I chatted with Seth Kanor and Vinny Livoti from Enabling Devices, a company that creates assistive technology for people with special needs. Seth's father, a medical engineer, founded the company in the 1970s after witnessing the transformative impact of a simple switch on a child with cerebral palsy. The company has since grown, focusing on customized solutions based on user needs. Vinny, an assistive technology specialist for 24 years, shares stories of lives changed through their products, such as an eye blink switch that enabled a nonverbal boy to communicate and a custom-made switch for a paraplegic drummer. They discuss the importance of listening, innovation, and the human touch in their work. In this short clip, Seth tells the story of how a simple mercury switch helped "turn on" a boy who doctors thought was completely unresponsive - changing his life forever. See the whole show here: https://youtu.be/pya30do8dgc

What an amazing episode! Our guests this week are Seth Kanor and Vinny Livoti from Enabling Devices, a company that creates assistive technology for people with disabilities. Seth's father, a medical engineer, founded the company in the 1970s after witnessing the transformative impact of a simple switch on a child with cerebral palsy. The company has since grown, focusing on customized solutions based on user needs. Vinny, an assistive technology specialist for 24 years, shares stories of lives changed through their products, such as an eye blink switch that enabled a nonverbal boy to communicate and a custom-made switch for a paraplegic drummer. They discuss the importance of listening, innovation, and the human touch in their work. Highlights: 00:00 - Introductions 05:54 - Early Days and Company Growth 07:26 - Listening and Innovation 09:40 - Challenges and Success Stories 26:03 - Technological Advancements and 3D Printing 31:42 - Balancing Production and Personal Touch 34:11 - Final Thoughts and Wrap-Up These are some of the very best and most meaningful stories we've ever had on this show. You owe it to yourself to check out the whole thing! Enabling Devices website: https://enablingdevices.com/

John Suh, a seasoned engineer with experience at Hyundai, Xerox, and General Motors, joined us this week to discuss his innovative work on combining robotics with car design, particularly an off-road vehicle with robotic suspension. Despite the project's end at Hyundai, John believes in its future potential. He emphasized the need for the U.S. to reindustrialize, leveraging AI and new technologies to reinvent manufacturing. Suh also highlighted the importance of rethinking assumptions about the world, such as the existence of roads, and developing a mathematical language for creativity and innovation to better integrate AI. He advocates for a comprehensive industrial policy to revitalize American manufacturing. In this short clip, John describes the Ultimate Mobility Vehicle concept he developed for Hyundai - a car to go anywhere! See the whole episode here: https://youtu.be/3ghq8lpYxh4

John Suh, a seasoned engineer with experience at Hyundai, Xerox, and General Motors, joined us this week to discuss his innovative work on combining robotics with car design, particularly an off-road vehicle with robotic suspension. Despite the project's end at Hyundai, John believes in its future potential. He emphasized the need for the U.S. to reindustrialize, leveraging AI and new technologies to reinvent manufacturing. Suh also highlighted the importance of rethinking assumptions about the world, such as the existence of roads, and developing a mathematical language for creativity and innovation to better integrate AI. He advocates for a comprehensive industrial policy to revitalize American manufacturing. In this short clip, John explains some of the realities and current misconceptions when it comes to advanced automation and robotics and what it means for the future of manufacturing work. See the whole episode here: https://youtu.be/3ghq8lpYxh4

John Suh, a seasoned engineer with experience at Hyundai, Xerox, and General Motors, joined us this week to discuss his innovative work on combining robotics with car design, particularly an off-road vehicle with robotic suspension. Despite the project's end at Hyundai, John believes in its future potential. He emphasized the need for the U.S. to reindustrialize, leveraging AI and new technologies to reinvent manufacturing. Suh also highlighted the importance of rethinking assumptions about the world, such as the existence of roads, and developing a mathematical language for creativity and innovation to better integrate AI. He advocates for a comprehensive industrial policy to revitalize American manufacturing. In this short clip, John waxes philosophic about the changes we need in our mindset when our assumptions about who does the making change in the world of AI. See the whole episode here: https://youtu.be/3ghq8lpYxh4

