The TechEd Podcast

Established companies have scale, capital, infrastructure and decades of experience. Startups have the benefit of fresh thinking and fewer constraints. But disruption and winning in 2026 and beyond doesn't belong to either one. The advantage goes to organizations willing to question assumptions, eliminate complexity and move fast.
Slate Auto is disrupting an established market. They're challenging the price and complexity of buying a car. They're redesigning vehicles to be a blank slate (pun intended), with full customization in the hands of the customer. 

It all comes back to their mindset of being fast, frugal and scrappy. 

Slate Auto board member and employee #1 Rod Copes shares the inside scoop on the unconventional auto company disrupting everything we knew about the market. 
Listen to learn:
How to find blue ocean opportunities and white space, even in established markets
What “fast, frugal, and scrappy” looks like as an operating philosophy
Why speed matters more than size in today's competitive environment
How customer obsession and simplicity can be the keys to a great product
How established organizations can bring startup speed and ingenuity into their own business
3 Big Takeaways
1. The most successful organizations find the white space in their market. Instead of entering a saturated market, smart organizations find customer needs that the existing marketing isn't serving. Slate Auto did exactly that with affordable EVs that remove the complexity from buying while making them totally customizable to the buyer.
2. In manufacturing, the simpler the process, the better. A typical new vehicle has 2,500 to 3,000 incoming parts, while Slate Auto has reduced that to roughly 600 to 800 by designing parts to serve multiple functions. Fewer parts also mean fewer buyers, engineers, invoices and supply chain demands, so the savings extend far beyond the assembly line.
3. “It’s not the big that eat the small; it’s the fast that eat the slow.” For Rod Copes, speed is every bit as important for established companies as it is for startups. Being “fast, frugal, and scrappy” means questioning extended development cycles, staying focused on the critical path and refusing to accept slow processes simply because that’s how it's always been done.
Resources in this Episode:
Learn more about Slate Auto
Other resources mentioned:
Rivian
Smart Automation Certification Alliance (SACA)
More links & resources on the episode page:
https://techedpodcast.com/copes/

