Best Digital Deacon Podcasts (2024)

1
In Conversation with the Minister of Citizens' Services, Terry Beech 56:23

3M ago56:23

56:23

(Help shape the future of this podcast! Take our Season 2 listener survey at LetsThinkDigital.ca) If there’s a running theme this season on the podcast, it’s about how we seem to be stuck in the mud when it comes to our efforts to modernize government for the digital age. Check out our previous episodes this season for some insightful and thought-p…

1
The End of the Ontario Digital Service and What it Means 36:30

3M ago36:30

36:30

A few weeks ago, I got a late night message on our team’s Slack that made me do a double-take and was - to be frank - a real shock. It was a link to a Reddit thread that was titled “Ontario Digital Service is Officially Dead.” ODS had a simple but ambitious mission: transform Ontario’s government services and practices for the digital age. It was l…

1
Everything You Should Know About AI (but were afraid to ask) 1:10:13

4M ago1:10:13

1:10:13

It's only been a year since our last episode on artificial intelligence, but already a lot has changed. It seems like Generative AI is everywhere and everyone, including governments, are struggling to keep up. So on this episode Ryan is joined by a special co-host Jen Schellinck, Think Digital Associate and our resident expert on AI and cognitive s…

1
Speakers' Corner at FWD50 (with Alistair Croll and Rebecca Croll) 42:22

5M ago42:22

42:22

If you haven’t heard of FWD50, you should! It’s one of the premiere conferences on digital modernization in government and exists to help answer one vital question: How do we use technology to make society better for all? Many of this season’s podcast conversations were recorded on location at the conference in Ottawa last November. On this episode…

1
Open Source Government (with Aaron Snow) 34:05

5M ago34:05

34:05

It’s fair to say that most governments don’t choose to use open source by default. Despite efforts over the past two decades to make open source solutions a viable, or even default solution in government, there's still a lot of skepticism. Those in decision making positions often raise concerns around security and reliability compared to proprietar…

1
Building Political Support for Digital Government (with Senator Colin Deacon) 43:07

6M ago43:07

43:07

We want government to be innovative and not be left behind in the digital revolution. But this comes up against the reality of the structures, incentives, and culture of most public sector organizations that resist change. As a result, and as we’ve been talking about on this podcast, our efforts to push forward digital transformation and modernize …

1
Building the Digital City (with Jacqueline Lu and John Houweling) 50:35

6M ago50:35

50:35

As digital technologies become increasingly embedded in the fabric of the built environment, there are real questions about whether our cities, where 8 out of 10 North Americans live, are truly ready to be digital or smart cities. Do we have the right levels of transparency for citizens to know what data is being collected, how, and for what purpos…

1
Stepping Up to the Digital Challenge (with Hillary Hartley) 33:05

7M ago33:05

33:05

You've probably seen any number of stories about how some founder in Silicon Valley says their startup can tackle a big societal problem better and cheaper than the public sector because government just can't do anything right. Or maybe you've heard about a public sector executive immediately dismissing an idea that came from the private sector on …

1
Homily - St. Albert The Great - November 15, 2023 9:55

7M ago9:55

9:55

Deacon Ryan first proclaims the Gospel for the feast of St. Albert the Great, from Luke 17:11-19. Deacon Ryan then challenges us to think, to question, to hypothesize, to test and analyze. Faith is not in opposition to reason.By Dcn Ryan Sales

1
Homily - Wednesday of the 3rd Week of Advent - December 20, 2023 12:19

7M ago12:19

12:19

Deacon Ryan first proclaims the Gospel for Wednesday of the third week of Advent, from Luke 1:26-38. Deacon Ryan then describes the full impact of Mary's yes, her fiat.By Dcn Ryan Sales

1
Homily - Wednesday of the 29th Week in Ordinary Time - October 25, 2023 11:46

7M ago11:46

11:46

Deacon Ryan first proclaims the Gospel for Wednesday of the 29th week in Ordinary time, from Luke 12:39-48. Deacon Ryan then discusses power and authority in the Church.By Dcn Ryan Sales

