fiction/non/fiction S8 Ep. 30: Jodie Hare on the Politics of Neurodiversity
Following Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s widely publicized and false claims about autism, writer Jodie Hare joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V Ganeshananthan to talk about the politics of neurodiversity and the importance of autistic communities. Hare, who was diagnosed as autistic in adulthood, explains how the pathologization of the autistic population is historically connected to industrialization and capitalism. She also discusses the discriminatory and criminal history of searching for a “cure” for autism through a series of cruel methods, which have all failed. She challenges the idea that there are normal and abnormal ways of living, and reads from her book, Autism Is Not a Disease: The Politics of Neurodiversity.
To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/
This podcast is produced by V.V. Ganeshananthan, Whitney Terrell, Hunter Murray and Vanessa Watkins.
Selected Readings:
- Autism Is Not A Disease: The Politics of Neurodiversity
- Why we must politicise neurodiversity | shado
- Autism cannot be cured — stop trying | huck, July 2024
- The Dehumanisation of Autistic People Must End | Verso blog, May 2022
Others:
- Empire of Normality by Robert Chapman
- Unmasking For Life: The Autistic Person's Guide to Connecting, Loving, and Living Authentically by Devon Price, PhD
- Neuroqueer Heresies by Nick Walker
- RFK Jr. Is Using a New Study on Autism Rates to Push His Anti-Vaccine Agenda | Mother Jones
- People with autism seek dignity where RFK seeks a cure | Axios
- RFK Jr. Calls Autism ‘Preventable,’ Drawing Ire From Researchers | The New York Times
- A Kind of Spark by Elle McNicoll
- RFK Jr. Set to Launch Disease Registry Tracking Autistic People | The New Republic | The New Republic
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