When David Sley began the arduous task of building an independent tobacco company over a decade ago, there was little reason anyone would have thought it would succeed. Recently, I was lucky enough to catch up with David Sley and learn more about what drove him to start Hestia, a cigarette company, in a world run by decidedly hostile political and cultural forces. Most importantly, we were able to discuss what his seemingly Quixotic effort to take on “big tobacco” can teach us about creativity.

The business models that used to bring us dependable local news in the past haven’t kept up with the massive disruption our technological age has wrought upon the industry. Jon Ralston, the CEO of The Nevada Independent, joined this week’s podcast to discuss how journalism has changed in recent decades and whether or not it can survive in our era of political tribalism and factious public discourse.

Warning that “the end is near” might seem a bit extreme — but, certainly, there’s a sense that the world is headed to hell in a handbasket. However, is all this pessimism and depression really warranted?

Michael Schaus and Dowd Muska dive deep into some of the more disturbing trends of our modern era and dig deep to find reason for optimism in our decidedly strange world. And, as it turns out, there are plenty of reason to keep a hopeful attitude about the future — even if it does require a glass of whiskey and a sabbatical from social media to enjoy it.

Creativity, entrepreneurship and innovation have always been necessary components of building a successful or fulfilling life. But how do organizations, entrepreneurs and even ordinary workers create environments where their creativity — and the creativity of those around them — is able to thrive and flourish?

Meredith Turney, a leadership coach and author of the Work, Live, BE Happy newsletter, joined Michael Schaus on this Creative Discourse podcast to discuss the way in which the nature of “work” is changing, and what that means for leaders, workers and everyone in between.

Moral and cultural panics about what the future is going to bring is… well, it’s just part of the human condition. No where is this more obvious than the rapidly progressing world of technology — with Artificial Intelligence rapidly advancing and social media being blamed for plenty of cultural ills, there is no shortage of people wringing their hands about the possible harm of such tech.

Shoshana Weissman from R Street Institute joined me to talk about this panic — which is quickly turning into a regulatory rush to stifle its advance. Most importantly, we engage one of the most overlooked aspects of all this worrisome, frightening and potentially-job-killing technologies: Why are they so awesome?