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:

Trump Appointments, Improve Business Savvy, Holiday Eating Dec 12, 2016

Show notes

Trump Appointments (18:07) Joe Cannon is our Washington Insider. Joe served as an assistant administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from 1983-1985. Was a candidate for the U.S. Senate in 1992. He served as the Chairman of the Utah Republican Party from 2002 to 2006. He was named editor of the Deseret Morning News on December 8, 2006. Joe currently is the CEO of Fuel Freedom Foundation. Joe and Dr. Townsend discuss Donald Trump's recent cabinet appointments and the report about the CIA and Russian hacking the election. Improve Your Business Savvy (1:10:02) Neil Patel is the co-founder of Crazy Egg and Hello Bar. He helps companies like Amazon, NBC, GM, HP and Viacom grow their revenue through digital marketing. Named by Entrepreneur as the #1 marketer in the world. Psychology and business success go hand in hand. It's been well documented that people like Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, and Richard Branson all have unique mindsets that have contributed to their success. Thoughts become words, words become actions, actions become habits, habits become character, character becomes destiny, and all that jazz. Our thoughts are powerful. Neil Patel on things we can do to improve our minds and become more business savvy. Holiday Eating (1:47:22) Karen Mangum is a licensed, registered dietitian, seasoned recipe developer, food blogger and nutrition consultant. She is the author and producer of Inside Karen’s Kitchen, a healthy food blog, where she shares recipes that nourish and heal along with insightful nutrition musings which attempt to sort fact from fiction. During the holiday season, Santa isn’t the only one who keeps his figure by eating Christmas cookies and candy canes. We can all end up looking like Old Saint Nick if we aren’t careful with the sweets and treats these next few weeks. Though, egg nog, pumpkin pie, and gingerbread men can be tempting, they can be dangerous to our health as well. Come January, the Christmas spirit should be lingering in our hearts, not our waists. Karen Mangu

Fake News, Myth of the Self-Made Man, Parent Previews Dec 09, 2016

Show notes

Fake News is Making News (18:30) Dr. Kelly Garrett teaches Communication at Ohio State University. He received his PhD from the University of Michigan. His research interests include the study of online political communication, online news, and the ways citizens and activists use technologies to shape their engagement with political topics. His recent work focuses on how people’s exposure to and perceptions of political information are related to their political beliefs. About a month ago ABC was caught staging a fake crime scene, and more recently the story of Pizzagate has flooded the internet. Fake news is making news as people are click-baited into a catchy headline. Professor Kelly Garrett discusses how news articles have so many fooled. Tackling the Myth of the Self-Made Man (1:08:01) Tom English is an award-winning, innovative field sales Executive. He works within the Gale business unit in England. Tom is also an involved community member he is the Non-Executive Director of Unity Homes & Enterprise in Leeds England. How does someone become successful? Is it through careful preparation? Hard work? The ability to adapt and learn? All though these all play parts sometimes we forget that the self-made man doesn’t actually exist. Tom English on the Myth of the Self-Made Man Parent Previews - Lion (1:53:25) Rod Gustafson from Parent Previews joins the show to review the new movie Lion

Avoid Blaming Trump Supporters, Kids Cold Remedies, Gluten Dec 08, 2016

Show notes

Avoid Blaming Trump Supporters (17:43) Dr. Glenn Geher, is professor and chair of psychology at the State University of New York at New Paltz. In addition to teaching courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, and conducting research in various areas related to evolutionary psychology, Glenn is founding director of the campus’ Evolutionary Studies program. In disagreements it can be difficult to see the other persons point of view. Dr. Geher shares some social psychological guidance for moving forward after the election, and cautions against the “all Trump supporters are like that” trap. Kids and Cold Remedies (1:06:47) Dr. Ed Bell is a professor of Pharmacy Practice at Drake University. He is board certified in pharmacotherapy, and teaches in the third and fourth years of the four year doctor of pharmacy program at Drake. He has also had a book, titled “A Parent’s Guide to Children’s Medicines” published in 2012, and a 2nd edition of the book will be published in 2017. The common cold season is here, and research shows that children will experience more colds, about six to 10 annually, than adults. With each cold producing symptoms that last up to seven to 10 days, it may seem that children are nearly continuously sick. Parents want to help their ill children to feel better, but there may be a better way than just giving them over the counter medication. Caitlin Thomas - What About Santa? (1:30:40) Have your kids ever looked at you and asked, “Is Santa real?” The effort to keep the spirit of Santa alive has always been a huge goal of parents all across that nation and so many parents have tried so many different techniques. Student producer Caitlin Thomas shares some of the methods that her parents used on her as a kid to keep the magic alive. Truths About Gluten (1:56:48) Andrea Ovard currently works at the University of Utah hospital as a clinical dietitian in the cardiac ICU and medical units. She is a registered dietitian who completed a degree in Dietetics. She is the writer and creato

