Podcasts about General Motors

Πολύ follow-up για τις νέες συσκευές, κωλοτούμπα από General Motors, εμφάνιση του Clarus και αναβολή συνταξιοδότησης του Gary Oldman, όλα σε ένα επεισόδιο. Επικοινωνία με την εκπομπή: Email | Facebook Group | Twitter Λεωνίδας Μαστέλλος: Facebook | Twitter | Spotify Μάνος Βέζος: The Vez | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Apple Music Apple TV Apple TV announces eighth season for Emmy- and BAFTA Award-winning spy drama “Slow Horses” Apple's Outstanding Comedy Widow's Bay triumphs as the most decorated freshman comedy in Emmy history and Apple TV leads as the most awarded network at the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards Dogcow iOS 27 has an Easter egg that will delight longtime Apple fans CarPlay και General Motors GM gives its most important trucks a new UI—and includes CarPlay C2 και iPhone 18 Pro Max Apple Says iPhone 18 Pro Max Sold in U.S. Differs in One Way - MacRumors Audio Intelligence Michael Tsai - Blog - Audio Intelligence You Can't Use Apple Watch's Live Rewind Secretly, Apple Says - MacRumors Apple Explains What Happens to Conversations Siri Recap Hears - MacRumors Apple Intelligence If you let it, Apple Intelligence will train itself on your data in iOS 27 How to make sure that Apple won't use your Siri AI data to improve its models Siri AI Apple's Siri AI Can Be Swapped Out for Claude, ChatGPT, Code Shows - MacRumors iCloud+ iOS 27 AI Camera Summaries Cost $9.99 for One Camera, $59.99 for Five - MacRumors iCloud+ Now Includes Apple TV, Apple Arcade, and Curated Apple Music Stations in Over 100 Countries - MacRumors Apple Reference Image Apple Details How Reference Image Proves a Photo is Real - MacRumors AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case AirPods 5 With Wireless Charging Case Works With MagSafe, But Not Magnetically Apple Watch Apple Watch Series 12 Has Smaller Screens and Bigger Cases - MacRumors Ceramic Apple Watch Series 12 Is Bigger and Heavier Than Other Models - MacRumors Apple Watch Series 12 Received a Price Increase You Might Have Missed - MacRumors Apple Watch Ultra 4 Drops GLONASS Support - MacRumors iPhone Duo What the iPhone Duo's Camera Can and Can't Do - MacRumors iPhone Duo's Vertical Dock Seemingly Limited to Four App Icons - MacRumors Apple Isn't Revealing the iPhone Duo's Under-Screen Camera Resolution - MacRumors iPhone Duo won't work with every MagSafe accessory, and that's okay No, you won't be able to play two videos at once on iPhone Duo iPhone Duo Has a Hidden Display Setting for Case Compatibility - MacRumors Apple to Pay $250 Per iPhone Duo Foldable Display in Samsung Deal - MacRumors Gurman: 'iPhone Duo Max' With Bigger Display Likely in Apple's Plans - MacRumors Gurman: iPhone Duo Likely to Get Face ID, Telephoto Lens by Third Gen - MacRumors Χειριστήρια Beats Apple's Rumored iPhone Game Controllers Will 'Likely' Come From Beats - MacRumors M6/M5 Ultra M6 Chip Benchmark Surfaces Ahead of New Mac Mini Launch Next Week - MacRumors M5 Ultra Chip's Impressive Performance Boost Revealed in First Benchmark Result - MacRumors

Πολύ follow-up για τις νέες συσκευές, κωλοτούμπα από General Motors, εμφάνιση του Clarus και αναβολή συνταξιοδότησης του Gary Oldman, όλα σε ένα επεισόδιο.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman once referred to combining ads and AI as “uniquely unsettling.” But now, the tech giant is rapidly building an advertising business. The Journal's advertising editor Suzanne Vranica dives into OpenAI's ad rush. Plus, AI voice-cloning tools have gotten so good that they can now replicate accents. WSJ contributor Heidi Mitchell explains why your accent might suddenly be a security vulnerability. Julie Chang hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

P.M. Edition for Sept. 17. Yesterday's interest rate increase from the Fed seemed to some like an assertion of the central bank's independence. But afterward President Trump revealed that he and Warsh had a conversation before the decision was announced. WSJ Washington bureau chief Damian Paletta discusses what we know and what this could mean for the future of the Fed. Plus, House Speaker Mike Johnson sent lawmakers home early this week ahead of the November election, despite criticism that Congress isn't doing its job. We hear from Journal reporter Maya Davis about what the data show about how much Congress is getting done. And Mastercard becomes the latest credit card company to roll out the option for AI bots to do your everyday shopping. But, as reporter Ben Glickman notes, many consumers aren't yet ready to hand over their cards to a bot. Alex Ossola hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free What's News newsletter. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Plus: General Motors is supplying missile components to Lockheed Martin. And U.S. housing starts fell last month, missing economists' expectations. Alex Ossola hosts. Sign up for WSJ's free What's News newsletter. An artificial-intelligence tool assisted in the making of this episode by creating summaries that were based on Wall Street Journal reporting and reviewed and adapted by an editor. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

AI industry engineers and leaders are warning their own tech could spell the end of humanity as we know it. WSJ Deputy Tech & Media Editor Sam Schechner dives into the AI doom debate and what steps companies could take to stop it. Plus, worried your EV might run out of juice before you find a plug? WSJ reporter Chistopher Otts tells us about a new solution automakers are betting on: extended range EVs. Julie Chang hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

¿Qué nos pasa por la cabeza cuando pisamos un concesionario? Muchas veces, al analizar ciertos modelos de coches eléctricos, pesados SUV o vehículos generalistas a precio de oro, surge una pregunta inevitable: ¿Los compradores de coches somos tontos? La respuesta directa es no, pero a menudo nos comportamos como tal. Un consumidor desinformado o guiado puramente por la emoción puede tomar decisiones financieras desastrosas. Hoy sometemos a juicio nuestra racionalidad para destapar las trampas del marketing automovilístico en las que, confesémoslo, casi todos hemos caído alguna vez. La historia de la compra del automóvil es, en realidad, el relato de la manipulación psicológica más brillante del último siglo. Todo empezó de forma muy racional. En 1908, cuando Henry Ford lanzó su icónico Modelo T, el comprador era sumamente pragmático. Pagaba al contado con los ahorros de toda una vida para adquirir una herramienta básica, negra y rudimentaria, que simplemente le llevaba del punto A al punto B. Se compraba pura necesidad y no existían los extras. Sin embargo, la industria pronto comprendió que vender solo a quien necesitaba un coche limitaba enormemente el negocio. Había que atacar al corazón, no a la razón. El primer gran giro maestro llegó en 1919 de la mano de General Motors con la creación de GMAC. Inventaron el crédito automovilístico. En ese instante exacto, el comprador empezó a perder el control. Al fraccionar el pago, nuestro cerebro dejó de ver una montaña de dinero inalcanzable para percibir una cómoda colina mensual, permitiéndonos adquirir coches por encima de nuestras posibilidades reales. Años más tarde, en la década de los cincuenta, Harley Earl instauró la obsolescencia programada psicológica. Cambiando drásticamente el diseño exterior cada año, lograron que te avergonzaras de tu coche perfectamente funcional solo porque tu vecino tenía el modelo nuevo. Dejamos de comprar medios de transporte y empezamos a comprar moda. Un fenómeno que culminó en los años noventa con la invención del SUV: nos vendieron la ilusión de la aventura y el estatus para terminar atrapados en atascos urbanos con vehículos dinámicamente peores, más pesados y que consumen más. ¿Y hoy? Hoy el engaño se ha sofisticado al máximo. Para demostrar cómo esta maquinaria perfecta nos devora, hemos recopilado los grandes errores que cometemos los compradores en la actualidad. El primero es la obsesión por los accesorios inútiles. El segundo es la compra de estatus: descartar coches lógicos y equipados para acabar pagando sobreprecios absurdos por el modelo más básico de una marca premium. Además, somos optimistas empedernidos que jamás hacemos los números reales. Ignoramos el "Coste Total de Propiedad", olvidando que un SUV de dos toneladas gasta más ruedas y frenos. A esto sumamos el maltrato a nuestro propio patrimonio: cuando entregamos nuestro coche usado en el concesionario, estamos tan cegados por el "olor a nuevo" del próximo vehículo que aceptamos la primera oferta a la baja que nos hacen. Ese "amor a primera vista" bajo los focos de la exposición anula nuestro cerebro racional, pero el peligro real llega en el despacho del comercial con la financiación trampa. Hoy, si intentas pagar al contado, te miran mal. A esto le sumamos el ser "fashion victims", guiándonos por modas efímeras como los plásticos negro piano, y olvidando la lógica más básica: compramos mastodontes de siete plazas por si un día suben los abuelos, o mecánicas diésel complejísimas para recorrer apenas cinco mil kilómetros por el centro de la ciudad. Pero sin duda, los dos errores financieros más graves son el estigma del coche usado y la dictadura de la cuota mensual. Al exigir siempre un vehículo a estrenar, nos comemos de lleno la brutal depreciación, perdiendo casi la mitad del valor del coche en los primeros cuatro años. Por último, cuando nos sentamos a negociar, la pregunta ya no es "¿cuánto cuesta el coche?", sino "¿cuánto se me queda al mes?". Al trocear el dolor económico, somos incapaces de ver la magnitud del sobreprecio total, asumiendo cuotas eternas y desentendiendo el coste final. EL panorama actual es el caos de la transición energética. Las normativas y las etiquetas medioambientales crean un consumidor asustado, y el miedo es el peor consejero para el bolsillo. Comprar un coche sigue siendo una intensa batalla entre la fría razón y el corazón, donde casi siempre gana el segundo, financiado a ochenta y cuatro meses. La industria lleva un siglo perfeccionando el arte de vendernos carísimos sueños de libertad; la próxima vez que cojas el bolígrafo para firmar, respira hondo y hazlo con la cabeza muy fría.

