Innovation Storytellers
Did you ever wonder how an innovation got to its finish line? How innovators saw the future, made a product, and created change – in our world and in their companies? I did. Innovation Storytellers invites changemakers to describe how they created their innovation and just as important – THE STORIES – that made us fall in love with them. Come learn how great innovations need great stories to make them move around the world and how to become a better storyteller in the process. I’m Susan Lindner, the Innovation Storyteller. But I wasn’t always. I’ve been a wannabe revolutionary, an epidemiologist at the CDC and an AIDS educator in the brothels of Thailand helping to turn former sex workers into entrepreneurs. Trained as an anthropologist and the Founder of Emerging Media, I’ve spent the last twenty years working with innovators from 60+ countries. Ranging from cutting edge startups to Fortune 100 companies like GE, Corning, Citi, Olayan, and nine foreign governments, helping their leaders to tell their stories and teaching them how to become incredible advocates for their innovations. Great innovation stories make change possible. They let us step into a future we can’t see yet. I started this podcast to shine a light on our generation of great innovators, to learn how they brought their innovation to life and the stories they told to bring them to the world.
Episodes
In this episode, I sit down with Shegun Otulana, founder and former CEO of Therapy Brands. His journey from arriving in Birmingham, Alabama at 18 to leading one of the largest software exits in the state's history is nothing short of remarkable.
Shegun opens up about his early days, the lessons learned from failure, and the moment his wife encouraged him to finally go all in. He explains how he used consul...
In this special episode of Nordic Visionaries, I'm joined by Lincoln Bleveans, Senior Sustainability Executive at Stanford University. He is leading one of the most ambitious real-world experiments in climate innovation happening anywhere in the United States. If you've ever wondered what it would take to turn sustainability from a pledge into daily practice, Lincoln has answers grounded in both pragmatism and long-ter...
In this special Nordic Visionaries edition of the Innovation Storytellers Show, I am joined by one of the most influential architects of our time, Bjarke Ingels, founder of BIG, Bjarke Ingels Group. From reimagining the clean port of Copenhagen to designing the first permanent human habitat on the Moon, Bjarke’s work challenges conventional thinking about architecture, sustainability, and innovation.
In th...
What does building a business with climate responsibility at its core look like, not as an add-on but as a starting point?
In this episode of Innovation Storytellers Show, we're heading to the Nordics to meet two young leaders who are challenging the status quo around what it means to be a sustainable business. This is part of our special "Nordic Visionaries" series, where we hear directly from the next ge...
In this episode of Innovation Storytellers, part of our Nordic Visionaries Pocket Podcast series, we explore that connection with Ari Jónsson, COO of Identifier Technologies and Director at the NATO Innovation Fund. Ari’s journey began with a PhD in AI at Stanford in the early 90s, when artificial intelligence was far from mainstream. What started as a passion for robotics evolved into software agents that supported de...
What does it mean to innovate with principle in a world of complexity, volatility, and accelerating change? This week, I spoke with Anu Bradford, Professor of Law, Director of European Legal Studies Center, Columbia Law School.
As part of our Nordic Visionaries series, Anu brings a timely and thought-provoking perspective on the intersection of innovation, regulation, and sustainability. Known globally fo...
This week I was thrilled to speak with Peder Naerboe, Founder and Owner of Bulk Infrastructure, for my Nordic Visionaries series. I’ve known about data centers for years, but Peder totally reframed them for me as “power refineries,” where Norway’s abundant clean energy can be converted into digital form right at the source.
By placing data hubs next to renewable power generation like hydropower, Peder see...
What will it take to move beyond the traditional recycling conversation and into a future where circularity is a business imperative, not just a sustainability slogan?
In this episode of Nordic Visionaries, I speak with Tove Andersen, President and CEO of TOMRA, a company founded in Norway that has been working on circular economy solutions for over 50 years. With operations in over 100 countries, TOMRA's ...
What if the key to creating a more sustainable future lies not in reinventing capitalism entirely, but in looking at how it already works elsewhere?
In this episode of Nordic Visionaries, a special series inside the Innovation Storytellers Show, we welcome Dr. Robert Strand, Executive Director of the Nordic Center at UC Berkeley and Associate Professor at the Copenhagen Business School. With one foot firml...
