Best BRET Career Development Podcasts (2025)

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Exploring with Purpose with Dr. Jonathan Reams 42:39

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7d ago42:39

42:39

Send us a text Jonathan Reams, PhD, is currently doing action research projects exploring how to scale micro-skill development for habituating core leadership practices. He approaches this work drawing on experiences from holding a position at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) from 2007 until 2024, serving as editor-in-chief…

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BarChef owner Frankie Solarik elevates experiential cocktails 30:37

7d ago30:37

30:37

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Athletic Coaching as Leadership with Chris Whritenour, Bret Beecher, Dennis Pluth, & John Dailey 30:48

14d ago30:48

30:48

Send us a text John Dailey – A high school diving coach for more than 45 years, John is known for his infectious energy, big-hearted mentorship, and focus on building confidence and resilience in young athletes. Chris Whritenour – A trailblazing coach and former University of Minnesota diver (and its first female coach). Chris broke barriers as one…

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How Levain Bakery is leaning into treat culture through catering 20:27

14d ago20:27

20:27

Levain Bakery, a New York City obsession among cookie lovers, started as a bread shop 30 years ago. The famous gooey and crispy 6-ounce cookies came about by accident. The founders, Connie McDonald and Pam Weekes, were triathletes as well as bakers, and they developed an oversized chocolate chip walnut cookie to fuel them during training. Word got …

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Alternative Academic Roles with Patrice Cuff, PhD 32:24

15d ago32:24

32:24

Dr. Patrice Cuff has done many things! An industry postdoc, industry business development, and now an alternative academic role at a teaching institution. Learn more from Dr. Cuff about how she has pivoted and found job satisfaction on a unique journey to find the right fit.By Vanderbilt University

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Men’s Leadership Development with Dr. Nicole Ferry 41:44

21d ago41:44

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Send us a text Nicole Ferry is a tenure-track assistant professor at Copenhagen Business School. Drawing on her background in cultural studies and critical theory, her research examines the ideological and gendered discourses of leadership and leadership development across diverse contexts. She has published in Journal of Business Ethics, Leadershi…

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Scott Conant chats about his new restaurant, his sauce line and his plans for a sandwich shop 19:39

21d ago19:39

19:39

Scott Conant has been working in restaurants for 40 years, since he was an eager 15-year-old teen in Waterbury, Connecticut. Since then he has opened restaurants in New York City, Miami, Las Vegas, Toronto, and elsewhere, as well as a new restaurant in the Bahamas at the Baha Mar resort slated to open later this fall. His restaurant L’Impero won th…

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Market Access and Medical Policy with Jennifer Malinowski, PhD 31:33

22d ago31:33

31:33

Dr. Jennifer Malinowski shares her role with Lab Corp and the work she does in Market Access.By Vanderbilt University

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Content Fatigue with Scott Ritzheimer 34:49

28d ago34:49

34:49

Send us a text Scott Ritzheimer has helped start nearly 20,000 new businesses and nonprofits, and with his business partner started and led their multimillion-dollar business through an exceptional and extended growth phase (over 10 years of double-digit growth all before he turned 35. He founded Scale Architects to help businesses across the count…

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How restaurateur Eric LeVine's 45-year career has led to health and wellness 29:38

28d ago29:38

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Brooklyn-born Eric LeVine started cooking in restaurant kitchens at the age of 12, working the fry station at a neighborhood diner. Although that would be considered illegal child labor today, he loved the work and never looked back. LeVine fueled his passion as a student at the Culinary Institute of America and as a member of the kitchen team at B…

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Drug Discovery in Biopharma with Matt Harlow, PhD 23:54

29d ago23:54

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Dr. Matt Harlow, PhD, Senior Scientist at TRIANA Biomedicines, shares his path since Vanderbilt and his daily work life in drug discovery.By Vanderbilt University

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Discovering Lincoln Through the Eyes of Douglas with Dr. Jonathan White 35:29

1M ago35:29

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Send us a text Dr. Jonathan W. White is a professor of American Studies at Christopher Newport University. He is the author or editor of 17 books covering various topics, including civil liberties during the Civil War, the USS Monitor and the Battle of Hampton Roads, the presidential election of 1864, and what Abraham Lincoln and soldiers dreamt ab…

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Stephanie Izard on menu development, fame and her new projects 17:25

1M ago17:25

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Stephanie Izard has a streak of fearlessness in her. She went from being a sous chef to a restaurateur at age 27 and hasn’t looked back. Closing that restaurant, Scylla, in 2007 after a three-year run, she went on to compete in and win season four of Bravo TV’s Top Chef in 2008. From there she launched her goat-themed restaurant empire, now compris…

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Competitive Intelligence Consulting with Laura Geben, PhD 37:45

