Cool Beans Pod

🎙️ In this episode, we welcome  Rodrigo Ferreira da Silva , President of the Board of  ARAN – Associação Nacional do Ramo Automóvel . With a strong background in sales, marketing and the automotive industry, Rodrigo shares his experience of working in a highly competitive sector, the importance of customer satisfaction, leadership and the challenges of navigating an ever-changing market. 🚗📈 A na...

🎙️ Cool Beans Pod — Episode #51 🎙️ This week, I’m joined by Pedro Sousa — content creator 👊 A raw and honest conversation about weight loss, creating content online, and knowing when you need to man up and make a change. 💪🔥 We chat about generational differences , how perspectives can change between generations, and the importance of taking a stand in your own life to improve your circumstances...

☕🎙️  Cool Beans Pod — Episode 50: Half Bat, Half Century! 🦇🎂 We’ve hit the big  5-0!  And for this special episode, we’re talking about one of the biggest questions shaping our future:  AI — what we know, what’s changing fast, and what we simply don’t know yet. Our guest is  Marta Pinto from AI Goes to School , and we had a wide-ranging conversation about recent developments in AI, what they mi...

✈️☕  Cool Beans Pod welcomes John!  🎙️ This week, John Zinkus joins us to chat about his experiences as a  pilot for a major European airline . ✈️🌍 From the highs and lows of  pilot training  🎓 to the realities of life in the cockpit 🛫, John gives us an insight into what it’s really like flying for a living — including the  pressures, challenges and responsibilities  that come with the job. 👨...

👻  Ghosts. Murders. Mysteries. Life abroad. Dating in 2026. A follow-up to the fascinating  Stories of the Ghost  walking tour — recapping some of the  ghosts, murders, mysteries and stories  behind the places visited along the way. 👻🔪🕯️ And there’s more to this episode… 💬  Rosie Ribeiro  joins the conversation to talk about life as a  single mum abroad , the challenges of raising a family awa...

✈️  From the control room to the podcast mic!  🎙️ Meet  Pedro Palha  — a Porto native 🇵🇹 and Traffic Control Officer based in Porto, bringing a fascinating behind-the-scenes perspective on life in aviation. ✈️ In this chat, we talk about the realities of the job —  stress, training, responsibility, and staying focused when the pressure is on . 🧠🎧 We also explore the incredible joys ✨ and very r...

Big Production and Porto 🎭  Tommy Luther Hughes has lived a life in movement — but Porto has always been home. 🇵🇹❤️ Trained at LAMDA, Tommy began his career in London before becoming the original title role in the National Theatre’s  War Horse , one of the most successful productions in its history. His extraordinary journey has taken him from theatre and opera to film, television, puppetry and m...

☕📖 Josué Ferreira Returns to the Cool Beans Pod! 🎙️✨ Josué Ferreira is back on the Cool Beans Pod for a fascinating deep dive into the Book of Job — one of the oldest and most intriguing books of the Bible. 🙏📜 Where did Job come from? 🤔 What is the deeper meaning behind this ancient story of suffering, faith, justice, and God? And perhaps most importantly — what can the Book of Job teach us...

🇵🇹🎙️ Episode Spotlight: Kim Van Craeynest Why Porto? Why invest here? And what makes Northern Portugal such a special place to call home?  🏡🍷🌊 In Episode #44 of the  Cool Beans Pod , we’re joined by  Kim Van Craeynest , relocation specialist and the woman behind  Porto.withkim . Kim helps expat families navigate their move to Portugal with personalised relocation support, local knowledge and gu...

🎙️ Episode Spotlight Maryia is a psychotherapist and founder of MaryiaMindCare , a private practice in Porto offering psychotherapy in English. In this episode, we explore what it really means to feel safe in therapy, why our thoughts aren't always facts, and how therapy can help us better understand ourselves with compassion rather than judgment. ✨ We also discuss: 🧠 Thought traps and limit...

🌟 Episode Spotlight 🎙️ This week, I'm joined by Portuguese writer and literary translator  João Reis  for a fascinating conversation on language, literature, and the future of creativity. We discuss: 📖 Learning languages and how they shape the way we think. 🤖 The rise of AI and its impact on translation—can technology really replace human translators? ✍️ Writing across different languages and c...

Episode Spotlight: 🌍✈️  Fátima Ribeiro  is the founder of  FR Travel  and the driving force behind  Altiora , creating bespoke travel experiences and curated tours across the globe. With over 20 years in the travel industry, she combines expert knowledge with trusted international connections to craft unforgettable journeys. 🎙️ Fátima is an engaging guest, sharing insights into the joys and chall...

🎙️  João Portas  is the co-founder of  SirTile® , a Portuguese sock brand inspired by the timeless beauty of Portugal's iconic ceramic tiles. 🇵🇹 🧦 With a deep passion for socks as more than just an everyday essential, João believes they are a subtle yet powerful way to express personality, creativity, and individuality. This vision became the foundation for SirTile®. ❤️ Together with his wife...

