The Curious Mind of Hercule Poirot

What makes a mind brilliant… yet different?

This is The Curious Mind of Hercule Poirot — a podcast exploring the world’s most famous Belgian detective and what he can teach us about neurodiversity, detail, and devotion.

Hercule Poirot, the creation of Agatha Christie, is renowned for his meticulous routines, his passion for order, and his unparalleled ability to observe. But what if these very traits — his precision, his focus, his need for structure — reveal something deeper about the way some minds are beautifully designed to see the world?

Across the episodes, we will explore defining characteristics often found on the autism spectrum, such as attention to detail, hyperfocus, logical thinking and routine through the lens of Poirot’s greatest cases.

So, pour yourself a cup of coffee, take a seat beside the world’s tidiest detective, and join me for The Curious Mind of Hercule Poirot.

Season 1 — Six episodes exploring core autistic traits through the character of Hercule Poirot, tracing how his attention to detail, routine, logic, sensory awareness, and distinctive social style appear across Agatha Christie’s stories.
Season 2 — Six episodes examining common myths about autism, using Poirot as a counter-example to show how these misconceptions unravel when we look closely at his empathy, imagination, humour, relationships, and depth of inner life.
Season 3 — Six episodes exploring the richness of different neurotypes through the partnership of Hercule Poirot and Ariadne Oliver. With Poirot reflecting autistic patterns of logic and order, and Mrs Oliver expressing traits often associated with ADHD — spontaneity, intuition, creative leaps — this season examines how their contrasting minds illuminate one another and reveal a fuller picture of human intelligence.
Season 4 — Six episodes delving into the figure of the outsider in Agatha Christie’s world. From refugees and misfits to the socially awkward and the misunderstood, we explore how Christie uses the outsider to expose prejudice, reveal hidden truths, and deepen our understanding of justice, compassion, and belonging.
Season 5 - Six episodes exploring the quiet faith that shapes Agatha Christie’s famous detective — his devotion to order, his compassion for human weakness, and his belief that truth exists to heal. Through themes of vocation, sin, confession, mercy, and integrity, we discover a Poirot whose logic is shaped by conscience, and whose intellect serves grace.

About Me

I'm Alanna Sorrensen, a social worker with graduate qualifications in forensic mental health, autism, and theology. I am also a long-term Agatha Christie fan who appreciates the way storytelling can illuminate truth, nurture empathy, and celebrate the complexity of the human mind.

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What makes a mind brilliant… yet different?

This is The Curious Mind of Hercule Poirot — a podcast exploring the world’s most famous Belgian detective and what he can teach us about neurodiversity, detail, and devotion.

So, pour yourself a cup of coffee, take a seat beside the world’s tidiest detective, and join me for The Curious Mind of Hercule Poirot.

Season 1 — Six episodes exploring core autistic traits through the character of Hercule Poirot, tracing how his attention to detail, routine, logic, sensory awareness, and distinctive social style appear across Agatha Christie’s stories.
Season 2 — Six episodes examining common myths about autism, using Poirot as a counter-example to show how these misconceptions unravel when we look closely at his empathy, imagination, humour, relationships, and depth of inner life.
Season 3 — Six episodes exploring the richness of different neurotypes through the partnership of Hercule Poirot and Ariadne Oliver. With Poirot reflecting autistic patterns of logic and order, and Mrs Oliver expressing traits often associated with ADHD — spontaneity, intuition, creative leaps — this season examines how their contrasting minds illuminate one another and reveal a fuller picture of human intelligence.
Season 4 — Six episodes delving into the figure of the outsider in Agatha Christie’s world. From refugees and misfits to the socially awkward and the misunderstood, we explore how Christie uses the outsider to expose prejudice, reveal hidden truths, and deepen our understanding of justice, compassion, and belonging.
Season 5 - Six episodes exploring the quiet faith that shapes Agatha Christie’s famous detective — his devotion to order, his compassion for human weakness, and his belief that truth exists to heal. Through themes of vocation, sin, confession, mercy, and integrity, we discover a Poirot whose logic is shaped by conscience, and whose intellect serves grace.

About Me

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Episodes

Wednesday Jan 28, 2026

21. S4E3 The Heart Misunderstood

Wednesday Jan 28, 2026

Why are emotional women so often treated as suspects? This episode explores Christie’s “misjudged women” — the ones who feel deeply, speak plainly, or refuse to shrink into the roles expected of them. From Elsa Greer to Veronica Cray, we examine how emotion becomes misunderstood as manipulation, and how Poirot cuts through stereotype with empathy and pattern-based logic. Blending literary insight, neurodiversity awareness, and gentle theological reflection, we ask what it really means to listen to the heart with discernment.

7 days ago

22. S4E4 The Ethics of the Outsider

7 days ago

What happens when justice and compassion collide? This episode explores Christie’s most morally complex territory: the moment when Poirot confronts not just crime, but conscience. Drawing on the Murder on the Orient Express, we examine how motive, mercy, and moral ambiguity shape Christie’s world — and how Poirot, as an outsider, discerns truth when law and humanity pull in different directions. Blending literary analysis, neurodiversity insight, and gentle theology, we consider why ethical clarity often comes from those who stand apart.

4 days ago

23. S4E5 The Innocent Suspect

4 days ago

Why do communities rush to blame the wrong person? This episode explores Christie’s “innocent suspects” — the nervous servant, the refugee, the timid companion — the ones accused not because of evidence, but because their difference makes them convenient targets. Through psychology, theology, and Poirot’s steady moral clarity, we examine how fear fuels scapegoating, and why Poirot consistently interrupts that cycle. A reflection on justice, compassion, and the courage to look again when everyone else has decided too quickly.

4 hours ago

24. S4E6 The Vision of the Stanger

4 hours ago

What does it mean to see the world as an outsider? In this season finale, we explore Poirot’s greatest gift — not genius, but perspective. Standing slightly apart, he sees patterns others overlook, revealing prejudice, fear, and hidden truth with quiet clarity. Through Christie’s outsiders, neurodiversity insights, and gentle theological reflection, this episode considers why truth is often visible only to the one who doesn’t quite fit.