Learn from the people behind physical products

Every week they share their hard-earned lessons and wisdom, on 53 shows going back 15+ years.

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Just released

32 new episodes in the last seven days, newest first, and what each one covers.

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  • Designing in the Wild podcast cover art

    Designing in the Wild
    NEW · 55m

    Designing for Joy: Finding Meaning in Industrial Design with Daniela Garcia | S3E04

    Industrial designer Daniela Garcia, who revitalized the Boston IDSA chapter and works with companies like G appliances and Medea, explains her design philosophy centered on 'joy' and reducing user stress. She details her workflow, which combines low-fidelity cardboard prototyping to avoid 'CAD goggles' with AI tools like Vizcom and Figma for rapid visualization and stakeholder buy-in. Garcia also discusses her wellness initiative, Shanti, and how observing nature and birdwatching informs her CMF strategies and biomimicry approaches.

  • #475: Rethinking FDA Guidance: Why Non-Binding Documents Define Your Regulatory Strategy

    Mike Drues, president of Vascular Sciences, explains that FDA guidance documents represent the agency's 'current thinking' rather than binding law, urging manufacturers to treat them as tactical starting points rather than immutable rules. He argues that while regulations (CFR) carry legal weight, guidance can be deviated from if justified, and recommends using the pre-submission process to address these deviations early. Drues highlights the limitations of the CDRH guidance database, noting it lacks revision history, and suggests using broader search tools like Google and direct engagement with the Office of Industry and Consumer Education (OICE) to track updates and in-development documents.

  • People of Packaging podcast cover art

    People of Packaging
    · 38m

    361 - Men have skin too and love good packaging design! W/ Freddie Sheridan from YCODE

    Freddie Sheridan, founder of YCODE, explains how his brand addresses the men's skincare gap by formulating products specifically for male skin biology, including 25% thicker skin and higher oil content. He details the design of the original matchbox-style packaging, which uses GF Smith paper and a glue dot, and the subsequent rebrand to a cleaner white aesthetic to avoid stereotypes. The episode highlights the Well Kept Advanced Eye Serum, noting its color-adaptive properties and the innovative 100% aluminum tube with a snap-off lid designed for sustainability and ease of use.

  • Testing Embedded Systems in the Cloud and On-Prem with Marie Meyer and Joel Schulz-Andres

    Marie Meyer and Joel Schulz-Andres, founders of OnMCU, discuss their cloud-based and on-prem hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing platform designed to bridge the gap between host unit tests and physical integration. They explain the concept of 'on-target unit tests' using remote dev boards to catch peripheral errata early, and detail the significant hardware challenges they faced, including unreliable USB hubs and non-existent cable chains, when building their infrastructure. The conversation covers the trade-offs between cloud scalability and on-prem security, as well as their strategy to offer a generalized interposer box to help small-to-medium companies avoid building expensive custom test rigs from scratch.

  • Let the Experts Be the Experts: Leading Without Every Answer w/ Amy Mercante

    Amy Mercante, General Manager of Specialty Products at PPG, discusses her transition from research chemist to business leader and her philosophy of 'letting the experts be the experts.' She explains how she flips the leadership pyramid by empowering teams closest to the work to provide recommendations rather than just data, and how she makes decisions without waiting for every fact. Mercante also details her approach to mentoring emerging leaders, emphasizing the importance of defining a 'North Star' career goal and taking calculated risks outside one's comfort zone.

  • Additive Snack podcast cover art

    Additive Snack
    · 1h 02m

    When Production Overtakes Prototyping: Materialise’s Next Phase of AM

    Bart van der Schuren, CTO of Materialise, explains how the company transitioned from a 1995 service bureau to a production powerhouse, recently surpassing prototyping with serial manufacturing. He details the three pillars of Materialise—manufacturing, software, and medical applications—and highlights rapid adoption in hearing aids, dental, and drones, contrasted with the slow, recertification-heavy aerospace sector. Van der Schuren argues that AI-driven automation and in-situ quality control are critical for reducing New Product Introduction (NPI) costs and scaling production in regulated industries.

  • Manufacturing Happy Hour podcast cover art

    Manufacturing Happy Hour
    · 45m

    306: From Systems of Record to Systems of Action: Putting AI to Work in Manufacturing with Sanjay Brahmawar

    Sanjay Brahmawar, CEO of QAD Redzone, explains how his company uses AI agents to transform manufacturing systems of record into systems of action, focusing on amplifying human potential rather than replacing workers. He details specific use cases, including line lead agents that predict production issues and procurement agents that automate supplier communication, to address the industry's 500,000 open jobs. Brahmawar emphasizes that manufacturers can implement these solutions alongside legacy ERP systems without massive modernization, citing a 40% capacity increase for buyers and improved shop floor engagement as key outcomes.

