One of the first questions I ask people when they make a decision to leave their radio job under the guise of retirements is: "Were you pushed or did you jump?" Unlike the Terry Dimonte "retirement" where he was clearly pushed, Ken Connors is leaving his weekend morning job at CJAD 800am on his own terms. In this episode, you will hear all about Ke…

Alan Grego shared his journey from corporate training to becoming an award-winning podcast host and communications manager at Moneris. He discussed how he got interested in podcasting and started an internal podcast at Moneris to share opportunities. This led to him creating branded podcasts for Moneris full-time. In this episode, you will hear us …

Who is John? John "The Milkman" Mielke is a pioneer when it comes to bringing radio to the world wide web. John has two websites that any radio-head should be tuned into: MilkmanUnlimited.com is an incredible resource for keeping up with radio industry news. It also curates work for voiceover artists, including a few you may recognize from this sho…

Matt Vettese's career journey in radio has lasted 13 years... so far. He was caught up in layoffs last November when he was an unexpected budget cut at Big 101.1 in Barrie, Ontario. Over his time in radio, he worked in places like Peace River, Alberta and Thunder Bay, Ontario, and what he learned was the importance of connecting with listeners rega…

We're back with another radio star this week- one whose career I actually contributed to. Sarah Christie has been in radio for well over a decade, and currently serves as the National Music Manager for Virgin Radio Canada. We discuss her rise through the radio ranks, from a humble intern who moved to Winnipeg for an internship as soon as she was ab…

Mark Asquith is the British Podcast Guy. He is also the co-founder of Captivate which was purchased by Global in December of 2021. Mark has been Helping podcasters to grow their audience. What I really like about Mark is his thinking when it comes to monetization and growing your audience; he is not beholden to things podcasters hold sacred. In thi…

Seth Resler joins to explore the dynamic intersection of podcasting and community marketing. Reflecting on radio's digital evolution, Resler discusses content overload and the challenges of standing out in a saturated market. The conversation dives into the pivotal role of community building, particularly in the pandemic era, as a means of fosterin…

We have had Sarah Burke on the show a couple of times before, the first when she was at SiriusXM and the second when she launched the Women in Media Podcast. The podcast has now morphed into a network which includes shows like "Trust Me I'm a Decorator", "The Jann Arden Podcast, More Money with Jessica Morehouse, and Beyond the Sale with Cynthia Os…

Squads Labs is a core contributor to Squads Protocol, the leading multisig infrastructure on Solana. In addition to helping maintain the protocol, Squads Labs makes the Squads platform, an institutional-grade multisig platform for Solana-based teams. The Squads platform helps web3-native teams manage and secure digital assets on-chain. To learn mor…

Axelar is for Web3 what Stripe is for mobile and internet applications: it works on the back end, connecting various networks into one-click experiences for all users. Come listen to co-founder Sergey Gurbunov on what purpose Axelar plays in an ever-expanding web3 world with various L1 & L2 blockchain ecosystems.…

Matty Staudt is the owner of Jam Street Media, a board member of the Podcast Academy, about to launch Podle.co and .... looking for his next opportunity. All at once. In this episode, we are going to talk about podcasting growth and opportunities with industry experts, the pros and cons of remote work in the podcast industry, and his experience of …

Fellow Canadian history buffs, rejoice: Craig Baird has a cool podcast and radio show. Actually, that call to action may not resonate with very many of you, but that's exactly why Craig Baird started his podcast. Canadian History Ehx is a show dedicated to proving that Canadian history isn't nearly as boring as everyone thinks. Sure, it may not be …

Last June, I got to watch Maie Pauts receive the Rosalie Tromblay Trailblazer Award. There was a 10 minute video summary of her career along with the tributes and highlights. This is a longer version of that. In this episode, you'll hear how Maie got her start in radio at the campus station at Ryerson University in Toronto. She originally wanted to…

What an episode! Avery joins us and tells us his story of helping to launch Aptos from the early innovations of Meta's former project, Diem and Libra. This is a technical deep dive into what makes Aptos different from other blockchains, like Ethereum or Solana. We discuss their choice not to slash (negative economic incentives others have used), sh…

Robert, a real OG legend and co-founder of Compound, joins us today on Base Layer for a special show, introducing his new company, Superstate. Superstate is an asset management firm modernizing the infrastructure of investment funds. They offer investment products that benefit from the speed, programmability, and compliance advantages of blockchain…

Steve Goldstein is back after a nearly three year absence from the show to talk about video and podcasting. Last summer - video was the main topic of conversation at Podcast Movement, largely on the heels of a presentation by Steve Goldstein from Amplifi Media and Jay Nachlis from Coleman Insights. The study surveyed podcast listeners on how they "…

Austin Federa joined me for a great conversation about what Solana learned over the past year to harden their infrastructure as they see surges in interest in their NFT & DeFi ecosystem, plus how their phone, the Saga, has been doing in the market to redefine how blockchains can not just be software, but hardware running digital asset codebase. Mor…

