The TechEd Podcast
The TechEd Podcast sits at the intersection of technology, industry, innovation and the people who make progress possible. Hosted by Matt Kirchner, each episode features builders, executives, educators, and policymakers shaping what’s next—AI, automation, advanced manufacturing, energy, and the systems behind them.
If you care about the future of work, the future of tech, and how talent actually gets built, you’re in the right place.
Episodes
270 episodes
The Educator, Employer and Student Perspective on Work-Based Learning - Live Panel at the ACTE WBL Conference
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 Providenc...
The Future of Work is Putting HR at the Center of Business Strategy - Dr. Peter Fasolo, Former CHRO, Johnson & Johnson | Boston University
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.▶️ ...
FANUC Partners with NVIDIA to Advance Physical AI in Robotics - Mike Cicco, President & CEO of FANUC America
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 ap...
The Mission Generation Wants Impact. Must They Choose Between Tech and Public Service? — Arun Gupta, CEO of NobleReach Foundation
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
Is Your Organization Drifting? The 9-Step System to Reset and Lead with Clarity - Jay Richards, U.S. Navy Senior Chief (Ret.) and Author of The Standdown Framework
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 R...
AI Can Lower the Floor in Automation. It's Raising the Ceiling, Too - Nikki Gonzales, Weintek USA & Co-Host of Automation Ladies
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 h...
Technical Work Is Evolving. Soft Skills Matter, but Hard Skills Still Get the Job Done - Justin Allen, Bosch
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 bot...
How to Stay Sharper Longer: The New Science of Brain Aging - Dr. Christin Glorioso, CEO of NeuroAge Therapeutics
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 Pod...
The AI Boom is Forcing a Reckoning on Risk and Regulation - Patrick Sullivan, VP of Strategy & Innovation at A-LIGN
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
Ask Us Anything: STEM Access, Hard Skills vs. Soft Skills & Lessons from the Manhattan Project
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 fro...
Design, Diagnosis and Data: Where AI Is Already Reshaping the Skilled Trades - Dr. Andrew Neuendorf, Associate Dean at DMACC
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...
The Rise of Verified Skills: How Trusted Credentials Create Real Workforce Value - Kathleen McNally, CEO of NOCTI
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 remai...
For Young Professionals, Workplace Courtesy Is No Longer a Given
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; n...
Career Exploration Without Barriers: A Middle & High School J-Term Experiment - Josh Davis & Melissa Phillips, Camanche CSD
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 ...
You Don't Have a Data Problem. You Have an Intelligence Problem - The Hive Health
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, ...
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on Energy Dominance, Critical Minerals, and Intelligence Factories
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 opportun...
Cultural Mapping: How to Build Trust and Influence In Your Organization - Dr. Ben Johnson and Bobby Dodd
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 ...
Reframing Higher Education: A Connected Model for Colleges and Universities - Dr. Katherine Frank & Dr. Sunem Beaton-Garcia
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 ...
How Amazon Trains the Techs that Keep their Automated Facilities Running - Amanda Willard & Logan Schulz, Amazon RME
What actually happens inside those massive Amazon facilities—and how do products arrive at your door with such astonishing speed?In this episode of The TechEd Podcast, host Matt Kirchner explores these questions with Aman...
The Rise of State-Backed VC: Michigan’s Bet on Emerging Entrepreneurs - Pete Martin, MSU Research Foundation and Alison Todak, MEDC
With states stepping directly into the venture capital arena, a major shift is underway in how early-stage companies are funded—and where the next generation of innovation will be built.In this episode of The TechEd Podcast, hos...
13 Predictions for Technical Education in 2026
With the pace of change in technology, geopolitics, infrastructure, and the economy, what should technical educators and workforce leaders be watching most closely in 2026?In this year’s annual Predictions episode, host Matt Kirchner sha...
Ask Us Anything: Workforce ROI, AI Hallucinations, and the 5 Pillars of World-Class CTE
Watch the episode on Youtube: https://youtu.be/f5gWUVQI0jIMelissa Martin and Matt Kirchner are back to answer your questions, covering everything from university curriculum design, to AI in the ...
At the Reagan Ranch: The Life & Legacy of One of America's Greatest Presidents - Scott Walker, President of Young America's Foundation
The clearest way to understand Ronald Reagan’s leadership may not be from a podium, but from a saddle, a woodpile, and a quiet table where he worked through the ideas that shaped an era.In this on-location episode of The TechEd Podca...
Using Values and Customer Experience to Guide an AI and Data-Driven Strategy - Irv and Ryan Blumkin, Chairman and EVP of Nebraska Furniture Mart
In this episode of The TechEd Podcast, host Matt Kirchner sits down with Irv Blumkin, Chairman of Nebraska Furniture Mart (NFM), and Ryan Blumkin, Executive Vice President, to unpack nearly 90 years of retail innovation, from Mrs. B’s ...
Six Days in China: The Speed, Scale and Strategy Outpacing U.S. Innovation - Todd Wanek, CEO of Ashley Furniture
What if you could get a behind the scenes look at China's most innovative tech companies, factories and logistics hubs—seeing how they really run and asking the questions most Americans never get to ask?This week, you do. Matt Kirchner a...