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Zoe, Krysia, and Ian reflect on 3 years of the Autism and Theology Podcast! They share their highlights from the last year, how the podcast has impacted them, and what they’re excited for in the year ahead. Thank you to all of our listeners for your support over these 3 years!
The transcript of the episode is available here: https://share.transistor.fm/s/8f7510aa/transcript.txt
The transcript of the episode is available here: https://share.transistor.fm/s/8f7510aa/transcript.txt
If you have any questions, or just want to say hi, email us at cat@abdn.ac.uk or find us on social media @autismtheology.
This podcast is brought to you by The University of Aberdeen's Centre for Autism and Theology.
The artwork for this podcast uses the Centre for Autism and Theology Logo, created by Holly Russell.
Creators and Guests
Host
Ian Lasch
PhD candidate at the university of Aberdeen researching autism and the Imago Dei
Host
What is Autism and Theology Podcast?
The Autism and Theology Podcast is a space where we engage with the latest conversations in the field of autism and theology, share relevant resources, and promote ways in which both faith and non-faith communities can enable autistic people to flourish.
Our episodes are released on the first Wednesday of every month. We have a variety of guests who are related in some way to the field of autism and theology. Some are academics, others are people with life stories to share, and some are both!
We also release CATChat every third Wednesday of the month. These are shorter and more informal episodes where your hosts will share news and give you as listeners an opportunity to ask questions and share your stories.
CAT intro
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Zoe: [00:00:00] Welcome to the Autism and Theology Podcast, brought to you by the Center for Autism and Theology at the University of Aberdeen.
Krysia: Hello, and welcome to this episode of the Autism and Theology podcast. I'm Krysia, and it's great that you've joined us this week. The podcast is a space where we engage with the latest conversations in the field of autism and theology, sharing relevant resources and promoting ways that help faith and non-faith communities enable autistic people to flourish.
If you'd like access to the transcript for this episode, it can be found [00:01:00] in the link in the show notes below. And for this ca- chat, we've got a really special one, 'cause we're reflecting on our third birthday, which is pretty good achievement, actually. I think we should go get a birthday cake. But I guess as part of it, it, it would be really good for us all to say kind of what the podcast kind of has do- kind of, not done for us, but our reflections on it and kind of anything else that's coming up.
So Zoe, Ian, what are your highlights of, from the year?
Zoe: I loved doing the episode with Harry and Paula on Dungeons & Dragons. I think what, like, I realized, like, the most enjoyable podcast episodes are the ones where we do something a bit different. And in that one we, like, started with, I think it was in
Ian: March, we started with an excerpt from a D&D game that we'd played at one point. Um, which was really fun just, like, starting it off differently. I think a few listeners were like, "What is going on? Why am I listening to a D&D podcast?" And then, yeah, we went into discussion. But yeah, that was fun, just [00:02:00] like a fun- I had a lot of fun with it.
So yeah, that was probably a highlight for me
I a- also really enjoyed that conversation. Um, one of my additional favorites was the episode I did with Mati about, um, sort of, uh, Jewish approaches, Jewish autistic approaches to scripture. Um, and, and sort of finding out some of the things that I have started thinking about from, from a Christian perspective in terms of approach to scripture has some commonalities.
Um, that there are some similarities in, um, in ways that autistic people read sacred texts. Um, and, and finding that out from, from a different perspective. It, it, it was just, it just kinda cool. I, I always love it when it turns out, um, that there are commonalities of our experience, right? There are things that, that, oh, yeah, I...
Like, sometimes as an autistic person, I think this is fairly [00:03:00] common, that most autistic people, even post-diagnosis, have moments where they wonder, "Am I really that autistic?" And then you talk to other autistic people and you're like, "Oh. Oh, yeah. Okay. Check. Got it."
Krysia: Yeah. And I guess, I guess I had two highlights.
I really enjoyed our sacred text series. I really enjoyed listening to Mati, Lizzie, and chatting with Sophia. I think they're all so rich and so different, but I guess my highlight would be actually the Bible study that Leon and I did on the last podcast episode, which was re- again, it's a different way of doing things, much like the D&D episode, and I really like the, the times where we can decide to slightly break the mold of what a traditional podcast is and have a go at something new.
'Cause when Leon suggested it, he was like, "Oh, I'm not quite sure." And I said, "No, let's give it a go. I think it would be really good." And it, it actually worked so well, and I think it helps break down, firstly the sensory side help takes it away from a more traditional Bible [00:04:00] study, which I found sometimes a bit kind of difficult in the past.
But also doing it on a podcast and sharing it with other people kind of really stretches and breaks this idea of what traditional fellowship is. We can, people can join in any time, and that's great. That's fantastic.