John Suh, a seasoned engineer with experience at Hyundai, Xerox, and General Motors, joined us this week to discuss his innovative work on combining robotics with car design, particularly an off-road vehicle with robotic suspension. Despite the project's end at Hyundai, John believes in its future potential. He emphasized the need for the U.S. to reindustrialize, leveraging AI and new technologies to reinvent manufacturing. Suh also highlighted the importance of rethinking assumptions about the world, such as the existence of roads, and developing a mathematical language for creativity and innovation to better integrate AI. He advocates for a comprehensive industrial policy to revitalize American manufacturing. In this short clip, John discusses new ways of thinking about our world, industry, and human creativity as AI takes on more and more of the busy work. See the whole episode here: https://youtu.be/3ghq8lpYxh4

John Suh, a seasoned engineer with experience at Hyundai, Xerox, and General Motors, joined us this week to discuss his innovative work on combining robotics with car design, particularly an off-road vehicle with robotic suspension. Despite the project's end at Hyundai, John believes in its future potential. He emphasized the need for the U.S. to reindustrialize, leveraging AI and new technologies to reinvent manufacturing. Suh also highlighted the importance of rethinking assumptions about the world, such as the existence of roads, and developing a mathematical language for creativity and innovation to better integrate AI. He advocates for a comprehensive industrial policy to revitalize American manufacturing. In this short clip, John talks about potential applications for advanced robotics on the battlefield and in our homes. See the whole episode here: https://youtu.be/3ghq8lpYxh4

What a treat it was to have John Suh as our guest to talk broadly about how advanced tech will help reindustrialize America! John is a seasoned engineer with experience at Hyundai, Xerox, and General Motors, and he discussed his innovative work on combining robotics with car design, particularly an off-road vehicle with robotic suspension. Despite the project's end at Hyundai, John believes in its future potential. He emphasized the need for the U.S. to reindustrialize, leveraging AI and new technologies to reinvent manufacturing. He also highlighted the importance of rethinking assumptions about the world, such as the existence of roads, and developing a mathematical language for creativity and innovation to better integrate AI. John advocates for a comprehensive industrial policy to revitalize American manufacturing. Highlights: 00:00 - Introduction 02:23 - John's work on the Hyundai Ultimate Mobility Vehicle concept 05:53 - The current state of the automotive world 11:03 - Opportunities with advanced manufacturing tech and robotics 15:59 - Humanoid robots 24:05 - John's exploration of a new language for manufacturing 32:51 - Industrial policy We covered a whole lot of ground in this one! Do check out the whole thing. Here is a link to our host Jim Vinoski's Forbes article about the Hyundai UMV concept project: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimvinoski/2020/10/21/hyundai-and-autodesk-join-forces-to-design-ultimate-mobility-vehicles/

This episode featured a discussion and debate between two of the most knowledgeable guys in the shipbuilding world: industry executive Lance Lemcool and Cato Institute expert Colin Grabow, who talked about their favored approaches to our US shipbuilding dilemmas. Lance is cautiously optimistic about President Trump's Maritime Action Plan and the SHIPS Act, emphasizing the need for government subsidies to revitalize the industry. Colin is skeptical, noting the U.S. has averaged 0.15% of global shipbuilding output over the past decade, ranking 19th in 2024. Both agree on the historical ineffectiveness of government policies and the need for a robust commercial shipbuilding industry for national security. They debate whether government subsidies or leveraging allied shipyards is the better approach. In this short clip, Lance explains why he thinks the SHIPS for America Act is the right move to reinvigorate American shipyards and shipbuilding. See the whole episode here: https://youtu.be/aMr53TvqwMU