X: @KeithJKrach @ileaderssummit @americasrt1776 @NatashaSrdoc @JoelAnandUSA @supertalk @JTitMVirginia Join America's Roundtable radio co-hosts Natasha Srdoc and Joel Anand Samy with Keith Krach, CEO of Freedom 250, the national, nonpartisan initiative commemorating America's 250th anniversary launched by President Trump. He is also Chairman and Co-Founder of the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue, where he works at the intersection of technology, national security, and diplomacy. Before taking on these leadership roles, Keith Krach built an extraordinary career in the private sector. He served as Chairman and CEO of DocuSign and co-founded Ariba, where he served as Chairman and CEO, helping build companies that transformed how businesses operate and conduct commerce. Earlier in his career, he became the youngest-ever Vice President of General Motors. His career then took him to Washington D.C., where he served as U.S. Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment from 2019 to 2021. In that role, he led initiatives focused on economic security, trusted technology, resilient supply chains, and international partnerships. Today, Keith Krach brings that unique combination of business leadership, technological expertise, diplomatic experience, and civic engagement to one of the most significant national milestones of our time: America's 250th anniversary. The conversation focuses on the following topics: Reflecting on America's 250th anniversary and affirming key principles for a brighter future with freedom, trust and the courage to take risks. At the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue - Keith's efforts to advance technology diplomacy and help leaders understand how critical and emerging technologies shape national security, economic prosperity, and democratic values. Its work includes education, policy engagement, global convenings, and trusted technology partnerships. Served in President Trump's first administration as U.S. Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment from 2019 to 2021 and led economic-security initiatives focused on trusted technology, supply-chain resilience, strategic technology sectors, and cooperation among democratic partners. Led the State Department team behind the Clean Network, which began with 5G and expanded to other critical technology domains. Advanced U.S.-Taiwan economic and technology cooperation and emphasized the strategic importance of trusted semiconductor supply chains. A conversation on China's ambitions as a rival to America and the importance of strengthening US national security. americasrt.com https://ileaderssummit.org/ | https://jerusalemleaderssummit.com/ America's Roundtable on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/americas-roundtable/id1518878472 X: @KeithJKrach @ileaderssummit @americasrt1776 @NatashaSrdoc @JoelAnandUSA @supertalk @JTitMVirginia America's Roundtable is co-hosted by Natasha Srdoc and Joel Anand Samy, co-founders of International Leaders Summit and the Jerusalem Leaders Summit. America's Roundtable radio program focuses on America's economy, healthcare reform, rule of law, security and trade, and its strategic partnership with rule of law nations around the world. The radio program features high-ranking US administration officials, cabinet members, members of Congress, state government officials, distinguished diplomats, business and media leaders and influential thinkers from around the world. Tune into America's Roundtable Radio program from Washington, DC via live streaming on Saturday mornings via 68 radio stations at 7:30 A.M. (ET) on Lanser Broadcasting Corporation covering the Michigan and the Midwest market, and at 7:30 A.M. (CT) on SuperTalk Mississippi — SuperTalk.FM reaching listeners in every county within the State of Mississippi, and neighboring states in the South including Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and Tennessee. Tune into WTON in Central Virginia on Sunday mornings at 9:30 A.M. (ET). Listen to America's Roundtable on digital platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon, Google and other key online platforms. Listen live, Saturdays at 7:30 A.M. (CT) on SuperTalk | https://www.supertalk.fm

Reuters correspondent Zachary Goelman reports. Pursuing what he has called a, quote "America First" agenda, Trump ordered a 90-day pause on all foreign aid in his first day back in office.路透社记者扎卡里·戈尔曼（Zachary Goelman）报道。特朗普在上任第一天就下令暂停所有外国援助90天，以推行他所谓的“美国优先”议程。That order and ensuing stop-work orders halting U.S. Agency for International Development operations around the world have jeopardized delivery of life-saving food and medical aid, throwing global humanitarian relief efforts into chaos.该命令以及随后的停工令暂停了美国国际开发署在世界各地的业务，危及了救命食品和医疗援助的运送，使全球人道主义救援工作陷入混乱。Aid organizations accused Trump in lawsuits of exceeding his authority under federal law by stepping into an area that's a matter for Congress.援助组织在诉讼中指责特朗普超越了联邦法律赋予的权限，介入了属于国会事务的领域。A Washington-based U.S. district judge last month ordered the administration release approximately $2 billion in funding to contractors and grant recipients.上个月，华盛顿的一名美国地区法官下令政府向承包商和受助人发放约20亿美元的资金。Trump appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. His solicitor general wrote in a filing that the lower court order should be blocked, saying it would, quote, "unlawfully commandeer federal payment processes."特朗普向美国最高法院提出上诉。他的司法部长在一份文件中写道，下级法院的命令应该被阻止，称这将“非法入侵联邦支付系统”。But Chief Justice John Roberts and fellow conservative Amy Coney Barrett joined the court's three liberal members in rejecting the Trump administration's appeal. Reuters correspondent Zachary Goelman.但首席大法官约翰·罗伯茨和保守派同僚埃米·科尼·巴雷特与法院的三名自由派成员一起驳回了特朗普政府的上诉。路透社记者扎卡里·戈尔曼报道。President Trump is granting a one-month exemption on his stiff new tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada for U.S. automakers.特朗普总统将给予美国汽车制造商一个月的豁免期，免除其对墨西哥和加拿大进口产品征收的新关税。Worries persist that the newly launched trade war could crush domestic manufacturing.人们仍然担心新近爆发的贸易战可能会摧毁国内制造业。The announcement comes after Trump spoke with leaders of the big three automakers - Ford, General Motors and Stellantis - on Wednesday.特朗普周三与三大汽车制造商福特、通用汽车和斯特兰蒂斯的领导人进行了交谈，随后宣布了这一消息。"So does he expect them to be able to shift production within a month?“那么他是否希望他们能够在一个月内转移生产？He told them that they should get on it, start investing, start moving, shift production here to the United States of America where they will pay no tariff. That's the ultimate goal." 他告诉他们，他们应该开始行动，开始投资，开始行动，将生产转移到美国，这样他们就不用支付关税了。这是最终目标。”

La historia de la industria automotriz refleja una constante tensión entre la expresión artística artesanal y la eficiencia de la producción industrial. Este proceso evolutivo puede dividirse en varias etapas clave: Los albores artesanales A finales del siglo XIX y principios del XX, fabricantes pioneros como Karl Benz o Henry Ford se centraban exclusivamente en la fiabilidad mecánica. Los vehículos se vendían como "chasis rodantes" desnudos. Para "vestirlos", los compradores acudían a maestros carroceros —artesanos con tradición en la construcción de carruajes—, quienes utilizaban maderas y metales nobles para crear carrocerías personalizadas, lentas y extremadamente costosas, destinadas a las élites económicas. La democratización industrial Henry Ford transformó radicalmente este paradigma en 1913 con el Ford T. Mediante la perfeccionada cadena de montaje y el uso de acero estampado, Ford introdujo la producción en masa, priorizando la eficiencia, el bajo coste y la accesibilidad. Esta estrategia, necesaria para la producción a gran escala, eliminó la exclusividad del trabajo artesanal y estandarizó incluso el color de los vehículos por razones de eficiencia productiva. El diseño como estrategia de marketing El éxito de Ford obligó a la competencia a evolucionar. General Motors, bajo la dirección de Alfred P. Sloan y el diseñador Harley Earl, fundó el departamento de "Arte y Color". Al comprender que la estética impulsaba las ventas, GM adoptó el concepto de "diseño planificado", renovando anualmente la identidad visual de sus marcas (Chevrolet, Cadillac, etc.) para incentivar la compra constante, acelerando así el declive de los carroceros tradicionales frente a la gran industria. Innovación técnica y la "Edad de Oro" Tras la Segunda Guerra Mundial, la adopción de la carrocería autoportante o monocasco (como en el Citroën Traction Avant) revolucionó la ingeniería. Al integrar el chasis en la carrocería, los diseñadores ganaron una libertad sin precedentes para crear vehículos más bajos y dinámicos. Esto impulsó la "Edad de Oro" de los grandes estudios italianos (Pininfarina, Bertone, Ghia, Zagato y Touring), que combinaron maestría técnica con una visión artística única, forjando el carácter de marcas deportivas y creando iconos como el Lamborghini Miura. El panorama actual Hoy, el arte de la carrocería ha sido absorbido por centros de estilo internos. La homogeneización de los diseños modernos no es casual, sino el resultado de estrictas normativas de seguridad, requisitos aerodinámicos para reducir emisiones y el uso extensivo de herramientas de diseño asistido por ordenador (CAD). La industria actual prioriza la eficiencia, los costes y las plataformas modulares, dejando atrás la "maravillosa locura" y la audacia artística de diseñadores legendarios, transformando el automóvil de una escultura artesanal a un producto de ingeniería global.

