The Gentle Rebel Podcast

In this episode of The Gentle Rebel Podcast, we explore the variety of neurodiversity. I’ve been staying with friends over the past few weeks, including Lucas, who is nearly 12. He is autistic, and after spending time trawling through the Gentle Rebel Podcast episode archive, we had a chat about topics he thought would be good to explore. One of those topics was what he described as “t...

I sometimes notice that I’m feeling stuck. When I’m frustrated, trying to figure something out. Stuck for inspiration when I’m attempting to create something or solve a problem. Stuck in thought patterns and loops. It’s tempting to give up or seek shortcuts when this feeling kicks in, as if it’s something to avoid or overcome. But stuckness can encompass a wide range...

The Strangest Secret was released in 1956. Earl Nightingale’s 35-minute, six-and-a-half-thousand-word recording was one of the earliest motivational tapes. It sold more than a million copies and became the first spoken-word recording to achieve Gold Record status. The recording was released during a period of post-war economic expansion in the United States. Consumer culture was booming, and...

I’ve been journaling more or less daily for the past fifteen years. As much as I love the romantic vision of pen on paper, I’ve always done it digitally because I could never keep up with a handwritten journal. I tried, but it never really worked. Over the years, I’ve come across plenty of advice on the best ways to journal, the best techniques, and the best prompts. I always thi...

How did Norman Vincent Peale’s book, The Power of Positive Thinking, pave the way for the prosperity gospel and the law of attraction that still has its claws in today’s culture? That’s what we explore in this episode of The Gentle Rebel Podcast . Part One explored Peale’s foundations in the New Thought Movement of the nineteenth century and its theological departure from P...

In the wake of burnout, Tuula Ahde found herself unable to move through the world as she previously had. And she got busy looking for ways to unfreeze. Ironically, it was ice that gave her a route back home. She found herself instinctively drawn to photography, particularly macro-photography, which zoomed in on the mysterious details of her world’s enforced smallness. She photographed flower...

Walking art is a nice metaphor for the experience of experimentally oriented people . In this episode of The Gentle Rebel Podcast , I chat with Australian multi-form artist Amy Tsilemanis. I’ve known Amy for a few years and was excited to talk with her about the naturally curious approach she takes to her work and life, as it resonates with much of what we regularly discuss here and on Seren...

This episode of The Gentle Rebel Podcast is an introduction to “Leave it There”, this season’s theme. I share some of the initial topics it brought to my mind. I’d love to hear from you about what it brings to yours. What Does Leave It There Mean To You? Is there something you want to leave behind? Do you want to get better at letting things go? Or maybe, the opposite, pers...

The moral of The Boy Who Cried Wolf is generally that liars aren’t believed even when they tell the truth. But I wonder if that story actually tells us less about the boy and more about the village. The boy’s behaviour didn’t change. What changed was how the village responded. Each false alarm conditioned them to doubt what came next. Once that trust was gone, the villagers were living in a subtly...

What would you say makes something satisfying for you? How do you recognise that you’re satisfied? It’s not always easy to answer those questions. It’s something I’ve explored a lot over the past few years, both personally and in conversations with others who feel caught in a tug-of-war between doing what they feel they ought to do and what actually brings them an intrinsic sense of satisfaction....

Like other self-help gurus of the time, Norman Vincent Peal targeted the lonely travelling salesman. But his message was also marketed to corporate executives, who were promised that the true power of positive thinking lay in the great dividends it would yield if they could sell it to their workforce. This episode of The Gentle Rebel Podcast builds on the first part of this mini-series, where we s...

How do you tend to define success? Is it an external outcome you pursue, or is it something personal you feel ‘close in’? I’ve been preparing for our next set of Serenity Island Picnics . I’m considering how being more experimental might affect my understanding of success. I share a few of these observations in this short episode of The Gentle Rebel Podcast . The Return to...

Do you find that some of your most meaningful and important endeavours are accidental? Tuula and I unexpectedly made two short horror films earlier this week. And it got me thinking again about differences between experimental and conceptual approaches to life. In this episode of The Gentle Rebel Podcast , we explore how, for many of us, the accidental discoveries and detours are not always unhelp...

