Stories of great American inventions.

In this clip, Kevin tells the story of how big, bold projects like the Tennessee Valley Authority have created unexpected knock-on effects that spurred further innovation:

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Kevin Baker was born in August 1958, in Englewood, New Jersey, and grew up in Rockport, Massachusetts, a small town on the North Shore. He graduated from Columbia University in New York City in 1980, and since then has earned his living as a writer and editor.

His first novel, Sometimes You See It Coming, based loosely on the life of Ty Cobb, but set in the modern day, was published in hardcover by Crown in 1993 and in paperback by HarperPaperbacks in the spring of 2003. Dreamland, part of Baker’s New York‚ City of Fire trilogy was published by HarperCollins in 1999, and in paperback the following year. Paradise Alley was published by HarperCollins in 2002, and the third and final volume of the trilogy, Strivers Row, which was published in February, 2006. Kevin was the chief historical researcher on Harold Evans’ best–selling history, The American Century, published by Knopf in 1999. He wrote the monthly “In the News” column for American Heritage magazine from 1998-2007, and has been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times, The Frankfurter Rundschau, Harper’s magazine, Talk, and The Industry Standard, among other publications.

He is married and lives in New York City.

How a Boston pharma startup is re-imagining the scientific method to solve some of healthcare’s biggest questions.

Niven R. Narain is Co-Founder, President, & CEO of Berg. His driving passion is to improve healthcare systems and patient care through the fusion of AI and patient biology to develop the next generation of therapeutics. As CEO, Niven drives the vision of the translational engine from discovery to clinical development and ensures that Berg is collaborating with like-minded institutions to advance product development. He discovered Interrogative Biology®, Berg’s flagship platform that has created a robust pipeline of products in cancer, diabetes, and CNS diseases with BPM 31510 as the lead asset in solid tumors currently in Phase II trials. He is inventor on over 600 issued and pending patents over a diverse range of assets in drugs and diagnostics. Niven currently serves on the NASA Gene Lab Steering committee and oversees key DoD and academic relationships for Berg. He has spoken at major thought events at Aspen Ideas, Wired, Economist, and Bloomberg. He is former Director of Cutaneous Oncology at the Miller School of Medicine where he received graduate training in cancer biology and clinical dermatology research and is recipient of an NIH Award of Excellence. He was honored by the Boston Business Journal top leaders 40 under 40 (2014) He is a St. John’s University Boston Chapter alumni advisor and is an active member of the Trinity Church Boston.

Bill discusses his book, “Disciplined Entrepreneurship: 24 Steps to a Successful Startup.”

Bill Aulet is changing the way entrepreneurship is understood, taught and practiced around the world. Bill, who has degrees from Harvard and MIT, has over 25 years of business success first at IBM then as a three time serial entrepreneur. He has directly created hundreds of millions of dollars in shareholder value through his companies. During the past seven years he has been responsible for leading the development of entrepreneurship education across MIT, where he has been recognized with numerous awards. His book, Disciplined Entrepreneurship, which was released in August 2013, has become an international best seller due to its accessible and methodical approach to entrepreneurship. Bill writes and speaks logically on how entrepreneurs are created and the importance of both education and ecosystems. He has been widely published in publications such as the Wall Street Journal, TechCrunch, the Boston Globe, the Kauffman Foundation, the Huffington Post and more. He has also been a featured speaker on shows such as CNBC’s Squawk Box, BBC News, and Bloomberg News as well as at events and conferences around the world. He is a board member of MITEK Systems (NASDAQ: MITK) and XL Hybrids Inc. (Private) as well as a Visiting Professor at University of Strathclyde (Scotland) and an Advisor for Entrepreneurship at King’s College London.

From train station to museum: the story of Union Station Kansas City.

In this clip, George describes how soliciting ideas from kids (including a human-powered hamster wheel!) helped Union Station Kansas City create engaging exhibits to inspire the next generation of STEM innovators:

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George Guastello is President and Chief Executive Officer of Union Station Kansas City, a historical landmark and civic asset renovated and reopened to the public in 1999. He is responsible for operation, management and development/growth of the Station and surrounding property it owns. Guastello oversees a staff of over 50 and manages an annual budget of $11 million. The Station features a science center, planetarium, rail museum, national traveling exhibits, one of the region’s largest giant screen 3D movie theaters, live theater, shops, restaurants and offices. A bi-state cultural sales tax, the first of its kind in the country, funded nearly half of the $250 million renovation.

Guastello has amassed noteworthy accomplishments in many endeavors from association management to economic and community development. He is a respected, results-oriented, area leader with over 25 years of demonstrated organizational impact and success.

Prior to joining USKC, Guastello served as President and CEO for the American Royal Association for 6 years, focusing attention on youth and education, celebrating the region’s rich agricultural heritage through competition, education and entertainment, and boasting one of the largest combined livestock, horse show, rodeo, and barbecue competitions in the country.

Guastello, a native Kansas Citian, earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration in Marketing and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration in Finance, both from the University of Missouri at Kansas City.

He has garnered numerous awards, most recently being named the 2015 Non-Profit Professional of the Year from Non-Profit Connect and inclusion in 435 Magazine’s “KC’s 50 Most Powerful People” listing. Other awards include the 2006 Alumni Legacy Achievement Award from the University of Missouri at Kansas City; 2005 Recipient of Hospitality Leadership Award from the Greater Kansas City Hotel Association and the 2003 Brick by Brick Leadership Award from the Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City.

David explains the rise of analog in the digital age.

David Sax is a writer and reporter who specializes in business and culture. His work appears regularly in Bloomberg Businessweek, the New Yorker’s Currency blog, and other publications. He is the author of Save the Deli, which won a James Beard Award for Writing and Literature, and The Tastemakers. He lives in Toronto.