This episode featured a discussion and debate between two of the most knowledgeable guys in the shipbuilding world: industry executive Lance Lemcool and Cato Institute expert Colin Grabow, who talked about their favored approaches to our US shipbuilding dilemmas. Lance is cautiously optimistic about President Trump's Maritime Action Plan and the SHIPS Act, emphasizing the need for government subsidies to revitalize the industry. Colin is skeptical, noting the U.S. has averaged 0.15% of global shipbuilding output over the past decade, ranking 19th in 2024. Both agree on the historical ineffectiveness of government policies and the need for a robust commercial shipbuilding industry for national security. They debate whether government subsidies or leveraging allied shipyards is the better approach. In this short clip, Colin lays out a very basic, simple, and effective proposal for shoring up military shipbuilding by having our Navy actually buy ships. See the whole episode here: https://youtu.be/aMr53TvqwMU

This episode featured a discussion and debate between two of the most knowledgeable guys in the shipbuilding world: industry executive Lance Lemcool and Cato Institute expert Colin Grabow, who talked about their favored approaches to our US shipbuilding dilemmas. Lance is cautiously optimistic about President Trump's Maritime Action Plan and the SHIPS Act, emphasizing the need for government subsidies to revitalize the industry. Colin is skeptical, noting the U.S. has averaged 0.15% of global shipbuilding output over the past decade, ranking 19th in 2024. Both agree on the historical ineffectiveness of government policies and the need for a robust commercial shipbuilding industry for national security. They debate whether government subsidies or leveraging allied shipyards is the better approach. In this short clip, Lance explains the dilemma of American shipyards having just a single ship to build at any given time. See the whole episode here: https://youtu.be/aMr53TvqwMU

This episode featured a discussion and debate between two of the most knowledgeable guys in the shipbuilding world: industry executive Lance Lemcool and Cato Institute expert Colin Grabow, who talked about their favored approaches to our US shipbuilding dilemmas. Lance is cautiously optimistic about President Trump's Maritime Action Plan and the SHIPS Act, emphasizing the need for government subsidies to revitalize the industry. Colin is skeptical, noting the U.S. has averaged 0.15% of global shipbuilding output over the past decade, ranking 19th in 2024. Both agree on the historical ineffectiveness of government policies and the need for a robust commercial shipbuilding industry for national security. They debate whether government subsidies or leveraging allied shipyards is the better approach. In this short clip, Colin reviews the history of the US as a shipbuilding nation. (Hint: it's not pretty.) See the whole episode here: https://youtu.be/aMr53TvqwMU

This episode featured a discussion and debate between two of the most knowledgeable guys in the shipbuilding world: industry executive Lance Lemcool and Cato Institute expert Colin Grabow, who talked about their favored approaches to our US shipbuilding dilemmas. Lance is cautiously optimistic about President Trump's Maritime Action Plan and the SHIPS Act, emphasizing the need for government subsidies to revitalize the industry. Colin is skeptical, noting the U.S. has averaged 0.15% of global shipbuilding output over the past decade, ranking 19th in 2024. Both agree on the historical ineffectiveness of government policies and the need for a robust commercial shipbuilding industry for national security. They debate whether government subsidies or leveraging allied shipyards is the better approach. In this short clip, Lance lays out his case for government support for the shipbuilding industry. See the whole episode here: https://youtu.be/aMr53TvqwMU

I was featured this week on the Canadian podcast "The Secret Life of Inventory." In this short clip, I discuss the kind of manufacturing problem-solving that really counts.

