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:

Echo Chambers, Are We Happy, Screen Cleaning Jun 02, 2017

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Echo Chambers Overhyped (17:04) Dr. William Dutton, Director of the Quello Center & Professor of Media and Information Policy in the College of Communication Arts and Sciences at Michigan State University. Is it possible that we worry about fake news, echo chambers, Facebook algorithms, and filter bubbles a little too much? Can it really be as bad as we think? William Dutton did a research study funded by Google to find out. His research results are fascinating and we have some good news – fake news is a little exaggerated. Lisa Cypers Kamen - Are We Happy Yet? (1:02:45) Lisa Cypers Kamen is the host of the popular Harvesting Happiness Talk Radio show. She works to help others find the happy in their lives. Lisa is a TEDx speaker, author of the book Are We Happy Yet?: Eight Keys to Unlocking a Joyful Life and her work can also be found on the Huffington Post, Positively Positive, and Inspire Me Today. Happiness is everyone’s goal, and in her book Are We Happy Yet?: Eight Keys to Unlocking a Joyful Life Lisa Cypers Kamen explains how you can get there. Jeff Simpson - Screen Cleaning (1:34:09) Jeff Simpson offers family friendly entertainment options and discusses the intersection of pop culture and everyday life.

First Amendment, Fatherhood Goals, Girls and Anxiety Jun 01, 2017

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The Soul of the First Amendment (15:25) Floyd Abrams is the author of The Soul of the First Amendment and a senior partner in the Cahill Gordon & Reindel law firm. Floyd received his education from Yale Law School and is currently America’s preeminent First Amendment lawyer. Mr. Abrams has spoken out on the most controversial free-speech issues of our time and argued frequently in the Supreme Court in First Amendment cases ranging from the Pentagon Papers case to Citizens United. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution protects the American people’s right to voice their opinions freely. Floyd Abrams talks about the first amendment and how it continues to be a key element of politics and everyday life. Dads Are Important (1:04:28) Kevin Shaffer is an Associate Professor of Sociology and Faculty Affiliate in Social Work at BYU. Why dads can’t be the dads they want to be? Traditional gender attitudes and expectations definitely have a hand, but inequalities between moms and dads are not driven solely by beliefs or interpersonal interactions. Most fathers say they want to be more involved parents, yet public policy and social institutions often prevent them from being the dads they want to. Kevin Shaffer explains why it’s becoming more and more difficult to be a father in our society. Why Girls Tend to Have More Anxiety Than Boys (1:48:53) Dr. Leonard Sax, a psychologist, and a practicing family physician. Have you noticed that your daughter tends to be a high-functioning over-achiever in all she does while your son sits back and plays video games? Does your daughter seem to stress over the tiniest details while your son doesn’t seem to have a care in the world? This is a pretty common trend. Under your daughter’s achievements, trophies, and awards, she may have a lot of anxiety bottled up, though. Why is it that girls tend to have more anxiety than boys? Dr. Leonard Sax explains.

Irrational Politics, Vacation Memories, Decoding Body Language May 31, 2017

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Mari Fitzduff - Why Irrational Politics Appeals (16:35) Mari Fitzduff is the Founding Director of the International Masters programs in Conflict Resolution and Coexistence at the Heller School at Brandeis University. The program is a professional program and has had participants from over 60 countries, many of them in active conflicts. She is the author of Why Irrational Politics Appeals: Understanding the Allure of Trump. Many people are questioning the rationality of President’s Trump's comments, decisions, and promises. The United Kingdom's decision to leave the European Union was seen as an extreme choice. Is there something about irrationality that is appealing? Mari Fitzduff explains the psychology behind these types of decisions. Andrea Bartz - Vacation Memories (1:04:38) Andrea Bartz is a Brooklyn-based journalist and copywriter who covers health, travel, psychology, lifestyle, and more. Her work has appeared in USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, and a whole constellation of other outlets. She's also a budding thriller novelist and former editor of several magazines. Did you know that technology can actually tamper with our ability to remember the important moments in life? Cameras and smartphones are usually on every traveler’s checklist but our guest today has some advice on why we should just leave those things in our hotel room. Andrea Bartz explains how to create lasting memories without your smartphone. Leslie Shore - Decoding Body Language in an Online World (1:49:04) Leslie Shore is a communication expert, professor, and author. As the owner of the consultancy Listen to Succeed, Leslie has worked with corporations, nonprofits, entrepreneurs, health professionals, and educational institutions to up-level their intra-personal and inter-personal communication skills. She is the author of Listen to Succeed: How to identify and overcome barriers to effective listening. While the brain is developing the capacity for online social networking, neural circuits for one-on-one personal communicatio

