The Weird Canadian

The Weird Canadian
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Weekly

What if the system isn't broken, it's just finished? What comes next, and who's building it? The Weird Canadian is a show about the people answering that question with action. Engineers writing the protocols that route around outdated institutions. Economists rethinking money, work, and ownership for an AI-native world. Policy advocates dragging Canada out of a decade of decline. Founders building tools, communities, and movements that give regular people leverage they've never had. I believe technology, used right, is the most powerful equalizer humanity has ever invented. AI isn't the threat. Concentration is the threat. So this show platforms the people pushing in the opposite direction: open systems, individual sovereignty, distributed power, and a future where being free isn't a luxury. You don't have to agree with me on everything. You just have to be building, creating, or fighting for something real. If your work makes a regular person stronger, smarter, freer, or less dependent on a system that's failing them, this is your audience. Canadian focus, global lens. No fluff, no talking points, no algorithm-chasing. Just the conversations we should be having out loud.

  1. 1d ago

    He Learned to Read at 62. Now He's Building an AI Tutor for Struggling Readers

    Episode Notes David Chalk built technology companies and became a familiar voice on television and radio while carrying a private fear: that people would mistake his difficulty reading for a lack of intelligence. In this episode, David tells Cody what happened on his first day of school, how shame followed him into adulthood, and what changed when he learned to read in his early 60s during the making of The Truth About Reading. He describes receiving 11 hours of instruction and recognizing written language as patterns. That was David's personal experience, not a guaranteed timeline for other learners. The conversation then turns to Reading Road, the AI-assisted literacy platform David is building. He explains a proposed approach that starts with spoken language and words the learner already understands, uses personal interests to expand vocabulary, and tries to respond when frustration appears. Cody asks the questions that matter before a family relies on an AI tutor: What can AI add that a teacher may not have time to provide one-on-one? What should it never replace? How should a system working with children handle consent, privacy, biometric signals, human oversight, and safety? What measurable results should it produce before skeptical parents, educators, or reading scientists trust it? The episode also explores dyslexia, ADHD, neurodivergent learning, emotional safety, pattern recognition, handwriting, the limits of language models, and practical ways adults can begin using AI with more curiosity and less hype. GUEST LINKS Reading Road: https://readingroad.ai About David and Reading Road: https://readingroad.ai/about/ David Chalk on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidchalkmentoring/ The Truth About Reading on Tubi: https://tubitv.com/movies/100016377/the-truth-about-reading THE WEIRD CANADIAN Watch the YouTube version: https://youtu.be/FMQ-qlKR82s Episodes, sources, and more: https://theweirdcanadian.ca PARTNERS PodMatch: https://www.joinpodmatch.com/the_weird_canadian Async: https://async.com/?ref=zjdlyzn GrayGate: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.graygate Disclosure: The PodMatch and Async links may be affiliate links, which means The Weird Canadian may benefit if you sign up or purchase through them. Reading Road's capabilities, pricing, safeguards, certifications, access model, and outcomes are discussed as founder or product claims. This conversation is not medical advice, a diagnosis, or individualized education advice. Qualified assessment and evidence-based support may still be appropriate. Follow The Weird Canadian in your podcast app, visit https://theweirdcanadian.ca, and use the YouTube link above if you want the video version. Support The Weird Canadian by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/the-weird-canadian This podcast is powered by Pinecast. Read transcript