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CAPTION: B-24 CALIFORNIAUnleashing America's Industrial Wartime MightArthur Herman, author of Freedom's Forge, chronicles how American private enterprise mobilized to win World War II. The narrative centers on two key figures: Bill Knudsen of General Motors and master builder Henry Kaiser. Knudsen, a Danish immigrant, used his expertise in flexible mass production to rapidly scale the manufacturing of tanks, artillery, and aircraft parts. Meanwhile, Kaiser revolutionized shipbuilding by constructing hundreds of crucial Liberty ships from California mudflats to keep Britain's Atlantic supply lines alive. The conversation also highlights the immense technological challenges of producing the complex B-29 Superfortress bomber. Ultimately, Herman argues that the "Arsenal of Democracy" succeeded because Washington chose to unleash private sector innovation and market incentives instead of imposing a highly centralized government command, a vital lesson for modern defense readiness. He directly contrasts this private success with the highly disastrous nationalized economic efforts of World War I. (1)

This week on Ask Rick, we're celebrating Labor Day with a collector-car challenge built around the old rule about putting away your white clothes. Rick has $35,000 to choose between three very different white performance cars: a 1975 Pontiac Trans Am, a five-speed 1994 Ford Taurus SHO, and a 1989 Chevrolet Camaro IROC-Z. He must drive his selection for one year and then sell it—so which car offers the best combination of enjoyment, collectibility, and return on investment? We also answer a listener's question about Rick's one-off 2001 Chevrolet Silverado Fox concept truck, a supercharged dirt-bike hauler that General Motors says can never be registered for street use. Rick explains why classic Mustangs remain relatively affordable, why overlooked cars from the 1970s through the '90s are gaining collector interest, and which unusually colored car he would choose in a second $50,000 auction challenge. The post TMCP #658: Ask Rick | Trans Am vs. SHO vs. IROC-Z—Which White Car Wins? first appeared on The Muscle Car Place.