Fitness Trackers, Poverty Changes the Brain, Fad Diets May 30, 2017

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Fitbit Data and Your Health Insurance (15:17) Dr. Andy Boyd, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical and Health and Information Sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Our Producer Palakiko just got a new Fitbit charge smartwatch. He loves it. It tracks his resting heart rate, how many calories he burns each day, and even grades his quality of sleep. But should his Fitbit data be used to deny him healthcare? Andy Boyd explains how fitness trackers come with many issues involving personal data How Poverty Changes the Brain (1:03:12) Elisabeth Babcock, Ph.D. is the President and CEO of Economic Mobility Pathways (EMPath), a national charitable organization dedicated to creating new pathways to economic independence for low-income women and their families. Beth’s role as CEO is to lead EMPath in its strategy to be a research and innovations powerhouse consistently delivering new approaches that expedite pathways out of poverty. A new study by EMPath examines how poverty really affects the brain. People in poverty tend to get stuck in vicious cycles where stress leads to bad decision-making, compounding other problems and reinforcing the idea that they can’t improve their own lives. Elizabeth Babcock explains the research. Fad Diets (1:51:47) Ron Hager, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Exercise Sciences in the College of Life Sciences at Brigham Young University. One of his areas of interest is Chronic Disease Prevention. Ron Hager talks about the Bacon Diet and explains the pros and cons of fad diets.

Climate Change, Stress-Proof Brain, Ordinary Economy May 29, 2017

Show notes

Climate Change Across the Aisle (17:06) Thomas Bateman is a Professor of Management at the University of Virginia. Professor Bateman specializes in organizational behavior. He conducts research on leadership, problem-solving, motivation, decision making, personality, stress, and managerial goals. Current research projects focus on behavior and decision making in the domain of climate change. For all the hot air expended on the subject, we still don’t know how to talk about climate change. Thomas Bateman discusses how to talk climate change across the aisle. The Stress-Proof Brain (1:06:39) Dr. Melanie Greenberg is a licensed Clinical Psychologist, and EMDR Practitioner trained for Trauma, Schema Therapy, and Mindfulness. She is the author of the book “The Stress-Proof Brain: Master Your Emotional Response to Stress Using Mindfulness and Neuroplasticity. She is also a media expert on relationships and stress. Let’s face it- modern times are stressful. Between the mad dash to meetings, the dreaded daily commute, tragedy in the news, and the constant need to do and have more, you may be feeling wound up, irritable, and out of balance. Unfortunately, you can’t always avoid the things that stress you out. But you can control how you respond to stress before it takes over your life. Dr. Melanie Greenberg talks with us about a breakthrough process that will help us put a stop to some of our unhealthy stress responses. Return of the Ordinary Economy (1:53:14) Marc Levinson is an economist and historian who lives in Washington, DC. He was formerly finance and economics editor of The Economist magazine in London, worked as an economist for a New York bank, and was a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. “Make America Great Again” was the war cry of President Donald Trump. This phrase is often associated with America’s dipping economy. Marc Levinson shares in his book, An Extraordinary Time: The end of the Postwar Boom and the Return of the Ordinary Economy, how this dipping economy might not be revers 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:17:06 - Climate Change Across the Aisle 01:66:39 - The Stress-Proof Brain 01:113:14 - Return of the Ordinary Economy

Fitbit Data and Insurance, Poverty and the Brain, Poor No More May 27, 2017

Show notes

Fitbit Data and Your Health Insurance (15:16) Dr. Andy Boyd, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical and Health and Information Sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Our Producer Palakiko just got a new Fitbit Charge smartwatch. He loves it. It tracks his resting heart rate, how many calories he burns each day, and even grades his quality of sleep. But should his Fitbit data be used to deny him healthcare? Andy Boyd explains how fitness trackers come with many issues involving personal data How Poverty Changes the Brain (1:03:12) Elisabeth Babcock, Ph.D. is the President and CEO of Economic Mobility Pathways (EMPath), a national charitable organization dedicated to creating new pathways to economic independence for low-income women and their families. Beth’s role as CEO is to lead EMPath in its strategy to be a research and innovations powerhouse consistently delivering new approaches that expedite pathways out of poverty. A new study by EMPath examines how poverty really affects the brain. People in poverty tend to get stuck in vicious cycles where stress leads to bad decision-making, compounding other problems and reinforcing the idea that they can’t improve their own lives. Elizabeth Babcock explains the research. Poor No More (1:51:53) Peter Cove is a nationally-acclaimed advocate for private solutions to welfare dependency, and author of the new book, POOR NO MORE: Rethinking Dependency and the War on Poverty. Peter Cove is the founder of America Works, the first for-profit, welfare-to-work company. He has created more than 1 million jobs for welfare recipients through America Works and other private sector endeavors. In the 1960s, America set out to end poverty. All initiatives on the War Against Poverty have since failed. All except one, the welfare reform in 1996. What made this reform different from all the others? Peter Cover, the author of Rethinking Dependency and the War on Poverty and the founder of America Works shares his ideas on how jobs can fix poverty. 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:15:16 - Fitbit Data and Your Health Insurance 01:63:12 - How Poverty Changes the Brain 01:111:53 - Poor No More

