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 first million (and losing it fast), navigating entrepreneurship without a safety net, and how failure became his best mentor. Steven opens up about growing up without support, learning business in real time, and why your inner circle matters more than your pitch deck. Then we shift into the future: AI, genetic engineering, wearable tech, deepfakes, and the fine line between human potential and transhumanism.

This episode is a rare peek into the mind of someone who sees the future clearly—and isn’t afraid to walk straight into it.

• [00:00] Opening question: Is technology making us dumber—or just more reliant?

• [01:00] Meet Steven Zeller: serial entrepreneur, tech futurist, self-made risk-taker

• [03:00] From Midwest middle child to forging his own path—without college

• [06:00] Choosing neurosurgery… or entrepreneurship?

• [08:00] Breaking generational expectations without a support system

• [11:00] Early mistakes, bad influences, and learning business by doing

• [13:00] Making a million—and losing it fast

• [15:00] The “woe is me” moment, and what he did differently the second time

• [18:00] Why iteration matters more than perfection

• [21:00] Version 3.0 of your life—and why reinvention is your best strategy

• [24:00] AI, robotics, and why humans were built for more than monotony

• [28:00] The distinction between usable and distraction tech

• [33:00] How we think with tools—and why that isn’t always a bad thing

• [36:00] Deepfakes, disinformation, and the need for AI fact-checkers

• [39:00] What Steven’s most excited about: genetics, organ regeneration, and life extension

• [43:00] The ethics of editing embryos—and the danger of designer babies

• [45:00] Medical disruption vs. medical monetization

• [47:00] The idea of “downloading a cure” in the not-so-distant future

• [50:00] Transhumanism, identity, and what makes us human

• [52:00] Final thoughts: Better tech, better humans, and drawing the line

• Connect with Steven on LinkedIn

• Topics mentioned: ChatGPT, Sora, Quantum Computing, Human Genome Project, IPS cells, Brain-computer interfaces

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 guilt, addiction, and self-destruction. But a failed suicide attempt became the moment she decided to start over. And she did.

Today, she’s helped thousands reclaim their lives using the Wheel of Fear and Wheel of Freedom, tools that help people stop trying harder and start transforming. We talk about emotional fear vs. physical fear, why most self-help doesn’t stick, and how real change comes through awareness, not willpower. Whether you’re overwhelmed, people-pleasing, or perfectionist-ing your way through life, this conversation will shift how you see yourself—and what you do next.

• [00:00] What fearlessness really is (it’s not skydiving)

• [02:00] Rhonda’s backstory: Emmy-winner, coach, and trauma survivor

• [04:30] The worst day of her life—and the guilt that followed

• [07:30] Alcohol, suicide attempts, and the turning point

• [09:00] The gold star calendar that changed everything

• [11:00] Why knowledge doesn’t equal transformation

• [13:00] What fear actually looks like in daily life

• [14:30] The fear quiz (and how you probably passed it 100%)

• [17:00] Reframing “problems” as fear responses

• [19:00] Identifying your core fear—and how it runs the show

• [22:00] The Wheel of Fear vs. Wheel of Freedom

• [25:00] How shame melts when fear is named

• [28:00] Healing, regret, and radical self-forgiveness

• [31:00] Rhonda’s essential nature: authenticity

• [34:00] Generational trauma and fear in your DNA

• [36:30] Why your worst behavior doesn’t define you

• [38:00] Age, awareness, and how fast change can happen

• [40:00] The #1 fear people don’t talk about

• [43:00] Coaching that actually works—and why

• [46:00] Stretch, Risk, or Die: tools for transformation

• [49:00] Fear as your outdated protector (and how to retrain it)

• [52:00] The difference between venting and complaining

• [55:00] Building sovereignty and agency—one choice at a time

• [58:00] What healthy people really look like—and how to find them

• [01:00:00] Final takeaway: There’s nothing wrong with you. It’s just fear.

• Website: fearlessliving.org

• Free Video Class: Stretch Risk or Die | Fearless Living

• Book: Fearless Living by Rhonda Britten

• Instagram: @‌rhondabritten

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 County. What followed was a three-year legal and emotional rollercoaster that tested their resolve, their relationship, and their sense of justice.

We talk about the failures of the child welfare system, the invisible labor of parenting under legal threat, and what it really means to create family—not just legally, but spiritually and emotionally. Lane opens up about raising two daughters, navigating stigma, building community, and the quiet strength it takes to hold your family together when others have the power to pull it apart.

• [00:00] Grafting onto a new family tree: How love can create roots

• [01:00] Meet Lane Igoudin: Writer, father, and accidental memoirist

• [03:00] The first chapter: curbside delivery and becoming instant parents

• [06:00] Birth, sepsis, and a cooler bag full of formula

• [08:30] Parenting under legal threat: Living through uncertainty

• [10:00] Two babies, no safety net, and a perfect storm of life transitions

• [12:00] Why Lane always knew he wanted to be a father

• [14:00] The landscape of early LGBTQ+ adoptions in the 2000s

• [16:00] Legal limbo: Being married in one state, single in another

• [18:00] Parallel paths: Parenting, career change, and teaching

• [20:00] The emotional cost of parenting through a courtroom

• [23:00] Denied status, silenced voices, and fighting for your family

• [25:00] The problem with “best interests” being decided 30 miles away

• [27:00] What true attachment looks like—and what disruption could do

• [30:00] Building bridges: Allies, moms, and chosen community

• [32:00] Identity, culture, and raising bicultural kids with care

• [34:00] What the girls know, and what they want to know, about their past

• [36:00] Reactions to the book—from readers, family, and adoptees

• [39:00] Why Lane wrote the story he never planned to write

• Lane’s Website: http://laneigoudin.com

• Book: A Family, Maybe (Available via Amazon, Bookshop, and his website)

• Publisher: Ooligan Press, Portland State University

• Instagram: @laneigoudin

• Facebook: Lane Igoudin