A Joyful Rebellion

What if the hard season you’re in isn’t a detour—but the actual path?

Steven Zeller is a serial entrepreneur, technologist, and futurist who’s built and lost businesses, found clarity in discomfort, and never stopped chasing what’s next. In this episode of A Joyful Rebellion, Steven shares how being broke, unsupported, and underestimated became the foundation for his most innovative work.

We talk about building your...

What if the thing holding you back isn’t laziness, procrastination, or perfectionism—but fear wearing a clever disguise?

In this unforgettable episode of A Joyful Rebellion, Emmy Award-winner and Fearless Living founder Rhonda Britten shares the unthinkable story of what happened to her at age 14—and the decades-long journey that followed. After witnessing the murder-suicide of her parents, Rhonda spiraled into guil...

How do you build a family when the system is designed to tear it apart?

In this powerful episode of A Joyful Rebellion, writer, professor, and father Lane Igoudin shares the deeply human story behind his memoir A Family, Maybe: Two Dads, Two Babies, and the Court Cases That Brought Us Together. Lane and his husband Jonathan were among the first openly gay couples to adopt through the foster system in Los Angeles Cou...

What do you do when life hands you a story you never asked for?

Ray Hartjen is a writer, musician, father, and cancer patient who didn’t just survive a diagnosis—he rewrote the narrative. After learning he had multiple myeloma, an incurable blood cancer, Ray chose to reframe instead of retreat. In this episode of A Joyful Rebellion, we explore how a routine blood test cracked his world open—and how he rebuilt it wit...

You’ve taken the tests—Myers-Briggs, Enneagram, DISC—but what if they’re missing the real point? In this episode of A Joyful Rebellion, personality expert and educator Eric Gee breaks down why most models get it wrong—and how his Project Utopia framework gets it right.

Instead of focusing on traits or labels, Eric’s system centers on values, using animal archetypes grouped into four core packs: Gatherers, Hunters, S...

What if the key to happiness wasn’t in getting what you want—but in choosing how you respond when you don’t? In this episode of A Joyful Rebellion, international bestselling author and cartoonist Andrew Matthews joins us from Australia to unpack what it really means to bounce back. With over 8 million books sold in 49 languages, Andrew’s simple, illustrated messages about happiness have helped millions reframe thei...

What if your favorite suspense novel could help you rebalance your entire life?

In this episode of A Joyful Rebellion, host James Walters talks with bestselling author, business strategist, and resilience coach Rhonda Parker Taylor. Her debut novel Crossroads is more than a legal thriller—it’s a mirror for self-reflection. Rhonda shares how each of her flawed-yet-relatable characters embodies a different dimension o...

Sometimes your life doesn’t change with a big decision—it changes because of a single step. In this powerful episode, James talks with Austin Page, mindset-driven coach and former patient who went from self-destruction to self-mastery after a near-fatal car crash left him hospitalized and immobile.

What started as physical rehab soon turned into an identity shift. Austin shares how daily, uncomfortable action rebu...

What if your diagnosis isn’t your destiny—and the real problem isn’t you, but the system that told you something was wrong in the first place?

In this bold and eye-opening episode, James sits down with Dr. Fred Moss, a former psychiatrist who spent 45 years inside the mental health system—only to walk away. Known today as The UNDoctor, Fred now helps people “UNdiagnose, UNmedicate, and UNindoctrinate” themselves th...

What if you didn’t have to wait for retirement to see the world? In this adventurous and inspiring episode, James sits down with Ryan Mellon, better known as The Digital Nomad Coach, to hear how he went from working 14-hour days at two jobs to traveling the world full-time—while still earning an income.

Ryan’s journey started with a one-year RV trip across the U.S., but it didn’t stop there. From glacier hikes in N...

What if the story that changed your life… wasn’t your own?

In this episode, James sits down with Marcia Heath, a former publishing professional and ghostwriter turned author and documentarian, to explore what it really means to rewrite your story. After decades of editing others' words and chasing what she thought was success, Marcia's body hit the brakes—literally—with a rare case of transient global amnesia. That...

What does redemption look like—really? For John David Graham, it looked like a 140-year-old house, a $200 budget, and a second chance—not just for himself, but for thousands of others.

In this powerful episode of A Joyful Rebellion, James talks with author and nonprofit founder John David Graham about his journey from career detours, near-homelessness, and restless searching, to building Good Samaritan Home, a comm...

If you’ve ever found yourself standing in front of the fridge thinking, “How did I get here—again?” — you’re not alone. In this eye-opening episode, James sits down with Renée Jones, coach, author, TEDx speaker, and someone who knows the diet cycle all too well.

After 40 years of yo-yo dieting, Renée discovered the root of her struggle: emotional eating. Today, she helps clients worldwide face their emotional trigg...

What do coal mines, TikTok, and pizza have in common? In this heartfelt and hunger-inducing episode, James sits down with author and entrepreneur Erica D’Arcangelo to explore the incredible story behind her family's 60-year-old pizzeria in Western Pennsylvania.

Erica shares how a return home during her father’s heart surgery rekindled her purpose in marketing, inspired her to tell her family's immigrant story, and...

Adoption is often seen as a beautiful new beginning, but behind every adoption story is an unspoken layer of loss, identity struggles, and adjustment—for both the child and the adoptive family. In this episode of A Joyful Rebellion, James sits down with author and adoptive mother Anna Maria DiDio to talk about the realities of adoption, the challenges of integrating a child into a ne...

Filmmaking is more than entertainment—it’s a powerful tool for change. In this episode of A Joyful Rebellion, James sits down with filmmaker and producer Ethan Felizzari-Castillo to talk about the power of storytelling in shaping perspectives and sparking conversations. As the founder of CK Productions, Ethan is dedicated to cause-based storytelling, crafting films that highlight important social issues and inspire...

What happens when the qualities you spent a lifetime apologizing for suddenly make you famous? That’s the story of Annie Korzen, an actor, writer, and now an accidental influencer who skyrocketed to social media fame in her 80s. You may recognize her from Seinfeld, but today, she’s captivating millions with her unfiltered wisdom, humor, and brutally honest takes on life, aging, and saying “Yeah, why not?” to unexpected opportunitie...

In this episode of A Joyful Rebellion, host James sits down with R.L. Carpentier, a veteran law enforcement officer turned crime fiction writer. Rodney shares his journey from studying English literature to unexpectedly entering law enforcement and how he rekindled his love for storytelling after nearly two decades on the force. His debut novel, Our Lady of the Overlook, is the first in a gripping crime thriller ser...

Podcast Episode Summary

In this insightful episode of A Joyful Rebellion, host James sits down with Kareen Aristide, a human behavior consultant and mental health advocate, to discuss the profound difference between happiness and joy. Kareen shares her personal journey—from a thriving career to a life-...