The Matt Townsend Show

Matt Townsend specializes in energizing and involving audiences with his unique approach to building and maintaining successful relationships. Known as one of America’s top presenters in the field of Human Relations and Development, Matt blends humor and story telling with interactive, real-life solutions that motivate and inspire his listeners.

Latest Episodes:

Gastrophysics, Chronic Fatigue, Social Media Reflection Sep 27, 2017

Show notes

Gastrophysics (17:42) Charles Spence, Ph.D., is a profesPh.D.at the Oxford Department of Experimental Psychology and the author of Gastrophysics: The Science of Eating. There are four senses most people think of when eating a meal: taste, touch, sight, and smell. But there is a 5th sense that can make or break a meal eating experience, sound. Professor Charles Spence explains the emerging field of Gastrophysics. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (1:04:20) Julie Rehmeyer is an award-winning freelance math and science journalist and contributing editor at Discover magazine. Imagine for a second that you had an illness that no one understood or even believed in. Think how people would treat you and how frustrating something like that could be. You could be called attention seeking or lazy while your self-esteem and personal morale take hit after hit. That kind of loneliness could be crippling to a person. So how could you survive something like that? In her new book Through the Shadow Lands, science journalist Julie Rehmeyer walks us through her similar experience and how she was able to still find purpose and joy while on the healing path. Makena Bauss - Emotional Diversity (1:32:40) Happiness may be a state of mind, but it’s also a state of the body. Producer Makena Bauss shares a new study that makes the case that happiness is hogging more than its fair share of the attention as the emotion most strongly connected to a healthier body. Social Media Reflection (1:56:50) Jeanette Bennett is founder and editor-in-chief at Bennett Communications, where she primarily focuses on Utah Valley Magazine, BusinessQ Magazine, and Prosper Magazine. Jeanette earned a bachelor's and master's degree in journalism from BYU and has been a regular guest on HuffPostLive. Have you ever seen someone and you can just tell that they’re happy? What is it that makes those happy people so happy? Jeanette Bennett shares some ideas on How to figure out if your social media is portraying the most accurate and positive version of yourself. 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:17:42 - Gastrophysics 01:64:40 - Chronic Fatigue Syndrome 01:92:40 - Makena Bauss - Emotional Diversity 01:116:50 - Social Media Reflection

Terrorists and the Internet, Re-Wire Your Brain, Food Allergies Sep 26, 2017

Show notes

Can the world ever really keep terrorists off the internet? (19:50) Shontavia Johnson is a Professor of Law at Drake University Law School. Her academic specialties include Intellectual Property, Entrepreneurship, Property, and Entertainment Law. The internet can be a dangerous place, especially on social media. There are child predators, serial killers, and even more recent: terrorist. Is it possible to keep all terrorist off the internet? Shontavia Johnson explains the challenges companies face. How to Easily Re-Wire Your Brain for Success (1:11:27) Dr. Lori Shemek is a Nutrition and Weight Loss expert, a best-selling author and specializes in weight loss resistance. Dr. Shemek is the author of How To Fight FATflammation! and the best-selling author of Fire-Up Your Fat Burn! What if you could edit your memories so that even your fumbled presentation at work could be a success? Dr. Lori Shemek explains how we can re-wire our brains for success. Food Allergies (1:57:46) Ron Hager, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Exercise Sciences in the College of Life Sciences at Brigham Young University. His area is expertise is Chronic Disease Prevention. Dr. Hager talks about the rise in people reporting food allergies. 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:19:50 - Can the world ever really keep terrorists off the internet? 01:71:27 - How to Easily Re-Wire Your Brain for Success 01:117:46 - Food Allergies

NFL vs. Trump, Parenting Mistakes, Comparing Yourself Sep 25, 2017

Show notes

NFL vs. Trump (19:40) Joe Cannon is the CEO of the Fuel Freedom Foundation, former Chairman of the Utah Republican Party, past assistant administrator in the US EPA, and editor of the Deseret News. Joe Cannon talks about the NFL vs. Trump, Trump vs. Kim Jong Un, and the latest health care bill. Parenting Mistakes (1:05:37) Alyson Schafer is a recognized media personality. She is one of Canada's leading authorities on parenting and is the resident expert for CTV News, CBC's The World This Weekend, The Marilyn Denis Show as well as sitting on the health advisory board for Chatelaine Magazine, and being an ask the expert columnist for Today's Parent Magazine. Alyson Schafer shares her ideas on how to fix common parenting mistakes. Stop Comparing Yourself With Others (1:57:45) Nicole Cunningham is a Master Executive Coach with 15 years of coaching and consulting experience. Nicole has dedicated her career to assisting companies, individuals and families in Australia, Malaysia, UK, Singapore, and America to understand, change and improve human behavior and relationships. Nicole is a people whisperer, she has an incomparable understanding of all aspects of human nature and she is the creator behind the 12 Psychological Inclinations. She is also the COO at Clarity Point Coaching. Nicole Cunningham talks about how to stop comparing yourself with others. 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:19:40 - NFL vs. Trump 01:65:37 - Parenting Mistakes 01:117:45 - Stop Comparing Yourself With Others