1
Homily - Wednesday of the 31st Week in Ordinary Time - November 8, 2023 11:29

7M ago11:29

11:29

Deacon Ryan first proclaims the Gospel for Wednesday of the thirtyfirst week in Ordinary time, from Luke 14:25-33. Deacon Ryan uses an example of when his daughter was bullied to show how difficult it can be to follow Christ.By Dcn Ryan Sales

1
Homily - St. Cecilia - November 22, 2023 12:15

7M ago12:15

12:15

Deacon Ryan first proclaims the Gospel for the feast of St. Cecelia, from Luke 19:11-28. Deacon Ryan describes how St. Cecelia and our Lady Mother are the perfect examples of femininity.By Dcn Ryan Sales

1
Homily - Christ the King - November 26, 2023 15:03

7M ago15:03

15:03

Deacon Ryan first proclaims the Gospel for the Solemnity of Christ the King, from Matthew 25:31-46. Deacon Ryan then discusses how Christ as our King is a rallying cry to battle, yet how we fight that battle might not be as we initially think.By Dcn Ryan Sales

1
Homily - 4th Sunday of Advent - December 24, 2023 15:05

7M ago15:05

15:05

Deacon Ryan first proclaims the Gospel for the 4th Sunday of Advent, from Luke 1:26-38 Deacon Ryan then highlights how for many, Advent and the Christmas season is anything BUT joyful. Families are complex. And yet, if we look at the Holy Family, the perfect family, we also see that they were anything BUT normal.…

1
Don't Forget About the Plumbing (with Honey Dacanay) 31:44

7M ago31:44

31:44

How do we get stuff done? If there’s a broader theme for this season of the podcast, it’s that. How do we get unstuck from the mud that we seem to be in, and get on with actually realizing our digital ambitions in government? It would be easy to chase the next big digital technology. But this episode we're talking about why need to pay attention to…

1
Homily - Wednesday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time - October 11, 2023 9:12

7M ago9:12

9:12

Deacon Ryan first proclaims the Gospel for Wednesday of the twenty-seventh week in Ordinary time, from Luke 11:1-4. Deacon Ryan discusses a single word in the Lord's Prayer, the Our Father: Father. He reminds us that while we may pray this prayer on auto-pilot, it is worth medidating on the awesomeness of being able to call God, the creator of the …

1
Homily - Wednesday of the 21st Week In Ordinary Time - August 30, 2023 9:00

7M ago9:00

9:00

Deacon Ryan first proclaims the Gospel for Wednesday of the twenty-first week in Ordinary time, from Matthew 23:27-32. Deacon Ryan then discusses our lack of self-love, how we often take a more Protestant approach to our humanity (snow covered dung-hill) rather than appreciating that our Lord is foolishly in love with us.…

1
Homily - Wednesday of the 19th Week in Ordinary Time - August 16, 2023 10:12

7M ago10:12

10:12

Deacon Ryan first proclaims the Gospel for Wednesday of the nineteenth week in Ordinary time, from Matthew 18:15-20. Deacon Ryan then uses the "famous" words of Pope Francis, "who am I to judge?" to discuss that while we are not called to judge our brothers and sisters, we ARE called to intervene when they sin.…

1
State Capacity to Deliver Modern Solutions (with Jennifer Pahlka) 40:41

8M ago40:41

40:41

Can government do the things that it says it is going to do? One of the hardest things that public servants have to do is implement and it gets to the heart of a state's capacity to deliver. In the digital era, that means being able to deliver digitally. And when we think about state capacity in this context, it often seems that we find our institu…

1
When Evolution Isn’t Enough (with Sean Boots) 48:41

8M ago48:41

48:41

We're back for Season 2! This week, we have Sean Boots, an open government manager and a veteran of digital transformation efforts in the Canadian federal government. In this conversation we talk about how we seem to be stuck in the mud on our digital transformation journey, and Sean's recent presentation at the FWD50 conference and open letter to …

