The Story U.S. Manufacturing Deserves
This show isn’t about machines. It is a show about people, communities, and possibility.
Across the country, manufacturers, OEMs, system integrators, distributors, technology partners, and skilled workers are quietly transforming industries and strengthening the communities they call home. Their innovations create jobs, support families, fuel local economies, and help solve some of the world’s toughest challenges. Yet many of these stories go untold.
Our mission is to bring those stories to life. This series serves as a platform to celebrate not just what is made, but who makes it happen and the communities that grow stronger because of it.
EPISODE 1: Microscopic Manufacturing - October 29
Santa Maria Valley, California
In the series premiere, manufacturing podcaster Chris Luecke journeys to California’s Central Coast, where he discovers how ancient microscopic fossils power a local economy and end up in products used across the globe.
EPISODE 2: FERTILE GROUND - November 5
Eastern Nebraska
Chris heads to America’s heartland, home to surprising innovations, including the center pivot irrigation system that transformed farming worldwide. Discover how Nebraska continues to shape the future of manufacturing through the people, businesses, and ideas making an impact far beyond their communities.
EPISODE 3: REVOLUTIONARY METAL - November 12
Mohawk Valley, New York
More than two centuries ago, Paul Revere founded a copper company still running today. Chris goes inside to see how it has lasted from musket balls to the modern factory floor, then meets a company leading its own metallurgy revolution.
EPISODE 4: CLEARED FOR TAKEOFF - November 19
Wichita, Kansas
Wichita, the Air Capital of the World, has a proud aviation legacy, but the bigger story is on the ground. As manufacturers face a skilled-worker shortage, Textron Aviation and local schools are building solutions and changing how people see manufacturing.
EPISODE 5: FIRE AND ICE - November 26
West Virginia
In the hills of rural West Virginia, two very different factories sit at opposite ends of the thermometer. Chris goes from the fires that make America’s most famous charcoal to the freezers that turn out one of America’s tastiest pastimes.
EPISODE 6: PROOF OF CONCEPT - December 3
Bourbon Trail, Kentucky
Our season wraps on Kentucky’s Bourbon Trail. Chris learns how a corn-based spirit became a symbol of America, as he meets the distilleries that made it famous and a family farm keeping the legacy alive.
