Shows
Collisions YYCMark Korthuis, Glenrose Hospital Foundation - Driving Technology & Innovation in HealthcareMark Korthuis, President and CEO of the Glenrose Foundation, challenges our understanding of how money is allocated towards improving society and sheds light on the lack of progress in areas like mental health, despite increased funding. He questions whether traditional approaches and alternative treatments like ketamine and psychedelics can truly solve the underlying issues. Join us as we delve into the world of Bitcoin and explore how it could potentially be a game-changer in reshaping our societal structures. Mark shares his thoughts on the repeated cycle of putting money into charities without seeing meaningful results and calls for a...2023-07-2551 min
Confronting The MadnessEP26: Jeff Booth Confronts Inflation & Technology“System problems with the type of magnitude the world is dealing with cannot be fixed by the system creating the problem. A different way of thinking is required.”
- Jeff Booth
I have spent the past decade trying to understand why the mental health crisis worsens while stigma reduction efforts and funding for mental health services are on the rise.
I used to think the problem was a lack of money, but what if the problem was the monetary system itself?
With inflation wreaking havoc across the globe a...2022-09-301h 18Confronting The MadnessEP25: Greg Foss Confronts Money and Mental HealthGreg Foss has spent over thirty years working with money. He knows it inside and out: the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Greg was a founding shareholder at 3IQ, one of Canada’s largest digital asset managers. He is currently CFO and Bitcoin strategist at Validuspower.com. Greg holds an MBA from the Johnson School of Business, Cornell University (1988) and a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from McGill University (1986).
Greg and I met at the 2022 Bitcoin Conference in Miami, where he was a speaker and moderator. During one of his talks, Greg shared some...2022-06-231h 05Confronting The MadnessEP24: Dr. Timothy Caulfield Confronts MisinformationDr. Timothy Caulfield is a Professor and Canada Research Chair in Health Law and Science Policy at the University of Alberta.
Timothy may be the most well-known face of scientific myth-busting.
He is the host of Netflix’s The User’s Guide to Cheating Death, and the author of multiple bestsellers on science and misinformation, including Relax: A guide to everyday health decisions with more facts and less worry; The Cure for Everything: Untangling the Twisted Messages about Health, Fitness and Happiness; and, last but not least: Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everyt...2022-02-2150 minConfronting The MadnessEP23: Jonathan Kay Confronts Crowdsourcing CensorshipMy guest today is Canadian journalist Mr. Jonathan Kay. Jonathan was the editor-in-chief of The Walrus (2014–2017) and is presently a senior editor of Quillette, an online magazine focused on long-form analysis and cultural commentary. Jon currently hosts the Quillette podcast and previously co-hosted a podcast with Dr. Debra Soh entitled, Wrongspeak.
As a pages editor, columnist, and blogger, Jonathan also previously worked for the National Post. He continues to contribute to the newspaper on a freelance basis. He is also a book author and editor, a public speaker, and a regular contributor to Commentary and the New...2022-01-281h 34Confronting The MadnessEP22: Tom Wolf and Chief Dale McFee Confront Pathological AltruismPathological Altruism: Behavior in which attempts to promote the welfare of another, or others, results instead in harm that an external observer would conclude was reasonably foreseeable.
Over the holidays, I read a book by author Michael Schellenberger, "San Fransicko: Why progressives are ruining cities."
The book posits that progressive policies on homelessness, inequality, and crime have made the cities that progressives control worse, not better.
Schellenberger believes that the real problem isn't a lack of housing or money for social programs. The real problem is an ideol...2022-01-151h 26Confronting The MadnessEP21: Karen Gosbee Confronts Abuse, Trauma, & Finding Meaning“An expectation is a pre-meditated resentment. If we could just take that one saying and start to just have conversations, be able to co-exist, and have a bit more acceptance, that would be a good start.”
– Karen Gosbee, from Ep. 23, Confronting the Madness
Expectations among people are often based on an implicit social contract. That is, without actually verbalizing expectations about give-and-take in a relationship, people construct stories in their heads about legitimate expectations of each other. So, people in a relationship have a "deal" in which the specifics of the deal are never really talked about...2021-10-271h 09Confronting The MadnessEp. 22 Sanjay Singhal Confronts his Trip to a Historic $5M Gift in Psychedelic PsychotherapyIn this episode, I had the opportunity to chat again with tech entrepreneur, author, and philanthropist, Sanjay Singhal. Sanjay has co-founded 6 companies and is an active and ongoing investor in over 20 start-ups.
