Change is happening everywhere eliciting excitement and anticipation in its wake. How do we harness that excitement for ourselves when we find work to be overwhelming, monotonous, or dissatisfying and we’re ready for change? That’s the question we’re looking to answer as we talk with guests who have turned their passion into meaningful work!
Productive Passions - hosted by Christy Tagye - takes us on a journey with guests who have dared to reshape their lives and follow their dreams. In each episode, we have candid conversations with people who have embraced change jumping headfirst into uncertainty and following their passions. We’ll explore their stories, experiences, sources of support, and what fuels their motivation to persevere when things aren’t sunshine and rainbows. Hear from experts who provide valuable advice, and resources for actionable steps to begin your transformative journey.
Subscribe to Productive Passions wherever you listen to podcasts and never miss an episode!
He Quit Big Oil for His Passion Project - Now He's Taught 10,000 People to Regenerate Land | Rob Avis | Episode 67
At 8 years old, Rob Avis wrote a letter to his prime minister, begging him to stop the destruction of the Brazilian rainforest. Two decades later, Rob found himself on the other side of that same fight as the oil and gas engineer clearing Canada's boreal forest to lay pipelines. The contradiction broke something open in him.
So he quit. He walked away from a six-figure oil and gas career, converted his van to run on used deep-fryer oil, and drove across Canada, the U.S., and Mexico learning how to grow food from scratch. That leap led him to co-found Verge Permaculture, where he's since taught over 10,000 students how to design self-sufficient land and today he runs 5th World, using data and engineering to help people build food forests, resilient water systems, and homes that regenerate the land instead of draining it.
In this episode, we cover:
The real difference between "sustainable" and "regenerative" (and why the distinction matters more than you think)
Why your perfectly manicured lawn might be working against you
What fungi has to do with the health of your tomatoes
The lesson Rob learned building two companies that he wishes he'd known from day one
Small, practical changes anyone, homeowner or founder, can start making this week
Whether you're a founder weighing a leap of your own or just want your backyard to actually feed you, this conversation will change how you see both.
🔗 Connect with Rob & 5th World
LinkedIn: Rob Avis LinkedIn
Instagram: Rob on Instagram
Website: https://5thworld.com/
🔗 Connect with Christy & Productive Passions
Website: productivepassions.comLinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/productive-passionsChristy: linkedin.com/in/christytagyeEmail: christy@productivepassions.comInstagram: instagram.com/productivepassionsTikTok: tiktok.com/@productivepassionsFacebook: facebook.com/productivepassions
Enjoyed this episode?
If you enjoyed this episode, follow Productive Passions so you never miss a founder story, leave a quick rating or review to help more listeners find the show, and drop a comment or send a DM with the takeaway that hit hardest. Set a reminder for the next episode of Productive Passions.
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11 Sept 2026
Meghan Wolfgram: Lori Greiner's Golden Ticket & the Founder's Playbook | Episode 66
Meghan Wolfgram is the Founder and CEO of Swift Paws and the recipient of Lori Greiner's golden ticket on Shark Tank. In this episode of Productive Passions, she breaks down the real founder's playbook behind Swift Paws: the two-year gap with nothing to sell during her B2B-to-B2C pivot, the transparent Kickstarter update that saved customer trust, and the surprising decision to license her IP to a former knockoff competitor.
In this episode:
What Lori Greiner's golden ticket actually means to her, beyond the trophy
Why she stopped making her professional-grade product to build for consumers
How radical transparency with vendors got Swift Paws through the tariff crunch
Turning a knockoff into a licensing partnership and a new product line, Pounce
The lesson her mom taught her about money at age eight
🔗 Connect with Meghan & Swift Paws
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meghanwolfgram/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/swiftpaws_official/
Website: https://swiftpaws.com/
🔗 Connect with Christy & Productive Passions
Website: productivepassions.comLinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/productive-passionsChristy: linkedin.com/in/christytagyeEmail: christy@productivepassions.comInstagram: instagram.com/productivepassionsTikTok: tiktok.com/@productivepassionsFacebook: facebook.com/productivepassions
Enjoyed this episode?
If this episode resonated, follow Productive Passions so you never miss a founder story, leave a quick rating or review to help more listeners find the show, and drop a comment or send a DM with the takeaway that hit hardest. Set a reminder for the next episode of Productive Passions.
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31 Aug 2026
He Walked Away From the Establishment: Jonathan Lundgren on Regenerative Agriculture | Episode 65
Florida's citrus industry is now producing approximately 4% of its former capacity. The soil that once supported it has been farmed down to sand. On this episode of Productive Passions, host Christy Tagye talks with Jonathan Lundgren, founder of Ecdysis Foundation and Blue Dasher Farm, and a former USDA agroecologist who received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers from President Obama in 2011, about what regenerative agriculture really means, and why the conventional food system is failing both farmers and the land.
Jonathan explains biodiversity including how insect species keep ecosystems running, and what happened when his USDA research into pesticides and GMOs got too close to the companies profiting from the status quo. He and Christy dig into farmer health data linking corn and soybean production to elevated cancer, depression, and Parkinson's rates, the debt trap keeping row-crop farmers locked into chemical dependent systems, and why he believes we're reliving the Dust Bowl in real time, this time with agrochemicals added to the mix.
They close on what's actually working: the Thousand Farms Initiative, a free, donation-funded research project that has surveyed over 2,000 farms and is helping shape food policy from the ground up.
In this episode you’ll learn:
What regenerative agriculture actually means
Why desertification happens, and how some farmers are reversing it
The health data behind chronic disease in farming communities
How to find regenerative farmers and food near you
🔗 Connect with Jon
Website: Ecdysis Foundation and Blue Dasher Farm
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-lundgren-64bb59208/
Email: jonathan.lundgren@ecdysis.bio
Watch the documentary: Groundswell
🔗 Connect with Christy & Productive Passions
Website: productivepassions.comLinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/productive-passionsChristy: linkedin.com/in/christytagyeEmail: christy@productivepassions.comInstagram: instagram.com/productivepassionsTikT ok: tiktok.com/@productivepassionsFacebook: facebook.com/productivepassions
Enjoyed this episode?
Learn more about the Thousand Farms Initiative and find regenerative food near you at ekdysis.bio. And if this conversation resonated, subscribe to Productive Passions so you don't miss what's next.
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Who has been a guest on Productive Passions
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Nevine Coutry
Jennet
Lesli Robertson
Ashkhen Khudaverdian
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Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
2,562,915
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
4.6 / 5
10 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
4 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 67 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
53
Social presence
91
YouTube
86
Engagement
71
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Christy Tagye host the show. Published by christytagye.
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