The Weird Canadian

Episode Notes He didn't plan to become a defense contractor. It started with a BP oil spill, a case of mistaken identity, and a one-way ticket to Bahrain. Today, Nick D'Ambrosio is the CEO of NOMADICS, a national defense and geospatial intelligence firm that has worked on virtually every unmanned system in the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet. In this episode of The Weird Canadian, Cody sits down with Nick...

Episode Notes Is the world speeding up, or are we just not built for this pace? Futurist Robert B. Tucker has spent 30 years advising companies like IBM and Google on innovation, but now, he’s warning that our obsession with "what's next" is breaking us. In this episode, he reveals why he’s backing away from the word "innovation" and offers a new framework for thriving in the c...

Episode Notes The Middle East is on fire, the Strait of Hormuz is closed, and the 2026 oil crisis is here. But what is actually happening on the ground? Former CBS News producer and "fixer" Amjad Tadros joins The Weird Canadian from Jordan to explain the US-Israel war on Iran, the reality of missiles overhead, and why the global supply chain is breaking down. For 33 years, Amjad was the...

Episode Notes What if being your true, authentic self was your most powerful business asset? In this episode of The Weird Canadian, I sit down with Marina Byezhanova, co-founder of Brand of a Leader and pioneer of "Radical Authenticity." Growing up in the Soviet Union taught Marina the dangers of censorship and sameness. Today, she helps Gen X founders and CEOs find their unique voices,...

Episode Notes Join The Weird Canadian for an eye-opening conversation with Joe Toscano, a former Google UX designer and a prominent voice in ethical technology, known for his role in Netflix's The Social Dilemma. In this episode, Joe pulls back the curtain on Google's aggressive push into AI-generated content and its implications for every website owner and business. Joe reveals how Google's lates...

Episode Notes Is AI the ultimate cheat code for entrepreneurs, or a trap waiting to happen? In this deep-dive interview, we sit down with David Jorjani, a Canadian entrepreneur who has been in the trenches, having built and sold two successful tech companies. Now, he runs Qatalyst Labs, a venture studio dedicated to building the next generation of AI-powered businesses. This full, uncut conversati...

Episode Notes When Dominic Zagara, a former government crypto regulator, was hit with a $1,500 bill of paperwork just to travel with his diabetic alert service dog, Blaze, he didn’t just get mad. He got building. In this episode, Dominic shares his incredible journey from managing his Type 1 Diabetes with his service dog, to regulating the world of cryptocurrency for the New York government, to fo...

Episode Notes What if one company controlled the ability to predict the future? My guest this week, Jordan Miller, argues that this is the secret race Big Tech is currently running — and whoever wins, wins everything. Jordan is a philosopher-turned-developer and the founder of the Satori Network, a decentralized AI designed for real-time prediction that anyone can run on their home computer. He be...

Episode Notes Is exploring space a distraction from our problems on Earth, or is it the only thing that can truly save us? In this deep conversation, I sit down with the "Godfather of the NewSpace Revolution," Rick Tumlinson, to make the definitive case for why humanity’s ultimate purpose is written in the stars. Rick has spent over 35 years on the frontier of the commercial space moveme...

Episode Notes AI can read 25 books in 4.5 seconds. So what makes YOU valuable? In this episode, I sit down with Randy Gage — Speaker Hall of Famer, author of 15 books, and one of the most original thinkers in entrepreneurship — for a deep conversation about AI, the knowledge economy, and why most business models are heading for extinction. Randy doesn't sugarcoat it. He explains why 3 billion jobs...

Episode Notes What if the entire marketing agency industry is built on a lie? That's the explosive view of our guest today, David Pourquery. David is the founder and CEO of Groas AI, a company that isn't just using AI — it's building a fully autonomous agent to replace the marketing agency model entirely. He's a former private equity investor, a computer scientist, and a fiercely independent boots...

Episode Notes Are you tired of endless cookie banners and the feeling that your data is being used without your permission? In this episode, we sit down with Thede Loder, a 30-year veteran of the internet who was one of the original developers of Match.com . Now, he's the co-founder and CTO of Rewarded Interest, a company on a mission to end consent fatigue and give consumers a real stake in the d...

