The Change Optimist
Welcome to The Change Optimist podcast hosted by Mathew Growden (a.k.a. Growdy). A weekly podcast of interesting conversations with interesting people.
Episodes
Acclaimed author and award-winning journalist Lorraine Sommerfeld agreed to chat with me.
We talk about the havoc tariffs are having on the automotive industry. We discuss why the car-buying experience still sucks. And I get to the bottom of why she was fired from a lot of jobs earlier in her life.
She called me a wild card, but I think she’s the wild card.
Pro tip: don't take dad's last beer.
This was fun. My friend Steve Barker and I discuss how we met and some of the fun and antics we've participated in over the years. We discuss our interest in attending a foam conference, the current state of AI, our favourite roller coasters, and our mutual admiration for Nickelback.
Kevin Newman and I discuss the current state of journalism, the nature of truth, the complexities of being a father, and our mutual love of Star Trek.
Michael Dunne is one of the foremost experts on the state of the automotive industry in China. We discuss how the Chinese OEMs have evolved so quickly, what this might mean for dealers and other auto manufacturers, and how we're transitioning to electric vehicles, whether we like it or not.
Alan Cross and I chat about how he became the voice of the Ongoing History of New Music, his love of cars and the complicated nature of defining musical genres.
It was a privilege to chat with Ron Foss and learn about his grandfather, George Foote Foss. George built the Fossmobile, Canada’s first internal combustion engine automobile, in 1897. The story is a fascinating piece of Canadian history that most folks are not likely to know.
I had a wonderful conversation with Philippe Beaudoin, another X-Googler who is now the co-founder and CEO of Waverly. Phil and his team are building an evolved, next-generation social network. In his vision, this platform will leverage intention rather than capitalize on people's attention. Take a listen to Phil and I talk about social networking, Waverly's potential revenue models, and board games.
I was excited when Sidewalk Labs was planning to build the city of the future in Toronto. It didn't happen. People got scared about what data might be collected and how Sidewalk Labs' parent and associated companies, Alphabet and Google, might use that data. Andrew Miller gives me an insider's view of what happened.
Megan Leslie and I talk about the carbon bomb, we reminisce about university (I guess I do that a lot), and Megan explains that she's always wanted to work on issues related to justice, which led her to become the President and CEO of the World Wildlife Fund Canada.
It was wonderful to catch up with Aimée Morrison and talk about her knack for going viral, how we need to embrace the physical nature of learning, and how AI writing isn't writing. We also got a bit nostalgic for our days in university.
Kara Swisher and I sit down for a chat about tech, automotive, the state of autonomous vehicles, and how probably only San Francisco lesbians can save us. We cover a lot of ground in what Kara calls "a lovely, thoughtful chat."
Her new book, Burn Book, is available now.
In this introductory podcast, I explain a little bit about how this podcast came into existence. And I also talk about what you can expect in the next few episodes.
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