What do our myths remember that history forgets?

In this powerful and expansive conversation, I’m joined by Helen Nde—researcher, writer, cultural historian, and the brilliant mind behind Mythological Africans, one of the most respected platforms devoted to African folklore, mythology, and cultural memory.

Born in Cameroon and now based in Atlanta, Helen brings both personal experience and deep scholarship to her work. Her upcoming book, The Watkins Book of African Folklore, is a sweeping, beautifully curated tapestry of creation stories, trickster tales, ancestral memory, moral wisdom, and the rich diversity of Africa’s oral traditions.

Together, we explore:

🌍 Why African folklore matters now more than ever

🔍 How oral traditions preserve identity, history, and possibility

✨ The role of trickster figures as moral teachers and mirrors of human complexity

🔥 How colonial interpretations distorted many African myths—and what reclamation looks like today

💭 Folklore as history, knowledge, resistance, and prophecy

🎭 What the unseen world (spirits, ancestors, divination) reveals about our shared humanity

📖 How myths continue to shape imagination, belonging, and the African future

This episode is a feast for anyone curious about culture, spirituality, identity, storytelling, and heritage.

❤️ If you enjoyed this conversation…

🔔 Subscribe for more episodes on storytelling, memory, creativity, and cultural imagination.

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💬 Share a comment: Which African myth or folktale has shaped your imagination?

📌 Listen on Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/6c10NeL5nPg3fEgDoDhLT5

📌 Follow Helen Nde & Mythological Africans:

https://www.helennde.com/projects

What if the secret to better leadership — and better storytelling — lies not in having all the answers, but in asking the right questions?

In this episode of Lead with Storytelling, I’m joined by J.R. Briggs, founder of Kairos Partnerships, coach, consultant, and author of The Art of Asking Better Questions. Together, we explore how curiosity shapes our conversations, our leadership, and even the stories we tell about ourselves and others.

With warmth and wisdom, J.R. shares practical ways to cultivate a questioning mindset, why good questions build trust and transformation, and how leaders can rediscover wonder in their everyday work.

✨ In this episode, we talk about:

✅ Why asking better questions makes us better listeners and leaders

✅ How curiosity strengthens communication and storytelling

✅ The difference between “fixing” questions and “forming” questions

✅ How to foster open dialogue in teams and communities

✅ The spiritual discipline of curiosity and not knowing

If you’ve ever wondered how to create space for authentic connection, deep reflection, and better conversations — this episode will leave you inspired to lead with curiosity.

🔗 Get J.R. Briggs’ book The Art of Asking Better Questions → https://www.ivpress.com/the-art-of-asking-better-questions

What happens when sacred stories are retold through the rhythm, language, and worldview of Indigenous peoples?

In this deeply moving conversation, Terry M. Wildman—lead translator, general editor, and project manager of the First Nations Version and the newly released First Nations Psalms and Proverbs—joins Lead with Storytelling to explore how translation and storytelling can become acts of healing, reconciliation, and revelation.

Terry, who is of Ojibwe and Yaqui heritage, shares the decades-long journey behind the First Nations Version—a translation of Scripture that reflects the beauty, humility, and relational worldview of Native oral traditions. From his early years serving among the Hopi to leading a diverse translation council, Terry’s story reveals how faith and culture can meet in harmony rather than conflict.

Together, we explore:

🌿 The spiritual and cultural roots of the First Nations Version

🌿 The power of language to shape identity and deepen understanding

🌿 The humility and responsibility of translating sacred texts

🌿 How Indigenous storytelling reimagines Scripture as living story

🌿 Gender, harmony, and the balance of Creator’s attributes

🌿 Creation stories, wisdom traditions, and shared truths across cultures

🌿 Why translation is not just about words—but about listening, honoring, and relationship

Terry also reflects on what it means to approach translation as a sacred calling—one that invites readers to see God’s story alive in every culture, tongue, and people.

This episode is for storytellers, translators, theologians, and anyone who has ever wondered how the divine speaks through language, heritage, and imagination.

🎧 Listen and watch now to rediscover the beauty of story as sacred bridge.

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📖 Explore the First Nations Version: https://www.ivpress.com/first-nations-version

🎧 Listen to the Lead with Storytelling Podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6c10NeL5nPg3fEgDoDhLT5?si=Zzk9DlKhRMeX7gy0-lPJPw

📸 Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sochiazuh

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