The Case for the Gap Year (with Matt and Colin) | ReForge 009

The Reshoring Checklist Is Getting Checked Off (with Matt and Colin) | ReForge 012

In this episode, Matthew Chang and Colin Russ break down four major reindustrialization announcements from the past week and explain what they actually mean for American manufacturing, supply chains, and the bull run ahead.  If you care about manufacturing, defense, pharmaceuticals, drones, AI, or the state of American reindustrialization, this one is for you.  What we cover  * Cleveland Cliffs partners with Palantir on AI-driven steel production across 32 sites, and what OEE, inventory, and working capital actually have to do with it  * Skydio commits $3.5 billion to expand US drone manufacturing, and Matt and Colin place their bets on where the factory lands  * AbbVie selects North Carolina for a $1.4 billion pharmaceutical campus, and why domestic drug precursor production is about 90 days away from becoming a national conversation  * L3Harris announces a $1.265 billion expansion of solid rocket motor production in Virginia, and why the reshoring read matters  * Where shipbuilding, grain oriented steel, lithium, and electrical infrastructure fit into the reindustrialization roadmap and what comes next  Chapters  00:00 Modular Shipbuilding Teaser   00:21 AI Comes to American Steel   09:02 Skydio Drone Factory Bet   13:10 Pharma, Rockets, and the Reshoring Checklist   22:22 Reindustrialization Roadmap Wrap    Find Matthew Chang: https://x.com/MatthewChang [https://x.com/MatthewChang] https://www.instagram.com/the.matthewchang [https://www.instagram.com/the.matthewchang] https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewachang/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewachang/] https://www.tiktok.com/@the.matthewchang [https://www.tiktok.com/@the.matthewchang]  Find Colin Russ: https://x.com/ThaaatColin [https://x.com/ThaaatColin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/colinruss/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/colinruss/]  Find Chang Robotics: https://changrobotics.ai [https://changrobotics.ai/] https://www.linkedin.com/company/changrobotics/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/changrobotics/]  Follow ReForge  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-reforge-podcast/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-reforge-podcast/]   X: https://x.com/thereforgepod [https://x.com/thereforgepod]   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thereforgepod/ [https://www.instagram.com/thereforgepod/]   TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thereforgepod [https://www.tiktok.com/@thereforgepod]   Website: https://thereforgepodcast.com/ [https://thereforgepodcast.com/]  Want to be a guest or partner?  If you're building, funding, operating, or shaping the future of U.S. manufacturing, we'd love to hear from you. Email: inquiries@thereforgepodcast.com [inquiries@thereforgepodcast.com]  About ReForge  ReForge is a podcast featuring conversations with the leaders reindustrializing America. This show exists to prove American reindustrialization is possible, pivotal, and pressing. Hosted by Matthew Chang and Colin Russ.  Produced by Chang Robotics.

A Factory for Every Town (with Brian Keith) | ReForge 011

In this episode, Matthew Chang and Colin Russ bring back Brian Keith (CMO of Chang Robotics) to talk about what an agentically augmented human can actually do, why every town of 10,000 people should have a factory, and what Chang Robotics is building to make that happen.  If you care about AI, manufacturing, workforce, community, or the future of American reindustrialization, this one is for you.  What we cover  * How Brian wrote a 41,000 word book in three days using AI while on a client site, and what that means for every knowledge worker  * Why the factories coming back to America will look nothing like the ones that left, and why that's a good thing for the American worker  * The case for a factory in every 10,000 person town: distributed production, local talent pipelines, and the return of single earner families  * How Chang Robotics is replacing overhead with AI agents so factory workers, not corporate layers, capture the economic upside  * Chang Factory School: the plan to launch a thousand factories per year, fully supported by Chang engineering and AI, at no cost to the founder  Chapters  00:00 Meet Brian Keith, CMO of Chang Robotics   02:32 Writing a 41,000 Word Book in Three Days   09:18 The Agentically Augmented Human   23:49 A Factory in Every Town   29:44 The Dignity of the American Worker   36:29 Chang Factory School and What's Next  Guest: Brian Keith, CMO at Chang Robotics    Find Brian Keith:   https://x.com/BrianKeithAI   [https://x.com/BrianKeithAI] https://www.linkedin.com/in/BrianKeithAI [https://www.linkedin.com/in/BrianKeithAI]  Find Chang Robotics:  https://changrobotics.ai [https://changrobotics.ai] https://www.linkedin.com/company/changrobotics/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/changrobotics/]  Find Matthew Chang:  https://x.com/MatthewChang [https://x.com/MatthewChang]  https://www.instagram.com/the.matthewchang   [https://www.instagram.com/the.matthewchang ] https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewachang/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewachang/]  Find Colin Russ:  https://x.com/ThaaatColin [https://x.com/ThaaatColin]   https://www.linkedin.com/in/colinruss/  [https://www.linkedin.com/in/colinruss/ ] Follow ReForge  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-reforge-podcast/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-reforge-podcast/]   X: https://x.com/thereforgepod [https://x.com/thereforgepod]   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thereforgepod/ [https://www.instagram.com/thereforgepod/]   TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thereforgepod [https://www.tiktok.com/@thereforgepod]   Website: https://thereforgepodcast.com/ [https://thereforgepodcast.com/]  Want to be a guest or partner?  If you're building, funding, operating, or shaping the future of U.S. manufacturing, we'd love to hear from you. Email: inquiries@thereforgepodcast.com [inquiries@thereforgepodcast.com]   About ReForge  ReForge is a podcast featuring conversations with the leaders reindustrializing America. This show exists to prove American reindustrialization is possible, pivotal, and pressing. Hosted by Matthew Chang and Colin Russ.  Produced by Chang Robotics.