Zoe: No, I absolutely love that, because I listen to it on my morning walk, and my usual walk is, like, next to, a burn, like a small kind of river.
And it's in the woods. And I actually took my headphones off and just listened to it, like, from my phone, because then I could, like, hear all the sounds around me, listen to it, and it was so cool, 'cause I was like, "When do you ever do a Bible study outside?" And it was, yeah, a really fun way.
I loved that as well. It was fun to be a listener for that one.
Krysia: Yeah. And I just really loved how we're doing church in a completely different way, breaki- basically tearing down the physical walls of the church to do church. Yeah. And I just thought that was so cool. [00:05:00] Yeah.
Zoe: So we just had a really interesting conversation with the person who's doing, like, an impact report on the Center for Austin and Theology, and she asked us, um, basically, like, "How have you personally been impacted by the podcast?" And, like, the last kind of two times we've done these, like, yearly episodes of, like, reflecting on the previous year, it's been very much like, "What have our highlights been?"
But we had a really good conversation about, like, how we've been personally impacted by it, so we thought we'd continue on that conversation, um, now in this episode reflecting on the podcast. Because, yeah, we all have been impacted so much, and we really appreciate our listeners for allowing us to have this space and for engaging with us.
Ian: Yeah, for me, the, um... I think, you know, this has been, looking back over the past year in particular, this has been a year of transition for me.
Um, I've got a lot going on, starting a new [00:06:00] job, everything. Um, and so the, the podcast in particular has been really clarifying in a way. Um, it sort of reiterates the importance of the work that we're doing. Um, it's very f- I find it very fulfilling, especially when we hear from listeners who have said that it makes a difference.
Um, there's very few things more rewarding than recognizing that maybe we have moved the needle just a little bit in terms of improving the experience of autistic people or neurodivergent people in the church or in a faith community. Um, and so it's just sort of, um, f- for me personally, it's helped, uh, reinforce the importance of what I'm doing, what we're doing together, what Cat is doing, just, just the idea that all of this really matters, um, that, that it's still very much needed, um, that it can really truly make a difference
Krysia: Yeah, and I guess for me [00:07:00] it's we're making a difference in a way that's not sat behind a paywall, not sat, you know, where people got to pay money or subscribe or kind of do any of that kind of stuff, and kind of payment subscriptions that people can set up. And the fact that it, it has been helpful for me getting kind of post P- PhD, moving into employment, and let me stay back quite strongly in the field I did my research in, and that I consider my main research field.
Um, I guess for me it's also been quite useful in terms of my own journey, where I have previously been quite hurt by churches. And to be able to do church adjacent stuff like the Bible study with Leon, like the thing we did, Baptised and Consecrated, in our first year, and seeing the different ways we can have these conversations, it's built a community.
And I think that for me means a lot in terms of what we're giving back to the community, and also how we're [00:08:00] effectively liberating people by giving people ... them express their needs and be able to advocate for themselves
Zoe: Yeah, I think just to add to that, like, kind of along, like, in a slightly different way from the church stuff.
Like, I think something that particularly in the last few months, a lot of the things, like, I think probably particularly, like, things you've said, Ian, about engaging with the Bible and reading the Bible and foundational texts have actually really benefited my own personal relationship with the Bible.
And I think, like, there's been... Like, that's just one example. But I do think for me, like, a huge positive impact, like, as Krysia said, like, this has really benefited all of us in our kind of, like, careers and, like, things we're doing. And again, like, we really appreciate our listeners for giving us this platform and engaging with this platform.
Um, but yeah, I think, like, more personally, I've just, it's really benefited me in a lot of ways to have these [00:09:00] conversations. Kind of like similar to what Ian was saying, I feel like it takes, like, I spend a lot of time thinking about neurodiversity, specifically dyslexia, in a very theological theory, academic context.
And I think it's very easy to get caught up in, like, the knowledge side of things. Whereas I think doing this podcast has really grounded everything I do in, like, okay, this is the purpose. Like, this is, like, kind of autism and theology is doing something amazing in churches, like, really changing narratives, changing, um, people's experiences, and there's so much more that is, gonna come from it.
Like, it's such an emerging field, and we're already seeing an impact. And I think for me, like, doing the podcast is just a constant reminder that, the work we're doing is not just, to publish articles and, um, be, like, fancy theologians. It's to make a difference in the world and be part of what I believe, , God is doing in [00:10:00] church through autism and theology and, through, in faith communities more broadly, not just church.
Um, so yeah, I think that, and I think as well, um, personally, like, I was saying when we were having this conversation previously, I love the catch-up episodes where, the three of us have just kind of chatted. I've learned so much about autism, about, um, kind of like different experiences, just, forming my own thoughts and ideas through bouncing ideas off of Ian and Krysia.