In early 2019, Sanjay established the Nikean Foundation (nikean.org) with hopes of promoting psychedelic science and bringing to the forefront novel medicines for mental health.
In September of this year, The Nikean Foundation announced a $5 million dollar transformational gift in support of psychedelic psychotherapy at the University Health Network (UHN). The gift is the largest ever donation in support of psychedelic science and r...2021-10-191h 04Confronting The MadnessEP19: Dr. Vincent Agyapong Confronts Digital and Global Mental HealthOn #WorldMentalHealthDay, there is no person I would rather be speaking with. I am privileged to call my next guest, first and foremost, a friend.
Dr. Vincent Agyapong stands, in my eyes, as one of the most generous, kind, supportive, thoughtful, and empathetic men I know. I went through a personal challenging period in 2020 and Vincent made sure to call me week in and week out just to check in.
As a professional, I have not come across a more hard working, innovative, and dynamic individual. It is no wonder he has been sought after by man...2021-10-101h 08Confronting The MadnessEP18: Luke Jahjefendic Confronts His Five Tours of AfghanistanAntifragile is a term coined by Nassim Nicholas Taleb to suggest that “things benefit from shocks; they thrive and grow when exposed to volatility, randomness, disorder, and stressors and love adventure, risk, and uncertainty...Antifragility is beyond resilience or robustness. The resilient resists shocks and stays the same; the antifragile gets better.
My guest today, Luke Jahjefendic embodies Antifragility.
Born in Bosnia, Luke immigrated to Canada during the midst of the Bosnian War. Landing in Toronto at age thirteen, Luke joined the Canadian Armed Forces in his early twenties as way to payback the country who...2021-09-221h 55Confronting The MadnessEP17: Dr. Valerie Taylor Confronts the Meaning of ”Sh*t for Brains”In this episode I had the great pleasure of speaking with Dr. Valerie Taylor. Originally hailing from Newfoundland, Valerie is now the Calgary Zone Lead for Addiction and Mental Health with Alberta Health Services as well as the Chair of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Calgary.
Her research focuses on working to identify new treatment modalities for those suffering from mental illness.
In 2020, Valerie was named one of Canada’s 100 most powerful women.
Valerie has a keen interest in the area of the brain body interface. A major focus of her...2021-09-181h 29Confronting The MadnessEP16: Dr. David Goldbloom Confronts Urgent Innovations in Mental Healthcare
In the episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with one of my favorite people, Dr. David Goldbloom. David has been a leading mental health advocate long before it was en vogue.
He is a leading psychiatrist and an Officer of the Order of Canada. He maintains an active clinical and teaching role as a Psychiatrist and Senior Medical Advisor at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto – Canada's largest mental health teaching hospital and one of the world's leading research centres. David is also a Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto.
2021-09-071h 44Confronting The MadnessEp. 17 Dr. Alina Turner Confronts Impact Through DisruptionDr. Alina Turner joins me for Episode 17 of Confronting The Madness
Dr. Turner is the co-founder of HelpSeeker Technologies. HelpSeeker Technologies is a social technology B-Corp founded in Calgary in 2018.
Helpseeker develops and services a suite of data-driven digital solutions to support social sector decision-makers, service providers, and community members looking for help.
Alina’s background is as a social scientist with a specialization in systems planning and integration, and as a funder and social policy expert. She’s had the opportunity to work in systems change efforts on homelessness and affordable housing, domest...2021-08-191h 51Confronting The MadnessEP15: Yalda Kazemi Confronts Postpartum Mental IllnessMy guest today is Yalda Kazemi. Yalda’s story is powerful, emotional, honest, and raw. Her courage in sharing her story is admirable.
I feel obliged to make a content warning to listeners that some of the stories discussed in this episode are raw.
Yalda and I spoke about her journey battling postpartum depression, which eventually lead to postpartum psychosis.
23% of mothers having recently given birth reported feelings consistent with postpartum depression or anxiety. The incidence of postpartum psychosis is 1-2 per one thousand births or, .001 -.002% likelihood. 10% of mothers who are diagnosed with po...2021-07-211h 12Confronting The MadnessEP14: Dr. David Clark Confronts The Case for Publicly Funded PsychotherapyMy guest for Episode 15 of Confronting The Madness is Dr. David M. Clark. Dr. Clark is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Oxford and a National Clinical Adviser for the United Kingdom’s Department of Health.