Faith, Technology, and the American Worker (with Shawn Maxwell) | ReForge 010

In this episode, Matthew Chang and Colin Russ sit down with Shawn Maxwell (Chief Operations Officer of Church of Eleven22) to talk about what it takes to scale a 35,000-person-per-week organization, and why the institutions doing the hardest community work may also be the key to solving America's workforce shortage.  If you care about community, workforce development, manufacturing, faith, or what it actually takes to build a city, this one is for you. What we cover * How Shawn went from pioneering broadband deployment at BellSouth and AT&T to running operations for one of the fastest-growing churches in America * How Church of Eleven22 scaled to 16 campuses, 35,000 weekly attendees, 60 to 70K live online viewers, and 95 million YouTube sermon views annually  * How AI is now converting Sunday sermons into Spanish content within days, and what that means for global reach * Why Jacksonville's military bases and prison ministry programs are two of the most underutilized talent pipelines in the country * Why strong community institutions are the missing ingredient in every reindustrialization conversation Chapters 00:00 Global Mission Snapshot  00:43 Meet Shawn Maxwell  03:04 From Broadband to Church Ops  07:11 Scaling Eleven22 With Tech  19:11 Two Talent Pipelines Nobody Is Using  28:06 What's Next for Church of Eleven22  Guest: Shawn Maxwell, Chief Operations Officer at Church of Eleven22  Find Shawn Maxwell:  https://x.com/ShawnMaxInJax ShawnMaxwell@coe22.com Find Church of Eleven22: https://coe22.com [https://coe22.com] Find Matthew Chang: https://x.com/MatthewChang https://www.instagram.com/the.matthewchang [https://www.instagram.com/the.matthewchang] https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewachang/ https://www.tiktok.com/@the.matthewchang [https://www.tiktok.com/@the.matthewchang] Find Colin Russ: https://x.com/ThaaatColin https://www.linkedin.com/in/colinruss/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/colinruss/] Find Chang Robotics: https://www.changrobotics.ai/  https://www.linkedin.com/company/changrobotics/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/changrobotics/] Follow ReForge LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-reforge-podcast/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-reforge-podcast/]  X: https://x.com/thereforgepod [https://x.com/thereforgepod]  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thereforgepod/ [https://www.instagram.com/thereforgepod/]  TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thereforgepod [https://www.tiktok.com/@thereforgepod]  Website: https://thereforgepodcast.com/ [https://thereforgepodcast.com/] Want to be a guest or partner? If you're building, funding, operating, or shaping the future of U.S. manufacturing, we'd love to hear from you. Email: inquiries@thereforgepodcast.com [inquiries@thereforgepodcast.com] About ReForge ReForge is a podcast featuring conversations with the leaders reindustrializing America. This show exists to prove American reindustrialization is possible, pivotal, and pressing. Hosted by Matthew Chang and Colin Russ. Produced by Chang Robotics.