GM L87 engine failures, California's INSANE tire regulations, the cheapest Toyota Century in the country, and more on this edition of the Automotive ADHD Show. Matt examines the growing controversy surrounding General Motors' 6.2-liter L87 V8, from bearing and machining concerns to reports of engines failing while Chevy, GMC, and Cadillac vehicles are in motion. How can the company behind the small-block Chevy still be facing catastrophic V8 failures after 70 years of building them? California also plans to introduce the nation's first replacement-tire efficiency standards. Supporters promise better fuel economy, but Matt explains why the rules could reduce tire durability, limit some enthusiast options, and cost drivers more than politicians suggest. Plus: Matt reveals his plan to transform a low-mileage 1990 Toyota Century with crazy luxury features, and possible Yakuza history into a mobile podcast studio. YOUR car sounds, cheap-car chaos, and the upcoming High Altitude Horsepower Car Show and more are on this edition of the show. Support The Show While Getting Your Next Set Of Tires From Tire Rack! Wash Your Car with The BEST from Chemical Guys while Supporting The Show On The Radio in Colorado: AM1460 & FM101.1 The Answer — LIVE Sat 2pm, Sun 9am & 6pm • 100.7 The Word — Sat 7pm • 91.7 KLZR — Sat 10:30am Stream live On The Radio! Join the community on Facebook! ️Support SEMA's Work #GM #Chevy #Tires #Toyota #JDM #CarNews #AutomotiveADHD Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This show has been flagged as Clean by the host. -------------------- 01 Introduction This is the second episode in an 8 part series. 02 In the previous episode we discussed the predecessors of PLCs, in particular relay logic. In this episode we will discuss how relay logic came to be expressed in software rather than in actual hardware components. 03 The topics to be covered include * Early computers in industry. * The first PLC. * PC versus PLC - what's in a name. * Who the major brands are. * What does a PLC actually look like. * Machine architecture. * PLC programs. * The scan. * PLC programming languages. * Relative popularity of PLC programming languages versus more conventional computer programming languages. -------------------- 04 Early Computers in Industry Computers came to be used in industry fairly early on. Minicomputers were used in some large industries to control things like electric power plants. For example, the DEC PDP8 was used to control the refuelling machines in CANDU nuclear power plants. These would load and unload fuel from the reactor, which happens continually on a daily basis while the reactor is running. 05 The first microprocessor based computer sold on the commercial market was the MICRAL from France, based on the Intel 8008. It was sold as a cost effective replacement for minicomputers used in industry. It preceded what are generally considered to be the first Personal Computers. So you can see that industry were not reluctant to adopt new technology. 06 However, mini computers were large complex systems that did not fit well into a factory floor. They had particular niches in very large complex integrated systems, but were not suited to controlling many individual machines in a factory that produced things like automobiles or appliances. 07 What was needed was something that would fit into a standard electrical enclosure, withstand the temperatures found in a factory, could stand up to vibration and noise, was tolerant of voltage fluctuations, interfaced directly to sensors and actuators, and could be readily programmed by engineers, technicians, and tradesmen who were familiar with the processes to be controlled, but had little or no experience with computers. 08 This required a complete integrated package covering hardware, software, and product distribution through industrial supply retailers. Something that could meet these criteria is what was needed to become the PLC. -------------------- 09 History Many histories point to a US developer that became Modicon. However, their first hardware was more a proof of concept than a viable commercial product. In fact multiple companies in the US, Europe, and Japan were working on the problem and released comparable products all at around the same time in the early 1970s. 10 The idea preceded the implementation by a number of years. For example, General Motors had asked industrial control equipment suppliers in the mid 1960s for some sort of programmable control device to replace relay logic. This showed potential suppliers that there was a market for this sort of thing, and gave them a clearer idea of what customers were looking for. 11 What made this possible was the development of the first 8 bit microprocessor in that time period, combined with readily available bit slice processors from the minicomputer industry and other components. 12 People knew what to do, the problem was waiting for the development of suitable component hardware. Minicomputers were already being used in industry, but were normally located in control rooms. PLCs were an effort to take that technology out of control rooms and put it on the shop floor. 13 PC Versus PLC - What's in a Name In the early days, these systems were known as either PLC, which means "Programmable Logic Controller", or PC, which means "Programmable Controller". Different vendors favoured different terminology, but both were common. I have a book which was at one time one of the standard reference handbooks for this industry which was published in 1989, and refers to them as Programmable Controllers, or PCs. 14 The term PC was also used to mean "Personal Computer", but that wasn't really a problem in the early days. However, a certain large company decided to call their entry into the personal computer market the "IBM PC", and suddenly "PC" became a generic term for desktop computers. 15 After a long struggle to keep referring to their products as "PCs", even the biggest vendors caved in and gave up the fight and switched to using the "PLC" term. I will therefore use the term "PLC" in this podcast series even when talking about products which were originally called "PCs" at the time they were introduced. 16 Who the Major Brands Are The companies that came to dominate the industry fairly early on were generally companies that already made industrial electrical hardware. These were Siemens Allen Bradley, later known as Rockwell Schneider Mitsubishi Omron 17 These are still the dominant companies in the business, although there are many small brands, particularly at the cheaper end of the market. All of them were suppliers of a wide range of industrial control hardware, such that you could build all or nearly all of the parts of your control system using only their products. 18 Each of these sells an integrated hardware and software package, including development software, that is completely proprietary. If you thought that the mainframe business had a lot of vendor lock-in, you haven't seen the industrial market. -------------------- 19 What Does One of These Things Actually Look Like? At this point you are probably still very confused as to what a PLC actually is. I will attempt to describe one in basic terms by giving an example of one. The smallest and simplest ones are what are termed "shoebox" PLCs. These are basically a rectangular box with a plastic case. 20 Here are the dimensions for a typical low end model, a Mitsubishi FX3U-32M. According to specs in the manual, it is 150mm wide, 90mm high, and 86mm deep. 21 It can be mounted to the panel in an electrical enclosure by snapping it onto what is termed a DIN rail. DIN rails are standard mounting systems which use a strip of metal which is U shaped with a lip at the top of each end of the U. You screw the DIN rail to the electrical panel in the enclosure, and most industrial components such as PLCs, terminal blocks, circuit breakers, and all sorts of other things will simply snap onto it and be ready to wire together. 22 Along the top and bottom of the PLC are terminals to which you can attach wires from the things you want to sense or control in the rest of the machine, such as push buttons, pilot lights, proximity sensors, and valves. 23 Inputs are along the top, and outputs are along the bottom. The FX3U-32M has 16 inputs and 16 outputs. These I/O can be 24 volts DC, or 100 to 120 volts AC, depending on the model. Alternatively it may have small relays for outputs. While AC I/O once predominated, 24VDC became the standard in most industries several decades ago as it interfaced with electronic devices more readily and also allowed for cheaper and more compact wiring. 24 More inputs and outputs can be added by connecting additional I/O modules to the main PLC next to it on the same DIN rail, up to a total of 256 I/O The connection is typically via short ribbon cables which plug into the adjacent module. These I/O modules look like the main PLC, but just add I/O. 25 Inside the PLC are a CPU, memory, and firmware. This model has 64K "steps" of memory, which can be thought of as how many instructions you can have. The program runs in RAM, but you can add a small flash memory device to save the program to. There is a run/stop switch that allows you to start or stop the user program. There is a port that you can use to connect the PLC to a laptop computer with a cable so you can download your program to it. 26 The biggest part of the market for PLCs is for these "shoebox" style. However, there are bigger ones as well which have more I/O, more memory, faster CPUs, etc. These are meant for tasks such as coordinating large assembly lines and things like that. These are what are termed rack systems, where the rack is an empty box which is open at the front and has a backplane bus running along the back. You plug the main CPU into the bus, normally in the leftmost position, and then plug I/O modules into the rack. The I/O modules are tall, thin, fully enclosed boxes with the I/O terminals along the front. 27 You should have a rough idea of their appearance at this stage, so I'll leave the physical description aside for now and go on to the concepts behind how they actually work and what makes them different from something like say a Raspberry Pi. -------------------- 28 Machine Architecture It is not really the hardware which defines the PLC. Rather, it is the software system architecture. Every PLC that I am aware of has a common set of features. 29 Data Table A data table is simply a block of memory which may or may not be subdivided into different parts. All logic, and all, or nearly all, I/O works by writing to and reading from addresses in the data table. 30 I/O Every input and output point maps to a fixed memory address in the PLC. To read the state of an input, you read its memory address. To change the state of an output, you write to its memory address. 31 These digital I/O appear as single bit boolean values. The PLC programming language has instructions which allow single bits to be read or written to directly without have to mask off other bits as you would have to do if you were using a conventional programming language. I have so far only mentioned digital I/O, which are single bit on/off values. 32 Other types of I/O Many PLCs also have other types of I/O such as Analogue I/O, which represent variable voltages rather than just on/off values. For example you may wish to read a temperature from a thermocouple where the voltage level varies with the temperature. Often these are mapped into the data table as byte or word values. 33 Internal Bit or Boolean Memory There will be a range of single bit or boolean memory which is used for internal logic state. Your program may need to come up with a series of intermediate logical values, and you store them in these internal bits or flags. 34 Timers and Counters Control of machinery often involves timing and counting. Timer and counters are mapped into the data table. Timer and counter presets and values can be read as words, and there will be bit addresses which indicate the status of the timer or counter, such as whether it has reached its preset and is "done". 35 Integer and Floating Point Values There will be word addresses where integer and floating point words can be stored. If you need to do some mathematical calculations and store the results, you would save them in an integer or floating point word. 36 Typed Memory Unlike when programming something like a PC where you simply have a range of undifferentiated bytes and it is up to your software to impose meaning on it, PLC data table memory has defined types and meanings and the system firmware enforces the correct memory access methods. 37 Size of Data Table Data tables vary greatly in size. A bigger data table allows for bigger and more complex program. Generally, new PLCs will have bigger data tables than older ones, and more expensive PLCs will have bigger data tables than cheaper ones of the same generation. 38 Example Having picked a current PLC as an example for physical dimensions, I will pick an old and obsolete one for an example of a data table. The Siemens S5-100 series was a small PLC that came in several sizes. The basic S5-100 had the following data table size. 39 Digital I/O had a maximum of 128 inputs and outputs taken together. Analogue inputs and outputs had a maximum of 8 taken together. Flag, or bit, memory was 1024 Timers - 16 Counters - 16 40 The S5-103 offered more of everything in the same basic package, but of course at a higher cost. Digital I/O had a maximum of 256 inputs and outputs taken together. Analogue inputs and outputs had a maximum of 32 taken together. Flag, or bit, memory was 2048 Timers - 128 Counters - 128 -------------------- 41 The PLC Program A PLC will come with what amounts to an operating system and virtual machine built into it. You as the programmer use the vendor's proprietary development software, what is generally called the "PLC programming software" to write an application for it. 42 You then connect your PC to the PLC using a cable of some sort, and download your program into it. The program gets stored in the PLC's RAM. There may be flash memory which serves to back up the RAM when the power is off so you don't lose the program. Before flash was available, a battery was typically required to hold the static RAM memory. 43 There is just one program in the PLC. There is no file system, just the program memory and the data table. When the PLC starts up, it runs the program that you wrote. It continues running the program until you turn off the power or you set the run/stop switch to the stop position. 44 I will come back to programming later, but we needed to cover these basic points before I could describe some further concepts we need to cover. -------------------- 45 The Scan A key thing to understand about PLCs is the "scan" concept. This works as follows. There is a repeated cycle called the scan. 46 First, the PLC reads all the physical inputs and updates the corresponding input addresses in the data table. Next it runs the user program once. Finally it reads the output addresses in the data table and writes them to the corresponding physical outputs. Then it repeats the scan from step 1. 47 A scan can take anywhere from a few milliseconds to hundreds of milliseconds, depending on the model of PLC. Older PLCs and cheaper PLCs tended to be slower. However, as integrated circuit technology advanced, programs got faster. 48 The PLC has a watchdog timer. This is a timer which runs in the background and resets at the start of a scan. 49 If a scan takes too long, the watchdog will trip and stop the program and set the outputs to some defined state, either turning them all off or holding them at the last value. This is known as "faulting" the processor. 50 A watchdog fault may be caused by a program that is too long, or uses a lot of very slow instructions, or in some cases it may be due to a bug in your program. However, this last cause is not as common or as easy to cause as you may think when it comes to faults. -------------------- 51 PLC Programming Languages The key to all of this is the unique way in which the programming languages used in PLCs work. I will first briefly describe the two main programming languages and then explain how they work in a PLC as part of a complete system. 52 Ladder Logic There are several programming languages, but the main one is called ladder logic. If you listened to the previous episode, the word "ladder" will ring a bell. When machines were controlled by electromechanical relays, the electrical drawings which specified and documented the types of relays and the connections between them were called "ladder diagrams". 53 PLCs simply take these ladder diagrams and reproduce them on your computer screen in the programming software using the same standard schematic symbols. 54 You do not need to draw the symbols like it was CAD. Instead you simply use your keyboard or mouse to say that you want this symbol to be entered in the current cursor location or you want this wire to be connected from here to there. When your rung is complete the software will check at some point if it is syntactically correct. You then go on to entering the next rungs one after another until you have your complete program. 55 Instruction List An alternative representation is something called "instruction list", although various vendors may use other terms. This is a text representation that looks like a sort of assembly language. However, it's actually really ladder, just shown in a different way as text and some types of programming software will allow you to toggle between ladder and instruction list mode, translating between them automatically. 56 This should give you a clue as to how a PLC can execute a schematic diagram. Behind the scenes the programming software will translate the diagram into instruction list, and then the PLC will either execute those instructions in an interpreter, or compile them to machine code and execute those. 57 Other Programming Languages There are other programming languages, but they are rarely seen. I won't go into detail in terms of describing them, just briefly mention them. 58 One is called Sequential Function Chart. This is a type of flow chart which is designed to show complex sequences, including ones with alternate or parallel paths. The original name for this is Grafcet, spelled G R A F C E T. This stands for "Graphe Fonctionnel de Commande Étape Transition". As well as being a programming language, it is also a very good design and analysis tool even if the PLC being used doesn't support it. 59 Another is Function Block Diagram. This is another graphical language which resembles flow diagrams used in process industries. This is supposedly used mainly in industries such as chemical manufacturing. However it appears to be very niche and most people who use PLCs will never have seen it, and many will not have even heard of it. 60 Yet another language is Structured Text. This is very obviously derived from Modula-2 and strongly resembles it. If you are not familiar with Modula-2, it was created by Nikolas Wirth and intended as the successor to Pascal, which it was derived from. Structured Text seems to be much loved by a small number of academics, but seems to have little actual use in the field. You lose pretty much all of the monitoring and debugging facilities built into a PLC if you use it, so it's kind of pointless except perhaps for a few niche applications. There are a few other languages as well, mainly proprietary ones, often using flow charts or the like. 61 PLC Languages are Non-Blocking The important thing about a PLC program is that it executes from top to bottom, left to right, without stopping or blocking. There is no waiting on input or output or for a system call to return. Each rung immediately yields a result which is written to a memory address or which enables a timer or counter. Every rung is executed every scan. 62 You can reproduce this in a traditional computer programming language. In ladder logic it is inherent to the syntax and it is either very difficult or impossible to do it any other way. I'll give an example in Python of what I mean. 63 a = (b or c) and not d 64 If b or c are true and d is false, then a is set to true. If b and c are false or d is true, then a is false. 65 Now imagine that we are not executing this statement once, but rather are executing it repeatedly. This statement will never block execution. It will always immediately yield a result. Now let's modify that a bit. 66 a = (b or a) and not d 67 Note that we have replaced c with a. Now the value of a depends the previous value of a as well as b and d. However, once a becomes true, the value of b no longer matters because b is in an or condition with a. Now if we execute it over and over again, only d becoming true will make a go false. 68 This is a standard push button circuit, also known as a "seal in circuit", because it "seals" around the start condition. 69 b is the start push button with a normally open contact. d is the stop push button with a normally closed contact. a is a relay with one of its contacts being used to hold it on. 70 If you wired this up with actual push buttons and relays or if you programmed it into a PLC with ladder logic it would work the same way. A PLC program will consists of rung after rung of logic like this and executes it repeatedly scan after scan, only pausing to update its I/O. 71 Async Programming Some of you may be thinking that this cyclical scan sounds like the async programming that is all the rage with web server applications these days. Essentially it is exactly the same principle. 72 With async programming, your program must never use blocking instructions and execution proceeds on a repeated cycle. PLCs solve this by not having any instructions which block, and many PLCs do not allow backwards jumps. Tradesmen in coveralls in factories were doing async programming decades before the cool kids heard about it. 73 Most PLC Programming Languages are Visual or Graphical Languages If ladder, Sequential Function Chart, or Grafcet and Function Block Diagram sound like visual programming languages, they are. In fact ladder is probably one of the earliest visual languages in commercial use. Wikipedia defines a visual programming language as: 74 In computing, a visual programming language (visual programming system, VPL, or, VPS), also known as diagrammatic programming, graphical programming or block coding, is a programming language that lets users create programs by manipulating program elements graphically rather than by specifying them textually. A VPL allows programming with visual expressions, spatial arrangements of text and graphic symbols, used either as elements of syntax or secondary notation. For example, many VPLs are based on the idea of "boxes and arrows", where boxes or other screen objects are treated as entities, connected by arrows, lines or arcs which represent relations. VPLs are generally the basis of low-code development platforms. Scratch is an example of a VPL 75 End of quote. As you can see, what is cool today was on the factory floor more than 40 years ago. -------------------- 76 Popularity of PLC Programming Languages PLCs are about as proprietary as you can get. Pretty much every vendor has his own proprietary take on each language. How you can program any particular PLC is determined by that vendor's programming software. If the vendor doesn't support it, you can't use it. An individual vendor may even have multiple incompatible product lines which have to be programmed in different ways with different software, although that is not as common these days as it once was. 77 Nearly all PLCs support programming in Ladder. Some support programming in instruction list as well as ladder. Anything else is much less common. 78 Ladder logic happens to be on the Tiobe Index by the way. For those who have not heard of it, the Tiobe Index, that is T I O B E, is a web site that lists the popularity of numerous programming languages based on various criteria. 79 Number one on their list happens to be Python, currently at 19.98%. Number two is C, at 11.55%. 80 At the time of writing this script, Ladder Logic was at number 46 with a 0.28% rating, which put it just below Erlang and just above Haskell. I'm not sure whether that means that Ladder Logic is not as obscure as you thought it was, or whether it means that Erlang and Haskell are in fact more obscure than you thought they were. -------------------- 81 Episode Summary In this episode we covered we covered The early history of computers in industrial control The early history of PLCs, including how they got their name Who the major brands are What they look like physically 82 A basic description of the abstract machine architecture A very brief look at what a PLC program is like The scan concept The main PLC programming languages The minor PLC programming languages The relative popularity of each of the programming languages 83 In the next episode we will take a look at one of the early PLCs from the era when they began seeing widespread use. This PLC was hugely successful and was for many companies the first PLC they used. This is the Allen Bradley PLC2. 84 This has been the second episode in an 8 part series. -------------------- Provide feedback on this episode.

