Where There's Smoke

Hey, Explorers! It's a Christmas miracle! We know we've been quiet, but during some sort of post-Thanksgiving-fueled mania, Nick decided to make a short mini-series where he dives (too) deep into the 2012 Made-For-TV Christmas musical, The Mistle-Tones. The podcast is called Unwrapping the Mistle-Tones.  While you CAN watch the movie first and get a lot of enjoyment, the episodes were designed so...

It is December and any show worth its weight in gold (or frankincense… or myrrh) has a Christmas episode - and WTS is definitely with its weight in tree resin. This episode comes to you in the form of two audio gifts. We even wrapped them and put them under the tree for you. We hope you enjoy them and, perhaps, even take away an idea or two that helps your holiday season be merry and bright. Thank...

What is Halloween without the trick or treating? That is the question that started the journey of this episode. A lot of our traditions over the next few months are going to look different this year. Not just Halloween. It's unlikely that celebrations of US Thanksgiving, Diwali, Hanukkah, or Christmas will have the same gatherings of people they have in the past. And that sucks. And many people fe...

The world is grappling with a lot of tough issues. Issues that are nuanced and layered. Issues that don't necessarily have a right or wrong answer. Issues that demand dialogue for progress. And yet we seem to mostly be doing something else.  This week we are talking about talking. Debate vs Dialogue. Nick revisits an actual debate, and both Nick and Brett attempt to create some dialogue.  In the e...

This week our episode is inspired by the life of Chadwick Boseman. We challenge ourselves to look at how we are showing up in the world. With all of our fears and doubts and distractions, and over corrections and under corrections, and at times just plain laziness or indifference - how many of us manage to consistently show up in our life? For ourselves and for others? To bring all of ourselves to...

"Change is the only constant in life." Heraclitus said that back in 500 BCE. It was true then, and 2500 years later, it is still true.  That said, there are times in life when it feels like we are in a more intense period of change. As we release this episode, it is June of the year Two Thousand and Twenty AD. We've got a pandemic that is still very much happening, economic uncertainty, and the wo...

This week, as the world continues to reckon with race and equality after the murder of George Floyd, we try to understand what an ally IS... and what it isn't. Brett and Nick both hold up a mirror to look at their own actions (or lack of them). And Nick has a conversation with Holliday Philips, who recently published the article 'Performative Allyship Is Deadly (Here's What to Do Instead)'. ARTICL...

Life moves pretty fast and, if you're not careful, it's easy to be swept away by it. (How's that for a mixed metaphor?) Anyway, today's episode asks several important questions: What would it mean to slow down? What does it mean to be mindful? Is it even possible anymore? What does any of this look like? To help us answer these questions, Brett talks with Mark Champagne about the power of intentio...

This episode is a riddle, wrapped in an NBA championship, wrapped in a chance encounter, wrapped in privilege, wrapped in mashed potatoes, washed over by the ocean, and inside of a critical message for our world about humility. Our journey starts  with a celebration and a question, and ends with a celebration and a question. In between we hear from two TedX speakers, an American playwright, a psyc...

It's our first new Where There's Smoke episode in two years! Pliny the Elder said, "The only certainty is that nothing is certain." In a world where nothing is certain and so much is out of our control, what options do we really have? Should we fight? Do we give up? Or is there something else? In this episode we move from a tragic accident, through quicksand, and into a very personal story from Br...

Author Frank Herbert once said, "There is no real ending. It's just the place where you stop the story." In this final episode of Season 4, Brett & Nick take a look back and ask "What is the story of Season 4?", "Was it a success?", and - most importantly - "What's next?". Thanks for listening. We love you. We'll see you next time. * * * Get our newsletter and updates by joining our mailing list a...

If you could tell the world just one thing, what would it be? And, what impact might it have? This week, Nick explores that idea through the music of The Beatles and shows that you reap what you sow. (Spoiler alert?) Also, Brett goes straight to the source for some wisdom that we all need to hear. Get our newsletter and updates by joining our mailing list at www.wheretheressmoke.co . If want to su...