Athletic Performance Limits, Distracted Driving, Gift of Gab Dec 07, 2016

Show notes

We Are Nowhere Close to the Limits of Athletic Performance (16:46) Dr. Stephen Hsu is the vice president for research and a professor of theoretical physics at Michigan State University. His interest range from theoretical physics and cosmology to computer science and biology. He has written about the future of human intelligence and the advance of artificial intelligence. During the Rio Summer 2016 Olympics, athletes such as Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt, Simone Biles, and Katey Laedecky pushed the limits of athleticism in an amazing display strength, power, and grace. As race times get faster and faster, and routines get more complicated and stunning, we need to ask the question: Are we near the limits of athletic performance? Dr. Stephen Shoe share his thoughts. The Distracted Driving Epidemic (1:06:11) Vijay Dixit is a management and business process design consultant who has worked in the IT, health insurance, and energy industries. A graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology, he moved to the U.S. in 1974 to do graduate work in clean technologies and business management. After losing their daughter Shreya to a distracted driver in 2007, Vijay and his wife established the Shreya R. Dixit Memorial Foundation to conduct awareness and education campaigns in the states of Minnesota and Connecticut. Mr. Dixit also wrote a book One Split Second: The Distracted Driving Epidemic - How It Kills and How We Can Fix It. In addition to his advocacy work with the foundation, Vijay drew on his engineering background to pioneer the development of the world’s first Adaptive Massive Open Online Course (aMOOC) for combating distracted driving. Vijay Dixit on how we can fight distracted driving. Liana Tan - Goal Meeting (1:35:24) Student Producer Liana Tan has meet her goal of creating 50 "Tangents". She set a goal when she began this project and after long hours and trial and error she finally met her goal. Liana shares some tips on how to set and meet goals. The Gift of Gab (1:33:03) Dr. David Crystal is a writer, e

Wicked Problems, Attitude on Health, Hearing and Life Lessons Dec 06, 2016

Show notes

Solving the World's Wicked Problems (18:45) Dr. Stephan Manning is an Associate Professor of Management at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. He is the co-founder of Organization and Social Change Research Group, an organization specializes in research around issues at the intersection of business and society. As economies and problems become more globalized, the answers and solutions to these changes become more complicated and unclear. In policy research, these problems are termed, “wicked.” Problems such as droughts, terrorism, and the refugee crisis demand our immediate attention, but there is no central authority to organize relief efforts. Dr. manning offers us a different way to solve the world’s “wicked problems”. Effects of Attitude on Health (1:05:56) Dr. Ron Hager 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. Ron with some ideas on attitude effects our health. Caitlin Thomas - Top Gifts of 2016 (1:28:54) Christmas is the season of giving, and buying gifts give everyone in our life is where they joy of the holiday comes from. But sometimes, we don’t always know what to buy for those special people in our lives, so Caitlin Thomas is here with us today to tell us about some of the most desired gifts for this Christmas season. Overcoming Lifes Challenges (1:53:38) Justin Osmond was diagnosed at the age of 2 with a 90% hearing loss, but after 12 years of intense speech and listening therapy, he is now a renowned motivational speaker and author of the book Hearing in My Heart. He has gone on to create the Olive Osmond Hearing Fund, an institution to raise money for kids with hearing loss, and to provide them with hearing aids. He also completed a 250-mile race to raise money for 25 children to receive hearing aids. Justin and his wife, Kristi have tried to have children, but after multiple treatments, they were still unable to become pregnant. Then just a few months ago, thr

