Episodes

In this episode of The Gentle Rebel Podcast, I share a video essay about influencer culture, asking where self-help guru Mel Robbins really discovered the idea for her latest book, The Let Them Theory. Note, as this situation has evolved, I have added more videos to document it. They are available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQ_xip3l1io& https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryQBcUuN8pk& I fell into this rabbit hole after seeing a post on Threads about an article by Sage Justice. This qu...

The randomiser wheel picked “Power in persistence”. I’m currently using a tool to select phrases for my daily journal practice. They are all associated with the theme of Strength. Persistence has power—it can contribute to a better world, but it can also do the opposite, extracting and coercing people without consent. I receive countless unsolicited emails from people pitching podcast appearances, guest posts, and products/services. Many seem to believe persistence is about repeating a request...

Many people feel overwhelmed, uncertain, or powerless in a world grappling with climate crises, political instability, and societal upheaval. But what if there was a way to process these emotions and transform them into meaningful action? This is the premise of “The Work That Reconnects” and Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We’re in with Unexpected Resilience and Creative Power, developed by Joanna Macy and Chris Johnson. These tools invite us to explore our emotional responses to the world, sh...

The randomiser wheel picked “Strength in numbers”. I’m currently using a tool to select phrases for my daily journal practice. They are all associated with the theme of Strength. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “There is power in unity, and there is power in numbers.” Power is contagious, building strength in numbers—a force for creation and destruction. Numbers can topple buildings and spark change but can also reduce individuals to statistical fodder, data on a spreadsheet, and reinforcement whe...

The randomiser wheel picked “It was uncomfortable”. I’m currently using a tool to select phrases for my daily journal practice. They are all associated with the theme of Strength. Discomfort helps me know I’m alive. It’s more concerning when I no longer feel it. Uncomfortable even. No, wait, that doesn’t make sense. If I feel uncomfortable when I don’t feel uncomfortable, I still feel uncomfortable. Weird. Perhaps it’s more of a sensitisation thing. It ought to be concerning if I don’t notice d...

The randomiser wheel picked “Power Through”. I’m currently using a tool to select phrases for my daily journal practice. They are all associated with the theme of Strength. At first, these words brought to mind experiences when I had no choice but to keep going. A looming deadline, the chockful calendar, a stag do, a festival, and the final push with the finish line in sight. Powering through requires a special kind of energy. Dipping in and drawing from the storeroom where I keep my deep reser...

The randomiser wheel picked “Stay strong and carry on”. This month, I’m using a tool to select phrases for my daily journal practice. They are all associated with the theme of Strength. There is a difference between giving up and quitting. I’ve written about this before. To quit is usually an intentional decision. It is informed and considered. It requires courage to let go when something no longer serves its purpose, or you are no longer the person for the task. On the other hand, giving up ha...

Are you an armchair creative? You are great at learning, preparing, and researching a field, yet something often stops you from taking action. In this episode of The Gentle Rebel Podcast, we consider some things that stop us from acting and explore how to get out of the armchair in 2025. Armchair Certainty “What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?” is a common question in coaching. While intended to free us from debilitating fear, it misses an important point. Knowing we can’t fail le...

Have you ever seen homes lit up at night and wondered what the lights in the windows say about the people inside? Just me? OK then! A recent neighbourhood walk left me thinking about three broad tendencies or archetypes that we might embody in our creative energy: The Host, The Artisan, and The Entertainer. The Host You know that warm, glowing light you see in the window of a house at night? Unless you’re in a horror movie, there’s something comforting about it. It’s welcoming and can signal ...

In this episode of The Gentle Rebel Podcast , I sit down with returning guest and friend of the show, Leah Burkhart, founder of The Healthy Sensitive, to discuss a challenge many highly sensitive people face: defining boundaries when you’re genuinely excited about everything. This might be especially true for the multipotentialites among us, who have many creative projects and interests in life. It’s not about saying no to things we don’t want to do—it’s about creating space to understand the e...

In this episode of The Gentle Rebel Podcast , we explore the theme of nostalgia and “going back to basics”. This was inspired by a recent community discussion. What are the basics and what does it mean to go back when time moves forward? In this episode, we consider our relationship with nostalgia and the subtle pull it can have on our beliefs about ourselves, others, and the world around us. Topics Covered in This Episode The Allure of Nostalgia Why the past often feels simpler, safer, and ...

In this episode of The Gentle Rebel Podcast, we explore the Uncanny Valley. This was inspired by a video I published about Apple’s marketing campaign for Apple Intelligence. It turns out I’m not the only one unsettled by their approach. It’s interesting to contrast these Apple commercials with those for Google Gemini. Apple presents its AI technology as a tool for masking personal flaws and promoting insincerity. Conversely, Google has framed AI as a social companion that enhances self-express...