1
Homily - Wednesday of the 15th Week in Ordinary Time - July 19, 2023 8:36

1y ago8:36

8:36

Deacon Ryan first proclaims the Gospel for Wednesday of the thirteenth week in Ordinary time, from Matthew 11:25-27. Deacon Ryan uses an example from his flying days to highlight that we focus on an illusion of control in our lives. Sometimes the best appraoch is to simply let go.By Dcn Ryan Sales

1
Homily - Wednesday of the 14th Week in Ordinary Time - July 12, 2023 8:26

1y ago8:26

8:26

Deacon Ryan first proclaims the Gospel for Wednesday of the fourteenth week in Ordinary time, from Matthew 10:1-7. Deacon Ryan discusses the dismissal at Mass, how they are not simply words, but rather an exhortation.By Dcn Ryan Sales

1
Homily - Wednesday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time - July 5, 2023 9:42

1y ago9:42

9:42

Deacon Ryan first proclaims the Gospel for Wednesday of the thirteenth week in Ordinary time, from Matthew 8:28-34. Deacon Ryan then describes watching the movie "The Sound of Freedom". The movie challenges us to action, but it can also lead us to question why horrible things can happen to children. Deacon Ryan shares what Pope Francis has to say o…

1
Homily - Wednesday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time - June 14, 2023 10:31

1y ago10:31

10:31

Deacon Ryan first proclaims the Gospel for Wednesday of the tenth week in Ordinary time, from Matthew 5:17-19. Deacon Ryan then discusses authority. Our world has a difficult relationship with authority, and yet it is one of the characteristics that distinguishes Catholicism from other religions.By Dcn Ryan Sales

1
Homily - Pentecost - May 28, 2023 12:48

1y ago12:48

12:48

Deacon Ryan first proclaims the Gospel for Pentecost, from John 20:19-23. Deacon Ryan then describes how the Holy Spirit is often the least understood and least prayed to person of the Holy Trinity. Yet, it is the Holy Spirit who kindles in us our faith. Deacon Ryan challenges us to spend more time getting to know the Advocate, the Paraclete.…

1
Homily - Wednesday of the 2nd Week Of Easter - April 19, 2023 10:33

1y ago10:33

10:33

Deacon Ryan first proclaims the Gospel for Wednesday of the 2nd week of Easter, from John 3:16-21. Deacon Ryan reflects on John 3:16, arguably one of the most well known verses of scripture: "God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life." He then challen…

1
Homily - Feast of Sts Philip And James - May 3, 2023 8:53

1y ago8:53

8:53

Deacon Ryan first proclaims the Gospel for the feasts of Sts Philip and James, from John 14:6-14. Deacon Ryan then describes how Jesus tells us that we will do even greater works that he has done. How can we, mere mortal creatures, do more than God himself? St. Thomas Aquinas has an answer!By Dcn Ryan Sales

1
Homily - Wednesday of the 6th Week Of Easter - May 17, 2023 8:42

1y ago8:42

8:42

Deacon Ryan first proclaims the Gospel for Wednesday of the 6th week of Easter, from John 16:12-15. Deacon Ryan then discusses his diaconal brother, Deacon Mitch, and how he has a unique gift of meeting people where they are at. While we are called to spread the Good News, we first must establish the mutual ground upon which we can build our argume…

1
Homily - Wednesday of Holy Week - April 5, 2023 10:24

1y ago10:24

10:24

Deacon Ryan first proclaims the Gospel for Wednesday Holy Week, from Matthew 26:14-25. Deacon Ryan then describes how we are all sinners, but that although it is our sins that put Jesus on the Cross (not just the sin of Judas Iscariot), Jesus died on that same cross so that we don't have to.By Dcn Ryan Sales