  • The Startup CPG Podcast podcast cover art

    The Startup CPG Podcast
    · 45m

    #270 Insights from 34,000 in-store demos with Grassroots Marketing

    David Heiser, Co-Founder of Grassroots Marketing, explains how his company analyzed 34,000 in-store demos across Whole Foods, Sprouts, Central Market, and Erewhon to create a data-driven report for CPG brands. Heiser details key findings, such as Saturday being the highest-performing day and specific high-velocity regions like Southern California for Sprouts and Arizona/Florida for Whole Foods. The discussion covers practical strategies for maximizing demo ROI, including the importance of physical marketing materials like paper coupons and crafting concise five-second pitches to handle skeptical shoppers.

  • The Circuit podcast cover art

    The Circuit
    · 1h 00m

    Unpacking Marvell's Analyst Day, OpenAI Revenue Rumors, and the Heterogeneous Rack

    Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg analyze Marvell's recent Analyst Day, highlighting its strategic shift from Amazon ASIC share battles to a broader data center infrastructure play involving optical interconnects, switching silicon, and new AI infrastructure management silicon. They discuss the fragility of the AI semiconductor trade, noting that physical infrastructure bottlenecks, specifically the U.S. grid's ability to energize 20-30 gigawatts, pose a greater risk to chip timelines than end-user demand. Finally, they explore a strategic theory that TSMC is granting AMD extra wafer capacity to potentially throttle Intel's cash flow as Intel Foundry becomes a credible competitive threat.

  • How I Built This podcast cover art

    How I Built This
    · 1h 16m

    Alamo Drafthouse Cinema: Tim and Karrie League (2023)

    Tim and Karrie League, co-founders of Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, recount their journey from a failed first theater in Bakersfield to building a national chain in Austin. They detail the operational challenges of combining movie exhibition with full-service dining, including securing liquor licenses and managing complex logistics. The episode covers their strategic expansion, a contentious legal battle with franchise partners that resulted in a merger, and their resilience through the pandemic-induced bankruptcy and subsequent acquisition by Sony Pictures.

  • The Startup CPG Podcast podcast cover art

    The Startup CPG Podcast
    · 29m

    R&D RADIO: Oil Analytics, Seed Oils and Adulterated Avocado Oil with Dr. Selina Wang of UC Davis

    Dr. Selina Wang, Faculty Director of the UC Davis Olive Center, explains how her lab’s studies revealed that many commercial avocado oils and finished products like chips and mayonnaise are adulterated with cheaper oils like soybean or high-oleic sunflower oil. She details the chemical forensic methods, specifically analyzing fatty acid and sterol fingerprints, required to detect these substitutions that simple fatty acid testing might miss. Wang advises brands to test both fatty acids and sterols and to treat suspiciously low prices as a major red flag for potential fraud.

  • Let's Combinate podcast cover art

    Let's Combinate
    · 34m

    258 - Combination Product Quality: Human Factors, CDMO Scorecards, ISO 14971 vs. ICH Q9, with Ben Locwin

    Ben Locwin, Vice President at Reliant Life Sciences, and Subhi Saadeh, Founder of Let's Combinate, discuss the divergent quality philosophies of pharmaceutical and medical device industries, focusing on combination products. They explain how human factors studies must account for different user types (HCP vs. lay) even with platform devices, and how CDMO scorecards often fail to reflect operational reality due to subjective weighting. The conversation details the differences between ISO 14971 and ICH Q9 risk management, emphasizing the need for FMEA as a living document updated with real-world data.

  • EMS@C-LEVEL podcast cover art

    EMS@C-LEVEL
    · 3m

    How Costa Rica Attracts High-Tech Investment Through Procomer, with CEO Laura López

    Laura López, CEO of PROCOMER, discusses Costa Rica's strategy to attract high-tech investment, highlighting the inauguration of a second Zollner facility as evidence of a growing ecosystem. She explains how PROCOMER promotes the country by fostering clusters of suppliers, logistics partners, and OEM customers to enhance supply chain efficiency. A key focus is talent development, where PROCOMER co-finances training programs with universities and companies to ensure the workforce has the specific skills needed for medical devices, electronics, and semiconductors. This approach has driven a fourfold increase in exports and sophistication over the last decade.