  2. 4d ago

    AI Guardrails for Kids: Building Judgment Beyond Parental Controls

    Episode Notes Parental controls can reduce a child's exposure to known risks. They cannot supply judgment when a new message, voice, image, or AI conversation feels convincing. Cybersecurity leader, author, and DigiArmorX founder Nidhi Srivastava joins Cody to discuss what AI safety for kids looks like when the technology can imitate, persuade, remember context, and invite personal disclosure. Nidhi shares how her son's experience with cyberbullying changed her view of controls-only safety and led her toward risk-based digital-safety education. The conversation offers a practical framework for families and schools: `human first, AI second, human last`. Children attempt the thinking first, use AI to challenge or extend it, and return to human judgment before making a decision. Nidhi and Cody also discuss productive struggle, deepfake awareness, emotional boundaries with AI, recurring family conversations, DigiArmorX, and password habits. In this episode: - Why technical guardrails and human judgment do different jobs - How to teach kids critical thinking with AI - Questions parents can repeat without becoming AI experts - Privacy and emotional boundaries for AI conversations - Why digital literacy for children should be practised as a life skill - How Nidhi describes DigiArmorX's risk-based learning model - What the password segment gets right and where current guidance needs more context Guest and project links: Nidhi on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nidhi-srivastava-a5493468 DigiArmorX: https://www.digiarmorx.ai Growing Safe Digital Minds: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GX2TQ7R1 The Brightshield Digital Defenders: The Super Password: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GXMMLQ55 The Weird Canadian: Website: https://theweirdcanadian.ca Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtwjLtOvHj0 Partners and tools mentioned in the episode: PodMatch: https://www.joinpodmatch.com/the_weird_canadian Async: https://async.com/?ref=zjdlyzn Graygate: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.graygate Disclosure: The PodMatch and Async links are affiliate links, which means Cody may earn a commission if you sign up through them. Follow The Weird Canadian in your podcast app, visit the website for episode links and sources, or watch the full video on YouTube. Support The Weird Canadian by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/the-weird-canadian This podcast is powered by Pinecast. Read transcript

  3. Sep 10

    AI Can Make Content. It Can't Earn Customer Trust, with Chris Anderson

    Episode Notes AI can produce more content for less. That does not mean an audience will believe it, remember it, or trust the business behind it. Chris Anderson of Elevate Media Group joins Cody for an audio-first conversation about AI content creation for business and the parts of marketing that automation still cannot carry on its own. They discuss story, proof, judgment, consistency, and why a recognizable personal point of view becomes more important as production gets easier. The conversation also covers raw versus polished content, the idea that every business is becoming a media company, the often-cited seven-hour trust rule, small teams using AI as leverage, fact-checking generated material, writing scroll-stopping hooks without lying, handling internet criticism, and questions about robots, UBI, and the future of work. The seven-hour trust idea is discussed as a marketing heuristic rather than a guaranteed buying threshold. Predictions and views about AI and future work belong to the conversation and should not be read as settled forecasts. TOPICS - What AI content still misses - Customer trust through content - Personal brand content strategy - Video marketing for small business - Raw content versus polished production - AI-assisted teams and fact-checking - Hooks that earn attention without overpromising - Robots, UBI, and the future of work CONNECT WITH CHRIS Elevate Media Group: https://www.elevate-media-group.com/ Chris on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chris.t.anderson/ The Upgraded Man on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-upgraded-man/id1488052556 THE WEIRD CANADIAN Episodes, sources, and more: https://www.theweirdcanadian.ca/ Watch the video version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcuW-EibLnI PARTNERS PodMatch: https://joinpodmatch.com/the_weird_canadian GrayGate: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.graygate Async: https://async.com/?ref=zjdlyzn Affiliate disclosure: I may earn a commission if you sign up through the PodMatch or Async links. GrayGate is My own created app. Follow the show in your podcast app, visit The Weird Canadian for more episodes and sources, or watch the full video conversation on YouTube. Support The Weird Canadian by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/the-weird-canadian This podcast is powered by Pinecast. Read transcript

  4. Sep 7

    AI Video Looks Real. Why Does It Still Feel Fake?

