Today Spectrum is excited to launch “Synaptic,” a new podcast focusing on the people, the science and the challenges in autism research. We chose the name “Synaptic” to reflect the conversations the show features, with information flowing between two people like impulses flashing between two neurons. This interview-based series is hosted by Spectrum’s enterprise editor, Brady Huggett; and guests include prominent thinkers in the autism and neuroscience fields.

The show focuses on researchers’ lived experiences and bodies of work, along with today’s most pressing questions in neuroscience and autism. Huggett interviews these scientists in their labs and homes, offering listeners a better understanding of his guests’ aspirations and what fuels their research.

The first guest is Catherine Lord, distinguished professor of psychiatry at the University of California, Los Angeles. Her career as an autism researcher spans five decades, and her name is attached to many notable developments, papers and initiatives. But she was also a drama star in high school. In this interview, Lord talks about her hometown in California, her short stint as a researcher in Guatemala, and later experiences in Canada, New York and Los Angeles. She describes meeting her husband along the way and starting a family, working with Andrew Lovaas, and the importance of diagnosis in autism — for autistic people and their families alike.

Tune in for new episodes every other month. Stream the current episode here or on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Original theme song by Chris Collingwood.

Cite this article: https://doi.org/10.53053/ETEF6279