Lead with Storytelling | The Watkins Book of African Folklore Author Interview w/ Helen Nde

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…

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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