The Case for the Gap Year (with Matt and Colin) | ReForge 009

In this episode, Matthew Chang and Colin Russ dig into the questions that flooded in after Episode 6, tackling the real decisions facing students, parents, and employers as the workforce shifts faster than anyone expected.  If you care about education, workforce development, manufacturing, or what to actually tell a 15-year-old right now, this one is for you.  What we cover  * The decision matrix every student should run before taking on two more years of debt, and when it makes sense to pivot out of a degree entirely  * Why the US manufacturing sector is facing a shortage of 1.9 million workers by 2033, and why that number is probably understated  * How a gap year and a PA school decision led to a better career, more kids, and eight years of ER experience before most med school classmates started practicing  * Why flex shifts and remote flexibility are the single biggest unlock for attracting women and parents back into the workforce  * Matt's step-by-step roadmap for a 15-year-old: AI projects, paid internships, and why every 18-year-old needs to be somebody's apprentice  Chapters  00:00 Gap Years and Real Jobs  02:56 Finish Degree or Pivot  11:14 1.9 Million Manufacturing Jobs Nobody Is Talking About  22:28 The Smarter Path Nobody Recommends  26:21 The Secret Weapon for Attracting Talent  36:23 AI Apprenticeship Roadmap  Find Matthew Chang: https://x.com/MatthewChang [https://x.com/MatthewChang] https://www.instagram.com/the.matthewchang [https://www.instagram.com/the.matthewchang] https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewachang/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewachang/] https://www.tiktok.com/@the.matthewchang [https://www.tiktok.com/@the.matthewchang]  Find Colin Russ: https://x.com/ThaaatColin [https://x.com/ThaaatColin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/colinruss/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/colinruss/]  Find Chang Robotics: https://changrobotics.ai [https://changrobotics.ai/] https://www.linkedin.com/company/changrobotics/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/changrobotics/]  Follow ReForge  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-reforge-podcast/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-reforge-podcast/] X: https://x.com/thereforgepod [https://x.com/thereforgepod] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thereforgepod/ [https://www.instagram.com/thereforgepod/] TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thereforgepod [https://www.tiktok.com/@thereforgepod] Website: https://thereforgepodcast.com/ [https://thereforgepodcast.com/]  Want to be a guest or partner?  If you're building, funding, operating, or shaping the future of U.S. manufacturing, we'd love to hear from you. Email: inquiries@thereforgepodcast.com [inquiries@thereforgepodcast.com]   About ReForge  ReForge is a podcast featuring conversations with the leaders reindustrializing America. This show exists to prove American reindustrialization is possible, pivotal, and pressing. Hosted by Matthew Chang and Colin Russ.  Produced by Chang Robotics.

Shielding the Space Race (with Adam Rossi) | ReForge 008

In this episode, Matthew Chang and Colin Russ sit down with Adam Rossi (CEO of Total Shield) to talk about what it actually takes to acquire a highly specialized American manufacturer, build a 100% domestic supply chain, and ride the coming wave of space industry growth.  If you care about manufacturing, aerospace, defense, American supply chains, or what real reindustrialization looks like on the ground, this one is for you.  What we cover  - How Adam went from scaling a 250-person software company to acquiring Total Shield, a blast and ballistic shielding manufacturer with 20 years of proprietary testing data  - Why space is now Total Shield's fastest growing market, and what well-funded space startups are actually building behind closed doors  - A walkthrough of the shielding rooms protecting satellites, fuel tanks, and high-pressure test environments for customers like SpaceX  - Why Total Shield runs a 100% American supply chain, and why Adam says the real barrier to doing it isn't cost, it's relationships  - How to use AI to capture the knowledge of a retiring founder before it walks out the door forever  Chapters  0:00 Space Startup Boom  0:49 Meet Adam Rossi  2:21 From Software to Manufacturing  5:14 The Hard Truth About Acquiring a Niche Manufacturer  11:34 Inside the Shielding Rooms  23:13 The Retiring Founder Problem and What's Next  Guest: Adam Rossi, CEO at Total Shield  Find Adam Rossi:  https://x.com/RossiAdam  https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamrossi-indie/  Find Total Shield: https://totalshield.com  Find Matthew Chang:  https://x.com/MatthewChang https://www.instagram.com/the.matthewchang https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewachang/ https://www.tiktok.com/@the.matthewchang  Find Colin Russ:  https://x.com/ThaaatColin  https://www.linkedin.com/in/colinruss/  Find Chang Robotics:  https://changrobotics.ai  https://www.linkedin.com/company/changrobotics/  Follow ReForge  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-reforge-podcast/ X: https://x.com/thereforgepod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thereforgepod/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thereforgepod Website: https://thereforgepodcast.com/  Want to be a guest or partner?  If you're building, funding, operating, or shaping the future of U.S. manufacturing, we'd love to hear from you. Email: inquiries@thereforgepodcast.com  About ReForge  ReForge is a podcast featuring conversations with the leaders reindustrializing America. This show exists to prove American reindustrialization is possible, pivotal, and pressing. Hosted by Matthew Chang and Colin Russ.  Produced by Chang Robotics.