This 48 Hour Challenge is going to be classic. Literally. But what is classic? How do we define it? Is there a Classic version of you? And if so, what can the Classic You teach the Current You? Once again, we gathered show topic suggestions from our audience, threw them into a word randomizer, and made a show in 48 hours. And w e think the results are, well … Delicious and Refreshing. Good to the...

Integrity is defined as "a state of being whole and undivided". It is a simple concept, and yet at times, living it can be some of the hardest work we will ever do. This week we hear from Matthew Schueller about an important journey in his life - it's his journey to integrity. We know that it's a story with themes that can resonate with everyone and we can't wait for you to hear Matthew's words an...

Expression is the process of taking something from a spark of an idea through to existence. And, while there can be moments in that process that are truly amazing, it can also run us through the ringer - several times over. So, what is required of us to press our expression out into this world? Is want enough or does it require something more? This week we are paying it forward through an explorin...

We've all had a time or two (... or three…) where we've shared a secret that wasn't ours and it comes back to his us square in the face. Sometimes, before you even think about it, you've let something slip out of your mouth and immediately cringe - just wishing you could jump into a 15-second time machine so you can pull those words back into your mouth where they belong. We've all been on the oth...

The 48 Hour Challenge is back! We gathered show topic suggestions from our audience, threw them into a word randomizer, and ended up with "self-acceptance". From there, our challenge was to research, write, and record a brand new episode in 48 hours straight (including sleep). Did we do it? Well, give it a listen and find out. Along the way we talk to clinical psychologist Dr. Lisa Firestone and a...

Jim Cuddy has been making music with Greg Keilor for 40 years. For the last 34 of those years, they have made up the songwriting duo for one of Canada's most beloved and best-selling bands, Blue Rodeo. Brett sits down with Jim to talk about that partnership along with the challenges and benefits of a long standing collaboration. We explore what collaboration is and how it has been crucial to human...

In the 1976 movie Network, upon being prompted by news anchor Howard Beale, people in cities all over the USA get up, open their windows, and yell, "I'm mad as hell as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!". It is now 2018 and people still seem mad as hell - only now, instead of yelling out our windows, we have the internet to amplify our rage. Recently, there has been a lot of conversation a...

What would it take for this to be your best year ever? That said, what is a year? Is it the days between January 1st and December 31st? Or is it any 12 month span of time? And does it even matter? Are cassette tapes coming back? Could Nick rock Steve Harvey's New Year's Rockin' Eve outfit? And why is it essential to recognize the difference between knowing and doing? We will answer these questions...

What does it mean to explore in a world where everything's been found? That's the question posed to Brett by Bassam Tarazi - author, entrepreneur, adventurer, and friend of the show. Bassam participated in The Mongol Rally which is plugged as "the greatest motoring adventure on the planet" - a 10,000 mile intercontinental car rally, from London England to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. He shares his exper...

We've heard it countless times before: "Beautiful minds inspire others," "Time to inspire,", "Get out there and inspire people", or simply "Be inspiring." But, despite all of what the people and posters hanging on office walls say about inpiring others, rarely does anyone tell you how to do that. How do you inspire others? Communication is a linchpin in our society. It enables us to form connectio...

We are getting tragically hip this week with a story about a band, a country (Canada), and all the people in it. But, this episode is really about everyone, everywhere. So, regardless of who you are, where you live, and what listen to - there is a message here for you. Just listen and see. Plus a #WTSbumps. And the announcement of WTS contest - with prizes and everything! Get our BRAND NEW newslet...

Halloween is coming up and that means Halloween movies and TV specials! To celebrate, Nick explores one of the earliest and most famous Halloween specials - It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. An often overlooked element in that show is the fact that Linus must be sincere in order for the Great Pumpkin to arrive. But, what does it mean to be sincere? Is it the kind of thing that we can create o...

Have you ever heard of The Golden Rule? If you have, you may realize that while it sounds nice, it has a pretty significant flaw in it. In this episode, we expose that flaw and go on an exploration to try and fix it.  We are joined in this journey by author, speaker, and fellow podcaster Gretchen Rubin. Her new book, The Four Tendencies, provides us with a personality framework we can apply to bet...