Episode Notes If you feel like Canada is going downhill, you're not imagining it. For the past decade, the country has been in a state of managed decline, caught between the soaring cost of living and a political ideology that prevents us from building our way out. In this episode, we explore the uncomfortable truth at the heart of Canada's economic crisis: the paradox of our green energy ambition...

Episode Notes Is it possible to build a 6-figure business working just 15 hours a week? 35-year AI veteran Tim Cortinovis says yes, and his AI assistant "Rick" does most of the work. In this episode, we explore the reality of the "Single-Handed Unicorn" — the billion-dollar one-person company. But this isn’t just a productivity conversation. We dive deep into the weird, uncomfo...

Episode Notes What does it take to truly break free from a system that isn’t working? In this episode, we talk to Robby Cobbs and Kyle Sumrow, the US-based co-founders of Tech My School, who are leading a rebellion against the educational status quo. After decades of teaching in elite schools across the globe, they were so shocked by the state of the education system in Puerto Rico that they took...

Episode Notes Why do 95% of enterprise AI projects fail? It’s not the algorithm; it’s the data integration. Before you invest another dollar in AI, you need to fix your data plumbing. In this episode, we sit down with Matt Soltau, CEO of IntelliPaaS and a leading expert in enterprise data integration, for a masterclass on building a data foundation that sets your AI strategy up for success. Matt a...

Episode Notes Are you an entrepreneur stuck working *in* your business instead of *on* it? If you feel like you're wearing ten hats and still not getting ahead, this episode is your blueprint for escape. In this powerful interview, Cody sits down with Aarti Anand, a 15-year product leadership veteran and the brilliant founder of Kodenyx AI. She reveals the #1 mistake that keeps entrepreneurs trapp...

Episode Notes What happens when ideas spread like viruses, infecting our thoughts and dividing our communities? In the wake of the tragic shooting in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, author and narrative strategist Alison Sher joins us for a critical conversation about the forces shaping our hyper-connected world. Drawing from her book, The Social Contagion: Viral Ideologies & the Culture War...

Episode Notes He's seen the intersection of law, media, and power from an angle few ever will. Evan Turk, a former attorney for Donald J. Trump and CEO of the American Rights Alliance, joins us for a no-holds-barred conversation about the state of justice in North America. Evan shares his firsthand perspective on what it was like working with Trump, why he believes the legal system is being politi...

Episode Notes What if your biggest life challenges were pre-planned by your soul? In this powerful episode, I sit down with Kanika Vasudeva—a former Fortune 500 engineer who left multimillion-dollar projects behind to become an Energy Expansion Coach and Akashic Records Reader. Her transformation wasn't planned. It was triggered by the stillbirth of her daughter—a moment that shattered her world a...

Episode Notes For the first time in modern history, the next generation is projected to be worse off than their parents. Why? According to 30-year Bay Street veteran Paul Musson, it’s by design. Paul, a former lead portfolio manager who oversaw more than $10 billion, has stepped away from the financial world to issue a critical warning. In his book, “Capital Offence,” he argues that decades of mis...

Episode Notes Is your authenticity a liability, or is it your greatest competitive advantage? In the age of AI, serial entrepreneur and Fortune 500 advisor Nikki Barua reveals why embracing your "weirdness" is the key to not just surviving, but thriving. In this deep-dive conversation, Nikki shares her incredible journey from being an outsider at Ernst & Young—told to wear pantyhose...

Episode Notes Are you just going through the motions? Research shows 80% of us are—leaving our true potential on the table. This episode is your wake-up call. In this deep-dive conversation, I sit down with Marcy Axelrod, a two-time TEDx speaker, #1 bestselling author, and former Wall Street consultant who has cracked the code on human performance. After a childhood stutter took away her ability t...

Episode Notes In this episode, we dive deep into one of publishing's biggest challenges: AI companies training on author work without permission or compensation. Julie Trelstad is a 36-year publishing veteran who's been ahead of every major industry shift—from editing The Not So Big House (which sold 500,000+ copies) to pioneering ebooks on CD-ROMs in the 1990s, to now leading AI content licensing...

Episode Notes While the world is mesmerized by the magic of AI, best-selling author and "AI Realist" Lee Russel is focused on a more critical question: how do you actually win with it? The answer, he argues, has nothing to do with having the biggest model and everything to do with having the best context. In this episode, Lee introduces the concept of Context Engines, a groundbreaking ap...