1M ago37:45

37:45

Dr. Geben shares about her role as a consultant with Anchor Point Consulting, specifically in competitive intelligence. She also shares about her time working abroad, being 100% remote, and the opportunities she purused in grad school to land her current role.By Vanderbilt University

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Reimagining Business Through Systems Thinking with Dr. Wayne Mayer 36:05

1M ago36:05

36:05

Send us a text Dr. Wayne E. Mayer, CEO of When Everything Matters (WEMCo), is a Strategic Sustainability Consultant who advises global companies, governments, and non-profits. He helps organizations transform business models into authentic Sustainable Development partnerships. He brings over 20 years’ experience designing and leading Corporate Sust…

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How Amanda Toups turned a pandemic-era response into a powerful hunger-fighting nonprofit 21:58

1M ago21:58

21:58

Amanda Toups, partner with her husband Isaac Toups in New Orleans’ Toups Meatery, flew into action when COVID-19 closed the restaurant back in March, 2020. The couple cooked and handed out to-go meals for their employees and their families and anyone else who showed up in need. Within a few days, 500 people wrapped around the block. Through the end…

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Bioinformatics in Industry with Tim Shaver, PhD 24:38

1M ago24:38

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Dr. Shaver shares about his role at Natera as their Associate Director of Bioinformatics.By Vanderbilt University

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Skip the Sexy Stuff: Why Leadership Development Needs to Start with the Boring Bits with Dr. Barrett Keene 33:32

2M ago33:32

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Send us a text Dr. Barrett Keene is the Senior Director of Talent Development at Stanford Health Care. He previously served as Director of Talent Development at Intuit, where he led teams that develop leaders in Silicon Valley and across the world. Before Intuit, Barrett worked at Tesla as an executive coach and the Head of Leadership and Talent De…

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Jet Tila gets into Chino-Latino cooking 21:34

2M ago21:34

21:34

Jet Tila is known as a TV chef these days, thanks to his many appearances on the Food Network and elsewhere, but he has actually been working in the restaurant industry for pretty much his whole life. Having grown up working in his parents’ Thai restaurants in Los Angeles, he then attended culinary school and went on to cook at a wide variety of fo…

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Nonprofit Program Administration with Roslin Thoppil, PhD 30:09

2M ago30:09

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Dr. Roslin Thoppil, PhD, shares about her role with the American Association for Cancer Research where she leads the development and execution of national and international scientific conferences and educational initiatives. Her role involves close collaboration with top cancer scientists and clinicians from across the globe, ensuring the delivery …

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Seattle chef Victor Steinbrueck on high-touch hospitality in a fast-casual space 13:43

2M ago13:43

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Chef and restaurateur Victor Steinbrueck shook up the Seattle seafood scene when he opened LocalTide in 2020. The restaurant refuses to fall into typical seafood or restaurant categories, like fish and chips or fine dining sole. It’s serving up sustainable, sophisticated dishes that work just as well as takeout or while enjoying the hip vibes of Lo…

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Changing on the Job with Jennifer Garvey Berger 36:50

2M ago36:50

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Send us a text Jennifer Garvey Berger designs and teaches leadership programs, coaches senior leaders and their teams, and supports new ways of thinking about strategy and people. In her four highly acclaimed books, Unleash Your Complexity Genius (co-authored with Carolyn Coughlin), Unlocking Leadership Mindtraps, Simple Habits for Complex Times (c…

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Douglas Keane flipped the script on Cyrus, changing the business model and dining experience 21:55

2M ago21:55

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Douglas Keane originally opened Cyrus in Healdsburg, California, earning two Michelin stars and many accolades. But during the pandemic, a burned-out Keene did not want to reopen it as a traditional fine dining restaurant with an upscale tasting menu. So he sat down and figured out how to change the business model and staffing model to provide a li…

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Competitive Intelligence Consulting with Gabriela Santos, PhD 20:59

2M ago20:59

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Dr. Santos tells us about her role as a consulting with a firm that focuses on competitive intelligence. She shares about her post-PhD path in industry while maintaining her love for science.By Vanderbilt University

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Navigating Leadership Polarities with Cathy Carroll 31:32

2M ago31:32

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Send us a text Cathy Carroll learned about family business leadership the best way you can – by leading her family business. After a twenty-year corporate career, she left United Airlines to lead her father’s business and instantly recognized a difference between leadership in a family business vs leadership in a large corporation. Founder and Pres…

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Raheem Sealey shares his approach to menu innovation at Kyu 19:11

2M ago19:11

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Raheem Sealey is the corporate chef of Kyu Restaurant, which has locations in Las Vegas, Miami, and New York City. Sealey is based in Miami, where he moved from the U.S. Virgin Island of St. Croix in 2009. He attended culinary school at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts and worked in a variety of restaurants, including Caribbean concept Sugar…

