistic strengths.
• A study showing Autistics refused to cheat for money, even when allistics did, and what that says about integrity.
• How Dr. Watson’s appreciation of Sherlock’s loyalty and “great heart” mirrors the double empathy problem and ways Autistics and allistics can bridge it.

Resources:

The Complete Sherlock Holmes

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

🌈 Celebrate autistic voices with early access, ad-free listening, and our full archive at AutisticCulturePlus.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 boldly go where no podcast has gone before—exploring the deep connections between Star Trek and Autistic culture.

🎧 What You’ll Learn:

• Why Star Trek features so many Autistic-coded characters, from Spock’s logic-driven lens to Data’s bond with his cat, Spot.
• How Autistics connect with “the alien,” “the robot,” and “the outsider,” reflecting lived experiences of being misunderstood in an allistic world.
• The role of animals in Autistic culture, offering emotional regulation and sensory soothing for both seekers and avoiders.
• Why Autistic perspectives—seen as “difficult” by allistics—are celebrated within Autistic culture as insightful, nuanced, and deeply engaging.
• How the “double empathy problem” shows up in communication between Autistics and allistics.
• The resonance of Star Trek’s themes: questioning power structures, social advocacy, and creating hopeful futures where outsiders belong.
• How special interests, “info-dumping,” and fandom spaces like conventions demonstrate Autistic joy, connection, and identity.
• Matt and Angela’s personal stories of being Trekkie superfans and how embracing fandom is an act of Autistic pride.

Resources:

For Autistic People, Star Trek Can be a Lens Into the World

Related episodes:

Superheroes are Autistic

Doctor Who 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

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In this episode of The Autistic Culture Podcast, hosts Dr. Angela Kingdon and Matt Lowry, LPP reframe Hans Christian Andersen—not as the “awkward, difficult” writer he’s often portrayed to be, but as a figure whose life and work reflect Autistic culture.

🎧 What You’ll Learn:

• How Andersen’s special interests, social struggles, and speech differences align with Autistic traits.
• Why stories like The Ugly Duckling, The Little Mermaid, and The Princess and the Pea resonate so strongly with Autistic experiences of difference, masking, and sensory sensitivity.
• How sensory seeking and avoiding show up in both Andersen’s life and his fairytales.
• Why direct communication, existential loneliness, and intense friendships (like his troubled bond with Charles Dickens) are part of the Autistic lens.
• Matt’s critique of exposure therapy and why Autistics don’t “habituate” the way allistics do—making sensitivity a trait, not a flaw.
• Angela’s personal reflection on The Princess and the Pea as a story that validated her own sensitivity and reframed it as special.
• How Andersen’s work, viewed through Autistic culture, provides representation, validation, and connection across generations.

Resources:

• Complete Works of Hans Christian Andersen
• Hans Christian Andersen Centre
• A Weird visit to Dickens House: Charles Dickens really, really hated his fanboy Hans Christian Andersen.
• BLEAK HOUSE GUEST (movie)
• Dickens Mistress Nelly:
• Charles Dickens AWESOME Wife Catherine
• The Genesis of Artistic Creativity: Asperger's Syndrome and the Arts
• Writers on the Spectrum

Related Episodes:

Beauty and the Beast 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

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

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