At The Base of The Baobab Tree: With Benjamin Luc

This episode in a conversation with Lincoln Nikkel about his work with the Chick-fil-A leadership program (which trains young operators who will go on to run their own restaurants). We talk about the future of the company as it moves into Canada and the unique business model that really aims to put the customer experience above everything else. Lincoln also talks about how he can incorporate his faith into his work with Chick-fil-A and use it as a platform from which he can help and invest into people.

In this episode I talk with Paige about her project working with SFU on climate based solutions to equity issues. We talk about how the team sees the situation and how they plan on best addressing the myriad of variables to work towards a future that both mitigates and lessens the impacts of climate change while focusing specifically on creating green spaces that will benefit areas that do have historically been divested in. It is a really interesting project and topic in general.

In this episode I talk with my cousin Jordyn about two fascinating subjects: Psychopathy and racial bias (the later subject being the one she just did her thesis defense of her degree on). We discuss why we as a society are so fascinated by Psychopathy and some of the major misnomers many people have about the disorder (including myself as we discovered). We also discuss moral reasoning and how Psychopaths are anomalies in this area. In perhaps the most interesting portion of the episode, we go over the data that will help us understand why her study found that people were actually more likely to give harsher sentences to hypothetical white subjects than to hypothetical black and indigenous subjects in a prison sentencing survey (which is the opposite to what they expected to find going into the study and the opposite to what I would have expected based off of my understanding of the world). The awesome part about science is that it allows us to dissociate from our emotions and look at the data to better understand ourselves and the complex world we operate in. Incidentally, this unemotional, calculating approach is one that Psychopaths - who are overrepresented as not only criminals but also in populations like Surgeons and CEOs - are particularly good at. I really hope that you enjoy this episode and learn something while you watch!

Welcome back to At The Base of The Baobab Tree! From applying to music conservatories to his time in Switzerland studying hospitality management, I talk with my good friend Manuel about his experiences navigating the world post graduation and many of the take aways he has taken from the ups and downs that accompany such periods of change. I hope that you enjoy this episode! 

In this episode I talk with Joseph Deralus about his project in Haiti and how growing up there before moving to France has helped him to have a unique combination of insights and skills he can apply. We talk about everything from his experiences going to engineering school and working in telecommunications to some of the big picture principles that one needs to keep in mind when starting a business project. This is a really special episode and a project that gets me more and more enthusiastic the more I hear about it. I'm really interested to see where Joseph and his team take this project and hope to have him back here to talk about it soon. 

Welcome to episode nine of At The Base Of The Baobab Tree! Today I talk with my sister Morgan about music, finding your element and the release of her first single "Valencia." Check out Valencia wherever you get your music!

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/08Nx650ZER4lemeG1rIpyY?si=a4b3b0355de840e1

Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/ca/album/valencia/1559828642?i=1559828645

Welcome to episode eight of ATBOTBT. Today I talk with my good friend Max about everything from books and fitness to the complex nature of bias and the human mind. I hope that you enjoy. 

Welcome to the seventh episode of “At The Base of The Baobab Tree.” In this episode I chat with the brilliant Nathan Zemp. We discuss everything from the importance of hobbies to the value of planning and being consistent. Join us as we explore the importance of using both economic intuition as well as sympathy and empathy to understand a variety of large scale issues as rationally as possible. This was really meaningful and stimulating talk for me and I really hope that you, wherever you're listening from, get some value out of it. May I introduce Nathan Zemp!

Welcome to the sixth episode of “At The Base of The Baobab Tree.” In this episode I catch up with Izzy Cenedese and we discuss everything from wonderfully quirky lyrical strains to the sense of sublimity that can be found even in doorhandles and the simplest of things. Join us as we explore the importance of exposure to - and listening to - a variety of people with a variety of backgrounds and beliefs and much, much more. This was really meaningful and thought provoking talk for me and I really hope that you, wherever you're listening from, get some value out of it. May I present Izzy Cenedese.