China has roughly 700 NEV models on sale—but only 56 sell more than 5,000 units a month. That's how brutal the world's most competitive EV market has become.In Episode #260 of China EVs & More, Tu and Lei break down China's accelerating EV shakeout as regulators scrutinize quality, BYD reports weaker results, Li Auto struggles to regain momentum and XPeng pushes deeper into AI, autonomous driving and robotics.We also discuss:

What did Dr. Deming really mean when he said to "cease dependence on mass inspection"?    In this episode, Balaji Reddie and host Andrew Stotz unpack why one Ford manager's decision to fire his inspection team missed the point entirely. They explain how inspection can help leaders understand and improve the process, rather than simply sort good from bad.    They also explore why Deming's 14 Points must be understood as a system, including his evolving call for cooperation and win-win thinking among employees, customers, suppliers, and even competitors. Whether you are new to Deming or have studied his work for years, this conversation offers a sharper way to think about quality, systems, and improvement.   TRANSCRIPT 0:00:02.0 Andrew Stotz: My name is Andrew Stotz and I'll be your host as we dive deeper into the teachings of Dr. W. Edwards Deming. Today I'm continuing my discussion with Balaji Reddie, an educator and trainer in the teachings of Dr. Deming and quality management generally. Balaji, how are you doing today?   0:00:25.1 Balaji Reddie: Oh, I'm doing good. We're meeting after a small little gap, and in the interim I think a few things happened. One of the major things, I think you and I were really happy to see that Bill Scherkenbach sent us a lovely photo. So Bill, if you're listening to this, thank you so much, of course we thank you for the photo. We mentioned the last time or rather when we were speaking that I said that there used to be a group of people that used to meet over the weekend. I don't know what the actual protocol was, but all of the so-called core Deming people, you know, like Gipsie Ranney and Nida Backaitis, I hope I'm getting the names right, Barbara Lawton. And I remember Henry Neave saying he was a part of that. So I didn't see that in the photo. So, maybe one of the weekends he was there over in America and so he was there because he mentioned this. And so Bill very kindly said what it was christened. It was christened the Cosmos Club. And then he shared a photo. So Bill, thank you so much. And also helping us identify most of the people in that photograph. If sometime we could share it with the Deming Institute, if they could show it as part of the... If ever we convert this into some kind of video later on with some slides and things like that, they could add that in.   0:01:53.0 Andrew Stotz: Yeah, it's still wonderful.   0:01:53.7 Balaji Reddie: That was wonderful. Yes.   0:01:54.9 Andrew Stotz: It's a great picture. In fact, I'm gonna just make sure that I download it for today's episode.   0:02:00.9 Balaji Reddie: Yes, yes.   0:02:01.7 Andrew Stotz: Because I'll supply it to the Institute and ask Bill if we can use it. Let's see.   0:02:08.4 Balaji Reddie: Yeah, I mean, I presume that he would want us to ask, but he is very big-hearted. I think he wouldn't mind at all.   0:02:14.7 Andrew Stotz: He looks like a spring chicken in that picture. [laughter]   0:02:17.2 Balaji Reddie: Oh, yeah, all of them. There was Joyce Orsini too there. It was nice to see the whole jing-bang gang, as they call them, [laughter] the Cosmos Club. But wonderful. So, yes, so last time we were discussing point number one and we saw his interpretation in the broadest sense of constancy of purpose. I shared also what he was saying towards the end of his life that he said, "Create and publish the statement of the aims and purposes of the company or other organization." So he was envisioning that it's no longer one company. It's a family of companies working together. And so there has to be something that binds all these companies together because today's business is very complex. The family is actually globally dispersed. And so there has to be a common thread that links all of these organizations together and that has to be the statement of purpose. Why do we exist? Each could have their own, you know. Because that's what Deming said in the word interdependent components of a system. And interdependent means being independent and mutually dependent simultaneously. So independent does not mean isolated. It means autonomous, that means you go by yourself. You could have your own purpose, but you need to align it with the purpose of the companies you're actually contributing to, which is amazing. So he asks us to look at it that way. And he said that the purpose should be to impact people in the broadest sense of the term. And you, in fact, brought that up, that quality, and we saw what he meant by quality. And then I think we discussed the purpose of educational institutions, et cetera, et cetera. What should they be?   0:04:07.5 Balaji Reddie: So that was point one. Now we get to point two. And I'll start with the original wordings which he wrote in 1986. So let me just pull that up here. He says here that, "Adopt the new philosophy. We are in a new economic age." And then he very specifically states, "Western management must awaken to the challenge, must learn their responsibilities and take on leadership for change." Now, let's look at it both ways because in 1990 he reworded this completely. But let's get back to what he meant in 1986, the new philosophy. Now, what was the new philosophy? What did he mean then? Recently I heard, or I think I saw, Dr. Joseph DeFeo, that is the current CEO of Juran Institute, release a version of the 14 points, or rather saying that these were Dr. Deming's 14 points. And I saw what he wrote there about point number two, which was his interpretation. Now, when I look deep, actually, it looked more like Dr. Juran's interpretation of the 14 points. Incidentally, talking about Dr. Juran and the 14 points, it's no secret that Dr. Juran always said that Deming did not speak much about management, he spoke only about statistics, blah, blah, blah. But there was, if you know, part of the inner circle of Dr. Deming was Dr. Myron Tribus. And Myron Tribus, if you know, was a director at MIT for some time, right? And around the time Deming was there at the Center for Advanced Engineering Study. And when... He, of course, went and met Dr. Juran to speak to him about the 14 points, and then they had a discussion for half a day on the 14 points, and Dr. Juran agreed with every single one of them. He said, "Yeah." He said, "He's spot on." But then he said that he never spoke of management then, and so he stuck to his version that he taught statistics to the Japanese. Anyway, let's leave that aside.   0:06:19.0 Balaji Reddie: But when he spoke about point two, and that's what Juran's interpretation was, that the new philosophy was quality should be the basis for running a business. That was the new philosophy, right? And he said that top management, of course, Deming always said that top management should be involved because unless that happens, nothing happens inside the company. So the new philosophy, what now we interpret is what Dr. Deming was trying to say in 1986, was "quality is the basis for running an organization," right? And quality, again, what we discussed last time, in the broadest sense of the term, not just of a product or a process, but the way you conduct yourself as a business, as a people. So that was the new philosophy. And he said that you should take on leadership for change, and he aimed it at Western management at that point in time, right? So that was the 1986, and he goes on to explain that, saying that we are living with commonly accepted... Because he was trying to shock the Americans at that time, right? If you try to realize when they woke up to quality in the 1980s, primarily to be... I mean, to their credit, to the American businesses, that they were doing a lot of course correction. They realized that they had done things wrong for 20 years, and a lot of course correction started happening, and they started seeing benefits. So they started interpreting that as improvement when actually it was just a correction. And I think Deming wanted to bring in that shock treatment to them, and he said improvement is not enough, right? So at that point in time, that new philosophy was basically that, okay, you're doing it right, but it's not enough. And that's why it has to come from the top. So top people have to be involved. And that was how they interpreted this.   0:08:12.1 Balaji Reddie: And we also looked at it that way. But in 1990, he changed the wordings of the point two, and that was in light of what he had started professing, which was a System of Profound Knowledge. So I'll just read out what he wrote in 1990. He says now, "Adopt the new philosophy of cooperation and win-win, in which everybody wins. Put it into practice and teach it to your employees, your customers, your suppliers, and" why not "your competitors." So that was, I think, the new philosophy. Much of the stuff, if you start seeing, Andrew, when I look at all the 14 points, the 14 points have to be interpreted through the 14 points.   0:09:06.7 Andrew Stotz: Right.   0:09:07.8 Balaji Reddie: You need to understand the purpose of each point. You need to understand that they're a system. And that's why you can't just read them sentence by sentence and want to implement them, if you know what I'm trying to say here. They're a system by themselves. So you need to interpret them the right way and through the 14 points... I don't know if I'm making sense to you, but that's exactly how these are. He wanted it to be that way. So you can never tell that you've understood it completely. You're getting me? You're learning something new about it every single day. And as you start looking at things around you through the lens of Profound Knowledge, you will see things differently. And sometimes you see some gaps with the sentences that Dr. Deming was uttering, and then you say, "Okay, okay, this, this, this, I understood it now. I need to make this correction." Right? And so you can never say that I've completely understood them. I mean, after all these years, still reading Out of the Crisis, still doing the series with you, has been a catharsis for me. It's revisiting these things all over again. This, despite the fact that I've been teaching this regularly to my students for the last 20-plus years, it's still new for me.   0:10:24.4 Andrew Stotz: And so could I describe what you just said about interpreting it within the system is that really, that's the thing about systems thinking, is that you can no longer look at an individual part. Every time you get a deeper meaning or understanding of an individual part, that changes the way you view the overall system and the interconnectedness of everything.   0:10:48.6 Balaji Reddie: Exactly.   0:10:48.9 Andrew Stotz: Where life would be much more easy if we could just, "Okay, I understand that one thing deeper and deeper. I can make a control chart better and better and better."   0:11:01.1 Balaji Reddie: So, it's crazy. And this realization came on me way back in, I think around '98 or '99, when I was teaching this, the 14 points, for the third or fourth time. I think I mentioned this in episode one and two, where I told you that it was very easy for me to teach the works of Philip Crosby, very easy to teach the work of Dr. Juran, because they gave methods, they gave steps. But Dr. Deming didn't give anything. You just couldn't show the wording on the slide and get away with it. You had to explain what he wanted us to do. And then, I mentioned this before, you can go back and listen to that episode, but I said that it suddenly struck me, "God damn it, these points are a system." And when I was describing this and I explained this to Hazel Cannon, and she said, "We call this in Deming-speak an 'aha' moment. You had your 'aha' moment." She said, "That's the beauty." She told me once that in the middle of the night, at 3:00 in the morning, she understood what he was trying to say, and she called up Dr. Deming.   0:12:11.3 Balaji Reddie: And he was very, very patient. He listened to her. And she said, "I'm sorry. I..." He said, "I knew you'd understand." That's all he said. So he used to be very happy when people used to call back and suddenly say, "We realized it now, what you were trying to say then." So it's a moment of realization. So this point to... If you read some of the notes that he gave to the Japanese in 1950, and incidentally, it's they who made the notebook and then he added on to it, if you know, Elementary Principles of the Statistical Control of Quality, first edition and then the second edition. And when they made the first edition, they had actually done this without his permission. But when they told him that we made these notes, they thought that he would be a little upset because of copyrights, blah, blah. But instead he was so happy that they'd done that, he actually helped them with the second edition. And if you read those notes, a lot of things there where he was speaking about cooperation, about understanding people. So that may not have been explicitly stated by him in his lectures in Japan, they understood it. Right? And that's a very... I don't want to sound communal here, but a very Asian way of looking at it. Because our languages are very metaphorical, so we always look for different meanings to the statements being uttered. And we always look out for what has this person actually not said, which I... Or rather, yeah, has not said, which I have not heard, but I need to hear. Right?   