Rebelling

Amy Knott Parrish
  • 5.0 (5)
  • DOCUMENTARY

The Rebelling podcast is a thoughtful, emotionally honest podcast about identity, neurodivergence, and unlearning the pressure to be "normal." It has a mix of solo and interview episodes that are both curious and practical, about coping mechanisms, work, resources, relationships, and the inherited systems that shape our lives. It's the kind of podcast that makes you think differently about humanity, connection, and how we orient to reality. 

  1. 2D AGO

    Questioning How Work Works

    In this episode, I sit down for another conversation with Dana Calder, a queer, neurodivergent SVP in the fintech world and owner of EmberMind Consulting. 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 Embermind Consulting Sign up for Rebelling Study Hall

    59 min

  2. APR 21

    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 REBELLING Study Hall sign up  amy@rebelling.me

    16 min

  3. MAR 23

    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- free, live, virtual sessions starting May 2 for reflection, questions, and real conversation. Sign up here

    17 min

  4. FEB 23

    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. His new book, Epic Tiny Victories, 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.

    1h 27m

  5. FEB 9

    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 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.

    1h 6m

  6. JAN 19

    Stretch & Repair: Finding Security in Connection with Jen Andrew

    I've been wondering...what if social security wasn’t just a government program, but something we build together with the people in and around our lives? In this episode of the Social Security series, Jen Andrew, a disability rights advocate, herbalist, and guest from The Myth of Knowing series, joins me to explore another reframe: relationships as a form of social security, and how showing up, stretching, and repairing can create the support systems we all need.  Jen and I talk about the complex, confusing, gratifying, and very real work of connection: balancing self-responsibility with reciprocity, holding space for discomfort, and learning how to give and receive care without losing ourselves. We talk about different levels of closeness, accountability, repair, and the subtle shifts that transform relationships into a social safety net.  If you’ve ever wished for a variety of relationships that can sustain as well as support you, and wondered how to navigate the discomfort that comes with being in community, this conversation is for you. Together, we rethink connection, care, and what it truly means to be secure with each other. Lovette Jallow The Lovette Jallow Perspective  Website Repentance and Repair Book by Danya Ruttenberg Gloria Alamrew Healing is Making Us Mean Dave Meesters Dining Halls Now! Adam Wilson The Peasantry School Newsletter Sand River Farm Website Garrett Bucks The White Pages Ben Folds Capable of Anything This song isn't mentioned in the episode, but when Jen says “I had a therapist say to me once, this might be controversial, but everyone is capable of abuse. Not that everyone’s an abuser, but that everyone actually can engage in abusive behavior, and talking about how are we responsible to each other, recognizing that in ourselves instead of … this person is good, this person is bad" I immediately thought of this song, so I wanted to include it.

    1h 14m

  7. 12/15/2025

    Individualism and Individuality

    In the first episode of my Social Security series, I explore the difference between individuality and individualism, between being truly ourselves in connection with others, and the cultural pressure to perform independence at all costs. Individualism is a survival story, a disguise precarity and control use to convince us they are actually freedom. And yet, somehow that freedom leaves us separate, continuously striving, and worn thin. Individuality, on the other hand, is only itself. It thrives when we are held, supported, and recognized by one another. Individuality is a relational story.  This episode invites you to imagine a new kind of social security, one built on trust, connection, and mutual support, and to consider what embracing our individuality might mean for our freedom, our relationships, and our ability to create a sense of security, socially.

    17 min

  8. 12/01/2025

    Redefining Social Security

    Today marks the start of a new series on Rebelling called Social Security. And I’m not talking about the monthly check you (hopefully) get someday. I mean actual social security- the security we build with other humans and the environments we live in. In this episode, I introduce the series and lay the foundation for what we’ll explore in the coming weeks: how to understand security not as something we earn or hoard, but as something we create together through relationships, trust, and community. This series is an invitation to think about a world where we rely on each other as much, or more, than we rely on money, and where community is treated as wealth. We'll explore things like security as social (not just financial), building networks of care, trust, and mutual support, the freedom that comes from belonging instead of accumulating, and how we can begin to shift the focus from self-sufficiency to shared humanity. Feel free to email me with thoughts and ideas: amy@rebelling.me Schedule time with me here

    16 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
5 Ratings

About

The Rebelling podcast is a thoughtful, emotionally honest podcast about identity, neurodivergence, and unlearning the pressure to be "normal." It has a mix of solo and interview episodes that are both curious and practical, about coping mechanisms, work, resources, relationships, and the inherited systems that shape our lives. It's the kind of podcast that makes you think differently about humanity, connection, and how we orient to reality. 

Information

  • Creator
    Amy Knott Parrish
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    22
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Rebelling
  • Show Website
    Rebelling