Built as a minimal extension to existing Ethereum software, OP Mainnet's EVM-equivalent architecture scales your Ethereum apps without surprises. If it works on Ethereum, it works on OP Mainnet at a fraction of the cost. How has Optimism jumped to become the infrastructure for new consumer apps like Farcaster? Hear from Ben in what I am calling a m…

Josie Dye is exactly what radio needs. You may recognize her name from a few places: If you're in Toronto, you'll likely have heard her on Indie 88 for the last few years, or on 102.1 The Edge back in the day. You might have also heard Cynthia & Josie's Unmentionables, her podcast with Cynthia Loyst, which has been blowing up since it launched in 2…

Algorand, a layer one blockchain first brought to market by esteemed cryptographer Silvio Micali, is going through rapid transformation, from the developer language it uses to mechanisms of incentivizing validator work and much more. All of this can be found in more detail here. John, Algorand CTO, joins us to talk through these points and the effe…

Carly Kincaid may use the term "Radio Junkie" to describe herself, but she's also a voiceover pro you hear on corporate narrations and when you are put on hold. Her radio career kicked of in the late 90's and since then she has rarely veered away from a microphone. In this episode, you will hear about Carly's passion for radio and voiceover work, r…

In 1908, Henry Ford unveiled the first Model T. In the span of 116 years, we have entered the next phase of the automobile -- car owners getting ownership of their automobile information and data. DIMO is a new company that aims to be empowering rather than confusing or limiting— stating that apps and connected devices should serve people first ins…

There have been no episodes for a few weeks? What gives? Well we have been making surveys. Take the 4 question survey here. Also we added the Sound Off Podcast to the The Open Podcast Prefix Project (OP3) A free and open-source podcast prefix analytics service committed to open data and listener privacy. You can be a nosey parker by checking out ou…

Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform that delivers a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to scale digital asset operations securely through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks ser…

Rene, the co-founder of Celo joins me for a great conversation about all the happenings there. Recently, Celo has moved to become an L2, so we talk about the why and what that entails. We also discuss their partnership with Opera, a browser touting 500M monthly active users. With this partnership, we also discuss MiniPay, a new initiative to bring …

I had such a great conversation with Luigi, who heads up business development & ecosystem at Ava Labs. We discussed everything from the initial design of Avalanche to the growth of Evergreen subnets, which could lead to companies like JP Morgan, Citi, and others directly connecting on the blockchain. We also discussed their work in Gaming, with upc…

What a show! Illia, co-founder of Near and CEO of Near Foundation joins us to talk about massive shifts in the way we think about blockchains. From their new Blockchain Operating System to FastAuth and more, we discuss in-depth about the new user experience coming to digital assets - taking away the backend complexities of blockchains from the ever…

Asta Li, co-founder at Privy, joins me for a fantastic talk about the movement happening in digital assets, focused on building delightful consumer-centric products. Privy is the easiest way for developers to onboard all users to web3, regardless of whether they already have a wallet, across mobile and desktop. At Privy, the team spends a lot of ti…

SKALE is a limitlessly scalable, fast, on-demand blockchain network with zero gas fees, allowing quick deployment of interoperable EVM-compatible chains without compromising security or decentralization. SKALE is a fully decentralized, open-source, community-owned network. Listen to CEO Jack O'Holleran talk about their work and their 2024 vision to…

Today, we cross a name off every radio aficionado's interview bucket list: Erin Davis. Erin hosted radio in Toronto for more than 30 years, from the 80's all the way to 2016. Most of that time was spent at the venerable CHFI. There's a lot to talk about when it comes to Erin's career, and she's happy to share. Stories of personal and career growth,…

What a show! Marc, the CEO of Polygon Labs, joins me to break down all the new elements of Polygon 2.0 and how they aim to build an empire in the blockchain industry. You'll learn about many new pieces to the puzzle, including CDK, zkEVM, Miden, validiums, and much more. Here, you can learn about Polygon 2.0, from vision to design.…

Andrew "Hustler" Paterson is the owner of Winnipeg Sports Talk. TSN 1290 abandoned the Sports Radio format back in February 2021, and since then, he and his producer Michael Remis have filled the gap, putting out high-quality daily sports content for the people of Winnipeg to enjoy. Hustler started in radio with a Saturday sports show on CFEQ 107.1…

Immutable is a global leader in gaming on a mission to bring digital ownership to every player by making it safe and easy to build great web3 games. The Immutable Group consists of the Immutable Platform, the preferred developer platform for building & scaling web3 games on Ethereum, and Immutable Games, a global leader in web3 game development and…

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire... And us roasting a bunch of jerks! Welcome to the 8th annual Very Terry Christmas. If it's your first time, the Very Terry Christmas is a special episode where Matt is joined by Terry Dimonte, his longtime pal, to get into the holiday spirit and "reminisce" (i.e. complain) about the year's goings-on. Fair warnin…