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School funding, teacher pay, CTE, Workforce Pell, competency-based education, technical careers, automation and industry credentials are all part of a changing conversation about education in Wisconsin.
In this episode, host Matt Kirchner sits down with Tom Tiffany, U.S. Congressman and candidate for governor of Wisconsin, to discuss how he would approach education and workforce policy at the state level. Tiffany shares his views on education funding and accountability, teacher compensation, alternative pathways into teaching, federal support for shorter-term workforce training and the role of private investment in schools.
The conversation also looks at what modern career and technical education can include, particularly hands-on learning, robotics and automation, competency-based education and stackable credentials that connect high school, technical colleges, universities and careers. We discuss examples already operating in Wisconsin, including Whitehall School District, UW-Stout and the Smart Automation Certification Alliance, as well as existing state programs that fund CTE and industry-recognized credentials.
Note: The TechEd Podcast does not endorse political candidates. Tom Tiffany’s opponent has also been invited to join the podcast for a conversation about education.
Listen to learn:
How Tom Tiffany would approach school funding and accountability in Wisconsin
His ideas for increasing teacher pay and expanding alternative routes into teaching
How Workforce Pell expands federal support for shorter-term technical training
Why competency-based education comes up as an alternative to fixed-time learning
How robotics, automation and stackable credentials fit into modern CTE pathways
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At IACMI, aerospace companies, material suppliers, startups, universities, and national laboratories gather around the same table, often with the same goal: finding the next composites breakthrough.
In this episode of The TechEd Podcast, Matt Kirchner sits down with Chad Duty, CEO of IACMI - The Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation, to explore the materials, technologies, and partnerships shaping the future of advanced manufacturing. Chad explains how composites are being deployed across aerospace, automotive, energy, infrastructure, and national defense applications, and how nearly 200 member organizations work together to move ideas from research into commercial production.
We also explore innovation in America - from the big OEMs to small startups - and how the U.S. needs to get back to building. Chad describes an innovation ecosystem that includes organizations such as Northrop Grumman, Google, Airbus, Volkswagen, ExxonMobil, universities, national laboratories, and small manufacturers. He argues that manufacturing capability remains one of America's most important competitive advantages, but only if the country continues developing the talent pipeline needed to sustain innovation, production, and economic growth.
In this episode:
Breakthrough innovations in composites and their uses that will blow your mind
Why major manufacturers increasingly look to startups for innovations they can mine
Why early exposure is key to both getting more individuals into manufacturing and ensuring they're successful on Day 1
Where the U.S. has strayed from our roots as innovators and builders, and how we can fix it
3 Big Takeaways from this Episode:
1. Many of manufacturing's most important innovations originate in small and mid-sized companies.
IACMI's network includes nearly 200 organizations ranging from startups and family-owned manufacturers to companies such as Northrop Grumman, Airbus, Google, and ExxonMobil. Chad describes large manufacturers using consortium meetings as a form of "innovation mining," searching for solutions developed by smaller firms with specialized expertise. The result is an innovation ecosystem where breakthrough ideas often move from small manufacturers into some of the world's largest industrial organizations.
2. Composite materials are expanding into industries and applications that most people would never associate with advanced manufacturing.
Learn about where composites are being used in innovative ideas today, from carbon-core transmission lines being explored to meet growing data-center power demands, to corrosion-resistant infrastructure and a composite bridge that can be monitored in real time through embedded sensors. Chad also points to projects such as a lighter composite liftgate for Volkswagen and Army Corps of Engineers applications where durability and corrosion resistance can dramatically extend infrastructure life.
3. A nation that stops making things eventually loses its ability to innovate.
Chad argues that innovation and manufacturing are inseparable because companies learn by designing, building, testing, and improving products in the real world. That belief shape IACMI's workforce strategy, which begins with elementary-school exposure, continues through online learning and boot camps, and extends into internships, apprenticeships, and industry experiences. Rebuilding America's manufacturing capacity, in his view, requires rebuilding the pipeline of people capable of participating in it.
Get all the resources & links on the episode page: https://techedpodcast.com/duty