Childhood Trauma, Humility Is the New Smart, Public Wi-Fi Sep 23, 2017

Show notes

Childhood Trauma in Adulthood (19:06) Shanta R. Dube is an Associate Professor for Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Georgia State University. Shanta’s main public health research focus is behavioral epidemiology, which studies patterns of behaviors that contribute to disease and well-being. For millions of children in the U.S., poverty, neglect or abuse is a reality of everyday life, though these struggles are often hidden from view. Adult survivors often feel ashamed about and stigmatized for their childhood adversity. This makes it difficult to recognize that these events occur. While it’s easier to turn away than to face these issues, we can no longer afford to do so. Stress, mental illness, and substance abuse – all health outcomes linked to childhood trauma – occur in the U.S. today at very high rates. Shanta R. Dube explains what can be done. Humility Is the New Smart (1:07:01) Edward D. Hess is a Professor of Business Administration and Batten Executive-in-Residence at the Darden Graduate School of Business at the University of Virginia. He spent over 30 years in the business world prior to joining academia as a lawyer, investment banker, strategy consultant, and entrepreneur. Ed Hess is the author of Humility Is the New Smart: Rethinking Human Excellence in the Smart Machine Age. When America and the world entered the industrial age, brute strength became a less important characteristic and being smart became much more important. Ed Hess argues that with the Information age another characteristic is becoming more important than being ‘smart’. Dangers of Public Wi-Fi (1:56:48) Luke Bencie is one of the most recognized security consultants anywhere in the world. He is the Managing Director of Security Management International (SMI) and the author of Among Enemies: Counter-Espionage for the Business Traveler and Global Security Consulting: How to Build a Thriving International Practice. Mr. Bencie has been a consultant to the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of Defense, Fortune 5 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:19:06 - Childhood Trauma in Adulthood 01:67:01 - Humility Is the New Smart 01:116:48 - Dangers of Public Wi-Fi

Billionaire Media, Trading Real Life for Likes, Screen Cleaning Sep 22, 2017

Show notes

Billionaire Media Model (17:32) Rodney Benson is the Department Chair and Professor of Media, Culture, and Communication at New York University. In July Laurene Powell Jobs, wife of Steve Jobs bought a majority stake in the news organization The Atlantic. This isn’t the first purchase of a news organization by a billionaire in recent months. The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, The Minneapolis Star-Tribune, and The Las Vegas Journal are all now privately owned. Rodney Benson talks about the slippery slope of the oligarchy media model. Liana Tan - New York Trip (40:12) We’ve talked on the show a lot about how to set goals and achieve your dreams. Well, one of our producers, Liana Tan, did that this summer when she ventured out to New York City for a couple of months and now she’s come back to tell us all about it and what the big city really has to offer. Trading life for Likes (1:08:51) David Maxfield is the Vice President of Research at VitalSmarts, a Leadership Training Company. He is a New York Times bestselling author of three New York Times bestsellers: Crucial Accountability, Influencer, and Change Anything. We live in a society greatly influenced by social media. The pursuit of Facebook "Likes", Twitter "Retweets" and other forms of social engagement can be very addictive. A new survey shows that we may be "liking" life instead of living it. David Maxfield shares the survey findings and offers ideas on how to find a better balance between life and social media. Makena Bauss - When Are You Old (1:31:29) At what age are you officially old? You may feel or act young but when does society feel a person can be labeled as old? New surveys show a surprising result. Producer Makena Bauss brings the info. Screen Cleaning (1:38:14) Jeff Simpson talks about movies and TV helping you find family-friendly options. 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:17:32 - Billionaire Media Model 01:68:51 - Trading life for Likes 01:98:14 - Screen Cleaning