1
Homily - Fourth Sunday of Easter - April 30, 2023 13:43

1y ago13:43

13:43

Deacon Ryan first proclaims the Gospel for the fourth Sunday of Easter, from John 10:1-10. Deacon Ryan then describes how we need to be intentional about seeking role models, first and foremost being Jesus Christ.By Dcn Ryan Sales

1
Let's Think Digital LIVE! 1:04:33

1y ago1:04:33

1:04:33

On June 16, we had a special livestream to celebrate the conclusion of Season 1 of Let's Think Digital! Listen to the Think Digital team to talk about how social media has been changing our world, the future of work, and reflections on the previous episodes. We also took some audience Q&A. Thanks to Mike Kujawski, Rebecca Hollett, Mel Han, Aislinn …

1
Live from the Code for America Summit 50:24

1y ago50:24

50:24

This week, Meghan Hellstern, Trainer and Facilitator with Think Digital, co-hosts with Ryan and reflects on her time at the 2023 Code for America Summit in Washington, D.C! In this episode, we hear about how digital transformation is as much about people, as it is technology. Big thanks to Hillary Hartley, Dorothy Eng, Ariel Kennan, Amanda Renteria…

1
Do Innovation Labs Work? 1:08:55

1y ago1:08:55

1:08:55

Over the past decade it seems like countless innovation labs have sprung up inside of government. But do they really work? Sometimes innovation and government can seem like a contradiction in terms. This week, Ryan co-hosts with Think Digital Associate, Nick Scott, to dig deep into not only the ways that governments themselves can become more innov…

1
Government in the Era of ChatGPT 1:20:19

1y ago1:20:19

1:20:19

This episode, we go deep and talk about everything you need to know about artificial intelligence, machine learning, large language models like ChatGPT, and big data in the government context. Our first guests are Jen Schellinck, Associate at Think Digital and CEO of Sysabee, and John Stroud, who runs an initiative with Jen called AI Guides. Jen an…

1
Human Factors of Digital Government 1:04:17

1+ y ago1:04:17

1:04:17

On this episode we talk about the human factors that can prevent and enable digital government innovation. We start with Alistair Croll, Founder and Content Chair of FWD50, and the results of their 2023 Digital Government Content Survey. There's some really interesting results about what digital government practitioners are seeing as priorities, an…

1
Teaching Old Bureaucracies New Tricks 40:28

1+ y ago40:28

40:28

This week on Let's Think Digital we tackle the idea that government organizations are slow and resistant to change, and explore the idea that digital innovation is a necessary skill set for public servants to learn. Joining Ryan is Robyn Scott, the CEO and Co-founder of Apolitical, a global learning platform dedicated to supporting public servants …

1
Homily - Wednesday of The 4th Week of Lent - March 22, 2023 11:09

1+ y ago11:09

11:09

Deacon Ryan first proclaims the Gospel for Wednesday of the 4th Week in Lent, from John 5:17-30. Deacon Ryan then describes his experience of Alternative Spring Break, a mission trip to Louisiana. He speaks about how he saw the students on that trip focus primarily on relationship with those they served and how they loved them. This is a response t…

1
Homily - Wednesday of The 2nd Week of Lent - March 8, 2023 10:45

1+ y ago10:45

10:45

Deacon Ryan first proclaims the Gospel for Wednesday of the 2nd Week in Lent, from Matthew 20:17-28. Deacon Ryan then discusses the very challenging words of Jesus "whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave". In 2023, the word "slavery" rightfully elicits revulsion. However, this was not the form of slavery Jesus was calling us to. T…

1
Making Tech Work for Everyone 38:32

1+ y ago38:32

38:32

Unlike in the private sector, governments don't choose their users. That's why even more important in the public sector to make sure that technology and digital transformation efforts work for everyone. It doesn’t matter how innovative or efficient digital technology can be for public institutions if the implementation of those actively exclude peo…