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In an age where anyone can create content, how do manufacturers (and people in any sector, really) know who to trust?
In this episode of The TechEd Podcast, Kerry Gumas, CEO and Executive Vice Chairman of Gardner Business Media, joins Matt Kirchner for a fascinating conversation about trust, expertise, and the future of information in American manufacturing. As content becomes easier to create and AI transforms how people discover information, Kerry argues that trusted expertise is becoming more valuable, not less. Drawing on nearly a century of manufacturing journalism and industry engagement, he shares how Gardner is evolving from a traditional media company into a platform that connects manufacturers with intelligence, opportunity, and one another. 
The conversation explores the changing economics of media, the growing importance of proprietary data in the age of AI, and the launch of new initiatives such as Manufacturing Connected and Search Point. Along the way, Kerry and Matt discuss reindustrialization, defense manufacturing, entrepreneurship, supply-chain readiness, and why America's ability to educate, connect, and develop talent may ultimately determine its competitive future.
In this episode, you’ll hear:
Why trusted expertise matters more than ever in a world where anyone can publish.
How Gardner is transforming nearly a century of manufacturing knowledge into AI-powered intelligence.
Why America’s manufacturing resurgence depends on more than capital and technology.
The supply-chain realities behind rebuilding the defense industrial base.
Why the future of manufacturing may be limited less by machines than by talent.
3 Big Takeaways from this Episode:
1. Trust Has Become a Competitive Advantage in Media
As content creation becomes easier and distribution channels multiply, audiences have more information available than ever before. Kerry argues that trusted brands, experienced editors, and deep industry relationships are becoming more valuable because they help people separate expertise from noise.
2. Proprietary Data Is Becoming the Ultimate AI Advantage
While public information and generic datasets are increasingly available to everyone, unique data collected over years of operating a business creates a sustainable competitive edge. Gardner is leveraging decades of manufacturing content, engagement, and intelligence data to build AI-powered tools that deliver insights competitors cannot easily replicate.
3. Reindustrialization Depends on Connecting Fragmented Manufacturing Communities
Manufacturing is often treated as a single industry, but it is actually a collection of highly specialized communities that frequently operate in silos. Kerry believes stronger connections between manufacturers, suppliers, technology providers, investors, and defense contractors are essential to accelerating innovation, expanding capacity, and rebuilding American industrial strength.
Resources in this Episode:
Visit Gardner Business Media and learn about all their publications and resources for manufacturing
Manufacturing Connected
Surgepoint
This episode was filmed at IMTS in partnership with the Smartforce Student Summit
Connect with our guest online:
Kerry Gumas - LinkedIn  |  LinkedIn  |  Facebook
View more on the episode page! 
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For the first time in more than half a century, NASA is preparing to send humans around the Moon, laying the foundation for a sustained lunar presence and the eventual journey to Mars.
Just months after the successful completion of Artemis II, Sharon Cobb, Associate Program Manager for NASA's Space Launch System, returns to The TechEd Podcast with a behind-the-scenes look at the engineering, manufacturing, testing, data and emotions that went into the successful Artemis II mission.
Sharon shares firsthand stories, like facing a critical hydrogen leak discovered during testing, how NASA solved the problem without rolling the rocket back from the launch pad, and why the mission ultimately achieved an astonishing 99.94% orbital insertion accuracy. She also explains how breakthroughs in additive manufacturing, digital modeling, and systems engineering are transforming the way rockets are designed, built, and tested.
Looking ahead, Sharon outlines NASA's vision for NASA's Moon Base the infrastructure needed for a sustained human presence on the lunar surface, and the technologies that will make future missions to Mars possible. Along the way, she offers her perspective on the "Artemis Generation," why systems thinking matters more than ever, and how students can prepare today for careers that may not even exist yet.
In this episode, you’ll hear:
3 skills students need if they want to work at NASA
How 3,800 suppliers across all 50 states help power Artemis
Why NASA can now simulate missions that once required live testing
The manufacturing breakthrough changing how rocket engines are built
What it'll take to achievema sustained presence on the moon (and eventually Mars)
3 Big Takeaways from this Episode:
1. Artemis II was the product of thousands of engineering decisions made between launches.Between Artemis I and Artemis II, NASA teams stacked and integrated the vehicle, completed multiple rounds of testing, investigated and resolved a hydrogen leak discovered during a wet dress rehearsal, and modified hardware to improve performance. The mission ultimately achieved 99.94% orbital insertion accuracy, validating years of analysis, simulation, testing, and problem-solving across the program.
2. NASA's success depends on a nationwide manufacturing ecosystem. The Artemis program relies on 3,800 suppliers across all 50 states to provide the components, materials, and systems required to build and launch its missions. Sharon emphasized that behind every launch are manufacturers, technicians, welders, quality professionals, and skilled tradespeople whose work must meet exceptionally demanding standards because many of these components have only one opportunity to perform.
3. The Artemis Generation will build Moon Base and carry humanity farther into deep space. As NASA shifts its focus toward Moon Base, future missions will require the engineers, technicians, program managers, systems thinkers, and manufacturing professionals capable of building lunar infrastructure and eventually enabling missions to Mars. Sharon highlighted multiple pathways into those careers, including internships, two-year technical degrees, certifications, apprenticeships, and traditional engineering programs, emphasizing that there is no single route into a place like NASA.
Resources in this Episode:
Catch up on the story by starting with episode 1 with Sharon Cobb: From the Moon to Mars: NASA's Artemis Program and the Future of Space Exploration
Artemis Program
Space Launch System (SLS)
Get access to NASA Career & Internship resources and more on the show notes page: https://techedpodcast.com/cobb2/
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