0:13:46.5 Balaji Reddie: So that's amazing, how they looked at what he was saying. I'll give an instance here where he talks about the use of the control chart, and he says that you can use it for training a worker. And then if you see that before and after training, there's been no change in the control chart, well, then the worker's attained his optimum. Then use that worker somewhere else. He talks in a very positive way about understanding people. And then going back to what we spoke in our second episode about the principles of leadership, it comes back there, that choose people in the right way and optimize all of their aims, hopes, et cetera. So coming back here, the new philosophy, basically, now we can interpret it as what he intended it to be in 1990. He said, "Win-win." But the original wordings are also... You don't replace it, you add on to it, right? So we look at it this way, that he meant that quality should be the center point of running your business. People at the top should be involved. And now we talk about cooperation, win-win. And he says this, "Teach and practice this." Now, all these things are easier said than done. We know that. But we should make an attempt. So employees, your customers, your suppliers, and your competitors. Sometimes it could be funny, right? You go up to your competitor and you say, "Look, I think we've done enough of this, going at each other's throat. Let's get together to do something." And obviously the other person will say, "What's the agenda?" They'll think you have some hidden agenda. So it's gonna be difficult when you start doing this. But I think that's become... Slowly people are warming up to that idea of being close to your competitors and learning with them and from them. Right? We don't look at them as a rival in the true sense, trying to cut the other guy down and things like that. But that's the way it is. And if you say that it's a cutthroat thing, but we need to have some things in common before we decide to branch out and go our own way. Right? So there has to be some kind of a cooperation so that win-win... But main thing is to win, that is, everyone wins. He says, "Some may win less than others, but we all win just the same." So the whole purpose was that. Yeah.   0:16:02.4 Andrew Stotz: It's interesting because I remember hearing that when I was younger and the first thing is cooperating just within a team. The second one is cooperating maybe within a department. Another one is cooperating within a business. And then... That's already hard enough to get to. And then he talked about cooperating within an industry. And of course, there are anti-trust laws in America, which he wasn't talking about colluding on prices to take advantage of the position against the customer. But he was also... I think if we look at AI right now, the development of artificial intelligence, and to what extent could the industry work together to safeguard, for instance, or to understand the development of the energy needed to do this, you know.   0:16:54.4 Balaji Reddie: Yes.   0:16:55.3 Andrew Stotz: Or how do countries across the world work together to make sure that one doesn't have an unfair advantage with AI or with energy or that type of thing? So, yeah, it was definitely interesting when I first heard it. But as I look at it now, I get what he's saying about the industry cooperation.   0:17:15.3 Balaji Reddie: Yes, I saw this in our country, in India, where you had the rival mobile service providers getting together and realizing that the hardware needed was the same, the software would be different. So they got together and created a company, you heard that right, a company, that set up mobile communication towers. So there are no multiple towers everywhere for each mobile provider. There's one set of towers, and it was a separate company. And by the way, that company went on to win the Deming Prize.   0:17:48.0 Andrew Stotz: Interesting, interesting. It's interesting that the concept for point number two is... And sometimes I read it and I think, "Adopt the new philosophy." It's kind of obvious, isn't it?   0:18:04.1 Balaji Reddie: Yeah. [laughter]   0:18:05.8 Andrew Stotz: And that's where part of what you're talking about, about understanding all of it through the Deming 14 points lens.   0:18:13.7 Balaji Reddie: Right. Yes.   0:18:14.9 Andrew Stotz: But I can also think... I wanted to highlight back for those people that weren't around at that time. I graduated from university in 1989. I went to work at Pepsi. And so Out of the Crisis came out about 1986. And I remember during my years at university, the Japanese were just killing the American car manufacturers. And the motorcycle companies were killing... Honda and the others were killing Harley-Davidson.   0:18:43.2 Balaji Reddie: Right.   0:18:43.5 Andrew Stotz: Even to the extent that Harley-Davidson and others went to the government to try to get Reagan to give them tariff protection, which he did, in fact. But there was a huge debate I had in class, I remember, about protection versus competition. And it just highlights what was going on. And so Out of the Crisis, as you mentioned, the title, just the idea of shocking people to say, "We're in a crisis," I think at that time it was really apropos. And also the other part is he's talking about Western management.   0:19:21.1 Balaji Reddie: Yes.   0:19:21.4 Andrew Stotz: Western management. And now you look at... Japan was really doing great at that time. And now we have Japan and China that's also made huge strides. And so it's just so fascinating that he was directing it at Western management for sure, that we've got to fix things. And sometimes I look back and I think, "Oh yeah, Western management learned and improved," because we've got so much innovation going on in America as an example and all of that.   0:19:52.6 Balaji Reddie: Right. Right.   0:19:53.4 Andrew Stotz: But sometimes I look at the developments of the Chinese or Japan and I think, "Hmmm...Did we learn? Did we learn?" Look at the trade balance, look at the amount of debt, look at that in the US and you think, "I don't know." I'm curious, how would you score it?   0:20:09.5 Balaji Reddie: Yeah, I mean, that's just what I had to say. So the whole approach towards this whole thing being holistic, not just looking at it from a very narrow point of view and realizing that we need each other, we can't do without... We call them competitors, but they are also helping us do a better job. They're pushing me to look out for what I'm good at and I don't have to put somebody else down to show myself as big. And if I contribute to the industry in a very big way, not only do I gain, others gain, and if I share, then they would also share with me, right? So that realization, I think, is coming in. And if you think about this, it was very interesting, the mathematician by the name John Nash, if you remember him, he actually postulated this in terms of mathematics in 1950, and he got a PhD from Princeton for this. Now, I would give full credit to the jury listening to his dissertation, defending his thesis, that you had to do this because, interestingly, he gets a Nobel Prize for that in 1974. It took 24 years for the world to figure out what he was trying to say. And you want to go read that, he was thinking win-win.   0:21:41.7 Balaji Reddie: So I often wondered if Dr. Deming, John Nash, did they know each other? Obviously, they didn't, but they were thinking and saying the same thing in two different parts of the world. He was doing that here in the US and Deming was talking about this there in Japan, and he was talking about telling the Japs that Japan must see itself as a system. And so all their companies actually work together. We see them as versus; they don't see each other as versus. You're interestingly saying this about the two-wheeler companies, the bikes... In India, we had just one or two bikes before the four Japanese companies came in. It was Suzuki, Honda, Kawasaki, and Yamaha. And they tied up with different Indian companies. Now, of course, after a long time, they've all gone their separate ways. But as a teenager, I remember these. And the funny thing was all four motorcycles were different and all four sold well. All four. And they sold in different parts of the country.   0:22:43.8 Balaji Reddie: I can tell you this firsthand because just after I completed my engineering, I was looking for a job. So I had some time to myself and my mother's friend, she ran a market research agency and she just called up one fine day and said, "Would Balaji care to do this market research for me? It's about bikes." So I had to travel north, south, east, west and tape a conversation with bikers asking them which motorcycles they liked among these four. And these four, the plants were set up at four different places in our country. So north, south, east, west, typically, you know how vast India is in that sense. And the one... It was very interesting. The bikes that were made in the north were sold very well in the south, and some made in the south were sold very well in the west. It was crazy. But there was, of course, one motorcycle that would always stand out and people would say that, "Yeah, this is the one which really..." But that would always be the case. But by and large, everyone did well. Looking back, I say that, wow, they were practicing this without us knowing it.   0:23:51.6 Balaji Reddie: And even now, if you know, I don't know whether this happens outside of India, but Suzuki and Toyota in India have collaborated with each other to use the car body, if you know what I mean. The insides would be their own inside. Suzuk... Maruti is the name of the Indian company that's tied up with Suzuki Motor. So you have Maruti Suzuki and Toyota. They have common bodies, names are different, but the inside is Toyota technology and Suzuki technology. So they've decided, they just realized that they need each other, right? And they're doing exceedingly well, both. Just both.   0:24:33.7 Andrew Stotz: Sharing the platform.   0:24:36.0 Balaji Reddie: Yeah. It's crazy. And you don't start bothering so much about trying to defend yourself, right? You go ahead and focus on what you're good at. So this point two, the new philosophy, what it meant before and what it means now, I would not say it replaced it, but it's just added on to it, where he said that top management should be involved. That was the new philosophy, that quality has to come from the top. Western management waking up, et cetera. The Western managers to see quality is the basis for running your organization. It should be your strategy. And he just says as an extension of that strategy, we need to get together and cooperate and think win-win. So that's the new philosophy. It takes us, he always says, a new reward system would come in. It would be a better applied science. You can read that in The New Economics, that what is the purpose of this entire new philosophy, The New Economics, where he explains this.   0:25:39.2 Andrew Stotz: Yeah.   0:25:41.4 Balaji Reddie: In a nutshell is point two. So the purpose was to shock the Western management at that point in time, but also in a different sense, try to open the eyes of people even now that please don't think small, think big, right? The new philosophy tells us look beyond the boundaries that you've artificially created and see what you can do with the others, including your competitors. And don't look at them as adversaries, rather than partners in something that both of you will grow. Maybe not evenly, but you will grow. So that was...   0:26:18.7 Andrew Stotz: Yeah. One last thing for me on that is just the idea that he reinforces the focus that quality is, the key is the customer in that process of quality.   0:26:33.8 Balaji Reddie: That's right. That's right.   0:26:34.4 Andrew Stotz: As opposed to it's not about quality, quality, quality, control charts and QC circles and all that. It's about what is quality in the eyes of the customer and how do we better deliver that. So that always gave me so much comfort when I learned what he was teaching, that he wasn't just... It wasn't all about quality and tools. It was about quality in the eyes of the customer.   0:27:00.8 Balaji Reddie: Right. So that's why he said tools are just 3%. And you can be 100% excellent at the 3% and still run out of business, right? He always said that. So you need to apply this in the broader sense of the term. So that was...   [overlapping conversation]   0:27:08.5 Andrew Stotz: Yeah. And the problem is if you don't understand the system and you don't understand the whole teaching, then even if you're good at the tools, you may misinterpret from the tools.   