iPhone Innovation, Still Procrastinating, Men and Women at Work Sep 21, 2017

Show notes

Understanding the real innovation behind the iPhone (20:07) Kalle Lyytinen is a Professor of Management Design at Case Western Reserve University. Lyytinen’s research helps define how rapidly changing digital innovations shape organizations. He studies the adoption of new technologies, new forms of collaboration, and new ways to determine system requirements. Apple CEO Tim Cook said that the iPhone X price tag of $1,000 was a “value price.” Since the iPhone emerged in 2007 it has transformed the mobile phone business, the internet economy and, in many ways, society as a whole. Kalle Lyytinen helps us understand the innovation behind the iPhone and its evolution. Still Procrastinating: The No Regrets Guide to Getting It Done (1:05:38) Joseph Ferrari, Ph.D., is a Professor of Psychology at DePaul University. He is an international research expert and author on procrastination. Most everybody would admit to procrastinating at one time or another but that does not necessarily make us a true procrastinator. Chronic procrastination is consistent, in multiple areas of our life and can wreak havoc, & keeping us from attaining our goals. Contrary to conventional wisdom, chronic procrastination is NOT about poor time management, but about self-sabotaging tendencies that can prevent you from reaching your full potential. Joseph’s book “Still Procrastinating: The No Regrets Guide to Getting It Done” draws on scientific research on procrastination conducted over more than twenty years by him and his colleagues. Joseph Ferrari helps us learn what stops us from getting things done so that we can find the solutions that will really work. When Men and Women Work Together (1:54:41) Joseph Baker, Ph.D., is a cognitive psychologist at Stanford University and lead author received a Doctorate of Philosophy from Utah State in 2013. When working with your spouse or someone of the opposite gender, sometimes we wonder why they do things the way they do- it’s like they have a completely different way of thinking. And that might be ex 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:20:07 - Understanding the real innovation behind the iPhone 01:65:38 - Still Procrastinating: The No Regrets Guide to Getting It Done 01:114:41 - When Men and Women Work Together

DIY Foreign Aid, Play Anything, Mad in Marriage Sep 20, 2017

Show notes

Will Trump’s cuts inspire more DIY foreign aid? (20:13) Susan Appe is an Assistant Professor of Public Administration at Binghamton University. Susan Appe's research focuses on government-nonprofit relations and the dimensions and evolution of the nonprofit sector in both developed and developing countries. President Trump wants to cut foreign aid to other countries that are struggling. How would this affect us Americans? Will other groups step up to the plate and start helping where the government isn’t? Susan Appe shares some of the work being done by independent organizations to help struggling areas of the world. Liana Tan - Summer Travels (43:55) Student producer Liana Tan took 4 months off from the show to complete an internship in New York City and trips to Hawaii, Canada, Turkey, and Greece. She is back with a tangent that highlights the some of the best moments and odd situations that marked her summer. Play Anything (1:11:10) Ian Bogost, Ph.D., is an author and an award-winning game designer. He is Professor of Interactive Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Bogost is also Founding Partner at Persuasive Games LLC, an independent game studio, and a Contributing Editor at The Atlantic. He is author or co-author of ten books, including his newest book Play Anything: The Pleasure of Limits, the Uses of Boredom, and the Secret of Games. Games are the center of our social lives. We play games because they are fun, but what does fun really mean? According to Ian Bogost games are fun because they have limitations. Not only are games filled with rules and boundaries, but all areas of our lives are filled with limitations as well. If limitations help us to have fun while playing games, shouldn’t we then be able to have fun with the most tedious parts of life? Bogost shares about how we can find pleasure in limitations. Makena Bauss - Amish and Technology (1:35:20) The Amish people are known for shunning technology preserving a more simple life. In recent years computers and cellphones hav 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:20:13 - Will Trump's cuts inspire more DIY foreign aid? 00:43:55 - Liana Tan - Summer Travels 01:71:10 - Play Anything 01:95:20 - Makena Bauss - Amish and Technology 01:116:28 - Mad in Marriage