This episode featured a discussion and debate between two of the most knowledgeable guys in the shipbuilding world: industry executive Lance Lemcool and Cato Institute expert Colin Grabow, who talked about their favored approaches to our US shipbuilding dilemmas. Lance is cautiously optimistic about President Trump's Maritime Action Plan and the SHIPS Act, emphasizing the need for government subsidies to revitalize the industry. Colin is skeptical, noting the U.S. has averaged 0.15% of global shipbuilding output over the past decade, ranking 19th in 2024. Both agree on the historical ineffectiveness of government policies and the need for a robust commercial shipbuilding industry for national security. They debate whether government subsidies or leveraging allied shipyards is the better approach. In this short clip, we get some introductory comments from each gentleman. See the whole episode here: https://youtu.be/aMr53TvqwMU

The wide range of opinions on the right path forward to revitalize American shipbuilding gave us an idea: how about having a couple previous guests with differing opinions on to debate them? Many thanks to Colin Grabow of the Cato Institute and Lance Lemcool, a career shipbuilding executive, for taking on the challenge! For background on each, tune in to their previous individual episodes with us: Lance - https://youtu.be/DGiAzabXwro Colin - https://youtu.be/hW1Hdlor0II Lance is cautiously optimistic about President Trump's Maritime Action Plan and the SHIPS Act, emphasizing the need for government subsidies to revitalize the industry. Colin is skeptical, noting the U.S. has averaged 0.15% of global shipbuilding output over the past decade, ranking 19th in 2024. Both agree on the historical ineffectiveness of government policies and the need for a robust commercial shipbuilding industry for national security. They debate whether government subsidies or leveraging allied shipyards is the better approach. These guys both really know their stuff, and they represented their differing views with great expertise and exemplary respectfulness. It's nice to see that reasoned debate still exists!

David Rashid, an expert on trade cheating, discussed his experiences and the challenges of combating trade fraud. He detailed how his competitor shifted production from China to Thailand to avoid tariffs, leading to a significant loss of business. Despite efforts, including hiring investigators and engaging the DOJ's Trade Fraud Task Force, the case remained unresolved. He emphasized the complexity and slow progress of trade enforcement, highlighting the need for more resources, transparency, and legislative support. He also mentioned the de minimis exemption, which allowed undervaluation, and the non-resident importer loophole, which hindered enforcement. David advocates for better education and advocacy to address these issues. In this short, Dave digs into how China uses trans-shipments through countries with lower or no tariffs to avoid duties on their manufacturing exports to America. See the whole show here: https://youtu.be/v6B3WTTOEy8

David Rashid, an expert on trade cheating, discussed his experiences and the challenges of combating trade fraud. He detailed how his competitor shifted production from China to Thailand to avoid tariffs, leading to a significant loss of business. Despite efforts, including hiring investigators and engaging the DOJ's Trade Fraud Task Force, the case remained unresolved. He emphasized the complexity and slow progress of trade enforcement, highlighting the need for more resources, transparency, and legislative support. He also mentioned the de minimis exemption, which allowed undervaluation, and the non-resident importer loophole, which hindered enforcement. David advocates for better education and advocacy to address these issues. In this short, Dave discusses his personal experience with the slow-as-molasses "remedy" of seeking trade justice via the False Claims Act. See the whole show here: https://youtu.be/v6B3WTTOEy8

David Rashid, an expert on trade cheating, discussed his experiences and the challenges of combating trade fraud. He detailed how his competitor shifted production from China to Thailand to avoid tariffs, leading to a significant loss of business. Despite efforts, including hiring investigators and engaging the DOJ's Trade Fraud Task Force, the case remained unresolved. He emphasized the complexity and slow progress of trade enforcement, highlighting the need for more resources, transparency, and legislative support. He also mentioned the de minimis exemption, which allowed undervaluation, and the non-resident importer loophole, which hindered enforcement. David advocates for better education and advocacy to address these issues. In this short, Dave chats about how China was leveraging a tariff exemption for small packages worth under $800 to avoid duties on what were actually large shipments of goods, and how the Trump administration closing that loophole last year benefited America. See the whole show here: https://youtu.be/v6B3WTTOEy8