Campus Free Speech, Relationship Conflicts, Screen Cleaning May 26, 2017

Show notes

Can we talk about free speech on campus? (15:59) Neal Hutchens earned a Ph.D. in education policy with a specialization in higher education from the University of Maryland. He is currently a faculty member in the Higher Education Program specializing in legal issues in higher education at the University of Mississippi. Freedom of speech on college campuses has been a topic since conservative speaker Ann Coulter has a speech canceled on the campus of the University of California Berkley. Neal Hutchens discusses the challenges and importance of free speech on college campuses. Tips for Solving Relationship Conflicts (1:02:21) Gwendolyn Seidman, Ph.D., is an associate professor of psychology and chair of the psychology department at Albright College. She received her doctorate in social-personality psychology from New York University in 2006. She studies self-expression and self-presentation on the Internet, cognition in close relationships, and social support. As anyone who has been in a romantic relationship knows, disagreements and fights are inevitable. When two people spend a lot of time together and start to share a life they are bound to disagree from time to time. These disagreements can be big or small, ranging from failing to complete a chore to what our financial situation is. Fighting isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it can actually be healthy for a relationship but we need to use it the right way. Gwendolyn Seidman shares tips for solving relationship conflicts. Jeff Simpson - Screen Cleaning (1:34:25) Jeff Simpson offers family friendly entertainment options and discusses the intersection of pop culture and everyday life.

History of Fake News, Personalized Learning, Veterans Jobs May 25, 2017

Show notes

19th-century Fake News (15:55) Petra McGillen, Ph.D., is an assistant prof. of German Studies and media historian at Dartmouth. Although we didn’t hear about it much until recently, “fake news” is not a new concept. Petra McGillens discusses her research on fake news dating all the way back to the 19th-century. Deeper Personalize Learning (1:03:28) Kathleen McClaskey is CEO and Co-founder of Personalize Learning, LLC and co-author of bestsellers Make Learning Personal and How to Personalize Learning: A Practical Guide for Getting Started and Going Deeper. She is an innovative leader, education technologist, keynoter, professional developer, and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) consultant with over 30 years experience in creating learner-centered environments. For students to become more proactive in their learning, they need to understand how they learn so they can develop skills to support their own learning. Personalization, or what is more commonly known as personalized learning, offers a great opportunity for students to take ownership of their learning and acquire skills to direct and advocate for their own educations. Still, there is a great deal of confusion about what personalization is and what it means for teaching and learning. Kathleen McClaskey shares with us how exactly we can personalize learning for an entire class. Helping Veterans Find Career Opportunities (1:49:28) Eileen Trauth, Ph.D., is a Professor of Information Sciences & Technology, and Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies at The Pennsylvania State University. She conducts research on the information technology profession, with a particular focus on underrepresented groups based on gender, disability, veteran’s status, race, ethnicity and socio-economic status. Did you know military veterans have a higher unemployment rate than nonveterans? Eileen Trauth discusses her research on jobs for vets, and how the Information Technology field is a better fit for them than they might originally think.

Poor No More, Anxiety in Parenting, What Makes a Jerk May 24, 2017

Show notes

Poor No More (15:39) Peter Cove is a nationally-acclaimed advocate for private solutions to welfare dependency, and author of the new book, POOR NO MORE: Rethinking Dependency and the War on Poverty. Peter Cove is the founder of America Works, the first for-profit, welfare-to-work company. He has created more than 1 million jobs for welfare recipients through America Works and other private sector endeavors. In the 1960s, America set out to end poverty. All initiatives on the War Against Poverty have since failed. All except one, the welfare reform in 1996. What made this reform different from all the others? Peter Cover, the author of Rethinking Dependency and the War on Poverty and the founder of America Works shares his ideas on how jobs can fix poverty. Steps to Decrease Anxiety in Parenting (1:00:32) Shaunna Reynolds is a behavioral and family therapist, as well as a leadership consultant. For the past seven years, she has had the opportunity to work in the education community. She’s enjoyed coaching administrations, teachers, students and parents in a variety of different venues. Her emphasis is prevention, focused specifically in leadership and skill training. We live in a world that craves the immediate. We want it now and have very little patience with ourselves and others when things do not happen automatically. In fact, if a process takes time it’s often viewed as a waste of time, this included parenting. Parenting a child is a long-term process and a huge investment of time, energy and money. Parenting isn’t easy and there is not an instruction manual, everyone parents differently. Shaunna Reynolds shares a few tips to help take some of the anxiety out of parenting. Caitlin Thomas - Best of Moments (1:29:54) Caitlin Thomas has been with us here on the Matt Townsend Show since March of 2015. She has recently graduated and is now looking for a full-time job. Today is our final segment with her and so today we are going to talk about some of her favorite memories on this show. Why Some Peopl

Fitness Trackers, Poverty Changes the Brain, Fad Diets May 23, 2017

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