Ep 1282 | Autism Isn’t a Superpower — or a Death Sentence: A Story of Tough Love | Leland Vittert

Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey

Blaze Podcast Network

Christianity, News Commentary, Religion & Spirituality, News

4.6 • 19.2K Ratings

🗓️ 29 December 2025

⏱️ 47 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Leland Vittert, American journalist and anchor for NewsNation, joins Allie to discuss his book "Born Lucky: A Dedicated Father, a Grateful Son, and My Journey with Autism." Through the interview, Leland discusses his secret diagnoses with autism as a child while his parents rejected accommodations and taught him to conquer adversity head-on. From relentless bullying throughout school to Middle East war zones and network news, Leland credits his dad’s “adapt to the world” philosophy for his success. Heart-wrenching, hope-filled stories prove that hardship forges character, tough parental love yields resilient adults, and God redeems every struggle. Buy Leland's book "Born Lucky: A Dedicated Father, a Grateful Son, and My Journey with Autism" here: ⁠https://a.co/d/f0dba1y⁠ Buy Allie's book "Toxic Empathy: How Progressives Exploit Christian Compassion": ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.toxicempathy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ --- Timecodes: (00:00) Intro (02:50) Nicknamed "Lucky" (08:30) Growing Up with Differences (13:45) Hands Off Approach Parenting (19:50) What Makes a Great Teacher (24:50) Journalism Career (29:40) Working in the Middle East (36:40) Learning Through Adversity (42:30) Current State of Journalism --- Today's Sponsors: Dwell Bible: Head to ⁠ https://get.dwellbible.com/allie/?utm_campaign=sponsorships&utm_content=&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=allie_beth_stuckey&utm_term=⁠ to get started today and get 25% off an annual subscription or 50% off a lifetime subscription. The Wholesome Company: Go to ⁠wholesomeisbetter.com⁠ and use discount code ALLIE at checkout for 20% off your order. --- Episodes you might like:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Ep 1278 | Former FDA Official Unveils Pharma’s Shocking Lies About Depression | Dr. Josef Witt-Doerring ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/relatable-with-allie-beth-stuckey/id1359249098?i=1000741051536⁠ Ep 1273 | Autism Fraud, Islamic Corruption & a Crucial Tennessee Election ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/relatable-with-allie-beth-stuckey/id1359249098?i=1000739184571⁠ Ep 1123 | Why Boys Are Failing Kindergarten | Guest: Dr. Leonard Sax ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-1123-why-boys-are-failing-kindergarten-guest-dr/id1359249098?i=1000684140603⁠ --- Buy Allie's book "You're Not Enough (and That's Okay): Escaping the Toxic Culture of Self-Love": ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.alliebethstuckey.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Relatable merchandise: Use promo code ALLIE10 for a discount: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://shop.blazemedia.com/collections/allie-stuckey⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	In an age when having a diagnosis is almost a badge of honor, Leland Fittert is telling a different
0:08.8	story from his perspective.
0:10.4	As someone who is diagnosed with autism, he says that the adversity that he went through
0:15.7	growing up helped him become the successful journalist and reporter that he is today because his parents,
0:21.8	while they loved him, refused to coddle him. The lessons that he learned, especially from his
0:28.1	dad about hard work, about overcoming difficulty are so incredibly important for us today.
0:35.5	You are going to be so moved by this gut-wrenching story
0:39.6	and also encouraged as a parent, as a friend to ensure that we are helping people reach
0:46.8	their highest potential in everything they do. You are going to love this conversation with our
0:52.0	new friend, Leland Vittert.
0:53.4	Thank you. You are going to love this conversation with our new friend, Leland Vittert.
1:05.8	Leland, thanks so much for taking the time to join me.
1:06.8	It's been a long time.
1:07.4	Good to see you.
1:09.0	It has been a long time.
1:12.7	Okay, I want to talk about your story. You're a newscaster. You've been in the news business for a long time. Good to see you. It has been a long time. Okay, I want to talk about your story. You're a newscaster. You've been in the news business for a long time, but a lot of people don't know that when
1:17.6	you were little, you got diagnosed with autism. That's a big part of your story. It's a big part of the
1:22.6	story. It's one I never told until I was about 43 years old. Yeah. And that was a big part of my parents' philosophy
1:28.7	growing up, which was, we're not going to let you be defined by a diagnosis. We're not going
1:34.8	to let you define yourself by a diagnosis. And my dad, from when I was eight years old,
1:40.0	decided to try and adapt me to the world rather than the world to me.
1:45.5	And that is the born lucky story. And the reason I'm willing to talk about it now at 43
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 8 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Blaze Podcast Network, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Blaze Podcast Network and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.