David Rashid, an expert on trade cheating, discussed his experiences and the challenges of combating trade fraud. He detailed how his competitor shifted production from China to Thailand to avoid tariffs, leading to a significant loss of business. Despite efforts, including hiring investigators and engaging the DOJ's Trade Fraud Task Force, the case remained unresolved. He emphasized the complexity and slow progress of trade enforcement, highlighting the need for more resources, transparency, and legislative support. He also mentioned the de minimis exemption, which allowed undervaluation, and the non-resident importer loophole, which hindered enforcement. David advocates for better education and advocacy to address these issues. In this short, Dave discusses some of the ways adversarial nations attack our industries, and what policy actions are being taken in response. See the whole show here: https://youtu.be/v6B3WTTOEy8

David Rashid, an expert on trade cheating, discussed his experiences and the challenges of combating trade fraud. He detailed how his competitor shifted production from China to Thailand to avoid tariffs, leading to a significant loss of business. Despite efforts, including hiring investigators and engaging the DOJ's Trade Fraud Task Force, the case remained unresolved. He emphasized the complexity and slow progress of trade enforcement, highlighting the need for more resources, transparency, and legislative support. He also mentioned the de minimis exemption, which allowed undervaluation, and the non-resident importer loophole, which hindered enforcement. David advocates for better education and advocacy to address these issues. In this short, Dave explains the changes he drove to make his company more competitive against foreign imports. See the whole show here: https://youtu.be/v6B3WTTOEy8

David Rashid, an expert on trade cheating, discussed his experiences and the challenges of combating trade fraud. He detailed how his competitor shifted production from China to Thailand to avoid tariffs, leading to a significant loss of business. Despite efforts, including hiring investigators and engaging the DOJ's Trade Fraud Task Force, the case remained unresolved. He emphasized the complexity and slow progress of trade enforcement, highlighting the need for more resources, transparency, and legislative support. He also mentioned the de minimis exemption, which allowed undervaluation, and the non-resident importer loophole, which hindered enforcement. David advocates for better education and advocacy to address these issues. In this short, Dave dives into the disappointment of seeing tariffs enacted then nullified by trade fraud. See the whole show here: https://youtu.be/v6B3WTTOEy8

David Rashid, an expert on trade cheating, discussed his experiences and the challenges of combating trade fraud. He detailed how his competitor shifted production from China to Thailand to avoid tariffs, leading to a significant loss of business. Despite efforts, including hiring investigators and engaging the DOJ's Trade Fraud Task Force, the case remained unresolved. David emphasized the complexity and slow progress of trade enforcement, highlighting the need for more resources, transparency, and legislative support. He also mentioned the de minimis exemption, which allowed undervaluation, and the non-resident importer loophole, which hindered enforcement. David advocates for better education and advocacy to address these issues. Highlights: 00:00 - David's Background 06:32 - Introduction to Trade Cheating 08:15 - David's Experience with Trade Cheating 11:47 - Legal and Enforcement Efforts 15:36 - Challenges in Enforcing Trade Laws 22:27 - Legislative and Educational Efforts 29:23 - Conclusion and Call to Action This is a critical reality that gets far too little attention. You can learn more at David's website, and by connecting with him firsthand. Those links are here: David's websites: https://trade-fraud-awarenes-u8dl.bolt.host/ http://www.enforcementnow.com/ David on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-rashid-b4017a/ David's email: drashid71@gmail.com

For our 200th episode we welcomed Denny LaVé. Denny, a US Senate candidate from Idaho, talks about his background in the trades, entrepreneurship, and faith. Denny discusses his company, Precision Precast Erectors, which specializes in precast concrete installations. He shares his journey from an iron worker to business owner, emphasizing the dignity and financial stability of trades jobs. Denny highlights the importance of faith in personal growth and societal well-being, and his campaign's focus on revitalizing American manufacturing and resource extraction. He also addresses the challenges young people face in establishing households and the need for systemic changes in healthcare and tax policies. In this short clip, Denny chats about how the physical dangers he faced as a tradesman helped prepare him for the psychological challenges of entrepreneurship. See the whole show here: https://youtu.be/HMFERCSIFkk