This week I was delighted to sit down with Ann Molin, CEO & Secretary General of Hack for Earth, for an in-depth conversation on how citizen-led innovation can tackle global challenges. Ann, a psychologist by training, first fell in love with hackathons while working on the Swedish Government’s Hack for Sweden initiative, where she realized that bringing people together to solve open-data challenges could spark powerfu...
In this opening installment of Nordic Visionaries, I introduce a fresh series spotlighting entrepreneurs, creators, and advocates at the crossroads of innovation and sustainability throughout the Nordic countries.
My first guest, Mathias Wikström, sheds light on how cultural values shape our approach to protecting nature and why weaving sustainability into financial services is a long-term strategy. Toget...
Have you ever considered the role that discipline, trust, and storytelling play in shaping truly innovative leaders?
In this episode of the Innovation Storytellers Show, I'm honored to welcome Miles Garrett, a veteran leader, author, and former Executive Officer of the nuclear-powered submarine USS Cheyenne. Drawing from his extensive 25-year career spanning both the United States Marine Corps and the Navy...
Can innovation truly succeed without trust, integrity, and the right team behind it? In this episode of the Innovation Storytellers Show I welcome Tracy Nolan, Senior Vice President of MarketPoint at Humana, for an insightful discussion on what it really takes to lead big ideas and bold changes.
Tracy shares how her journey began in an unexpected place—retail—where an inventive approach led to record-break...
What happens when AI meets automotive repair? Can technology bridge the growing knowledge gap between seasoned mechanics and the next generation of technicians? And how will the “Right to Repair” movement reshape how vehicles are maintained in the future?
In this episode of Innovation Storytellers Show, I sit down with Eric West, Chief Growth Officer at Convertible AI, to explore the intersection of AI, wo...
What if the songs artists love the least become the ones fans can’t live without?
In this episode of the Innovation Storytellers Show, I sit down with Amani Roberts, DJ, professor, author, and creative powerhouse, to explore where real innovation happens in the music industry—beyond technology, beyond distribution, and deep into the creative process itself.
Amani takes us behind the scenes of ...
What happens when big data meets healthcare innovation? In this episode of the Innovation Storyteller Show, Susan Lindner talks with Tina Posey, CEO of HealthcarePoint, about how data is transforming clinical trials and reshaping healthcare on a global scale.
Tina shares her journey into healthcare innovation, sparked by the events of 2020, and how HealthcarePoint’s platform is revolutionizing the clinical...
The way we power the world hasn’t fundamentally changed in decades—until now. In this episode of the Innovation Storyteller Show, I speak with Dr. Moshiel Biton, CEO and co-founder of Addionics, a company reshaping the battery industry with 3D current collector technology.
Dr. Biton shares his unconventional path into the battery space, reflecting on how the EV revolution has transformed the perception of ...
Why do so many groundbreaking ideas stall before they even get started? In this episode of the Innovation Storytellers Podcast, Dr. Stefan Dietrich, Senior Advisor in Innovation and Digital Transformation, exposes the real obstacles that prevent innovation from thriving inside organizations.
Dr. Dietrich shares his experiences leading digital transformation at Siemens, AXA, and within startups, revealing t...
How do you keep pushing forward when faced with constant setbacks, resistance, or uncertainty? For innovators and leaders, resilience isn't just a nice-to-have—it's essential. But resilience isn't simply enduring; it's about having a plan to navigate challenges and become stronger.
In this episode of Innovation Storytellers Show, I sit down with Dr. Marie-Hélène Pelletier, an expert in leadership psycholog...
Innovation is often seen as a function of big ideas and long-term investments, but in today’s fast-changing world, organizations must rethink how they approach problem-solving and experimentation. In this episode, I sit down with Shellery Ebron and Annice Kim from RTI International to discuss how one of the world’s most respected research organizations is embedding innovation into its culture and operations.
Read more
Popular Podcasts
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
History is beautiful, brutal and, often, ridiculous. Join Ben Bowlin and Noel Brown as they dive into some of the weirdest stories from across the span of human civilization in Ridiculous History, a podcast by iHeartRadio.
Listen to 'The Bobby Bones Show' by downloading the daily full replay.
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.