    Episode Notes AI video can look cinematic and still fail the second a digital actor has to feel human. In this full episode of The Weird Canadian, Sherif Higazy joins Cody to unpack why AI video looks fake in human scenes even as image quality improves. Sherif spent years in Hollywood visual effects, ran production at Thermonuclear, and founded Megaton AI to grade video models against each other with repeatable tests instead of vendor highlight reels. This is an audio-first cut of the conversation. You do not need the picture to follow the argument: actor performance, physical cause and effect, continuity, cost, privacy, local versus frontier deployment, and clear business objectives decide whether an AI video tool is actually useful. Topics include: - Why professional shots already pass through synthetic processes, and what diffusion models changed - Why Sherif left a pure production path to build AI video model benchmarks - Whether Hollywood is "suffering," and why story quality still matters more than tool panic - Where beginners can start, and why quality still beats generic AI content volume - Guest evaluations of overrated models, including why Sora felt overrated to Sherif, without treating that as a final industry ranking - Why Sherif rates many Chinese video models highly, with compute, talent, and market-structure caveats - AI infrastructure, energy, railroad-style buildout risk, and collapse scenarios as discussion, not prediction locked as fact - What models still miss, especially actor performance and the AI video uncanny valley - How Megaton AI packages benchmarks for labs, creative teams, and creators choosing the best AI video models for creators - The practical close: define the result you need, test multiple models against it, then decide Guest links: - Megaton AI: https://megaton.ai - AI video leaderboard: https://megaton.ai/leaderboard - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherif-higazy-159a638b/ - X: https://x.com/sheriff_sherif - Thermonuclear: https://www.thermonuclear.tv/ Show and site: - The Weird Canadian: https://theweirdcanadian.ca - YouTube version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otwxmD1toaM Partner and product links: - GrayGate for Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.graygate - PodMatch: https://www.joinpodmatch.com/the_weird_canadian - Async: https://async.com/?ref=zjdlyzn Disclosure: This episode includes promotional segments for GrayGate, PodMatch, and Async. GrayGate is Cody's own app. PodMatch and Async are affiliate relationships, which means The Weird Canadian may earn a commission if you use those links. Support The Weird Canadian by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/the-weird-canadian This podcast is powered by Pinecast. Read transcript

  5. Sep 3

    The Human Edge AI Can't Replace with Sirene Abou-Chakra

    Episode Notes AI can make a business faster, but it cannot become the person your customers trust. Sirene Abou-Chakra joins Cody to talk about AI for small business and the choices owners face as work changes. They discuss where automation can help, why supporting people is difficult to scale, and why sales, storytelling, connection, and a recognizable human voice still matter. Sirene's career includes a decade at Google, development work with the City of Detroit, AI for Good at Dataminr, and policy work at Airbnb. The conversation moves through civic technology, training for jobs that keep changing, the pressure on governments and businesses to catch up, and the idea that every company is becoming a media company. Topics: - AI and who gets a say in how it is used - Lessons from Google and Detroit - Why human support does not scale easily - AI for social good and the Ushahidi case - Training for jobs that keep changing - What small businesses may need over the next five years - Using AI without losing your voice - Social media, attention, and human connection - Why stories still shape technology Chapters: 00:00 AI Is Inevitable: Who Gets a Say? 03:21 From Google to Rebuilding Detroit 10:18 Why Real Human Work Does Not Scale Easily 15:23 AI for Social Good: The Ushahidi Case 19:27 Business, Government, and Community Impact 22:42 Training for Jobs That Keep Changing 30:00 What Small Businesses Need for the Next Five Years 35:49 Using AI Without Losing Your Voice 43:19 Social Media, Attention, and Human Connection 51:11 Why Stories Still Shape Technology 55:14 Building a Better AI Future 1:00:18 Where to Find Sirene Find Sirene: https://sireneabou-chakra.com Watch the video version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2dq4Y0H2uw Sponsor and affiliate links: PodMatch: https://www.joinpodmatch.com/the_weird_canadian Plaud: https://plaudca.sjv.io/the_weird_canadian Async: https://async.com/?ref=zjdlyzn Disclosure: Some links above are sponsor or affiliate links. The Weird Canadian may earn a commission if you use them. Follow The Weird Canadian in your podcast app. New episodes every Monday and Thursday. Support The Weird Canadian by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/the-weird-canadian This podcast is powered by Pinecast. Read transcript