Humility Is the New Smart, Danger of Public Wi-Fi, Building Trust Sep 19, 2017

Show notes

Humility Is the New Smart (18:26) Edward D. Hess is a Professor of Business Administration and Batten Executive-in-Residence at the Darden Graduate School of Business at the University of Virginia. He spent over 30 years in the business world prior to joining academia as a lawyer, investment banker, strategy consultant, and entrepreneur. Ed Hess is the author of Humility Is the New Smart: Rethinking Human Excellence in the Smart Machine Age. When America and the world entered the industrial age, brute strength became a less important characteristic and being smart became much more important. Ed Hess argues that with the Information age another characteristic is becoming more important than being ‘smart’. Public Wi-Fi (1:08:13) Luke Bencie is one of the most recognized security consultants anywhere in the world. He is the Managing Director of Security Management International (SMI) and the author of Among Enemies: Counter-Espionage for the Business Traveler and Global Security Consulting: How to Build a Thriving International Practice. Mr. Bencie has been a consultant to the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of Defense, Fortune 500 companies, as well as foreign governments. In today’s busy world, convenience seems to outweigh consequence, especially with how people use their mobile devices. Using free public Wi-Fi networks, for example, comes with any number of serious security risks, yet surveys show that the overwhelming majority of Americans do it anyway. Luke Bencie explains about the dangers of public Wi-Fi and how we can avoid them. Building Trust (1:53:13) Julie Nelson (the "Child Whisperer") has a master's degree in Marriage, Family, and Human Development. She teaches classes such as Applied Parenting and Marriage and Relationship Skills at Utah Valley University. She is the author of a couple of parenting books including "Keep is Real and Grab a Plunger". You can read more from Julie at her blog "A Spoonful of Parenting" Dr. Matt and Julie talk about building trust in families.

"Don, Chuck, and Nancy," Childhood Trauma, Magic Thoughts Sep 18, 2017

Show notes

Donald, Chuck, and Nancy (19:42) Joe Cannon is the CEO of the Fuel Freedom Foundation, former Chairman of the Utah Republican Party, past assistant administrator in the US EPA, and editor of the Deseret News. Joe Cannon discusses Trumps meeting with Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer along with the President address this week at the United Nations. Effect of Childhood Trauma in Adulthood (1:07:38) Shanta R. Dube is an Associate Professor for Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Georgia State University. Shanta’s main public health research focus is behavioral epidemiology, which studies patterns of behaviors that contribute to disease and well-being. For millions of children in the U.S., poverty, neglect or abuse is a reality of everyday life, though these struggles are often hidden from view. Adult survivors often feel ashamed about and stigmatized for their childhood adversity. This makes it difficult to recognize that these events occur. While it’s easier to turn away than to face these issues, we can no longer afford to do so. Stress, mental illness, and substance abuse – all health outcomes linked to childhood trauma – occur in the U.S. today at very high rates. Shanta R. Dube explains what can be done. Magically Implanted Thoughts (1:57:54) Jay Olson is a graduate student in psychiatry at McGill University. Olson’s latest study looks at the way contextual factors influence the decisions people make. Jay Olson uses magic tricks to see what choices people will make when faced with difficult decisions.

World of Consumers, How to Be a Stoic, Benefits of Nostalgia Sep 16, 2017

Show notes

How We Became a World of Consumers (18:47) Frank Trentmann, Ph.D., is Professor of History at Birkbeck College, University of London. His many publications include Free Trade Nation which won the Royal Historical Society’s Whitfield Prize in 2009. His latest book is Empire of Things: How We Became a World of Consumers, from the Fifteenth Century to the Twenty-First with several foreign translations appearing in 2017. Things, things, and more things. Today we live in a world where all we do is consume more than we ever have before. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Frank Trentmann explains the history of consumerism and how human behavior has changed over time. How to Be a Stoic: Using Ancient Philosophy to Live a Modern Life (1:06:30) Massimo Pigliucci, Ph.D., is the K.D. Irani Professor of Philosophy at the City College of New York. He has a Ph.D. in Evolutionary Biology from the University of Connecticut and a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Tennessee. His research interests include the philosophy of biology, the relationship between science and philosophy, the nature of pseudoscience, and the practical philosophy of Stoicism. Whenever we worry about what to eat, how to love, or simply how to be happy, we are worrying about how to lead a good life. No goal is more elusive. In How to Be a Stoic, philosopher Massimo Pigliucci offers Stoicism, the ancient philosophy that inspired the great Emperor Marcus Aurelius, as the best way to attain it. Stoicism is a sensible philosophy that focuses our attention on what is possible and gives us perspective on what is unimportant. By understanding Stoicism, we can learn to answer crucial questions: Should we get married or divorced? How should we handle our money in a world nearly destroyed by a financial crisis? How can we survive great personal tragedy? Whoever we are, Stoicism has something for us--and How to Be a Stoic is the essential guide. Benefits and Trappings of Nostalgia (1:57:15) Krystine Batcho, Ph.D., is a professor of psychology at Le Mo 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:18:47 - How We Became a World of Consumers 01:66:30 - How to Be a Stoic: Using Ancient Philosophy to Live a Modern Life 01:117:15 - Benefits and Trappings of Nostalgia

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