Dr. Clark’s research has led to the development of new and effective cognitive therapy programs for panic disorder, social phobia, and post traumatic stress disorders. Alongside economist Richard Layard, Dr. Clark wrote the book Thrive: How Better Mental Health Care Transforms Lives and Saves Money.
Dr. Clark was instrumental in pioneering the development and implementation of the Im...2021-07-091h 18Confronting The MadnessEP13: Dr. Thomas Insel Confronts People, Place, & PurposeJoining me for Episode 14 is Dr. Thomas Insel, an american psychiatrist and neuroscientist. Without question Tom is one of the most influential minds as it comes to mental health in the world today.
Tom is currently a co-founder and adviser to Mindstrong -- a company seeking to transform mental health through innovations in virtual care, data measurement, and data science. Tom has also recently been named the mental health czar for the state of California by Governor Gavin Newsom.
From 2002-2015, Dr. Insel served as Director of the National Institute of Menta...2021-06-221h 18Confronting The MadnessEP12: Sheepdogs lead singer Ewan Currie Confronts Music & MeaningIn Episode 13, I had the great fortune of reconnecting with an old friend, lead singer Ewan Currie of The Sheepdogs. The Sheepdogs are a Canadian rock and roll band and first unsigned band to make the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. Since then, they have gone onto win four Juno Awards along with a number of multi-platinum albums.
They have performed at some of the largest music festivals in the world: including South by Southwest, Coachella, Bonnaroo, and Lollapalooza — and last but not least, the Grey Cup.
Please forgive us in advance for some of the i...2021-06-151h 20Confronting The MadnessEP11: Police Chief Dale Mcfee Confronts the Social Safety NetI had the great pleasure of speaking with City of Edmonton Police Chief, Dale McFee. Dale is one of the most transformational, systems oriented thinkers I have had the pleasure to speak with. He is an authentic and courageous leader, doing the work for the right reasons. I think we are extremely fortunate to have him as our police chief, especially during these turbulent times.
Dale and I spent a considerable amount of time discussing how to recalibrate the social safety net ecosystem in an integrated, coordinated, collaborative, and sustainable fashion.
I strongly encourage you all...2021-06-101h 17Confronting The MadnessEp. 11 MP Matt Jeneroux - Men’s Mental HealthMy guest for Episode #11 is Member of Parliament, Matt Jeneroux.
Matt is the Conservative Member of Parliament representing Edmonton Riverbend, and a former Member of the Alberta Legislative Assembly.
In January 2020, Matt was named the Shadow Minister of Health. In this role, Matt worked with Canada’s health stakeholders on pertinent files, including COVID-19.
Currently, Matt is a member of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development.
Matt is a passionate advocate for mental health initiatives with a particular focus on addressing the stigma of mental health in...2021-06-011h 13Confronting The MadnessEP10: Dr. Tyler Black Confronts the Politicization of Suicide during Covid-19My guest today is Dr. Tyler Black.
Tyler is a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist and Suicidologist who has been in clinical practice for over ten years. He is the Medical Director of Emergency Psychiatry at BC Children's Hospital. On top of clinical duties, he is an Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of British Columbia, and a researcher specializing in suicidology, psychopharmacology, and video games. Tyler is the co-creator of the HEARTSMAP (www.openheartsmap.ca), a psychosocial assessment and guidance tool for youth in emergency departments, and the creator of the ASARI (Assessment of Suicide And Risk...2021-05-111h 21Confronting The MadnessEP9: Ronan Levy, Executive Chairman, Field Trip Health Confronts A Stern Foe For All ShamBelieving that you should never hesitate to trade your cow for a handful of magic beans, Ronan has built a career out of doing things that others say cannot be done. Ronan started his career as a securities lawyer at Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP but left that after realizing he was much too creative for the profession of law.
Since then, Ronan has helped launch business across a number of industries from gold, to cannabis, and, most recently, in psychedelics where he is a Co-founder and the Executive Chairman of Field Trip Health Ltd. (CSE: FTRP, OTCBB...2021-04-241h 09Confronting The MadnessEP8: Cody Lakevold Confronts Bourbon, EMDR, Anti-Fragility, & MDMA TherapyThe long-awaited return of Cody Lakevold, for part two of our conversation has arrived.
