Ruling Passions

In this episode I talk to visual artist James Aldridge (he / they) about their interest in the connection between all things, nature, rivers, art , (neuro)queering and a whole host of other topics.You can find more of James' work here:www.jamesaldridge-artist.co.ukwww.queerriver.comwww.jamesaldridgeart.wordpress.comInstagram.com/JamesAldridgeArtI hope you enjoy the first episode of this new series. If you do, please share the episode and subscribe to the podcast.

Becky (she / her) is a study skills tutor, with a background in secondary teaching of science and PSHE. She was diagnosed autistic as an adult. In this episode we talk about patterns of behaviour, detail,  anatomy, science, history, recipes and knitting, whilst also going off on a lot of other interesting tangents! More information, including a transcript of our conversation, is available here: https://rulingpassions.wordpress.com/2023/09/26/podcast-episode-6/

Dr. Nick Walker is a queer, transgender, flamingly autistic writer and educator known for her foundational work on the neurodiversity paradigm and Neuroqueer Theory, and her contributions to the emergent genre of neuroqueer speculative fiction. She is co-author of the urban fantasy webcomic Weird Luck, and author of a handful of short stories and the essay collection Neuroqueer Heresies. As Managing Editor of the worker-owned indie publishing house Autonomous Press, she has co-edited and contributed to multiple volumes of the annual Spoon Knife neuroqueer lit anthology. Dr. Walker is senior aikido instructor at the Aiki Arts Center in Berkeley, California, and a professor of psychology at California Institute of Integral Studies. In this episode we talked about akido, world building, story and character creation, collaboration, comics, autism, trans experience, the comics of Matt Howarth and Nick's literary works, including the Weird Luck web comic (available here: https://weirdluck.net/comic/1-1-0-the-swiftcorp-incursion/) Special thanks to Robert Chapman who let me record this episode in their spare room! There is an (unedited!) video version of this episode available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=8&v=c2w9Z7WMC0w&feature=youtu.be Links to some of the things discussed by Nick are available here: https://shu.padlet.org/dscb18/i3zo84abx2yn13wo More info here: https://ruling-passions.com/2022/12/06/podcast-episode-5/

In this Episode I talk to Billie Jo Gibson (he / they) who is a National Equity, Diversity and Inclusion officer for the Northern Idependence Party and works in a hospitality job. Billie was diagnosed autistic when they were four years old. In this episode we talk about early diagnosis, friendships, masking, growing up, Speech and Language therapy, forced social interaction and growing up as an autistic child, self-acceptance, gender identity / being trans, hyperfocus, childhood special interests, politics, class, the cost of living crisis, issues with the Labour Party, Northern Independent Party, Democratic Socialism, Disability and PIP assessment, trauma and mental health assessment, Grand Theft Auto and Liverpool / Scouse Culture. [Content warning] this episode includes mention of trauma, challenging early autistic experiences, mental health, food / eating and dysphoria. There is some background noise in this episode as Billie was in a cafe. There is also some swearing. https://shu.padlet.org/dscb18/9m9zy9dwh0cfozn5

In the third episode I talk to Katie Twomey (she / her) about her interests. Katie was diagnosed autistic at age 37. She is a Lecturer in Language and Communicative Development at the University of Manchester. We talk here about Chernobyl, pattern recognition and making connections, alternative futures, the global pandemic, working conditions, lacking inner voices, aphantasia, synethesia , maths, reading, podcasts, collecting conkers, challenges around communication, autistic movement, masking, gendered conditioning and... being a magical unicorn. https://ruling-passions.com/2022/04/27/podcast-episode-3/ https://shu.padlet.org/dscb18/yais2iyzkqm2hbm4

In this episode I talk to Jason Arday (he/him) about his love of music and how it has helped him understand the world. Jason was diagnosed autistic at 3 years old. He has recently been appointed professor of the sociology of education at the university of Glasgow. In our discussion we touch on a range of topics including race, autistic masking, vulnerability, intrinsic / extrinsic motivation, expectations of academia and the importance of music. https://ruling-passions.com/2022/03/22/podcast-launch-episode-2/

In this episode I talk to Pip Brown (they / them) about their 'intense interests' in Music and Portraiture. During the discussion we touch upon several topics including sensory experience, alexithymia, embodiment, LGBTQ+ heroes, visualisation, parallel play, flow and burnout... Some of the cultural reference points include David Byrne, Billy Tipton, Paul Ekman, Steve Reich and Csikszentmihalyi's concept of 'flow'. https://ruling-passions.com/2022/03/16/podcast-launch/

Welcome to the RULING PASSIONS podcast. This podcast is one part of a research project with the same name which seeks to explore autistic adults' passionate interests from a socio-cultural perspective. I'm Chris Bailey, an autistic senior lecturer and researcher from Sheffield Hallam University and across a series of episodes I'll be reflecting on aspects of autistic lived experience in relation to what are often called autistic ‘special interests'. I'll be talking to other autistic people about their own interests, in order to illuminate the complexity and diversity of autistic culture, as a means of depathologising the discourse around autism. I am grateful to the UK Literacy Association for funding this project with a research grant, and to Sheffield Hallam University for supporting the project with a fellowship. You can find more about the project itself buy going to the website at www.rulingpassions.wordpress.com