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The Entropy Podcast
Hosted by Francis Gorman, The Entropy Podcast brings together intelligence community veterans, post-quantum cryptography pioneers, CISOs, business leaders, and frontline practitioners for unfiltered conversations on the threats, complexity, and geopolitics shaping our world.
Past guests include former senior CIA officers, leading cryptographers, digital forensics experts, and security and technology leaders from across financial services, critical infrastructure, and government, voices rarely heard together in one place.
Each episode goes beyond headlines to explore how cyber risk, emerging technology, and geopolitical instability are reshaping the way organisations operate, compete, and defend themselves. Expect candid insight on quantum risk, nation-state threats, AI, espionage, financial crime, business resilience, and the human dimensions of leadership.
Designed for CISOs, board members, founders, technologists, policy thinkers, and the professionally curious, Entropy sits at the intersection of business, technology, and cybersecurity a space for genuine conversations with unique minds, the kind that don’t fit neatly into a press release.
The name Entropy reflects the growing complexity and unpredictability of the systems we depend on, and the discipline required to lead through them.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed on The Entropy Podcast are those of the host and guests in their personal capacity and do not represent the views, positions, or policies of their respective employers, affiliated organisations, or any government body. Guest appearances do not constitute endorsement by the host, and the host’s commentary does not constitute endorsement of guests’ views. Content is provided for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute professional, legal, financial, or security advice.
One of the topics I cover a lot on this show is post quantum readiness, I believe awareness of this emerging technology is key for a safer world into the future. To support this awareness I have built a free resource to help you explore the world of quantum and learn as you go. You can find it here: www.postquantumready.com
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Achievements
The Entropy Podcast delivered strong chart performance throughout 2025, demonstrating consistent international reach and listener engagement.
- Regularly ranked within the Top 20 Technology podcasts in Ireland.
- Achieved a Top 25 placement in the United States Technology charts, holding the position for one week.
- Charted internationally across multiple markets, including Israel, Belgium, and the United Kingdom.
This performance reflects sustained global interest and growing recognition across key podcast markets.
Audio Quality Notice
Some episodes may feature minor variations in audio quality due to remote recording environments and external factors. We continuously strive to deliver the highest possible audio standards and appreciate your understanding.
The Entropy Podcast
Leadership Without a Script with Stefan Pagels Christensen
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Stefan Pagels Christensen became a child star at 11, working on major film productions while most children his age were still figuring out who they were. Early fame brought attention, pressure and opportunity but it also distorted his sense of identity, value and belonging.
In this candid conversation, Stefan opens up about addiction, sobriety, ADHD and the experience that forced him to rebuild his life without status or recognition. He explains how discovering improvisation gave him a new way to understand failure, trust, communication and human connection.
Today, Stefan uses applied improv, emotional intelligence and psychological safety to help leaders create teams where people feel confident enough to contribute, challenge ideas, make mistakes and speak openly.
This is a conversation about what happens when the script disappears—and why the strongest leaders are not those with all the answers, but those who make the people around them better.
Key Takeaways
• Early success can shape self-worth in ways that take years to recognise and unlearn.
• ADHD can drive creativity, intensity and hyperfocus, but without the right support it can also contribute to burnout and destructive behaviour.
• Psychological safety begins with how leaders respond when someone speaks up, challenges an idea or makes a mistake.
• “Yes, and” does not mean agreeing with everything. It means listening fully before rejecting or building on an idea.
• Teams perform better when people stop judging themselves, stop judging others and become willing to experiment.
• Failure becomes valuable when it is treated as information rather than something to conceal.
• Great leadership is not about being the star of the scene. It is about making other people look good.
• Meaningful change begins when you stop blaming the environment and accept responsibility for your own behaviour.
Soundbites
“Leadership is improvisation. None of us knows exactly what comes next.”
“Success lies somewhere between doing nothing and failing.”
“Every time someone speaks up, they have already overcome their own fear.”
“Your job is not to be the star. Your job is to make other people look good.”
“Psychological safety is created by how you respond when someone gets it wrong.”
“You cannot change until you are willing to admit that something needs to change.”
“People do not learn courage by reading about it. They learn it by stepping forward.”
“Failure is not something to hide. It is something to recover from.”
“Say yes to the person before you judge the idea.”
“The strongest teams are not afraid of mistakes—they know how to use them.”
You can find Stefan at: https://improv.eu/
Find Stefan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stefanpagelsimprov/
