Departure Unknown: In Conversation With Podcast Host Garen Moreno
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Launched this August, Departure Unknown features long-form conversations with leaders and thinkers in the aerospace, automotive and other mobility industries. Hosted by travel and design expert Garen Moreno, a familiar face – and voice – to many APEX members, each podcast episode delves into innovation with an eye to the future and an ear to the ground.
Give us the elevator pitch: What is the podcast series, Departure Unknown, about?
Departure Unknown is a podcast where we will get to know the people, products and policies that are redefining how we move ourselves and stuff around the world.
Entrepreneurs, airline executives, mobility CEOs and influential designers all are key players in how our future as passengers will be defined. I will be speaking to them and many others sharing what is happening right now in this mobility revolution and in doing so hopefully build a picture on where we will end up.
What inspired you to create the podcast?
There were three things that inspired me to create Departure Unknown. First, I am a hyper-curious person, and with so much happening in mobility, I was having a hard time getting a clear perspective on the entire landscape. The podcast is a great platform to have informative conversations with the people who are really changing how we get from A to B. As I have these great conversations with leaders in the industry, I can in turn share the journey with people who are as curious as I am about the future of how we will move around the world.
The second is a more personal desire to push my own limits and learn something valuable in the process. One of the most important things we can do is listen. To be able to ask good questions, I need to refine my ability to really listen to what is being said and what is not being said. Personally, I feel this has incredible implications in life, so I am hoping the podcast can be an effective tool for me in this area.
I am hoping that this inspires some individuals and companies to embrace new ideas and to see opportunities that they hadn’t in the past.
The last reason is a bit more “blue sky.” I think some of the best ideas come to you when you look at your situation from a different perspective. Or better put, when we can look at the world through someone else’s eyes. By getting different perspectives on the mobility industry, I am hoping that this inspires some individuals and companies to embrace new ideas and to see opportunities that they hadn’t in the past.
How did you come up with the name?
When I was coming up with names for the show I ran across a quote from the fascinating and accomplished explorer Sir Richard Burton: “The gladdest moment in human life, me thinks, is a departure into unknown lands.”
I like how the quote sums up what I am doing in the exact moment: Trying something new like a podcast. And it also sums up how I feel when I travel to new places.
Who would your dream guest be?
More than a dream guest I like to think of a dream listener. What content can I create that will keep the most influential people shaping the future of transportation engaged in the podcast? More than having them in an episode to have them listen would be even better. So I would say at this stage my dream listeners would be Elon Musk and James Hogan from Etihad Airways Group.
What (and who) can listeners expect to hear in future episodes?
Coming up I have lined up conversations with leading thinkers in the world of artificial intelligence, aviation, automotive and more.