With increasing regularity, I see posts on social media criticising coaching as a pyramid scheme or defending it against such accusations. As people tend to do, they paint a nuanced field with a very broad brush, whichever side they support. In this episode of The Gentle Rebel Podcast , I discuss a recent argument I came across. It illustrates how the term ‘coaching’ is understood and...

Join me on Saturday April 4th 2026 for a mini-zine making workshop around this theme of Expressing Your True Colours. What stops people expressing themselves authentically? This question has been on my mind over the past couple of weeks. I collected responses from a poll asking which statement feels most accurate to people at the moment. You might have seen it if you are subscribed to my mailing l...

The Power of Positive Thinking promised liberation from feelings of inferiority and self-doubt. But did it simply deliver us a new set of demands and anxieties to adhere to? We often consider positive thinking as a beneficial mindset that enhances performance in sports and other activities. However, it is more than just a description of a possible behaviour. It is also the title of a 1952 book by...

If you’ve looked up stuff about the trait of high sensitivity online, you’ve probably been confronted by a sea of pastel colours and a hundred shades of beige. There’s nothing inherently wrong with those things. If that’s your bag, by all means fill it up. But other preferences are available, and I know a bunch of HSPs who keep their true colours hidden for fear of standing...

This is Part 3 of a short series where I’m sharing how I’ve been using mini zines to generate ideas, make connections, and get accidentally creative in unexpected ways. In this post, I’ll take you through two exercises focused on making connections and using observations to better understand your relationship with the areas of life, challenges, and decisions on your mind. https://www.youtube.com/w...

In this episode of The Gentle Rebel Podcast , I explore something that happened yesterday. I had another episode planned for this week, but I put it on the shelf for now because I’ve been drawn into a fascinating situation that did the rounds after the freestyle skier Eileen Gu was asked, by a reporter after competing at the winter Olympics, what she described as a ridiculous question. The w...

Here is a follow-up to my previous video , in which I explored how I use foldable mini-zines to generate creative ideas. This time, I share two specific approaches I’ve found helpful for brainstorming and expanding ideas. The first is about expanding ideas in playful, often surprising ways. The second focuses on generating questions for personal inquiry, which I use to better understand and...

“How do you tend to respond when you do not know?” We had this question in our Journal Circle a couple of weeks ago. It’s at the heart of many issues in our world right now. How do we hold it? When do we conceal it? Where do we turn for knowledge? And what do we do with it when we acquire it? That’s what we explore in this episode of The Gentle Rebel Podcast . https://youtu.be/QRAS1dib...

Do you want to generate ideas quickly, without overthinking, without requiring perfection, and without using AI tools? One-page mini-zines are great for brainstorming and exploring things with both speed and depth. In this post, I want to show you how I use this medium not only to structure our Haven zine , but also to develop its topics and prompts. Mini-zines can be a great tool to carry in your...

Around Black Friday last year, I started getting strange emails from people asking me to cancel their subscription. Only, they weren’t from Haven members, and they were talking about a weekly charge of $7. After a brief panic and some investigation, I confirmed this was not possible. I assumed these messages were bots phishing for something. Then my attention was caught by one that said, “Hi, I&#8...

I’m holding something very exciting in my hands. A physical copy of Sam Marshall’s beautiful book, Sketch: A Project Guide to Drawing With Confidence . Sam and I spoke about it a couple of weeks ago. I want to pause at the beginning because the first chapter, Why Sketch? , is packed with juice. It speaks to how I understand creativity and why it matters, not just personally but collectively. Wheth...

Would you like to develop more creative confidence? Have you ever embarked on, or considered, a sketching practice? In this episode of The Gentle Rebel Podcast , we explore the link between the two in conversation with artist, printmaker, and creative coach Sam Marshall. Sam is based here in the UK and has recently released a beautiful book called Sketch: A Project Guide To Drawing With Confidence...