A story of successful American manufacturing.

In this clip, Drew explains how the tough requirements of a customer like Toyota help his company improve their offerings for all their customers:

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Drew Greenblatt bought Marlin Steel in 1998 when it was a small maker of a commodity product. Since then, he has grown revenue seven fold and is currently expanding its factory floor space 53%. In the face of challenges to the global economy, Marlin Steel has invested over $4.5mil in robotics in a quest for quality and speed.

Today, Marlin Steel imports nothing and exports baskets and sheet metal fabrications to 38 countries including China, Australia, & Japan. Worker Safety is critical. Marlin Steel crossed the 2,301+ day safety milestone. In addition, Marlin Steel has been recognized as a winner of the INC 5000 2012 & 2013 (fastest Growing Companies in the USA), the Inner City 100 Fastest Growing companies in the USA (2012), Regional Employer of the Year (2007) from Baltimore City & Baltimore County and Drew Greenblatt has been chosen as an International Business Leadership Award Winner from the World Trade Center Institute (2011).

Today, Marlin Steel imports nothing and exports baskets and sheet metal fabrications to 38 countries including China, Australia, & Japan. Worker Safety is critical. Marlin Steel crossed the 2,301+ day safety milestone. In addition, Marlin Steel has been recognized as a winner of the INC 5000 2012 & 2013 (fastest Growing Companies in the USA), the Inner City 100 Fastest Growing companies in the USA (2012), Regional Employer of the Year (2007) from Baltimore City & Baltimore County and Drew Greenblatt has been chosen as an International Business Leadership Award Winner from the World Trade Center Institute (2011).

Greenblatt has testified to the US Senate and US Congress on topics including small business, taxation, regulations, trade policy, and techniques to grow the economy. Advocating for a robust manufacturing sector, Greenblatt believes that factories provide great jobs and superb benefits – a way to grow our middle class with solid meaningful jobs.

Greenblatt serves as Vice Chairman of the Small & Medium Manufacturers and Executive Board Member of the National Association of Manufacturers and Chairman of the Board of the Regional Manufacturing Institute and is the Co-Founder and Chairman of the Board of the National Alliance for Jobs & Innovation.

He has a BA from Dickinson College and an MBA from Tulane University. He lives in Maryland with his wife and three sons.

How do you reshape business models for the digital world? Otto shares stories from his time with XBOX and HBO Go.

Otto Berkes is the Chief Technology Officer of CA Technologies. As a 25-year industry veteran, he has a passion for innovation and development. He has extensive experience leading the development of cutting-edge products and technologies.

Before joining CA in June 2015, Otto was the chief technology officer at HBO, where he directed efforts that created and delivered innovative digital technologies and products such as HBO GO®. Previously, Otto spent 18 years at Microsoft® and was one of the four original founders of Xbox, where he served as Xbox’s first architect leading its technical direction. He started his career at Microsoft as a senior software developer, where he worked on the first version of the Windows NT operating system, and re-wrote Microsoft’s OpenGL implementation.

An advocate of diversity, he is a member of the University of Vermont’s STEM leadership council where he is focused on addressing gender, racial, and economic gaps across all of the STEM disciplines.

Otto earned a bachelor’s degree in physics from Middlebury College in Vermont and a master’s degree in computer science and electrical engineering from the University of Vermont. He is co-inventor on and holds multiple patents spanning design, mobile device interaction and core computing technologies.

Dave explores the the future of wearable fitness.

In this clip, Dave explains the problems his company faced when they tried to outsource their app development…

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Dave Wright is the CEO of CFM (Creative Fitness Marketing), owner of the Feelgood Fitness & Voyage Fitness Club Chains, A former Board Director of UK Active and the creator of the wearable technology tool MYZONE®. For over 25 years and with offices in Chicago (US), Nottingham (UK) and Melbourne (Oz), Dave’s companies have worked directly with over 5,000 businesses across 30+ different countries encouraging people to be more and stay more physically active.

The art of scaring people at Philadelphia’s premier haunted experience, Terror Behind the Walls.

In this clip, Amy describes how the placement of a haunted house attraction caused the crowds to react to it in unexpected ways…

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Amy Hollaman joined Terror Behind the Walls as an actress in 2005. In her current role as creative director, Amy oversees casting, creative direction, stage management, and human resources for the 200-person cast. She is also part of Eastern State Penitentiary’s administrative staff as manager, events and operations, producing events such as Bastille Day and Party at the Pen: The Masquerade. Amy has led operations and theatrical training workshops for Transworld’s National Haunt and Attractions Show, the State of Pennsylvania Attraction Safety Seminar, and other haunted attractions around the country. She serves on the Advisory Board for the new Stanley Film Center in Estes Park, CO.

Innovating chocolate from bean to bar.

Brad Kintzer is the Chief Chocolate Maker at international award-winning TCHO Chocolate, based in Berkeley, California. Prior to joining TCHO, Brad was chocolate maker and product developer at U.S. bean-to-bar chocolate pioneer, Scharffen Berger, acquired by The Hershey Company in 2005. Previous to his 15 years of chocolate making, Brad studied botany and environmental studies at the University of Vermont, and spent months working on cacao plantations throughout Latin America to better understand the origins of chocolate flavor. At TCHO since 2009, Brad and his team are focused on innovating in every aspect of chocolate making; from cocoa genetics, fermentation and roasting, to creating unique and tasty chocolate products for market. Brad is currently Vice President of the Fine Chocolate Industry Association and is also on the board of the Heirloom Cacao Preservation efforts.