Knowledge x Leadership Connections
This page shows how conversations become reusable knowledge across the current catalog.
It is generated from relatedEpisodes, relatedKnowledge, and themes frontmatter fields.
Knowledge Brief to Episode Pathways
February 2, 2026
A Leadership Brief for Agri-Food Futures
Connected conversation:
Themes:
leadership
foresight
resilience
dialogue
emergence
February 9, 2026
A companion handout for leadership teams, boards, educators, and sector partners.
Connected conversation:
Themes:
Workforce development
Skills and training infrastructure
Collaboration and coordination
Technology adoption (AI, automation, robotics)
Strategic planning and accountability
February 17, 2026
A Brief Inspired by a Conversation with Rene Van Acker, President and Vice Chancellor, University of Guelph
Connected conversation:
Themes:
University leadership
Collaboration and foresight
Extension and knowledge mobilization
Interdisciplinary innovation
Climate volatility and resilience
Long-term institutional planning
February 23, 2026
A Leadership Brief from Episode 6 with Dana McCauley
Connected conversation:
Themes:
leadership
commercialization
food innovation
scale-up
agri-food 2050
March 1, 2026
The Strategic Sector That Still Thinks It's a Commodity
Connected conversation:
Themes:
leadership
policy
geopolitics
value-add
strategy
March 5, 2026
Why emotional literacy and transparency are becoming core skills for the next generation of farm leaders
Connected conversation:
Themes:
leadership
trust
communication
emotional-intelligence
learning
March 9, 2026
How Indigenous communities could help renew a sector running out of farmers
Connected conversation:
Themes:
indigenous
demographics
food-sovereignty
economic-development
scale
March 17, 2026
Institutional culture, closed conversations, and the need for dissent in Canadian agriculture
Connected conversation:
Themes:
Institutional culture
Dissent and independent thinking
Leadership
Sector dialogue
March 20, 2026
Why innovation alone won't transform Canadian agriculture
Connected conversation:
Themes:
Innovation and adoption
Applied research
Institutional design
Workforce development
March 24, 2026
How diaspora and everyday cooking shape real demand
Connected conversation:
Themes:
Culture and demand
Diaspora and food systems
Food literacy
Leadership
Local food adoption
March 30, 2026
How The Mustard Seed is reimagining food assistance through choice, education, and shared space
Connected conversation:
Themes:
Food security
Community resilience
Food literacy
Collaborative leadership
Dignity and equity
Food rescue and waste reduction
Episode to Knowledge Pathways
February 1, 2026
This introductory episode sets the foundation for the season by introducing the core idea behind the “future herd”: food systems are made up of many independent actors—farmers, animals, ecosystems, institutions, technologies, and communities—coordinating without central control. Adaptation emerges from interaction, not command.
No related knowledge brief linked yet.
February 2, 2026
The Dance of Foresight: Reimagining Leadership in Agri-Food
Connected brief:
February 9, 2026
Jennifer Wright (CAHRC) joins Jesse Hirsh to explore the skills, training models, and collaboration needed to prepare Canada’s agri-food workforce for 2050.
Connected brief:
February 17, 2026
Jesse Hirsh speaks with University of Guelph President and Vice Chancellor Rene Van Acker about leadership, collaboration, and long-term institutional responsibility in building a resilient agri-food future.
Connected brief:
February 23, 2026
Jesse Hirsh speaks with Dana McCauley about food innovation culture, commercialization realities, and what Canada needs to build a more competitive agri-food system.
Connected brief:
March 1, 2026
Jesse Hirsh speaks with Tyler McCann of CAPI about geopolitical volatility, policy leadership, value-added capacity, and what it means to treat agri-food as a strategic sector.
Connected brief:
March 5, 2026
Jesse Hirsh speaks with farm leader Steph Towers about curiosity, transparency, emotional intelligence, and the relationships needed for agriculture to lead through uncertainty.
Connected brief:
March 9, 2026
Jesse Hirsh speaks with Camden Lawrence of First Nations Agriculture & Finance Ontario about Indigenous agriculture as economic development, the capital requirements of modern farming, and the demographic opportunity that First Nations communities represent for Canada's agri-food sector.
Connected brief:
March 17, 2026
Jesse Hirsh speaks with Jamie Reaume — nearly three decades inside Canada's agri-food sector — about why the sector's institutional conversations rarely change, what independent thinking costs, and why dissent is essential if agriculture is going to navigate the decades ahead.
Connected brief:
March 20, 2026
Jesse Hirsh speaks with Todd Ormann of Olds College about why so many promising agricultural technologies struggle to reach the farm, and what it actually takes to close that gap — from applied research and Smart Farms to workforce development and Canada's fragmented innovation system.
Connected brief:
March 24, 2026
Raj Thandhi — chef, recipe developer, and food educator behind Pink Chai Living — joins Jesse Hirsh to explore how culture shapes demand, why food has to 'belong' before it moves, and what diaspora cuisine reveals about the infrastructure that actually connects agriculture to everyday life.
Connected brief:
March 30, 2026
Treska Watson, Executive Director at The Mustard Seed Street Church, confronts the stark contradictions of food insecurity in a nation known for agricultural abundance. Through innovative food rescue and distribution strategies, she reveals how collaborative leadership can transform broken systems and restore human dignity.
Connected brief: