The Change Optimist

If you don’t know who Malcolm Bricklin is, you might want to Google him right now.

Wikipedia describes Malcolm as an “American businessman, widely known for an unorthodox career spanning more than six decades with numerous prominent failures and successes — primarily manufacturing or importing automobiles to the United States, ultimately starting over thirty companies throughout the course of his business career.”

Malcolm tells me about starting his construction empire, selling scooters to the NYPD, bringing Subaru to the US, how Bricklin Motors started and ended, his meeting with Elon Musk, and a whole lot more. 

He’s got a lot of energy for a man in his mid 80s. And Malcolm is just getting started.

Acclaimed author and award-winning journalist Lorraine Sommerfeld agreed to chat with me.

We talk about the havoc tariffs are having on the automotive industry. We discuss why the car-buying experience still sucks. And I get to the bottom of why she was fired from a lot of jobs earlier in her life.

She called me a wild card, but I think she’s the wild card.

Pro tip: don’t take Dad’s last beer.

This was fun. My friend Steve Barker and I discuss how we met and some of the fun and antics we've participated in over the years. We discuss our interest in attending a foam conference, the current state of AI, our favourite roller coasters, and our mutual admiration for Nickelback. 

Kevin Newman and I discuss the current state of journalism, the nature of truth, the complexities of being a father, and our mutual love of Star Trek.

Michael Dunne is one of the foremost experts on the state of the automotive industry in China. We discuss how the Chinese OEMs have evolved so quickly, what this might mean for dealers and other auto manufacturers, and how we're transitioning to electric vehicles, whether we like it or not.

Alan Cross and I chat about how he became the voice of the Ongoing History of New Music, his love of cars and the complicated nature of defining musical genres. 

It was a privilege to chat with Ron Foss and learn about his grandfather, George Foote Foss. George built the Fossmobile, Canada’s first internal combustion engine automobile, in 1897. The story is a fascinating piece of Canadian history that most folks are not likely to know.

I had a wonderful conversation with Philippe Beaudoin, another X-Googler who is now the co-founder and CEO of Waverly. Phil and his team are building an evolved, next-generation social network. In his vision, this platform will leverage intention rather than capitalize on people's attention. Take a listen to Phil and I talk about social networking, Waverly's potential revenue models, and board games.

I was excited when Sidewalk Labs was planning to build the city of the future in Toronto. It didn't happen. People got scared about what data might be collected and how Sidewalk Labs' parent and associated companies, Alphabet and Google, might use that data. Andrew Miller gives me an insider's view of what happened. 

Megan Leslie and I talk about the carbon bomb, we reminisce about university (I guess I do that a lot), and Megan explains that she's always wanted to work on issues related to justice, which led her to become the President and CEO of the World Wildlife Fund Canada.