We're a quarter of the way into this century, and a lot has happened. When we think about today's connected factories, in many cases controlled by tablets and smartphones, we should remember that virtually none of that was possible as recently as the turn of the century.

Throughout the past few weeks, editors at IndustryWeek have been publishing game changers stories, a look into the 25 events that have reshaped the manufacturing landscape. From terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, to the 2008 economic collapse to COVID-19, it's been an eventful century so far.

In this podcast, our editors talk about what they learned from the giant look back -- which game changing events took them by surprise and which ones did they enjoy learning more about?

In this episode of Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast, New Equipment Digest's Editor-in-Chief, Laura Davis, explores the differences between wireless bridges and access points, and why most facilities will need both to keep operations running smoothly. Listeners will learn how each technology works, when to deploy them, and the real-world benefits they deliver across industries from logistics to oil & gas. This episode is based on an article originally written by Henry Martel, a field applications engineer at Antaira Technologies.

Joe Kuhn, CMRP, former plant manager, engineer, and global reliability consultant, is now president of Lean Driven Reliability LLC. He is the author of the book “Zero to Hero: How to Jumpstart Your Reliability Journey Given Today’s Business Challenges” and the creator of the Joe Kuhn YouTube Channel, which offers content on starting your reliability journey and achieving financial independence. In our monthly podcast miniseries, Ask a Plant Manager, Joe considers a commonplace scenario facing the industry and offers his advice, as well as actions that you can take to get on track tomorrow. In this episode, Joe discusses the importance of planned work coordination.

In this episode of Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast, Robert Brooks speaks with Denny Williams of Co-Line Manufacturing and Doug Wood of Hexagon Production Software about the intersection of workforce development and technology in manufacturing. The conversation explores how Co-Line fosters a strong culture to attract and retain talent, the role of apprenticeships in bridging the skills gap, and the ways automation and robotics are being integrated to complement—not replace—workers. They also discuss how software, connected workflows, and emerging AI applications are shaping the future of efficiency and competitiveness in the industry.

Dave Blanchard, chief editor of Material Handling & Logistics and author of Supply Chain Management Best Practices, looks at how AI and other technologies are helping companies get smarter and more competitive with their supply chains. Learn what types of AI solutions retail giant Walmart is using to determine exactly what products its customers will want, and when they'll want them. You'll also find out why supply chain professionals need to get smarter at articulating the ROI of supply chain solutions.

We love our human-shaped robots in pop culture. From Lieutenant Commander Data to C3P0 to Baymax. But, are they any good at making things?

At the Automate show this year, humanoid robots peppered the show floor, lifting boxes, walking around, picking up tools... slowly. Very, very slowly.

For all of the promise of lifelike robots that can replace human workers on the assembly line, one-for-one, they aren't meeting that promise yet. Last year, Tesla caught flak for using human pilots to remote-control Optimus robots during a launch event.

Ujjwal Kumar, group president of Teradyne Robotics, says automated humanoids are cool, but they're not terribly practical. Why force a robot to stand on two legs when wheels could get them across a shop floor faster and with greater stability? Why create a standalone, human-like machine that needs batters when you could install an arm with a power source?

In this formerly live conversation, we discuss why humans are so much better at some tasks and why a humanoid robot isn't a great solution.

In this episode we'll discuss next-generation manufacturing use cases, implications around increased OT digitization, and the networking capabilities required to future-proof operations. This episode is sponsored by Cisco.

In this episode of Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast, Thomas Wilk is joined by Chris van den Belt and Berend Booms of Ultimo, an IFS company, for a conversation on the rise of agentic AI in enterprise asset management. The discussion explores how AI is moving beyond traditional copilots to become autonomous digital coworkers that enhance safety, streamline maintenance, and support frontline workers in dynamic environments. Together, they highlight real-world use cases, from improving incident reporting to optimizing preventive maintenance and inventory management.