The Growth Time Machine with Daniel Curtis

On 22 July 2011, Bjørn Ihler was attending the Norwegian Labour Youth Party’s summer camp on the island of Utøya when his life—and Norway itself—changed forever. Bjørn had grown up near Oslo in a multicultural community, playing the violin, snowboarding and practising martial arts. He later moved to Liverpool to study performing arts design, technology and production at LIPA. Returning to Norway d...

The Somerton Man mystery baffled investigators for more than 70 years. Now Professor Derek Abbott reveals how DNA and genetic genealogy finally identified the unknown man found dead on Somerton Beach as Charles Webb. On 1 December 1948, a smartly dressed man was discovered dead on a beach near Adelaide, Australia. He carried no identification, and every label had been removed from his clothing. Hi...

For 27 years, Jeff Schoep was part of America’s neo-Nazi movement—25 of them as leader of the National Socialist Movement. He helped turn it into one of the country’s most prominent hate groups, recruited others into its ideology and spread racism, antisemitism and division. Today, Jeff is trying to undo the damage he helped create. After leaving the movement in 2019, he publicly renounced neo-Naz...

On 8 June 1924, British mountaineers George Mallory and Andrew “Sandy” Irvine disappeared high on Mount Everest. They were last seen climbing towards the summit. Neither man returned. Twenty-nine years later, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay made the first confirmed ascent of Everest. But one extraordinary question has never disappeared:Had Mallory and Irvine already reached the summit in 1924?In...

On 24 November 1971, a man calling himself Dan Cooper boarded Northwest Orient Flight 305 from Portland to Seattle. He told a flight attendant he had a bomb and demanded $200,000 in twenty-dollar bills and four parachutes. After the aircraft landed in Seattle, Cooper released its 36 passengers, collected the ransom and ordered the remaining crew to fly towards Mexico City. Shortly after 8:00 p.m.,...

Tony Palmer recalls the day John Lennon turned up in Cambridge in disguise — complete with an enormous fedora, a false beard and what Palmer describes as one of the dirtiest raincoats he had ever seen. The disguise did not last long. The two of them ended up laughing, Lennon got rid of it, and Palmer somehow managed to bluff his way into King’s College Chapel and the Wren Library at Trinity Colleg...

Joseph and Rebecca Bau survived the Holocaust, saved the lives of others, became closely connected to Oskar Schindler — and built a life defined not by what had been done to them, but by love, humour, creativity and an extraordinary determination to live. In this episode of The Growth Time Machine, I meet their daughters, Clila and Hadasa Bau, for the remarkable family story behind Schindler’s Lis...

Barry Rosen was serving as press attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran when, on November 4, 1979, the embassy was seized and he was taken hostage. He would spend 444 days in captivity. In this deeply personal conversation, Barry takes us far beyond the headlines of the Iran hostage crisis. He talks about the person he was before that day: a young man from Brooklyn, raised in a close family, drawn...

Tony Palmer has spent more than six decades behind the camera, making over 100 films and documenting some of the defining figures and moments of modern culture. In this episode of The Growth Time Machine, Tony reflects on an extraordinary life in film, television and music — from the BBC of the 1960s to John Lennon, The Beatles, Benjamin Britten, Ken Russell, David Attenborough, Liberace and beyon...

Günter Wetzel escaped East Germany in one of the most extraordinary ways imaginable: by building a hot-air balloon in secret and flying two families across the border to West Germany. In this episode of The Growth Time Machine, Günter talks about growing up in the German Democratic Republic, the restrictions that shaped his life, being denied opportunities he wanted, and the moment a magazine arti...

He was expected to become a doctor. Instead, Bradley Rapier found hip-hop — and it changed the entire direction of his life. Bradley Rapier is an Emmy-nominated, award-winning choreographer, speaker and author whose career has taken him from pioneering street dance in Canada to Hollywood, television, theatre and Broadway. Along the way, he has worked on and around productions including Dancing wit...

What happens when you achieve success — and realise it still isn’t the life you want? Tim Miller went from NCAA Division 1 head football coach to RE/MAX Hall of Fame real estate professional to professional motivational hypnotist. His story is one of extraordinary career change, reinvention and having the courage to walk away from a successful life to build a completely different one. For more tha...