It’s not entirely necessary to listen to our first podcast (Ep. 1) but would be helpful for following the thread during this conversation. It also helps with my download numbers, which of course, supersedes any value one might gain from this conversation.
Cody follows up from our first discussion by navigating us through his journey to address the tragic losses he experienced in his life, and shares the various treatment modalities he pursued: EDMR, psychotherapy, and lastly MDMA with augmented psychotherapy—an ap...2021-04-221h 09Confronting The MadnessEP7: Pioneer Dr. David Nutt Confronts Drugs & the BrainIn This Episode I had the honour of speaking with Dr. David Nutt
David is a psychiatrist and professor of neuroscience who specializes in studying the impact of drugs on the human brain.
In 2010, The Times Eureka Science Magazine included David in the 100 most important figures in British Science, and the only psychiatrist.
David was famously fired as drug advisor to the British Government in the early 2000s for stating in a research paper that alcohol and tobacco were more harmful than many illegal drugs including LSD, ecstasy and cannabis.
David...2021-04-0354 minConfronting The MadnessEP6: Dr. Allen Frances former Chair, Department of Psychiatry, Duke Confronts the DSMIn this episode, I had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Allen Frances.
Dr. Frances is an American psychiatrist best known for chairing the DSM-IV taskforce, and later roundly criticizing the DSM-5 and American psychiatry for their roles in manufacturing mental illnesses and the epidemic of over-diagnosis.
He has been the Chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Duke University where he is currently serving as Professor Emeritus. He has written a number of books including, Saving Normal: An Insider’s Revolt Against Out-of-Control Diagnosis, The DSM-5 and Big Pharma; Twilight of American Sanity: A Psyc...2021-03-291h 06Confronting The MadnessEP5: Harvard Professor Anne Harrington Confronts Psychiatry’s Search for the Biology of Mental IllnessAnne Harrington is the Franklin L. Ford Professor of the History of Science at Harvard University.
Dr. Harrington received her Ph.D. in the History of Science from Oxford University, and has held postdoctoral fellowships at the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine in London, and the University of Freiburg in Germany. For six years, she co-directed Harvard's Mind, Brain, and Behavior Initiative. She also was a consultant for the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Mind-Body Interaction.
We spent the duration of the episode discussing themes outlined in her book 'Mind Fixers: P...2021-03-241h 17Confronting The MadnessEP4: Health Critic David Shepherd Confronts Health AdvocacyIn this episode, I had the good fortune of speaking with Edmonton City Centre MLA, David Shepherd. David was first elected in 2015, and recently re-elected in 2019. David is currently the Health Critic for the Alberta NDP, a very important role given everything that is happening in the world right now.
David and I spoke about his journey, and the winding road he’s travelled, to better understand and manage his mental health.
We also spoke about the current mental healthcare system, or as we both agreed to call it “the current non-system, system” and the role that...2021-03-0646 minConfronting The MadnessEP3: City Councillor Scott McKeen Confronts Lived Experience"It's okay to not be okay".
In this episode, I had the opportunity to sit down and chat with my friend, Edmonton City Councillor, Scott McKeen.
Authentic; genuine; real -- three words that come to mind when I think of the good Councillor.
Scott has been a passionate advocate for our most vulnerable populations in Edmonton. In 2013, he launched a Mental Health and Urban Isolation initiative through the City of Edmonton. He has also been leading affordable housing and harm reduction strategies.
Scott has also been very open about his own liv...2021-02-151h 11Confronting The MadnessEP2: Sanjay Singhal Confronts Psychedelic CharityIn this episode, I spoke with Sanjay Singhal. Sanjay is a Toronto based entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist.
I spoke with Sanjay about dealing with his bi-polar diagnosis early on in his entrepreneurial journey; about the challenges he confronted with the healthcare system while trying to access appropriate treatment for his daughter’s eating disorder; how he got involved in funding psychedelic medicine, and lastly, the work he is now doing with his Foundation, The Nikean Foundation. Through the Nikean Foundation (nikean.org), Sanjay, along with the likes of Tim Ferris, was one of the five founding funders of th...2021-02-1049 minConfronting The MadnessEP1: Cody Lakevold Confronts Tragedy & TraumaHost Mark Korthuis interviews Cody Lakevold about confronting the loss of all three members of his family over a three-year period.
Cody discusses how addiction, illness, and ultimately tragedy, lead to him dealing with lingering effects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
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