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The Knowing-Doing Gap in Leadership with Dr. Amal Ahmadi & Dr. Bernd Vogel 37:03

2M ago37:03

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Send us a text Dr. Amal Ahmadi is an Associate Professor and Program Coordinator at the College of Business and Management, American University of Bahrain. She holds a PhD in management from Henley Business School. Her research focuses on leadership and leadership development, and currently revolves around investigating cognitive, affective, and be…

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How restaurants can build a robust revenue stream through workplace catering 19:21

2M ago19:21

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The average workplace catering order size is up 12% to about $420. That’s good news for restaurants, said Cindy Klein Roche, chief growth officer for ezCater, a platform that connects workplaces with dining concepts. But restaurants must optimize their online presence and present an appealing menu to get a piece of that growing pie. About 59% of th…

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Developing Servant Leaders at Scale with Dr. Max Klau 31:26

3M ago31:26

31:26

Send us a text Dr. Max Klau is a consultant, author, speaker, and Integral Master Coach based in Boston, Massachusetts. He received his doctorate from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in 2005 with a focus on civic leadership development. He served as the Chief Program Officer at the New Politics Leadership Academy (NPLA) from 2016-2024. NPL…

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Marc Sheehan offers his own takes on New England cuisine in Paul Revere's former copper mill 31:10

3M ago31:10

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Marc Sheehan has long been interested in the history of food. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of American in Hyde Park, N.Y., the Massachusetts native worked at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Dan Barber’s farm, restaurant, and hotbed for culinary innovation in upstate New York, before working at Menton, a French-Italian restaurant by Barbara Lynch.…

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Don’t Stay in Your Lane: A Conversation with Cynthia Pong 32:12

3M ago32:12

32:12

Send us a text Cynthia Pong, JD, is an award-winning executive coach and speaker who empowers women of color leaders to advance their careers into positions of power. A Forbes Contributor and LinkedIn Top Voice for Job Search and Career, she has been featured in HBR, The Atlantic, and on NBC, CBS, NPR, and more. As Founder and CEO of Embrace Change…

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How Cracker Barrel chef Matt Banton is expanding the flavor portfolio 29:40

3M ago29:40

29:40

Bret Thorn, senior food & beverage editor of Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality, visited Atlantic City’s Ocean Casino Resort, which just opened two new concepts from restaurateur Stephen Starr. Bret had a chance to sample menu items from Sunny’s, a breakfast-lunch spot, and Chez Frites, a bistro offering the familiar French plate o…

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Chef BJ Lieberman on making a name for himself in Columbus, Ohio 35:21

3M ago35:21

35:21

Chef and restaurateur BJ Lieberman discussed his career evolution, from his time at Husk and Little Pearl in Charleston, SC, and Washington, DC, to the launch of his restaurants in Columbus, Ohio. He opened his first Columbus restaurant, Chapman's Eat Market, at a difficult time — August 2020 — but that restaurant was later listed as one of the mos…

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Design from the Heart with Jenn Zella 25:05

3M ago25:05

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Send us a text Jenn Zella is the Co-Founding Principal and Chief Visionary Officer of CID Design Group, an intentional design firm that creates authentic interiors and inspired brands that engage, elevate, and endure. With a deep-rooted passion for collaboration, the creative process, and what she terms Conscious Design, Jenn believes in the power …

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Tyler Florence dishes on San Francisco and David Burke puts his pastrami to the test 52:22

3M ago52:22

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Luckin Coffee is a massive concept based in China that is widely regarded as Starbucks’ chief global rival, although it just recently arrived in the United States. Pat Cobe, senior menu editor of Restaurant Business and co-host of Menu Talk, checked out one of the two New York locations, ordered a pineapple-and-coconut drink, and gave her impressio…

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Beyond Quick Fixes: Reimagining How We Develop Leaders with Dr. Barbara Kellerman 35:58

3M ago35:58

35:58

Send us a text Dr. Barbara Kellerman is a Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Center for Public Leadership. She was the Founding Executive Director of the Center, and a member of the Kennedy School faculty for over twenty years. Kellerman has held professorships at Fordham, Tufts, Fairleigh Dickinson, George Washington, Christopher Newport, and …

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Happy Hour value and summer flavors 38:40

3M ago38:40

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Menu launches haven’t slowed down coming off the July 4 holiday weekend. Pat Cobe, senior menu editor of Restaurant Business, and Bret Thorn, senior food & beverage editor of Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality spotted many new items this week. The beverage category continues to see a lot of action. Bret pointed out Starbucks’ relea…

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Soul-Centered Leadership with Richard Barrett 38:25

