Note: Donald Triplett passed away on June 15, 2023. He was 89. Donald lived a full and happy life in Forest, Mississippi, and will be missed by many. This podcast is a tribute to his life and legacy.
Autism's First Child traces the history of autism through the first person ever diagnosed, and the rural community that helped raise him. Named “Case 1” in 1943, Donald Triplett was in and out of an institution and spent time with history’s most important child psychiatrist by the time he was five. But he went on to live nearly nine happy decades in Forest, Mississippi. What can his story teach us about creating a better world for those who are “different”?
Coach Ryan Weiss shares how the first five minutes of your day can transform your entire outlook, offering daily wisdom and meditation for greater intention.
20 Jun 2026TRANSCRIPT
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Host [Host Name] explores Emma's unique life with a rare condition, highlighting community resilience and promising research for a brighter future.
28 May 2026TRANSCRIPT
Introducing 'Free Therapy' — Stop Letting Social Media Diagnose You
Therapist Leah Miller discusses how social media diagnoses harm mental health understanding, clarifying clinical terms and the human experience beyond soundbites.
5 Dec 2025
Introducing: What Happened in Nashville
What Happened in Nashville is a deeply reported investigation into the sudden collapse of a Tennessee fertility clinic, and the patients caught in the fallout. When the Center for Reproductive Health shut down without warning, people lost access to their embryos, their treatments were abruptly cut off, and many were left scrambling to recover money, medical records, and time they couldn’t afford to lose. Through intimate conversations with the patients who lived through it, host Melissa Jeltsen reveals the emotional and physical toll of the clinic’s abrupt closure. But the story reaches far beyond a single clinic. The series exposes the cracks in a fertility industry built on hope, high price tags and minimal oversight. What Happened in Nashville isn’t just the story of one tragedy — it’s a warning about a system where families have everything at stake and far too little protection.
Listen here (https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-what-happened-in-nashvill-93564012/) or on the iHeartRadio app.
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13 Dec 2022
Bonus: John Donvan and Caren Zucker Discuss Their PBS Documentary
On Tuesday, December 13, at 9pm Eastern/8pm Central, John and Caren's documentary 'In a Different Key' premieres on PBS. They kindly joined iHeart's Mike Coscarelli to talk about the film, the reaction they've been getting to this podcast, and the latest adventures of Donald Triplett.
For more information, or to arrange a screening in your community, visit inadifferentkeythemovie.com.
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23 May 2022
Christmas in Forest
In our final episode, we head down to Mississippi to meet Donald at the Bank of Forest Christmas party. He’s surrounded by love and acceptance and support. But there’s one last piece of the story that we didn’t get to yet — and it’s as important as the rest of it.
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16 May 2022
Donald on the Move
Donald Triplett graduated high school and then made it through college. Moving through adulthood he discovers pastimes that bring meaning and purpose to his life.
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5 May 2022
See the Forest
Donald Triplett grew up in a family that was rich, powerful, and white in the Jim Crow South. But what might his life have been like if he were poor and black? On this episode, we explore the intersection of race, resources, and autism.
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29 Apr 2022
I Wish Myself Luck
After a difficult start to life, Donald Triplett, the little boy whose own mother described as “hopelessly insane,” is given a second chance. While psychologists try to make sense of Donald’s strange disorder, Donald does his best to fit into a world that doesn’t understand him.
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21 Apr 2022
Kanner Syndrome
Beamon and Mary Triplett discharge their three-year-old son, Donald, from a Mississippi institution. They appeal to Dr. Leo Kanner, the father of child psychiatry, who is intrigued by the boy’s remarkable memory and singular behavior. After years of studying children with similar attributes, Dr. Kanner makes the diagnosis that changes history.
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14 Apr 2022
Fitter Families
Born in 1933, Donald T. of Forest, Mississippi exhibits strange behaviors that neither his parents, Beamon and Mary, nor doctors can understand. It’s the Eugenics era, when people who are different are considered degenerates, imbeciles, and threats to society best kept locked away in institutions. Beamon and Mary have other ideas.
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5 Apr 2022
Introducing: Autism's First Child
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