1
Streamline Your Business with These Workflow Best Practices 21:16

1+ y ago21:16

21:16

#29 In this episode, we're discussing the importance of workflows for small business success. We'll cover the most important attributes of good workflows, and introduce several common workflow models. This is not a "how to" podcast for an operator. In fact, it's a "what to look for" episode for business leaders so you can quickly recognize if your …

1
All Problems are Procurement Problems 48:08

1+ y ago48:08

48:08

Government procurement. For some, you might think of scandals, like the recent controversy about the amount of money spent on developing the ArriveCan app, or the sponsorship scandal in the early 2000s. For others procurement is that boring, sometimes frustrating process when contracting for services. But the reality is that how governments procure…

1
Homily - Wednesday of the 1st Week in Lent - March 1, 2023 10:13

1+ y ago10:13

10:13

Deacon Ryan first proclaims the Gospel for Wednesday of the 1st Week in Lent, from Luke 11:29-32 . Deacon Ryan then discusses how we are called to "Return to our Lord with our whole heart ". Our Adversary will throw everything at us during Lent, but we have the sign that was so desparately sought after: Jesus Christ! So, no matter how challenging i…

1
Homily - Wednesday of the 5th Week in Ordinary Time - February 8, 2023 11:03

1+ y ago11:03

11:03

Deacon Ryan first proclaims the Gospel for Wednesday of the fifth week in ordinary time, from Mark 7:14-23. Deacon Ryan then discusses how as we approach Lent, the "why" of our Lenten observances matters, otherwise we risk falling into the same traps as our forebearers. Everything we do must be framed by our God who loves us.…

1
Homily - Wednesday of the 6th Week in Ordinary Time - February 15, 2023 9:51

1+ y ago9:51

9:51

Deacon Ryan first proclaims the Gospel for Wednesday of the sixth week in ordinary time, from Mark 8:22-26 . Deacon Ryan his grandmothers miraculous reversion after almost 60 years away from the Church, and how the Gospel miracle today is unique in that it was accomplished in stages. Sometimes when our Lord is working miracles in our life they won'…

1
Homily - 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time - January 29, 2023 14:09

1+ y ago14:09

14:09

Deacon Ryan first proclaims the Gospel for the 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time, from Matthew 5:1-12a. Deacon Ryan then provides a framework for tackling some of the most challenging of the Beatitudes. Blessed are they who mourn? Blessed are the poor in spirit? To grapple with these, we need to look not just to Jesus Christ, but to Christ crucified!…

1
Live from Dubai! 33:15

1+ y ago33:15

33:15

Ryan travels to Dubai for the World Government Summit, an annual event that brings together leaders in government and industry from around the world, looking at issues related to digital transformation, futurism, sustainable development and other topics that are of interest to policy makers around the world. Appearing on this episode as part of hal…

1
Dude, Where’s My Digital Government? 50:28

1+ y ago50:28

50:28

Over the last 30 years, technology has been promised to transform government and public services. But the reality hasn't always matched the promise. Why is that? On our very first episode of Let's Think Digital, we unpack what is going on, and how we might use the "Pac-Man" model to drive digital transformation. Joining host Ryan Androsoff, are Dor…

1
Welcome to the Metaverse 54:08

1+ y ago54:08

54:08

Everyone is talking about the metaverse, but what is it actually, and what does it mean for digital government and the public sphere? How is it different from the promises of virtual reality made in the 1990s? In this episode, host Ryan Androsoff talks to Jen Schellinck, an expert in data science and artificial intelligence, and Meghan Hellstern, a…

1
Introducing Let's Think Digital 2:12

1+ y ago2:12

2:12

Let’s Think Digital is a new podcast about what it takes to use digital technologies to transform our world to improve peoples’ lives. Hosted by Ryan Androsoff, Founder of Think Digital, and an incredible community of digital innovators from all walks of life, this podcast goes beyond the hype of founder culture. Our focus isn’t just user counts, f…

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