  6. Aug 31

    Canada's Facebook News Block and the Information Gap

    Read transcript Episode Notes Canadians can still use Facebook and Instagram, but they cannot use those platforms the same way to reach news reporting. Since 2023, Meta has made news content unavailable to people in Canada, removing a familiar path from social posts to original articles and broadcasts. Miriam Ber returns to The Weird Canadian to discuss what filled that information gap and why source traceability matters. The conversation covers the Online News Act, the difference between policy intent and measured outcomes, Canada's approach compared with Australia, the pressure on local journalism, rural and wildfire information access, and the challenge of checking screenshots or summaries when the underlying news link is unavailable. Miriam and Cody also discuss House of Commons petition e-7543, which asks the federal government to review the Act's impact, report on whether it is meeting its objectives, and engage with Meta about restoring news access. Topics include: - What disappeared when Meta removed news availability in Canada - The Online News Act and the gap between policy intent and platform response - Why screenshots and second-hand summaries are harder to verify - Local journalism, rural communities, and emergency information - Canada and Australia's different approaches to Meta - Petition e-7543 and the case for reviewing implemented laws - How Bill C-9 and Bill C-34 enter the wider digital-policy debate Guest links: - Hold the Floor in the North: https://holdthefloornorth.substack.com - X: https://x.com/miriamrachel75 - Instagram: https://instagram.com/hiyaitsmiriam - Petition e-7543: https://www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-7543 Official context: - Online News Act: https://www.parl.ca/legisinfo/en/bill/44-1/c-18 - Meta's statement on news availability in Canada: https://about.fb.com/news/2023/06/changes-to-news-availability-on-our-platforms-in-canada/ - Bill C-9: https://www.parl.ca/legisinfo/en/bill/45-1/c-9 - Bill C-34: https://www.parl.ca/legisinfo/en/bill/45-1/c-34 Sponsor and partner links: - PodMatch: https://www.joinpodmatch.com/the_weird_canadian - PLAUD: https://plaudca.sjv.io/the_weird_canadian - Async: https://async.com/?ref=zjdlyzn Disclosure: The PodMatch and Async links are affiliate links, which means The Weird Canadian may earn a commission if you sign up through them. Confirm the required PLAUD disclosure before publishing. Watch the video version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCK8eYVkb8s Episodes, sources, and more: https://theweirdcanadian.ca Follow The Weird Canadian in your podcast app and share this episode with someone who cares about local news, digital policy, or public trust. Support The Weird Canadian by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/the-weird-canadian This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

  7. Aug 27

    Stop Calling Yourself an "AI Expert": Real Experience, Better Courses, and the Minimum Viable Offer

    Read transcript Episode Notes Using AI does not automatically make someone an AI expert. In this conversation, Cody and Josh Brown test what credible expertise should look like: real-world experience, an understanding of why the tools work, honest limits, and evidence that a student or client can implement what was taught. Josh draws on his experience as an educator and course consultant to explain why marketing before checkout and teaching after checkout are different jobs. He recommends looking past follower counts and revenue screenshots, asking about completion and implementation, and checking whether the person selling an offer has actually done the work in real life. The episode also gets practical. Josh outlines a minimum viable course or coaching business built around a clear profile, a simple page, a booking path, and a small offer that creates a useful result. Cody and Josh discuss when to outsource, where AI helps, why tool costs can pile up, the role of business ethics, handling online criticism, and the continuing value of a clear personal brand. TOPICS - What should qualify someone to call themselves an AI expert - How to recognize trend-hopping and copy-paste authority - Why course sales and course delivery require different skills - Completion, implementation, and buyer-protection questions - Starting with a phone and a minimum viable offer - Low-ticket products as a trust-building step - Outsourcing repetitive work and choosing an early hire - Where AI can cost more than human help - Ethical boundaries for coaches, consultants, and course creators - Online backlash, personal branding, and transferable expertise CHAPTERS 00:00 The expensive-course credibility problem 01:14 Why course buyers do not finish 01:35 Meet Josh Brown 02:59 Success without the Lambo fantasy 04:39 Choosing your own measure of success 06:22 Leaving the classroom 08:33 PodMatch promotional segment 09:49 From educator to course consultant 12:42 Why courses fail after checkout 18:13 AI, coaching, and course overload 25:38 Async promotional segment 26:29 The minimum viable online business 31:06 Outsourcing, delegation, and the expert trap 38:22 AI ethics and business non-negotiables 40:39 PLAUD promotional segment 41:30 Dealing with online hate 49:19 Personal branding in two seconds 52:46 A family entrepreneurship story 57:30 The Course Selling Playbook and where to find Josh GUEST LINKS Website and book route: https://www.jkbrownofficial.com Expert Ecosystem Studios: https://www.expertecosystemstudios.com Instagram: https://instagram.com/jkbrownofficial LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/jkbrownofficial WATCH THE VIDEO VERSION https://youtu.be/wOHYKemY0_M THE WEIRD CANADIAN https://theweirdcanadian.ca PROMOTIONAL LINKS AND DISCLOSURE PodMatch: https://www.joinpodmatch.com/the_weird_canadian Async: https://async.com/?ref=zjdlyzn PLAUD: https://www.plaud.ai/products/plaud-note-ai-voice-recorder Disclosure: This episode contains promotional messages for PodMatch, Async, and PLAUD. The PodMatch and Async links are affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission if you sign up through them at no additional cost to you. No affiliate claim is made for PLAUD. Claims about Josh's education, business results, client outcomes, and company work are attributed to Josh or the episode introduction unless otherwise documented. Follow The Weird Canadian in your podcast app, visit https://theweirdcanadian.ca, and use the YouTube link above for the video version. Support The Weird Canadian by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/the-weird-canadian This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