Trump Indiana Jobs, End of American Childhood, Entitled Teen Dec 05, 2016

Show notes

Trump Indiana Jobs (18:53) Joe Cannon is our Washington Insider. Joe served as an assistant administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from 1983-1985. Was a candidate for the U.S. Senate in 1992. He served as the Chairman of the Utah Republican Party from 2002 to 2006. He was named editor of the Deseret Morning News on December 8, 2006. Joe currently is the CEO of Fuel Freedom Foundation. Joe and Dr. Townsend discuss Donld Trump on Twitter, dealings with Taiwan, and jobs in Indiana. The End of American Childhood (1:08:14) Dr. Paula S. Fass, currently Professor of the Graduate School and the Margaret Byrne Professor of History Emerita at the University of California at Berkeley, is the author most recently of The End of American Childhood: A History of Parenting from Life on the Frontier to the Managed Child. With the concept of adolescence, American parents, especially those in the middle class, used to be able to predict the staging of their children’s maturation. But adolescence soon became a vision of normal development that was applicable to all youth – its bridging character (connecting childhood and adulthood) giving young Americans a structured way to prepare for mating and work. Now, the bridge is sagging at both ends as the innocence of childhood has become more difficult to protect, and adulthood is long delayed. Dr. Fass explains. Have you raised an Entitled Teen? (1:54:12) Kim Giles, President and founder of Clarity Point Life Coaching. Named one of the top 20 advice gurus in the country by Good Morning America in 2010. Writes a regular column on KSL.com every Monday in the Happy Living Section. Author of the Book Choosing Clarity: A Path to Fearlessness. Kim Giles shares her article on what to do if you have raised an entitled teen.

Violent Extremism and Moms, What Customers Want, Movies Dec 02, 2016

Show notes

The Most Overlooked Resource in Fighting Violent Extremism? Moms (20:04) Daniel Koehler is the director of the German Institute on Radicalization and Deradicalization Studies. He studied religious studies, political sciences and economics at Princeton University and Free University Berlin. He has since conducted risk assessment and deradicalization evaluations of terrorist offenders in prison and trained various U.S. government agencies. He is also a fellow at George Washington University's Program on Extremism. According to experts on violent extremism, Islamic State recruitment in the United States is reaching record levels. ISIS recruiting efforts have shifted their focus to young adults and even young teenagers. Daniel Koehler believes mothers are an important resource in combating violent extremism. Dr. Matt Tips: How to Make a Citizen's Arrest (1:01:24) The world can be a dangerous place. If the situation presents itself making a citizen's arrest can be a complicated thing. Our correspondent Harlin J. Hickum shares some tips. What do Customers Want? (1:07:06) Denise Dahlhoff is the research director of the Wharton School’s Baker Retailing Center where she is responsible for the center’s knowledge creation and dissemination initiatives. Her background is a mix of qualitative and quantitative market and academic research, consulting, publishing, and teaching. One of the more popular topics that we talk about in today’s world is the difference we see between different generations. Between baby boomers, Gen X, and millennials we find big differences, but a few similarities. One similarity that each generation has is the love of holiday season shopping and the spirit of gift giving around Christmas. Denise Dahlhoff discusses her research on how different generations shop differently and how that will apply this holiday season. Parent Previews - Moana and Loving (1:54:55) Rod Gustafson from Parent Previews joins the show to review the new movies Moana and Loving