  • The Startup CPG Podcast podcast cover art

    The Startup CPG Podcast
    · 38m

    How to Ask Someone to Invest in Your CPG Brand, with Fave's Ryan Raish

    Ryan Raish, founder of Fave, details his journey from a 20-year CPG career at brands like Popchips and Honest Tea to launching a certified organic powdered drink mix. He explains how he self-funded two years of R&D and retailer feedback from Target before securing a pre-seed round led by Keith Belling and the Angel Group. Raish discusses using early sales on Thrive Market, Amazon, and QVC to validate the product and close a $1 million seed round, while highlighting the distinct challenges of pitching retail buyers versus investors.

  • The Robot Report Podcast podcast cover art

    The Robot Report Podcast
    · 1h 18m

    Why humanoid robot demos still fail the generalization test

    Janine Sinanan-Singh, Director of Gen AI Research at Appen, explains why humanoid robot demos often fail the generalization test, emphasizing that high-quality egocentric video data and human judgment are critical for training models that can handle out-of-distribution tasks. She discusses the shift from classical robotics to AI-driven approaches, noting that while foundation models like Gemini offer zero-shot capabilities, latency and the need for intent understanding remain significant hurdles. The conversation also covers the role of synthetic data in scaling training, the importance of multi-agent systems for safety, and the economic pressures driving token optimization in AI development.

  • Hackaday Podcast podcast cover art

    Hackaday Podcast
    · 49m

    Ep 390: DOOM, Cranium Stuff, and Odd OpenSCAD Opportunities

    Hosts Elliot Williams and Christina Panos discuss Amazon's decision to disable the auxiliary input on existing Alexa devices, noting the retroactive nature of the change. They cover several hacks, including Ray Triangle's ESP32-based DOOM console built into an antenna converter, Google Japan's conveyor belt keyboard concept, and Throthy Mumbo's FPGA-based VHS video game system. The episode also features Gareth Davies' ESP32 AM radio transmitter, Mihi's OpenSCAD-designed vertical garden, and articles on running a Matrix server and repairing headphones with OpenSCAD.

  • Robot Talk podcast cover art

    Robot Talk
    · 19m

    Episode 165: Robots behind the research - Kushant Patel

    Kushant Patel, an instrumentation and controls engineer at Brookhaven National Laboratory, explains how robots support scientific experiments at the NSLS-2 synchrotron. He details the deployment of Staubli and Universal Robots for automated sample exchange in complex materials scattering and biology beamlines. Patel discusses overcoming challenges like tight physical spaces, high-value detectors, and network latency from the secure RHEL operating system to achieve a standardized, mostly autonomous robotic stack.

  • Lights Out podcast cover art

    Lights Out
    · 52m

    Automation, Machining, and a Coal Mine: What Vertical Integration Buys You | Ep. 51

    Michael McHale, founder of PSA Systems, explains how his vertically integrated automation integrator and machine shop in Pennsylvania grew from $900,000 in revenue to over $30 million by owning fabrication, machining, and engineering capabilities in-house. He discusses the capital-intensive nature of modern manufacturing, citing an $800,000 five-axis mill that cost nearly a million to install, and advocates for a five-year strategic plan over short-term EBITDA chasing. McHale also details PSA's rollout of IBM Watson for enterprise AI workflow automation, emphasizing the need for data guardrails when handling Department of Defense contracts, and shares his philosophy that employee prosperity is the true measure of business success.

  • Being an Engineer podcast cover art

    Being an Engineer
    · 45m

    Elad Einav | How To Engineer Covered Medical Device Stents

    Elad Einav, Co-Founder and CEO of Medibrane, a medical device CDMO specializing in polymer covers for stents, explains the engineering challenges of attaching membranes to metal scaffolds. He details the tradeoffs between traditional sewing, ePTFE sintering, and adhesive-assisted lamination, emphasizing that the covering process must be treated as a composite material design input from day one rather than a downstream manufacturing step. Einav shares examples of field failures, such as stent fractures where the covering remained intact, to illustrate why early integration of material selection, manufacturing processes, and regulatory strategy is critical for clinical success.

  • Making It podcast cover art

    Making It
    · 1h 11m

    541: Heating The Neighborhood

    Jimmy Diresta, Bob Clagett, and David Picciuto discuss their current projects, including Diresta's preparation for Maker Camp with a boat and a restored 1969 Myers Manx doom buggy, Clagett's laser-etched ice pick poster and lamp sculpture, and Picciuto's acrylic card game boxes. The hosts also explore the value of viewer feedback, sharing stories where audience comments corrected design choices or improved security, and discuss the balance between creating functional shop infrastructure and artistic output in their maker businesses.