  8. Aug 24

    AI Replaces Tasks, Not Judgment, with Renee Hastings

    Episode Notes AI can absorb more tasks every month. That does not mean a business can remove the people who understand context, catch bad outputs, and make sure the work actually gets finished. Renee Hastings, founder of Executive Help Now, joins Cody to talk about the human execution layer inside an AI-enabled business. Her position is direct: AI replaces tasks and workflows, while judgment, verification, trust, and follow-through still need capable people. They discuss the assistant work AI is changing fastest, why Renee will not automate her own team out of the company, and how a founder's need for control can turn delegation into burnout. Renee also explains her capacity-based approach to client work and why businesses need people who know how to use AI rather than teams that ignore it. The conversation moves beyond operations too. Renee shares what it was like growing up in an Amish community as part of the only Black family for miles, how she thinks about trust in a period of synthetic media and automated work, and why she sometimes gives dreams and personal questions to an AI tool. Topics include: - AI and jobs - Human-in-the-loop AI - AI delegation for small business - Virtual assistants and executive support - Founder burnout and control - Trust, verification, and accountability - Capacity-based billing - AI for reflection and personal questions GUEST LINKS Executive Help Now: https://executivehelpnow.org Livestream Editors: https://livestreameditors.com Renee on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/reneehastings17/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/executivehelpnow/ Renee Speaks podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/renee-speaks/id1710622671 SPONSORS PodMatch: https://www.joinpodmatch.com/the_weird_canadian Async: https://async.com/?ref=zjdlyzn Disclosure: The PodMatch and Async links are affiliate links. I may earn a commission if you sign up through them. Follow The Weird Canadian for more conversations with the people building what comes next in AI, what it changes for work or business, and what you can do or build next. Episodes, sources, and more: https://theweirdcanadian.ca Watch the YouTube version: https://youtu.be/lcAyE6GGDWE Official Rumble channel: https://rumble.com/user/TheWeirdCanadian Renee's statements and examples reflect her perspective in this interview. This episode is a general business discussion, not legal, financial, employment, medical, or mental health advice. Support The Weird Canadian by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/the-weird-canadian This podcast is powered by Pinecast. Read transcript

See All (162)

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

What if the system isn't broken, it's just finished? What comes next, and who's building it? The Weird Canadian is a show about the people answering that question with action. Engineers writing the protocols that route around outdated institutions. Economists rethinking money, work, and ownership for an AI-native world. Policy advocates dragging Canada out of a decade of decline. Founders building tools, communities, and movements that give regular people leverage they've never had. I believe technology, used right, is the most powerful equalizer humanity has ever invented. AI isn't the threat. Concentration is the threat. So this show platforms the people pushing in the opposite direction: open systems, individual sovereignty, distributed power, and a future where being free isn't a luxury. You don't have to agree with me on everything. You just have to be building, creating, or fighting for something real. If your work makes a regular person stronger, smarter, freer, or less dependent on a system that's failing them, this is your audience. Canadian focus, global lens. No fluff, no talking points, no algorithm-chasing. Just the conversations we should be having out loud.

Information

  • Creator
    The Weird Canadian
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    162
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026
  • Show Website
    The Weird Canadian