0:27:25.6 Balaji Reddie: Yes. So, right, so that was point two.   0:27:30.4 Andrew Stotz: Whoo!   0:27:31.3 Balaji Reddie: So now we come to point three. [laughter] Now point three... Yeah, we just got I think 15-odd minutes, but I'll cover some part of it and I think we'll continue with this.   0:27:34.0 Andrew Stotz: Yeah, yeah. We good. I got time.   0:27:42.5 Balaji Reddie: Point three. Now this again has been so crazily misinterpreted. All right, so I'll start with the wordings once again, I'm referring to the document what he wrote. And he says now, "Cease dependence on mass inspection to achieve quality. Eliminate the need for inspection on a mass basis by building quality into the product in the first place." Now if you look at that, he was talking much about the act of inspecting and the entire activity-based and saying don't depend. The keyword was "cease dependence," because if you hear what happened in one funny case where the manager from Ford went back and just sacked all his inspectors saying Dr. Deming said we don't need inspection. But that was, I think, overstating it. But nevertheless, the keyword is dependence. Don't depend on inspection. And then he said, build quality into the product in the first place. And then he quotes Harold Dodge who said you cannot inspect quality into a product. Quality is already there. Inspection just reports what's happening. It doesn't tell you where... You know.   0:29:00.4 Andrew Stotz: Yep.   0:29:03.4 Balaji Reddie: Andrew, can you hear me?   0:29:05.8 Andrew Stotz: Yes. Keep going. So what you're talking about is the idea of thinking about quality not from the perspective...   0:29:20.2 Balaji Reddie: Yeah, we got disconnected.   0:29:21.7 Andrew Stotz: Yeah. What I was saying you're talking about is this idea of cease dependence on inspection, that it doesn't mean inspection's completely gone, but it means starting at the beginning of the process and thinking about how do we improve things from there. So continue on.   0:29:37.3 Balaji Reddie: Yeah, so I just said here that he was not so much at that time when he wrote this, like I said here, it was misinterpreted because, yes, he did start with saying the activity, the activity-based thing about inspection, that we should not depend on it. And I think I mentioned that Ford... One of the managers of Ford, misinterpreted that and sacked his inspectors and things like that. But he said that eliminate the need for inspection by building quality into the process and the product in the first place. So the word was dependence. And so he did not say that you need to eliminate the act of inspecting. In fact, it's very interesting what he actually spoke about this in the workbook which you get when you go a four-day seminar on video which was created by General Motors, right?   0:30:30.6 Balaji Reddie: So those video cassettes, and then the workbook that came with that had a very interesting take on inspection. So he said that it doesn't mean that we're gonna stop. He said you'd be a fool to keep yourself in the dark about what's happening in the process. You need to know what's happening in the process. So he's not saying that do away, he's saying use inspection. So now he actually said this, and here's where the interpretation comes in: understand the purpose of inspection. The purpose of inspection is to give yourself more and more knowledge of the process, not for sorting bad from good, because good and bad product come from the same process. We need to fix the process. And this is to be interpreted if you talk about how he looked at this, because if you read what he spoke about the nine heavy losses, when we discuss those, he says that one of the losses was performance appraisal. So I want to ask those people who say that this interpretation, isn't performance appraisal quality by inspection? You're sorting bad from good based on some arbitrary measure that you created in your head. You decide what's good, you decide what's bad. You're God, is it?   0:31:52.9 Balaji Reddie: I mean, Douglas McGregor actually wrote an article on this saying that managers don't like to play God, right? And he's the one who advocated, no, we don't need performance appraisal. It actually harms. And Dr. Deming just said the same thing. So if you read Douglas McGregor's book, The Human Side of Enterprise, there's a new version, the annotated version, where they've given commentary of what some experts or some the interpretations of the text. And I was amazed to see Dr. Deming's name come up there and saying that Dr. Deming also concurred with this and said it in very plain words that do not carry out performance appraisal. And he likened it to using inspection to create quality, whereas we know it doesn't. So fix the process. Right? And then people again take this in piecemeal and start quoting Deming: "A bad system will beat a good person anytime." I don't know what to say here, really. I mean, he obviously he said... He was trying to explain that you cannot judge that person based on the output of the system. I mean, it's an output of the system, the person. So you need to look at it that way. I don't know whether I'm making sense here, but that's the way to look at this point number three. Right? And he says that don't depend. Use the inspection to understand the process. Now, he says here, and I think I've got the text in that, he says, "There will always be inspection. We must never deliberately leave ourselves devoid of information on how the process is doing. Is it still in statistical control? Is there a trend? Were our efforts towards shrinkage of variation or change of level successful? The function of inspection is optimization of the whole system, including suppliers of materials and services and the ultimate consumer." So he very clearly stated this, that this is a system. And this was the system he was talking about, right? And he says here that it's not about just manufacturing, service. It's if you are really, really interpreting this, then you'd also remove performance appraisal in the process, right? Because that's quality by inspection. Uh-oh.   0:34:21.2 Andrew Stotz: The Human Side of Enterprise, the annotated edition, is available on Amazon. Just looking at it right now, this annotated edition came out in 2023. So I haven't read it, so I'm gonna check it out myself.   0:34:42.1 Balaji Reddie: Yeah, I think I lost you again.   0:34:44.5 Andrew Stotz: Yep. I just went through the details about The Human Side of Enterprise and that latest version or edition that's just come out that you've mentioned. It came out in 2023.   0:34:57.0 Balaji Reddie: Right, right. So you could get that, read that book, you'll get to see it. And he very clearly... Did you record that bit where I read out the text?   0:35:09.4 Andrew Stotz: I don't remember that.   0:35:10.8 Balaji Reddie: Okay, I'll just read it out again so you can edit it later. So, yeah, he says here, "There will always be inspection. We must never deliberately leave ourselves devoid of information on how the process is doing. Is it still in statistical control? Is there a trend? Were our efforts towards shrinkage of variation or change of level successful? The function of inspection is optimization of the whole system, including suppliers of materials and services and the ultimate consumer." Did you get that? Did that get recorded?   0:35:45.5 Andrew Stotz: Yeah.   0:35:46.0 Balaji Reddie: Yeah. So that's exactly what he meant. He said that he was not talking about the act, and he said you would have some inspection. Now, interestingly, a very, very different take on this that, yeah, I told you Myron Tribus was talking to Dr. Juran about this, and Dr. Juran gave his interpretation. Because if you know, he invented this badly misunderstood and abused term called cost of quality, right? And if you know why he invented it and what happened later, I don't even want to get into it. He said, "The only way I could grab management's attention was to present my problem in terms of money. If I explained to them and said to them that there is... This process running at 90% efficiency, they would be happy. They said, "Great." He said, "No, it's not great." And then they just wouldn't listen. They said, "90% is great." So he said, "How do I talk to them?" And so he went back to them and said, "Okay, your process is running at 90% efficiency." They said, "Yes." He said, "But you're paying 100% salary to this guy to do 90% good work, and then you're paying 100% salary to another guy to remove the 10% bad work, and then you're paying 100% salary to a third guy to correct that bad work." And that's how he invented cost of quality.   0:37:11.8 Balaji Reddie: Now people have gone and overindulged in this and they start having arguments about what is the category and where should it fit in and... Anyway, what he was trying to say is there are some activities where the more money you spend, the better it is. And so he came up with that cost of prevention and of course, I mean, conformance and non-conformance. In conformance, there were two categories. One was called prevention, where the more money you spend, obviously the better it is, but you get... You know, the returns on them will come much, much later, like training and spending money on the right things like maintaining your equipment, blah, blah, blah, research and development. He also gave a category called appraisal. And appraisal, he says, these are all activities which are necessary evils. [laughter] That means you can't eliminate them, at the same time you should not overtly depend on them to create quality. And one of them was inspection. And he says you should not spend more than necessary on inspection, just enough.   0:38:16.1 Balaji Reddie: Now here's the question I get, how much do we spend? [laughter] And the trick which I read somewhere and I saw that because I interpreted these points both ways. So when you start doing this, you walk into a company, make them calculate how much money they're spending on inspection right now. So let's say it's $100,000 or rupees or whatever. Now you start implementing the improvement processes, you start understanding the process and you start, well, the works, control charts, blah, blah, blah, blah. And then you start seeing that the process is getting better and so your defects are coming down and things are getting better generally. And so you're spending lesser money on inspection, you're spending lesser time on inspection, your resources are going in the right direction. And so that amount starts coming down and you keep doing that and you keep doing that and then you reach a point where you say, "Okay, this is it. I need this much of inspection at a bare minimum to keep myself," like Dr. Deming said, "not devoid of any information." I need to know what's happening. So that need-to-know basis, just enough, now that becomes the cap, right? And you say now, "If after this I see an increase in the money being spent, then... It's not that I'm going to go and just eliminate. I'll try to find out why." And if you look at it, that's exactly what Dr. Deming said, understand the purpose of inspection is to make the process better. The product, of course, will get better and you use the inspection intelligently to understand because good and bad products come from the same process. This is absolutely true for both manufacturing as well as services. You always can look at the activities and see which are the ones which are prone to a lot of mistakes that can happen and then you try to help the person carrying out the process. "Can I eliminate this? Can I reduce this?"   0:40:14.0 Balaji Reddie: And talking about AI, I think AI can help a lot in that, in much of the so-called mundane activities which are repeatable and being done on a regular basis. You can bring in AI over there, use it in the right way. Right? Even for the inspection thing, they talk about it, but yeah, like I said, we need to keep our eye and just keep glancing at it, but not going and standing in front of the process all the time. You don't need to do that. Just... So like Dr. Deming said, watch that... Look at the trend, the impact of my action that I need to inspect. So in that sense, like I said, the act of inspecting will never go away, but our reliance on that will come down drastically. And once in a while, just glancing through, just letting us know that things are going according to plan is the right way of looking at this. Anyway, I think that's all we have time for today, Andrew.   0:41:10.2 Andrew Stotz: Yeah. So I'm gonna wrap up by saying 290 years ago, Benjamin Franklin said, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."   0:41:23.2 Balaji Reddie: Wow.   0:41:24.2 Andrew Stotz: Well, it's a lot of what you've just described is the idea of starting at the beginning and trying to reduce the need to depend on inspection. I love the stuff that you talked about about... He didn't say eliminate inspection, he said reduce the dependence. And that really reminded me that there's a purpose. And as you've described, the purposes of inspection isn't only just, "Okay, we don't want something bad going out to the customer," but what it really is about is understanding how are we doing. How have the upstream preventative or improvements that we've done in the upstream resolved or reduced what's happening at the downstream? I think that was a major thing for me as a young guy when I first heard Deming, to understand that, start at the beginning and try to get things right from the beginning, that will reduce the amount of trouble that you have towards the end. So, fantastic.   0:42:22.2 Balaji Reddie: That's true. That's true. All right, then.   0:42:24.5 Andrew Stotz: Well...   0:42:25.1 Balaji Reddie: We meet again next week or week after that to continue this.   0:42:27.0 Andrew Stotz: Yeah, I look forward to it. And for the listeners out there, remember to go to deming.org and jump into DemingNext to continue your journey.   0:42:36.5 Balaji Reddie: Yes.   0:42:37.0 Andrew Stotz: This is your host, Andrew Stotz, and I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes from Dr. Deming, which is, "People are entitled to joy in work."   0:42:45.3 Balaji Reddie: "Joy in work."

