Top 5 Podcasts of 2024

From exploring the impact of AI on manufacturing to spotlighting human stories in engineering, we’re wrapping up another incredible TechCast year filled with innovators and their big ideas around emerging technologies. This year, we heard from diverse voices across the industry—CEOs, educators, and rising changemakers—sharing their career insights, unconventional teaching methods, and visions for the future of engineering.

This list only covers a few of the many podcasts we published this year, but you can catch up on anything you missed and join the conversation in the year ahead by subscribing to ASME TechCast. Without further preamble, here are the top five podcasts of 2024 that struck a chord with our audience.
 

1. Nuclear Engineer Grace Stanke Talks Life After Miss America

Earning a degree and starting your first job are exciting milestones for many a promising young engineer. For Grace Stanke, it came alongside yet another impressive accomplishment: winning the Miss America competition. Stanke, dubbed “The New Face of Nuclear Energy,” reflected on stepping into her engineering role at Constellation Energy after the crown, how public perception of nuclear has changed in the past year, and where she believes the future is going.
 

2. How AI Could Impact Manufacturing

Artificial intelligence is all the rage, often grabbing attention for image generation, voice alteration, or other gimmicks surfacing all over social media. But the power behind this technology is capable of so much more. Humberto Moreira, principal solutions engineer at Gigster, shared how AI’s ability to analyze vast amounts of data to deliver valuable insights could be used to help manufacturers adapt quickly to market trends and better meet consumer demands.
 

3. Rethinking the Boiler with AtmosZero CEO Addison Stark

The fundamental technology that drove the industrial revolution hasn’t seen a major innovation since Babcock & Wilcox in 1867 (incidentally, an innovation relevant to the history of this very society). In this episode, Addison Stark shared his mission to electrify and decarbonize steam, what led him to rethink the boiler, and his advice as CEO and co-founder of AtmosZero for engineers who aspire to start their own company.
 

4. Teaching CAD Through The Legend of Zelda

Although video games and college students are not a rare combination, it might seem odd to walk into a university engineering course and find Nintendo Switch consoles set up in the classroom. But such is the case at the University of Maryland, where professor Ryan Sochol is sparking student interest in machine design through a syllabus he developed around the Zelda game, Tears of the Kingdom. Sochol explained how the game’s advanced physics and engineering can be used as a teaching tool for CAD software.

5. Women Working in Engineering

In 2024, the engineering gender gap remained a lingering challenge and, hence, a widely-discussed topic. Award-winning engineer, author, and speaker Lauren Neal joined this TechCast episode to share her own experience and perspective as a woman in the field. Neal zeroed in on solutions and strategies for companies to recruit and retain women in STEM—especially those in male-dominant disciplines like engineering.