The TechEd Podcast

Movie theaters have taken hit after hit, from streaming to COVID to fewer studio releases. But this is a case study for any business leader: organizations can survive disruption by knowing what business you're really in, adapting the model around changing consumers, and holding onto the fundamentals that still create value. Greg Marcus leads one of America’s largest theater circuits at a time...

On the eve of America 250, The TechEd Podcast steps away from its usual format to reflect on the American Dream, the values that built the nation, and the ideals that continue to bind us together. In this special episode, Matt Kirchner revisits two of the greatest presidential speeches ever delivered: Ronald Reagan’s 1984 address at Pointe du Hoc, honoring the courage and sacrifice of the U.S. Arm...

As chairman and CEO of USG Corporation, Bill Foote led one of the most remarkable Chapter 11 restructurings in American business — an achievement Warren Buffett called “the most successful managerial performance in bankruptcy that I’ve ever seen.” Bill’s career spans some of the most respected institutions in American business and finance. He spent 27 years at USG Corporation, including 15 years a...

A Wall Street Journal op-ed about the University of California’s SAT ban sparked a national conversation about college admissions, academic standards and whether students are arriving on campus ready for rigorous STEM coursework. In this episode, Matt speaks with Svetlana Jitomirskaya, professor of mathematics at UC Berkeley and one of the faculty members behind an open letter calling on the Unive...

Smart manufacturing has moved past the pilot phase, and manufacturers that still treat AI and automation like side projects are running out of time. Rockwell Automation Chairman and CEO Blake Moret joins us to talk about the next era of smart manufacturing: AI-enabled operations, digital twins, autonomous mobile robots, cybersecurity, factory modernization and the workforce needed to enable it. Bl...

What jobs will AI replace, and which ones will become more valuable? Matthew Prince, co-founder and CEO of Cloudflare, recently wrote an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal about how he chose which employees to replace with AI. His argument: AI is not coming equally for every role. It's coming first for the people inside organizations who measure, report, analyze, audit, manage, and process info...

Exponential technologies, humanity-centric innovation, ethics in AI, passion and purpose, and the intersection of business and technology all point to one urgent question: How do we prepare the next generation to build solutions that are both economically viable and good for humanity? This is a question we explore with Pete Dulcamara - scientist, former VP of Research at Kimberly-Clark and author...

Work-based learning is only as strong as the ecosystem around it, and this panel shows what happens when educators, employers, and students each do their part. Recorded at ACTE’s National Work-Based Learning Conference in Providence, Rhode Island, this keynote panel features the perspective of an educator, industrial employer, and a student and shares their best insights and practical advice for m...

As AI and emerging technologies reshape work, HR is being pushed into a bigger role: making sure the company’s workforce strategy keeps pace with its business strategy. ▶️ Watch this episode on YouTube! In this episode, Matt Kirchner sits down with Dr. Peter Fasolo, former CHRO of Johnson & Johnson and now Director of the Institute for Leadership & Work at Boston University, to talk about...

Physical AI is the next major step for artificial intelligence, and FANUC’s collaboration with NVIDIA shows how that will look on the factory floor. Mike Cicco, President and CEO of FANUC America, highlights the partnership’s two major applications: digital and physical. On the digital side, FANUC robots can be brought into NVIDIA Omniverse and Isaac Sim, alongside FANUC’s ROBOGUIDE software, for...

What if the future of technical talent is not Silicon Valley or public service, but a career path that moves fluidly between both? Arun Gupta sees that possibility from several angles: as a longtime venture capitalist, CEO of NobleReach Foundation , Stanford lecturer, and author of The Mission Generation . The strongest ideas and technologies only scale when they are matched with people who have r...

What can organizational leaders learn from military-tested leadership practices to realign teams, sharpen execution, and move forward with greater clarity? In this episode of The TechEd Podcast , Matt Kirchner sits down with Jay Richards, retired U.S. Navy Senior Chief, former Naval Special Warfare operator, CIA contractor, and author of The Standdown Framework: Advance Over Retreat . Richards bri...

