Rebelling

Questioning How Work Works

In this episode, I sit down for another conversation with Dana Calder [https://www.linkedin.com/in/danacalder/], a queer, neurodivergent SVP in the fintech world and owner of EmberMind Consulting [https://embermindconsulting.com/]. Dana and I start with sourdough starter and baking, which turns out to be a surprisingly good entry point into our conversation about how work works. We talk about hierarchy, trust, AI, workplaces, and what happens when we try to use industrialized systems to do relational work, and relational systems to do industrialized work.   We both come at this through a neurodivergent lens, and what we’re trying to make sense of is that feeling of something not making sense, and what happens when you try to adjust yourself to make it work without looking at what the systems are actually trying to do. These are the two types of systems we're taking about today: Relational:  systems that pay attention to connection, context, and the fact that people are always affecting each other. It’s not about being nice or performative, it’s about actually treating relationship as part of the work itself.  Industrialized: systems built around efficiency, predictability, and standardization, systems that tend to assume people should be consistent, measurable, and somewhat interchangeable. We talk about the confusion that shows up over and over at work when we use the wrong system for the wrong thing. We try to standardize human experience, things like communication, trust, conflict, leadership, and then wonder why it feels flat or performative. And at the same time, we take decisions that actually need clarity and closure and turn them into ongoing relational processes, so nothing fully resolves, but everyone stays emotionally responsible for it. The tension underneath it all is what it feels like to be a person trying to make sense of systems that are built for predictability doing work full of ambiguity, while also carrying emotional and relational weight for things that actually just need to be decided. This conversation is about noticing that pattern as it shows up in work, leadership, and systems, and what might shift when we start to name it.  Dana Calder [https://www.linkedin.com/in/danacalder/] Embermind Consulting [https://embermindconsulting.com/] Sign up for Rebelling Study Hall [https://www.rebelling.me/]

Looking for Blind Spots

In the first episode of year two, I’m looking at how magical thinking shows up in everyday life, not just as an individual coping strategy, but as something shaped by the systems we live inside. I start with a personal story about family, boundaries, and changing long-held patterns, and use that to look at how we make sense of situations that are confusing or unpredictable. When systems are complex or unclear, we fill in the gaps with reasonable assumptions. And over time, those assumptions can become blind spots. The first few episodes this season are going to focus on work. Why do so many people feel like they’re doing everything “right,” and things still aren’t working? What happens when we try to manage adaptive, constantly changing work using outdated, linear models? This season is about slowing down, questioning what doesn’t make sense, and staying curious even when things feel uncertain. It’s about living in alignment with the future we want, even when the present hasn’t caught up yet. REBELLING Website [https://www.rebelling.me/] REBELLING Study Hall sign up  [https://calendly.com/rebelling/rebelling-study-hall] amy@rebelling.me

The Last Episode of Year One

This is the last episode of Year One of Rebelling.  What started as a conversation about neurodivergence grew into curiosity about humanity, systems, and what it really means to live fully in a world that often doesn’t make sense. This year has been about asking questions, leaning into not knowing, and choosing connection over trying to get it “right.” Year Two will take us deeper into exploring the things that dehumanize us.  We'll interrogate the systems and norms that make it difficult to get out of survival mode, and start to build ways to live relationally instead. It starts April 21!  Plus, I’m kicking off Rebelling Study Hall- [https://www.rebelling.me/] free, live, virtual sessions starting May 2 for reflection, questions, and real conversation. Sign up here [https://calendly.com/rebelling/rebelling-study-hall]

Say it Out Loud and See How it Feels with Colin Ryan

In this episode of the Social Security Series, I talk with financial speaker, storyteller, and comedian Colin Ryan [https://www.colinryanspeaks.com/]. His new book, Epic Tiny Victories [https://www.colinryanspeaks.com/epictinyvictories], blends humor and humanity to tell the story of how he learned to work with his own mental health. Colin and I talk about money, privilege, and the unspoken rules that shape our financial lives.  We talk about how shame, secrecy, and assumptions about personal responsibility keep people isolated and anxious about money. Colin shares what he’s learned about building trust, creating spaces where people can speak openly about financial mistakes, and how small acts of honesty and generosity create real social security. This episode explores what comes from connection and collective understanding. It's about recognizing that no one figures it out alone, and imagining what becomes possible when we talk about money openly and honestly.

The Delusions of Independence with Keltie MacLaren

In this episode of the Social Security Series, I sit down again with certified ADHD coach Keltie MacLaren [https://www.adhd-embraced.com/] for a candid conversation about relational rebelling: choosing interdependence over independence, curiosity over certainty, and mutual sense-making over upholding norms. We break down the delusions of independence and the way “self-sufficiency” is framed as a path to reward but more often functions as a tool of guilt and shame. It deliberately hides how much our lives rely on collective labor, care, and infrastructure. These delusions keep people exhausted, isolated, and blaming themselves for failures that are structural, not personal. Grounded in lived experience and the idea of interbeing, this conversation names what is usually left unsaid: no one can actually do it alone, and pretending otherwise serves systems, not people. This episode invites you to intentionally question independence and imagine what becomes possible when we organize our lives around interdependence instead.