  • The Startup CPG Podcast podcast cover art

    The Startup CPG Podcast
    · 29m

    Reinventing the Pizza Bagel: Bagelverse's Jacob Cooper on Nostalgia and CPG

    Jacob Cooper, founder of Bagelverse, explains his pivot from eight years as a CTO in AI to launching a nostalgic pizza bagel brand with flavors like spicy vodka and barbecue chicken. He details the complex supply chain requiring two separate co-packers for bagels and pizza assembly, and his strategy of validating demand through pop-ups before securing manufacturing. Cooper emphasizes the critical importance of high-quality packaging for emerging brands and his long-term, relationship-focused approach to securing retail placements with major retailers like Target and Whole Foods.

  • Go/No-Go podcast cover art

    Go/No-Go
    · 45m

    Live Recording: the Missing Data for Physical AI

    Eduardo Torrealba of Lumafield, Vikram Pavate of Tacta Systems, and Pari Singh of Flow Engineering discuss how physical AI is bottlenecked by the lack of specific, non-public data. They argue that while software AI thrives on open internet data, physical products require proprietary datasets from CT scans, tactile sensor gloves, and engineering context to train effective models. The panel highlights the 'missing middle' of manufacturing—products costing $5 to $500—as the key area where automation and AI can enable reshoring to the US. Each founder shares a 'punched in the mouth' moment: Lumafield's scanner durability issues in unconditioned factories, Tacta's glove being rejected for being too soft, and Flow Engineering's decision to burn eight years of code to rebuild for an agentic future.

  • People of Packaging podcast cover art

    People of Packaging
    · 1h 09m

    360 - Beyond the Die Line - The pitch was awful. They liked the bar! Tom Seymour and Ree Dolnick

    Ree Dolnick, founder of JECA Energy Bars, explains how she transitioned from cancer research to building a self-manufacturing CPG brand after co-packers rejected her clean-label recipe and demanded unfeasible run sizes. She details the company's pivot to in-house production developed with RIT engineers, which allowed JECA to control quality and offer short turns that retailers like Whole Foods and Wegmans prefer. Dolnick also discusses the iterative packaging journey, moving from plain film to digital printing and finally to ePac pouches, while emphasizing the importance of customer discovery at UB Cultivator to identify the true buyer profile.

  • Being an Engineer podcast cover art

    Being an Engineer
    · 1m

    PDX 2026 Starts Soon—Get Your Ticket Now

    This episode is a brief announcement for the PDX 2026 conference, scheduled for October 20-21 in Phoenix, Arizona. The host promotes the event as a practical training opportunity for engineers working on physical products, featuring hands-on sessions and technical conversations. The episode also encourages listeners to explore the podcast's archive of over 300 episodes for relevant engineering challenges.

    1 chapters
  • Thoroughly Considered podcast cover art

    Thoroughly Considered
    · 52m

    136: Mark Four

    Tom Gerhardt and Dan Provost of Studio Neat discuss the Kickstarter campaign for their first fountain pen, the Mark Four. They explain the design challenges of creating a sealed, magnetic cap system and balancing the pen's weight, while addressing customer education around nib selection and ink maintenance. The founders emphasize their willingness to iterate on prototypes, such as switching from a multi-start thread to a magnet, to ensure a high-quality user experience before launch.

  • Catalyst podcast cover art

    Catalyst
    · 44m

    The truth about data center water usage

    Tim Shedd, founder of Ebullient Insights, explains how the shift from air cooling to single-phase direct-to-chip liquid cooling is transforming data center thermal management. He details how modern GPU racks drawing 220 kW to 500 kW+ require advanced cold plates and manifolds, rendering traditional air cooling obsolete. Shedd argues that while historical data centers used significant water for evaporative cooling, modern designs optimize for higher temperature rejection, drastically reducing water consumption and allowing for closed-loop systems. The discussion also covers the industry's need for greater transparency to address community concerns about local water usage and infrastructure impacts.

  • How I Built This podcast cover art

    How I Built This
    · 44m

    Advice Line with Nick Green of Thrive Market

    Nick Green, co-founder and CEO of Thrive Market, joins Guy Raz to advise three founders: Mercedes Smith of Blackstrad Concert Attire, Danny Walsh of Peak State Coffee, and Riya Jane of Voice Back. Green discusses how Thrive Market uses data and AI to drive product selection and customer experience, while advising Mercedes on balancing quality with speed by focusing on a core product line. He counsels Danny on funding a mission-driven brand without compromising values, suggesting debt or equity from mission-aligned partners, and advises Riya on scaling awareness for her speech-loss app by targeting clinicians and influencers rather than broad ad channels.