Nikki Gonzales has built a career at the intersection of industrial automation, software, and systems thinking, and in this episode, she makes the case that the next chapter of manufacturing won’t be defined by AI alone. It will be defined by how well people understand process, data, machines, and the interfaces that connect them. The future of automation is as much about human judgment and lifelo...

What skills actually matter in technical careers now that the work is more digital, more automated, and more interconnected? Industrial employers are not asking schools to choose between hard skills and soft skills. They're asking for both, and they still need the hard skills to come first. At Bosch, Justin Allen sees that every day: teamwork, drive, and professionalism matter, but technical...

Imagine being able to track your brain health before serious decline sets in, understand your personal risk factors, and intervene early enough to help prevent dementia rather than simply react to it. In this episode of The TechEd Podcast , Matt Kirchner talks with Christin Glorioso, MD, PhD, founder and CEO of NeuroAge Therapeutics, about one of the most intriguing frontiers in health and longevi...

Artificial intelligence is moving from novel feature to core infrastructure, and that shift is forcing companies, schools and regulators to confront a harder question than how to use the technology: how to govern it. In this episode of The TechEd Podcast , Matt Kirchner talks with Patrick Sullivan, Vice President of Strategy & Innovation at A-LIGN, about the emerging rules of the AI economy. F...

Are employers hurting themselves by only asking for 'soft skills' and ignoring their real technical needs? How can homeschool students get the same access to STEM labs as students in traditional schools? And what can education leaders learn from the way the Manhattan Project mobilized talent and innovation to solve an enormous problem? These questions (and more!) came directly from the y...

What does the rise of AI mean for technical programs? Surprisingly, it's not a new concept to CTE fields. It is embedded in robotics, automation, diagnostics, and data modeling across modern manufacturing facilities today. In this episode of The TechEd Podcast , Matt Kirchner sits down with Dr. Andrew Neuendorf, Associate Dean of Manufacturing, Engineering, Trades, and Transportation at Des M...

The labor market is evolving faster than traditional signals of competence can keep up. Roles are shifting, technology is accelerating, and employers are searching for clearer ways to identify real capability. In that environment, degrees remain valuable, but verified skills are becoming increasingly central to hiring and advancement. In a marketplace now saturated with more than a million credent...

Over the past several years, many leaders have noticed a subtle but meaningful shift inside their organizations: the erosion of basic workplace courtesies, particularly from younger employees new to the professional workplace. Not misconduct; not ethical lapses. But something more subtle. Employees announcing time off instead of requesting it. Cameras off in meetings. Missed meetings treated casua...

Imagine giving middle and high school students a full week to explore careers without grades, homework, or “regular” classes. That’s the core idea behind Camanche Community School District's J-term: a dedicated pause in the academic grind that turns school into a career-exploration lab, where 5th-12th grade students can test-drive career fields, build confidence, and discover options they did...

Your organization doesn’t have a data problem. It has an intelligence problem: the gap between having information and being able to act on it with speed, clarity, and confidence. That gap shows up everywhere: hospitals, schools, manufacturers, and any team drowning in dashboards while leaders still wait on someone to “find the story.” Rick Anderson (Chairman & CEO, The Hive Health) is back to...

The U.S. Department of the Interior manages the nation’s most consequential assets—public lands and waters, energy resources, and critical minerals—making it a crucial center for AI capabilities, national security, and workforce opportunity. In this episode of The TechEd Podcast , host Matt Kirchner sits down with Doug Burgum, U.S. Secretary of the Interior, to connect the dots between Interior&ap...

Most leaders have a vision, a plan, and the authority to move it forward, but real momentum shows up when you understand how culture is being shaped through trust and influence behind the scenes. Host Matt Kirchner sits down with Dr. Ben Johnson, Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Schools at Bismarck Public Schools, and Bobby Dodd, Assistant Principal at May River High School, co-authors of In...

Higher education is shifting toward a connected model where colleges and universities function as one learner ecosystem. The goal is simple: make credentials stackable, transfer predictable, and pathways flexible enough for learners to move in and out of education as their careers evolve. In this episode of The TechEd Podcast, Matt Kirchner speaks with Dr. Katherine Frank (Chancellor, University o...