Rebellious curiosity means asking the question no one wants to ask, and answering it without blame. Dr. Yemi Penn says the one you've been waiting to save you is already you.
That is the heart of this conversation. Dr. Yemi Penn is an engineer by first profession who became a researcher, keynote speaker, and filmmaker, and she hosts the Decolonising Trauma podcast. She holds a PhD, and to be clear, she is not a clinician. What she offers is lived experience and years of research, not medical advice.
We get into what rebellious curiosity actually looks like day to day, how she went from an engineer who lived on fixed answers to a self-described Cultural Alchemist who "lives in the tolerance," and what it means to decolonise trauma, to step back from the one story we were all handed and ask what else might be true. Yemi walks through how to tell the difference between your real self and the inherited story running the show, and why the reality that feels most permanent might be one that is quietly keeping you company.
I also share something personal: the years my existential OCD kept me locked in a version of reality that felt one step from collapse, and how her framing genuinely reframed it for me. By the end, she leaves us with something Tarana Burke and Brene Brown said best, that you are your best thing, shadow parts and all. This one is warm and honest, and it lands somewhere hopeful without pretending the hard parts are not hard.
More from Dr. Yemi Penn:
Her podcast, Decolonising Trauma (a verified Apple or Spotify show URL unblocks this link)
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.yemipenn/
Website: https://www.yemipenn.com
If you need support:
Mental Health Resources Hub: https://thevibewithky.com/mental-health-resources-hub/
Ky is a mental health advocate speaking from lived experience. He is not a clinician, and this is not medical advice.
Much love. Good vibes. - Ky
