Code as Critical Infrastructure, Entrepreneurship, and  Funding Innovation

Code as Critical Infrastructure, Entrepreneurship, and Funding Innovation

Author: BKBT Productions July 7, 2025 Duration: 50:56
Tanya Janca joins the show this week, with unique perspective on building secure software and advocating for better cybersecurity policy. George K and George A talk to Tanya about: * Her transition from 14 years as a Canadian public servant to private sector entrepreneurship * The core values that guide her work: performing good and moving the industry toward secure software * Entrepreneurship since age 19: solving real problems that hurt badly enough for people to pay * Civil advocacy for security by design policies and challenging inadequate government cybersecurity practices Tanya's perspective on building businesses around genuine problem-solving rather than just seeking acquisition or wealth creation offers valuable insights for any founder.  Whether you're interested in secure coding, entrepreneurship, or how to advocate for better cybersecurity policy, this episode delivers actionable insights from someone who's been in the trenches and made real impact. Mentioned: * The Eh List: https://ehlist.org/ * Forte Group: forte-group.org/home-our-mission [https://forte-group.org/home-our-mission] * Tanya's petition: https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/secure-canadas-future * Tanya's Secure Coding Guideline: newsletter.shehackspurple.ca/c/secure-coding-guideline [https://newsletter.shehackspurple.ca/c/secure-coding-guideline]

There’s a lot of noise in the world of technology talk, but Bare Knuckles and Brass Tacks cuts through it with a focus on the people behind the products and the societal currents shaping our digital landscape. Hosts George K and George A steer conversations that are less about specs and hype, and more about real-world consequences. You’ll hear them dig into topics like the messy rollout of new AI tools, the often-invisible backbone of digital infrastructure, and why communities adopt or reject certain technologies. This podcast regularly features guests from various fields who offer unvarnished opinions on what’s genuinely functional and what’s fundamentally flawed in our tech-saturated lives. The discussions move beyond simple commentary to challenge the standard narratives promoted by the tech industry, examining the cultural and social ripples of every new development. It’s a show for anyone who feels that technology coverage often misses the human element-the frustrations, the adaptations, and the ethical dilemmas. Tune in for a grounded, critical, and consistently engaging dialogue that connects the dots between code and culture. This production from BKBT Productions lives up to its name, getting down to the brass tacks of how technology is built and used, with a bare-knuckle honesty that’s increasingly rare.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Bare Knuckles and Brass Tacks
Podcast Episodes
Using focused AI to help small farmers and reduce food insecurity [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:46
What if narrow #AI, rather than imagined AGI through scaling will be what changes the world? In some places, that's already happening. El Mahdi Aboulmanadel founded DeepLeaf [https://deepleaf.io/] after watching smallhol…
Deep Learning vs Intuition: AI models and venture capital investing [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:14
What if the best investment decision is one where no human is involved? Brant Meyer, partner at Trac VC [https://www.trac.vc/] joins the show this week to talk about the firm's approach, where algorithms — not partners i…
Best Of: What are we building? And the future of human flourishing... [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:10
We've spent the last several months talking to people who live at the intersection of technology and the humans on the receiving end of it. A data privacy attorney. A corpus linguist. A clinical psychologist. A performan…
Why cybersecurity is broken and time is the enemy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:55
Why do your friends and parents still get breach notification letters from companies they've never heard of? John Watters aka "The Cowboy" joins the show this week for a hard look at information security. In the early 20…
What leaders get wrong about AI rollouts and employee adoption [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:33
What if your AI rollout isn't failing because of the technology, but because no one asked your employees how they feel about it? Dr. Marissa Alert is a clinical psychologist who works with organizations scaling AI. Her a…
The art and Science of grit, ambition, & betting on yourself [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:57
The voices telling you it won't work usually belong to people who never tried. Nobody gives you permission to take a chance. You just do it. Chris built a 50K MRR business without a formal education, a tech background, o…
Finding meaning and community in tech-fueled hustle culture [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:47
What happens when you get everything you thought you wanted and still feel empty? Tychon Carter won Big Brother Canada, gained fame and followers overnight, and felt completely lost. The success arrived before he was rea…