🎙️ This week on the podcast, we're joined by Sharon Jemima Crew — a fine art–trained artist who has called Porto home for more than a decade. 🇵🇹🎨 Sharon creates beautifully hand-illustrated maps, walking guides, and art prints that reveal the Porto most visitors never discover. From hidden cemeteries 🪦 and forgotten alleyways to quirky junk shops 🏺 that don't even appear on Google Maps,...

🎙️  Podcast Episode: Nuno André Oliveira Marques dos Santos & the Nelo Story  🚣‍♂️🏅 In this episode, we sit down with  Nuno André Oliveira Marques dos Santos , General Director of Nelo MAR Kayaks , one of the most influential companies in global paddlesports. Born in Porto on December 17, 1976, Nuno holds a degree in Economics from the University of Porto School of Economics and Management....

🎙️👻  Stories of the Ghost – Porto Walking Tours | Dark Side of Portugal A new voice joins the shadows... In this episode, we're delighted to welcome  Rosaria Ribeiro  as our new  co-host , helping guide us through the mysteries, legends, and darker corners of Portugal's past. 🕯️🇵🇹 And this episode comes with an unexpected twist... 👀 The Ghost itself sent us answers to some of our questio...

☕🎙️  This week on the Cool Beans Pod: Ana Carina Soares By day, Ana is a dedicated 👩‍⚕️ nurse. In October 2025, alongside her husband, she opened  Magnolia Coffee Leça  in 📍Leça da Palmeira, Porto — a welcoming café serving 🍽️ daily meals, 🍰 homemade cakes, and 🇵🇹 Portuguese treats with a modern continental twist. Running a thriving coffee shop while working full-time in healthcare is no small...

🎙️  Podcast Episode Spotlight: What happens when a South African takes the grit, warmth, and straight-talking honesty we're known for and uses it to help leaders around the world find their voice? 🌍 Join us for an inspiring conversation with  Mark de Stadler , a proud Saffa making an impact on the global stage. Now living in  Porto, Portugal with his wife and business partner, Sandy ❤️. Mark...

🎙️☕  Cool Beans Pod – Lysa Fedtke 🇩🇪🔥 In this episode of  Cool Beans Pod , we sit down with Lysa Fedtke — German trainer, translator, and proofreader — to unpack the  real  reason so many people struggle to speak German confidently in everyday life. After years of teaching students from around the world, Lysa noticed the same pattern over and over again: people understand the language, know the...

🎙️ On this episode of the Cool Beans Pod, we sat down with Marta Pinto — founder of AI Goes to School, educator, researcher, and at heart, an art teacher exploring the human side of technology 🎨🤖 With a PhD in Multimedia in Education and more than 20 years working across learning, technology, and teacher development, Marta shared thoughtful insights on how schools can approach AI with curiosity,...

🔬➡️🤖➡️📈 From science labs to boardroom strategy — meet Filipe. After a decade in London working across biology and robotics, Filipe pivoted into the world of strategy and consulting, where he now operates at the cutting edge of business and technology. Over the last 10 years, he’s helped organisations navigate growth, transformation, and the ever-evolving impact of AI — not just on processes, b...

From Porto to Europe — building a sneaker brand with purpose 👟🇵🇹 On this episode, we sit down with  Pedro Maçana , co-founder of Wayz (alongside Daniel Gonçalves), the Portuguese sneaker brand born in 2019 with a bold mission:  100% designed and crafted in Portugal . What started as a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo quickly turned into a movement — with their first pairs shipped by the end of...

🎙️ Cool Beans Pod — Episode Spotlight Professor Alexandre Quintanilha In this episode of  Cool Beans , Gary chats with  Professor Alexandre Quintanilha  — one of Portugal’s most respected scientists and thinkers — about  curiosity, education, risk, and how ideas travel from classrooms into real life . Alexandre began his academic journey studying  Theoretical Physics at the University of the Witwa...

🎙️ Designing a New Life: From LA to Porto with Kevin E. Young Kevin E. Young is an American interior designer who now calls Bomfim, Porto home 🇵🇹. In this episode, we chat about housing in Portugal, what it’s really like to move abroad, and why he left Los Angeles to challenge himself in a more frugal, creative environment ✈️🏡. Kevin dives into the practical side of home design, sharing insights...

🎙️  Podcast Spotlight: Carla Hooley In this episode, Carla Hooley joins us to unpack the real-world challenges and exciting opportunities of online teaching 🌍💻. From navigating ever-evolving tech to prioritising mental health and resilience, she shares what it truly takes to thrive in a digital learning space. Carla also reflects on working across diverse cultures and organisations, and how step...