  • Robot Talk podcast cover art

    Robot Talk
    · 1h 01m

    Bonus Episode: Marine robotics' journey through different lenses

    Claire Asher hosts a panel at AUV 2026 featuring Gwyn Griffiths, Daniel Hook, Emma Curtis, Sara Aldhaheri, and Edith-Clare Hall to discuss how marine autonomy is perceived by engineers, end-users, and the next generation. The group debates the need to communicate the 'journey' of R&D, including failures and troubleshooting, rather than just polished successes, to build trust with investors and the public. They highlight specific applications like ocean cleanup, climate monitoring, and dual-use defense technologies, while emphasizing the importance of inspiring young people through accessible, visual, and interactive robotics examples.

  • The Amp Hour podcast cover art

    The Amp Hour
    · 1h 01m

    Seeed in Shenzhen with Eric Pan

    Eric Pan, founder and CEO of Seeed Studio, discusses the evolution of the Shenzhen hardware ecosystem from 2008 to the present, highlighting the shift from open-source prototyping to scalable physical AI and robotics. He explains how Seeed acts as a portal between developers and manufacturers, leveraging local supply chains to support projects like the Micro:bit and robotics kits. Pan emphasizes the importance of repurposing consumer electronics components, such as e-paper and Rockchip processors, for open-source hardware, and outlines Seeed's strategy of helping innovators move up the value chain rather than just providing basic PCB services.

  • EE Times Current podcast cover art

    EE Times Current
    · 24m

    Beyond PPA: How Foundation IP Enables Predictable Execution and Lower TCO for AI-Era SoCs

    Ravi Todi, Executive Director of Product Management at Synopsys, explains that competitive power, performance, and area (PPA) are no longer sufficient for AI-era SoCs, as design complexity and execution risk at advanced nodes require a focus on predictable execution and total cost of ownership (TCO). He details how Synopsys' Foundation IP platform—integrating embedded memory, logic libraries, and I/O—reduces integration risks and avoids expensive re-spins, which can cost $20–$40 million in mask sets and delay tape-outs by 6–9 months. Todi highlights that this holistic approach enables first-pass silicon success, cross-foundry portability, and optimized PPA for both high-performance compute (HPC) and edge AI (HAI) designs, shifting the buying decision from lowest IP license price to lowest total cost of silicon on time.

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AI in practice

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Engineering & simulationMaterialise AI agents / APIsone day to build a new application

Materialise wrapped its SD case (MagicScript) in APIs and fed them into AI agents to automatically generate automation scripts for custom applications, reducing development time from hours/days to a few hours.

“we put that as an inputs into AI agents. And then you can just ask to build automation scripts. And there is something, you know, measure script, something you do in a couple of minutes to a few hours. So basically we have already been demonstrating that in, in one day, we can build a new application with customization.”

Sourcing & supply chainQAD Redzone Champion AI (Procurement Agent)saves the buyer 40% of their time

An AI agent processes unstructured supplier communications (emails/messages) and combines them with structured procurement data, saving buyers 40% of their time on monitoring deliveries and allowing them to onboard more suppliers.

“We built an agent that effectively works on what's called the messy inbox. It understands all of that unstructured communication, combines that with the structured data in your procurement system, and then literally saves the buyer 40% of their time.”

Marketing & salesAI cart builder90% of member service inquiries are now self-serviced through AI

Thrive Market uses an AI-powered cart builder to help new members build their grocery orders based on their data and health goals, which has transformed the onboarding experience for new customers.

“our 1st orders now, members can get help building a cart with an AI cart builder that's just transformed the way the onboarding happens for new members. Um, you know, 90% of our member service inquiries now are self-serviced through AI.”

Editors' picks

Standout shows worth making room for.

The Builder Circle

Designed to empower hardware entrepreneurs, engineers and builders to overcome challenges, reduce risk and succeed in bringing their products to market through expert insights, practical advice, and engaging discussions on relevant topics.

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The Amp Hour

Electronics design, manufacturing, and entrepreneurial discussion with a focus on hardware development.

TRADEOFFS

A podcast about the difficult choices and compromises made during hardware product development and engineering. Each episode explores real-world trade-offs faced by product teams.

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Fresh voices worth adding to your queue.

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Embedded.fm

Discussions with experts about embedded systems, electronics, and hardware development.

TRADEOFFS

A podcast about the difficult choices and compromises made during hardware product development and engineering. Each episode explores real-world trade-offs faced by product teams.

Built 2 Scale

Founders Matt Perrott and Scott Wilcox on building high-growth startups at the edge of business, tech, AI, and robotics, from bootstrapped chaos to VC-backed scale.

NPI Sherpa

A tactical NPI survival manual for the brutal middle between a working prototype and high-volume profitability, covering DFM, production scaling, and operational resilience.

Golden Samples · Oct 10, 2026

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