What happens when the life that looks right on paper stops feeling like your life? In this episode of *The Growth Time Machine**, Daniel Curtis sits down with **Jon Symes* — speaker, author and creator of Narrative Leadership — for a candid conversation about identity, purpose, leadership, success and the stories that quietly shape our lives. Jon's own story has taken some extraordinary turns. He...

What happens when you’ve worked hard, built a successful life — and still feel like something is missing? In this episode of The Growth Time Machine, Daniel Curtis is joined by Ted Kopecko, author of Finding JOY… Journey Of You , for a conversation about purpose, personal growth, mindset, identity and the value of time. Ted shares why so many people become “Life-Led” — reacting to expectations, wo...

What happens when someone who has spent decades studying winning, elite performance and human potential begins to redefine what success really means? Dr. Jack Groppel is a pioneer in sports science and human performance, a Hall of Fame coach, scientist, author and entrepreneur whose work has helped shape the way world-class athletes and leaders think about performance, recovery, resilience and ene...

What does it take to keep pursuing a creative dream through grief, setbacks and years of uncertainty? In this episode of The Growth Time Machine with Daniel Curtis, award-winning filmmaker, producer, professor and creative entrepreneur Dr. Thaddeus Jones looks back at the experiences, relationships and unexpected turns that shaped his journey into filmmaking. Thaddeus speaks honestly about the com...

What happens when you stop waiting to be recognised and start boldly creating the career and life you want? In this episode of The Growth Time Machine , Daniel Curtis speaks with Limor Bergman Gross , a former Director of Engineering, leadership coach and host of From a Woman to a Leader . Limor looks back at her journey from dreaming of becoming an archaeologist to spending more than 20 years in...

What happens when a childhood dream refuses to disappear? In this episode of The Growth Time Machine with Daniel Curtis , award-winning talk show host, podcast producer and media entrepreneur Richard Wilmore looks back at the people, ambitions, jobs, setbacks and unexpected turns that shaped his journey. Richard shares how a childhood teacher supported him during a difficult period, why he origina...

What if the most important negotiation you'll ever have isn't about salary... but about how you value yourself? In this episode of The Growth Time Machine with Daniel Curtis, negotiation strategist Victoria Nelson shares her remarkable journey from growing up in the post-Soviet world to advising leaders, founders and executives on communication, confidence and high-stakes negotiation. Together we...

In this episode of The Growth Time Machine with Daniel Curtis, attorney and entrepreneur Scherrie L. Prince looks back at the childhood dreams, unexpected setbacks, business failures and life-changing pivots that shaped who she became. Scherrie shares how her early ambition to become a doctor changed following her mother’s illness, what she learned from her first job at a bingo hall, and how faile...

In this episode of 'The Growth Time Machine', Daniel Curtis sits down with Billy Sammons for a warm and thoughtful conversation about life, legacy, family history, kindness, and the power of real human connection. Billy reflects on the advice he would give his younger self, the importance of listening to mentors and parents, and why the Golden Rule remains one of the simplest and most powe...

In this episode, Daniel Curtis sits down with executive coach, author and leadership strategist Chip Scholz to talk about leadership, personal growth, purpose, resilience and the small decisions that shape who we become. Chip has spent nearly 30 years coaching leaders, founders and family businesses through change, succession planning, organisational culture and leadership development. But this co...

He died three times. He survived 73 major surgeries. He was told he would never move again. And still, Jay Setchell refused to quit. In this powerful episode of The Growth Time Machine , Daniel Curtis sits down with Jay for an extraordinary conversation about resilience, faith, service, suffering, survival and the stubborn refusal to give up on life. Raised on a farm with a work ethic carved into...

She wanted to be an architect. Life had other plans. In this episode of The Growth Time Machine, Daniel Curtis is joined by Bethan Curtis-Thomas to explore the unexpected journey that took her from childhood dreams of architecture, to a first job working in a deli, to a career in renewable energy—ultimately leading to a bridge being named in her honour. Together they explore the twists, turns and...