Future Malheur Standoffs, Good Habits, Good and Bad Tech Dec 01, 2016

Show notes

History points to more dangerous Malheur-style standoffs (19:01) Dr. Char Miller is the W. M. Keck Professor of Environmental Analysis at Pomona College as well as the program director for the Environmental Analysis Program. Professor Miller is the author of the book America's Great National Forests, Wildernesses, and Grasslands. After the stand off at the Oregon wildlife refuge and the aqutial of all those involved where does this leave the dissagrement between ranchers/farmers and the Federal Government. Dr. Miller explains. Timeless Habits That Will Change Your Life (1:07:30) Marcel Schwantes is the founder of Leadership From the Core, a leading provider of servant-leadership development, training, and coaching dedicated to growing exceptional leaders and healthy work cultures. He is an executive coach, leadership trainer, entrepreneur, columnist, speaker, thinker, husband, and father. We live in a constantly changing world. The only constant we do have is that we can always expect trial and hardship to come, but it doesn’t have to be the end of us. We have all hit low points in life that might include divorce, unemployment, loss of a loved, or sickness. Marcel Schwantes explains how we can take these hard parts of life and use them to reinvent ourselves for the better. Caitlin Thomas - Healthy Holiday (1:32:22) It’s the most wonderful time of the year folks, the holidays are here. Trees are up, houses are lit, and we are all awaiting the arrival of good ol’ Saint Nick. But, we all know that with holidays there comes food, and lots of it. For some people this can be a really stressful time, but don’t worry Caitlin Thomas is here with us this morning to talk all about how we can stay fit and active this holiday season while still enjoying all the tempting treats of the holidays. Good and Bad Tech (1:57:02) Heather Johnson, M.S., has been an adjunct faculty member at Brigham Young University for nearly 10 years. She is passionate about teaching students the principles behind successful families and the

Trump’s Presidential Transition, Marriage and Money, Leading Nov 30, 2016

Show notes

Presidential Transitions (16:58) Dr. Richard Skinner is a policy analyst at the Sunlight Foundation. Professor at the American Politics for The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars, John Hopkins University, George Washington University, and the American University. President Barack Obama and President-elect, Donald Trump, met for the first time earlier this month looking towards Trump’s presidential transition. Over a formal 90 minute meeting, and many follow up phone calls, President-elect Trump and President Obama will plan for a peaceful transition of power. How is this presidential transition different from others? Have there been any notable presidential transitions? Dr. Skinner with the info. Prevent Money from Ruining Your Marriage (1:05:45) Matt Bell is a full-time personal finance writer and speaker, serving as Managing Editor at Sound Mind Investing while speaking at churches, universities, and other venues throughout the country. The holiday season is a great time to reconnect with family and friends, but can also be a stressful one, especially for married couples. It’s no secret that fighting about money puts a huge strain on a relationship. In fact, money issues are so troublesome that people who say they’re experiencing stress in their relationship cite finances as the number one reason. The holiday season doesn’t help with those stresses, but Matt Bell shares ways to prevent money from ruining your marriage. Liana Tan - Snow is Bad (1:32:01) In some parts of the country it is cold and blustry. With the onset of winter come the hassle that snow presents. Producer Liana Tan is not a fan of snow and explains her personal struggle. Learning Leadership: The Five Fundamentals of Becoming an Exemplary Leader (1:52:34) Jim Kouzes is the Dean’s Executive Fellow of Leadership, Leavey School of Business, Santa Clara University and Jim has co-authored over a dozen other books, including “Learning Leadership.” Whether you are on the PTA, you coach little league soccer, you’re a CE

Safety of GMO Foods, Email Anxiety, Family Meals Nov 29, 2016

Show notes

Are GMO's Safe? (18:07) Dr. Fred Gould is a University Professor of Entomology and Co-Director of the Genetic Engineering and Society Center of North Carolina State University. GMO, or genetically modified organisms, help grow hybrid crops to decrease the chance of crop failure and increase the yield of produce. Many parents are concerned with this seemingly “unnatural” type of food. Are GMO crops actually unsafe to eat? Dr. Gould explains. Unsubscribe: How to Kill Email Anxiety (1:06:20) Jocelyn K. Glei is a writer who’s obsessed with how we can find more creativity and meaning in our daily work. Her latest book called Unsubscribe, a modern guide to killing email anxiety, avoiding distraction, and getting real work done. The average person checks their email 11 times per hour, processes 122 messages a day, and spends 28 percent of their total work week managing their inbox. What was once a powerful and essential tool for doing our daily work has become a near-constant source of frustration, anxiety, and distraction from our work. Jocelyn Glei explains how to manage our emails and declutter our inbox. Caitlin Thomas - Worst and Best Sequel Movies (1:31:39) There are many controversial topics we have talked about on this show. From elections to news stories, the Matt Townsend show isn’t afraid of tackling anything. Today Caitlin Thomas joins us to talk about the most controversial of topics- movie sequels. Do we love them or hate them? Family Meals (1:54:30) 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. Julie has written two books about parenting including Keep it Real and Grab a Plunger. Julie explains the importance of Family Meals.

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