Would you say you have fire in your belly? What does it burn for? I love exploring this question with highly sensitive people, many of whom have a deep, smouldering fire within. This fire is often linked to our values, beliefs, and personally compelling principles. I love helping people explore and (re)connect with this inner fire, supporting them to figure out how to harness it in unapologetic ways. In this episode of The Gentle Rebel Podcast , we will consider what this fire looks, feels, and...

Each of us has a unique sense of adventure. What does yours feel like? In this episode of The Gentle Rebel Podcast, I speak with Sarah Lister, who runs About The Adventure, a career and life coaching business that helps people connect with what brings them to life as they navigate change. I love Sarah's approach to this topic and how she holds each person's needs within their unique spirit of adventure. The deer that delightfully derailed Sarah's sunset photographing quest one evening A Sens...

Have you ever been derailed by a shame attack? Shame can sweep through, telling us we are not worthy, acceptable, or enough. It can be amplified by comparisonitis, where we judge our messy insides with our perception of other peoples’ shiny exteriors. Val Nelson, a career and business coach, specialises in working with highly sensitive and introverted individuals. She wrote this article about dealing with comparisonitis and shame attacks, which I was excited to dive into with her. Many people...

Lizzie Campbell is a polymer clay artist who creates under the name Clay Disarray, and wow, she's phenomenal! Her intricate modelling brings characters and cultural figures to life, and it is mesmerising to see. I discovered Lizzie through a YouTube video in which she delved into the challenges artists face today. Her unique perspective as a highly sensitive and autistic artist sheds light on the struggles many artists are currently grappling with, such as the impact of COVID-19, the cost-of-li...

As a highly sensitive multipotentialite, Yvonne Kjorlien has many creative interests, passions, and pursuits. She studies scattered and scavenged remains to help increase the recovery rate of human remains in outdoor contexts, enabling law enforcement personnel to close forensic cases and provide closure for families. She is also an author, blogger (The Reluctant Archeologist) and writing coach for those bringing new work into the world. I was inspired by the multifaceted nature of Yvonne's per...

In this episode of The Gentle Rebel Podcast , I speak with Margarit Davtian who is a consumer rights activist, social scientist, and “cult slayer”. She exposes deceptive marketing practices, cult psychology, and New-Age conspirituality trends in the coaching industry. Margarit, one of the founders of Ethics For Coaching, helps individuals seeking support in life coaching, business consulting, and self-help industries—the project shields against grifters and scammers who exploit vulnerable posit...

Over the past few years, there have been a bunch of developments in sensitivity research. In this episode of The Gentle Rebel Podcast, I share some reflections on the Second International Conference on Sensitivity Research. Michael Pluess, Francesca Lionetti, and Corina Greven oprganised it through The University of Surrey. In all honesty, academic presentations aren’t really my cup of tea. My mind drifts too easily. But I munched on bananas and persevered because I really think this stuff matt...

Can Artificial Intelligence help us embrace, explore, and celebrate our human creativity and sensory sensitivity even MORE deeply? In this episode of The Gentle Rebel Podcast, I speak with Marc Winn about the impact of generative AI on our creative spirit. We step beyond the unhelpful binary debates that tend to view the complex tangle of technology adoption as all good or all bad. We begin with the most important starting question: What do we want to use it for? And how can it help us become ...

If you're a freelancer or solo practitioner, you likely need to wear many different hats to keep your business going. It can be tiring and confusing at times. An understandable trend in the age of algorithmic social media is people donning the social media marketing hat more and more, sometimes at the expense of their core craft. In this episode of The Gentle Rebel Podcast, I chat with my friend, Adam Kawalec. He explains what he means when he says he's a coach, not a marketer or social media i...

Adam Grant explores how our practice can lead to boreout in Hidden Potential. In this episode of The Gentle Rebel Podcast, I dive into this idea and reflect on the role of playfulness in maintaining our motivation with the things that matter most. We consider the distinctions between burnout and boreout and delve into the contrast between obsession and passion. I ask how the demands and pace of hustle culture might lead to chronic boredom. We look at why we need not stress about discovering our...

Humour is a VERY important sense. Without it, we risk taking ourselves so seriously that we lose all perspective. Our sense of humour is a core part of gentleness (firm back, soft front) because it allows us to move through the world with greater flexibility and openness. We all have this sense! But it takes practice to remain humourously sensitised to the world around, within, and between us. In this episode of The Gentle Rebel Podcast, I share a Haven Courtyard conversation I had towards the...

Life coaching can be shrouded in confusion. In this episode of The Gentle Rebel Podcast, I chat with Megan Malone, delving into the joys and challenges of coaching. Together, we dissect why some view it sceptically and explore avenues for life coaches to reverse the negative trends and misconceptions. Megan is an International Coach Federation (ICF) certified coach and has a Master's in Organisational Development. She sheds clear light on the nature of coaching and what to expect from working ...