I mean, Krysia and I, and, like, well, all three of us are part of writing an article at the moment that came from a catch-up conversation that me and Krysia had, and we were like, "Oh, we should write an article on this." And yeah, I've just, I feel it's been really fun and, like, a lovely experience just to work with you both as well, and yeah, it's been lovely.
Krysia: And I guess also just to kind of, in a way almost kind of add the e- the kind of extra kind of [00:11:00] layer, is actually one really cool thing from doing the podcast is I get to hang out with cool people, both Zoe and Ian, and also all the fantastic people we invite on. Some are academics, some people are, um, have something really important to share from their faith background or from some other advocacy or writing they've done.
And I guess for me, it's just so nice to kind of get to meet lots of different people and realize there's lots of people like me, even if, if not everyone we invite on is autistic and not all our hosts are autistic. There's a lot of kind of shared experience and collegiality, and I think that's been, for me, really transformative and really quite helpful
Zoe: Yeah, it's kind of helped with like branch out a little bit from the people you would normally speak to as well. 'Cause like I guess most research it's like, "Oh, I'm researching [00:12:00] this, so I'll speak to that person." Whereas when we're thinking of the schedules, like we try to kind of push the boat out a little bit, like speaking to people of different faith backgrounds like we've just done.
It's like it encourages us to push the boundaries a little bit of who we engage with and who we speak to, and I think that will have had a huge impact on all of our work and I guess personal lives as well
Krysia: I guess it'd be really interesting to know where we kind of would like the podcast to go in the next year or so, and also what kind of opportunities for growth we still see for the podcast and for ourselves
Ian: I think for me it's, uh, w- what I hope for is that we just keep pushing the envelope, right? Keep broadening our own horizons. Um, everyone's... The, the sort of conversational horizons, bringing all the, the cross-disciplinary stuff together, um, and thinking about this through all sorts [00:13:00] of different lenses because I'm sure there's stuff that hasn't yet occurred to us.
Um, I'm sure that there are things that our listeners have thought about that we haven't yet. Um, and I just hope we continue to, to do that and to explore and to, and to find, um, different ways of applying what we do and what other people do, um, in, in ways that, that benefit the autistic and the neurodivergent community.
Zoe: I think for me, like something I really picked up on the previous conversation we had around impact, I think it was Ian said, I wrote down, um, the podcast is like bringing the everyday in. And I think I'd love to do more of that, like bringing the everyday person in. Like, I don't quite know how we'd do that better in a way that's like kind of finding people or whatever, but I just, I like that phrase, bringing the everyday in.
And I think that is a goal to have for the podcast. Um, not just bringing the academics, but bringing the everyday experiences [00:14:00] in and just doing more and more of that. Um, I think I also, um, would like to do a little bit more around like, again, kind of pushing the boundaries, but like pushing the boundaries.
We had that episode in our first year where we, um, with Autism Consecrated, and we did something very different there and we like scripted it. And like we've had the D&D episode, we've had the Bible study episode, and I think I'd love to explore more of that. Um, kind of like, okay, like how can we occasionally shake this up a little bit?
Like, yeah, just more fun episodes. Not that they're not all fun, but like more sort of like different ways of doing podcasting maybe. But yeah, that's... Yeah, we can see.
Krysia: Yeah, I guess for me as well, different ways of doing podcasting and making sure that we're not just asking... Obviously, we, we know lots of people have really important things to say and share, but making sure that we continue to find new people who also have really important things to say and share.[00:15:00]
Um, and I guess when we do our series, the fact that we had an interfaith series this time was just really, really, I think, good. So I think opportunities for more interfaith discussion where possible would be really good. Um, and again, I really liked Ian's kind of phrase around bringing the everyday in, 'cause I think this helps us also to stay quite fresh and not to be consistently saying the same thing over and over again into a silo, but be consistently looking forward, looking out for new people, and consistently growing our community
Zoe: Yeah, also just, kinda as we come to a close, I just wanted to say, like, a huge thank you to all of our listeners. We could not run this without your support, your encouragement. Um, yeah, we've had some lovely encouragements that have just kept us going and really encouraged us.
Um, so yeah, thank you all so much for listening and engaging, and yeah, we [00:16:00] hope to bring many more years of podcasts to you, and I'm looking forward to seeing where we go next.
Krysia: Thank you for joining our episode today. If you have any questions, you can message us at autismtheology on Bluesky or on Instagram, or you can send us an email at cat@abdn.ac.uk. Even if it's just to say hi, we would love to hear from you.
Zoe: Thank you for listening to the Autism and Theology podcast. If you have any questions for us or just want to say hi, please email us at cat@abdn.ac.uk or find us on Twitter [00:17:00] @autismtheology.