Jason Dixon has been with Sirius XM since 2015. How he got there is a sum of all the parts that come before that. An internship at 970 WFLA after hearing about it in a TV and radio class, a transition to the Power Pig where he shares a number of fun stories, launching what would become WDAE, followed by 8 years at the Tampa Bay Lightning. Jason lat…

The Canadian Radio Awards are here! In this special bonus episode, we go over the results one-by-one and give you our thoughts on the lineup this year, as well as speaking to some of the winners about their year in radio. The categories and their winners are as follows: Station of the Year - presented by NLogic Major - 94.5 Virgin Radio (CFBT-FM), …

Have you ever thought to yourself, "I'd love to own a radio station"? I know there was a point where I did. If you've ever had that feeling, or still do, today's guest Paul Larsen is the man to talk to. I've been wanting to have Paul on the podcast for years, ever since he bought 103.9 The Lake in Kelowna, B.C. in 2021. Today, he's in the process o…

In 2022, storms worldwide caused more than 130 billion U.S. dollars in damage. Cybercrime is predicted to cost the world USD 8 trillion in 2023. We are starting to see demand for insurance against these events outpace supply. The reinsurance market was valued at $560 billion as of 2022. A solution is needed to meet these new demands with new source…

Do you remember last Spring, when the media was all abuzz about AI Ashley, the first-ever artificial intelligence radio DJ? If so, you might remember the name Alpha Media. They're the ones who help bring her to life. (AI Ashley is Ashley “Z” Elzinga) Phil Becker is the Executive Vice President of Content at Alpha Media, and our guest today. He has …

Terry Dimonte and Ted Bird are Montreal radio legends who started a podcast two years ago after Terry was unceremoniously retired from his morning radio job at CHOM-FM. Ted continues his morning show at Evanov's Lite 106.7 which serves the West Island. The podcast started as a one season affair that is now in its 6th season featuring amazing guests…

It's been 3 and a half years since we have had Steve on the show. The last time I spoke to him, we were trying to figure out how morning shows were going to do what they do everyday... but from home. We pick up where we left off with my first question, "Are we back to Normal?" (As if there was any normal to go to back to) In this episode, Steve and…

"It’s all about looking for something that hasn’t been done before, and that will get people talking." - Paige Nienaber Paige is the VP for CPR Promotions, a marketing consultation firm. He consults over 350 stations across the U.S. and Canada. While radio is working through challenges like 40% less cume than a decade ago, and more audio options th…

It's Halloween and way back in the 90's the station I used to work for had this thing called the Howler. It was an out of control good time featuring 5000 people and a band and some beer. Actually a lot of beer. This week I got back together with my old afternoon friend Jake Daniels and we just riffed on all the good times we used to have on air. O…

Erin Trafford is a co-founder of Story Studio Network, a full service content branding and podcast experience for brands she co-founded with her dad Dave Trafford, who is a radio mainstay in the Greater Toronto Area, and a regular contributor on Newstalk 1010 up until July when layoffs occured. Erin has the unique experience of growing up with a pa…

Jennifer-Lee Gunson is the owner of J-Pod Creations which is a Vancouver based company specializing in branded podcasting. Before Jennifer got started in radio, she was an actor. She later enrolled at BCIT, found her way to Astral owned The Bear, which has now been shifted to the Bounce cluster of Bell properties. She returned to Vancouver after a …

This week... it's a FEED DROP. Every once a while I promote a podcast that I think is worthy of some attention. This week it is the Cash Kid Podcast. I am currently working with the Cash Kid to grow his audience. The show has just completed it's first season with the an episode recounting why the show got started and what is in store for season 2. …

Aiden Wolf joins me to shares tips for making it big on YouTube. Over the last few years, podcasters have been trickling onto YouTube as it has proven effective for discovery. However, this does not make podcasters, effective YouTubers. In this episode you will hear Aiden talk about his journey in radio, from morning show host to voiceover artist. …

The title to this episode was going to be "Cut the Bullshit" which was the name of the Facebook group Jeremy founded a number of years back. Jeremy is a podcast marketer and sherpa who helps brands launch and grow their shows. He acknowledges brightly that every show is different and will have a unique path. The best thing you can do for yourself i…

Fatima Zaidi is the Founder and CEO at Quill Inc., an award-winning production agency specializing in corporate audio, and CoHost, a podcast growth and analytics tool. In this episode you'll hear Fatima talk about what goes into creating successful and listenable podcasts, how she fell into the tech industry, and the opportunity that presented itse…

For natives of Kelowna, B.C., Stephen Keppler requires no introduction. But on the off chance you're not from around there, Stephen is the morning drive host at Move 101.5 in Kelowna, one of the largest radio shows in B.C. Morning show hosts nowadays have a bit of a reputation for making easy content- lots of audience text and phone lines, asking q…