3M ago38:25

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Send us a text Richard Barrett is an internationally recognised authority on organisational leadership, and personal, organisational, and societal transformation. He is the President of the Barrett Academy for the Advancement of Human Values®, and the Founder of the Barrett Values Centre®. His lifetime quest for understanding the deeper motivations…

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The summer of spritzes 40:21

4M ago40:21

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Much of the country suffered from a punishing heat wave last week, including New York City, where Menu Talk co-hosts Pat Cobe, senior menu editor of Restaurant Business, and Bret Thorn, senior food & beverage editor of Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality, both live. Earlier in the week, Bret went to Chili’s launch of three new premi…

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Collective Leadership with Dr. Richard Bolden 34:03

4M ago34:03

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Send us a text Since 2013 Dr. Richard Bolden has been Professor of Leadership and Management and Director of Bristol Leadership and Change Centre at Bristol Business School, University of the West of England (UWE). Prior to this he worked at the Centre for Leadership Studies at the University of Exeter Business School for over a decade and also as …

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Oysters and value meals trend on summer menus 26:13

4M ago26:13

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Bret Thorn, senior food & beverage editor of Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality, recorded Menu Talk from Boston, where he checked out some of the city’s restaurants and took a short oyster tasting tour. He stayed at the Lenox Hotel, where Willow & Ivy is the on-premise restaurant. The two editors also talked about the surge in shak…

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Deeds, Not Words: How Leaders Combat Genderwashing with Dr. Rita A. Gardiner & Dr. Hayley Baker 35:00

4M ago35:00

35:00

Send us a text Dr. Rita A. Gardiner is an Associate Professor, Critical Policy, Equity, and Leadership Studies, Faculty of Education, Western University, Canada. Her publications include articles in Gender, Work and Organization, Business Ethics Quarterly, and Organization Studies. She has published extensively on the topic of authentic leadership …

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Chef Jonathon Sawyer discusses his Chicago restaurant, Kindling, and his latest TV appearance 29:37

4M ago29:37

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Bret Thorn, senior food & beverage editor of Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality, joined the podcast fresh off of a trip to Las Vegas where he attended Starbucks’ Leadership Experience 2025, where 14,000 managers from the coffeehouse chain, as well as its top executives and other leaders, gathered to reinvigorate the brand, which ha…

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From Submarine to Spaceport: Adaptive Leadership with Trey Carlson 35:31

4M ago35:31

35:31

Send us a text Harold (Trey) Carlson has served as chief of staff for NASA’s John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida since August 2022. In this role, Carlson is responsible for day-to-day operations at Kennedy, helping shape the center's strategic direction while overseeing various policies and initiatives. Before assuming his current role, Carlson…

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The 'chicken wars' enter a new phase 30:20

4M ago30:20

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McDonald’s had been teasing the return of its chicken Snack Wraps on social media, but Popeyes beat them to the punch with the launch of similar wraps of their own. That was the big menu news this week that was discussed by hosts Pat Cobe, senior menu editor of Restaurant Business, and Bret Thorn, senior food & beverage editor of Nation’s Restauran…

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The Climate Change Leadership Imperative with Dr. Doug MacKie 45:39

4M ago45:39

45:39

Send us a text Dr. Doug MacKie has over 30 years of experience as an organisational and business psychologist and executive coach working in the UK, Europe, and Australasia. He specialises in sustainability leadership, high-performance teams, and developing leadership within purposeful organisations. Through his consulting work, he has helped ident…

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Persian food emerges in the Middle Eastern niche 42:54

4M ago42:54

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Peaches, guava and Persian flavors are trending on menus this week, according to Pat Cobe, senior menu editor of Restaurant Business, and Bret Thorn, senior food & beverage editor of Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality, co-hosts of the Menu Talk podcast. Bret observed that peach-themed drinks are making a comeback this summer. Chick…

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Medical Director in Industry with Keely Gilroy, PhD 28:59

5M ago28:59

28:59

Dr. Keely Solomon Gilroy, PhD, shares her path from Medical Science Liaison to Science Communication to now a Medical Director in Industry.By Vanderbilt University

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When Theory Meets Reality with Dr. Juandré Peacock 40:04

5M ago40:04

40:04

Send us a text Dr. Juandré Peacock is an accomplished organizational psychologist and speaker. He holds Master's and Doctorate degrees in Industrial-Organizational Psychology, credentials that have underpinned a distinguished career working with some of the most complex organizations in the world. As a practitioner psychologist, Dr. Peacock applies…

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Cannabis drinks make a splash at the National Restaurant Show 46:44

5M ago46:44

46:44

Bret and guest co-host Heather Lalley discuss the latest food and beverage trends and share an interview with Susan Bae, executive pastry chef of Moon Rabbit in Washington, D.C. With the National Restaurant Show in the rearview mirror, Bret Thorn, senior food & beverage editor of Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality, welcomed a guest…