We all know the name John DeLorean. We all know the DeLorean DMC-12. We've probably been driving down the road and seen one drive past, been to a car show and seen one on display, most likely kitted out to look like the one from the movie Back to the Future, the film that made a car that probably would have gone down as a failure become a cultural icon and collectable amongst movie and car enthusiasts. John DeLorean started life as a working-class kid from Detroit who rose through the American auto industry to become the youngest division head General Motors had ever had. He then went on to build a car under his own name, only to watch the company collapse and to be arrested in a cocaine sting that made front pages around the world.  For More from the 80s and 90s visit Web: the80sand90s.com    Instagram: @The80sand90sCom  YouTube: The 80s and 90s Overlooked If you enjoy this episode, don't keep it a secret, tell a friend and/or share it on social media so others can experience it as well.

Chase Bunker is in for Kristine Bellino. Feds are investigating more than a million vehicles over braking system failures. The majority of affected vehicles are 2023-2026 General Motors vehicles, but other brands that use similar technology (like Honda & Acura) are also affected. A formal "recall" has not been issued - YET - but if your car is in the impacted list, you're advised to contact a dealer immediately. FOX News's Jeff Monosso has the details.

It's the L-87 that keeps failing despite earlier attempts to remedy. https://www.lehtoslaw.com

El 26 de octubre haremos el evento educativo más grande para reconstruir Colombia, dona acá

The K-Shaped Economy May Be Improving If you're unfamiliar with the term, the upper arm of the “K” represents higher-income Americans, who are spending more and generally doing better. The lower arm represents lower-income consumers who have been struggling with higher prices and tighter budgets. But there are signs the lower end of the K-shaped economy may finally be improving. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently argued that the K-shaped economy is over and that we're moving toward what he calls a “C-shaped economy,” where lower-income workers are beginning to catch up. That may sound like a bold statement, but there are some encouraging signs behind it. Economists have pointed to stronger hiring in the spring and early summer, which has allowed more Americans to change jobs. Changing jobs often comes with higher wages, giving lower- and middle-income households more income to spend. There has also been improvement in wage growth at the lower end of the income spectrum as after-tax wages grew at an average 5.2% annual pace in July for lower-income households. This marked the first time since December 2024 that after-tax wage growth for lower-income households surpassed higher-income households. Higher-income workers are still seeing strong wage growth as well. So, I wouldn't say the K-shaped economy has completely disappeared, but the bottom of the K may be starting to move upward. Another positive is the impact of the Big Beautiful Bill. Provisions such as no tax on overtime and no tax on tips can put more money directly into workers' pockets. This led to good refunds for many people and some people have also changed their withholding to increase their take-home pay rather than waiting for a large refund at tax time next year. That makes perfect sense. Why give the government an interest-free loan of thousands of dollars when you could have an extra couple hundred dollars in your paycheck every month? There are other encouraging signs. Data shows the share of households paying off their credit card balances each month is increasing, while savings remain above 2019 levels when adjusted for inflation. We're also seeing some evidence that consumer spending is becoming less concentrated among higher-income households. In the month of July, spending on credit and debit cards rose 5.4% for lower-income households year over year compared to growth of 4.3% for higher-income households. That's important because consumer spending accounts for roughly 70% of U.S. GDP. If lower-income consumers are finally seeing their incomes improve, paying down debt and rebuilding their financial cushion, that could broaden economic growth beyond the wealthier consumer. I'm not ready to declare the K-shaped economy dead. There are still significant differences between how higher- and lower-income Americans are doing, and housing affordability remains a major problem. But perhaps the more important point is this: The bottom half of the K may finally be starting to move upward. If that continues, it could create a much healthier economy in the second half of the year, with GDP growth potentially around 2.5% in the third and fourth quarters. Maybe the economy isn't completely C-shaped yet, but it may be starting to bend in that direction.   How to protect yourself when someone tries to sell you alternative investments You may already know this, but there are some brokers out there who are very good salespeople and unfortunately, they may be more concerned about their commission than your financial well-being. It's estimated that over the next three to four years, another $2 trillion of client assets could flow into alternative investments. I've talked at length about the high fees, which can be 2% or more, and the fact that your money could be tied up for 10 years or longer. Even when you are allowed to get your money back, the redemption process can be very slow. If you still believe an alternative investment makes sense for you, here are some questions you should ask the person selling it to you. First, what is the manager's track record? Don't just take their word for it. Verify the track record and make sure you understand what they actually managed. Someone who successfully managed a small fund may not have the same results when they are suddenly managing multiples of that amount. Second, how will I receive my tax information? A lot of investors are surprised at tax time when they receive a K-1 instead of a 1099. K-1s can make your taxes more complicated and often arrive much later than a 1099. That can mean waiting to file your taxes or even having to file an extension. Understand the tax reporting before you invest. Third, how do I get my money out? Ask exactly what the redemption rules are. How long is the lockup? How much notice do you have to give? Are there penalties or restrictions Don't assume you can access your money whenever you want. Fourth, what happens if things go wrong? What recourse do you have if the investment loses money or the manager does something wrong? You may discover that you signed an arbitration agreement that prevents you from taking the firm to court. In some cases, the investment may even be governed by laws outside the United States. Fifth, how much does the broker and their firm get paid? Ask directly: “How much do you earn if I invest in this? Does your firm receive additional compensation for recommending it? If so, how much?” And there are two other questions I think everyone should ask. “Knowing my financial situation, do you really think it makes sense for me to tie up my money for 10 years?” And perhaps most importantly: “Anything you are telling me verbally, please put it in writing.” If they won't put it in writing, you should seriously question what you're being sold. I believe alternative investments are much riskier than people are led to believe and you need to understand the fees, liquidity, tax consequences, and incentives of the person selling them to you. Never let a salesperson rush you into an investment you don't completely understand.   Should You Invest in Dividend-Paying Stocks or Not? Over the last 15 years, the dividend yield on the S&P 500 has been cut roughly in half from more than 2% to just over 1%. Some investors may say, “Who cares? My total return is much higher, and I don't need the dividends.” But they may be missing an important part of investing, especially as they get older and closer to retirement. Dividend-paying stocks can provide a valuable source of cash flow. Qualified dividends also receive favorable tax treatment compared with ordinary income. That tax advantage, particularly when compared with interest from U.S. Treasuries or CDs, is worth considering. Another benefit investors sometimes overlook is dividend growth. Many companies increase their dividends over time, sometimes every year, as their earnings and cash flow grow. This can potentially provide investors with a growing stream of income. Investors appear to be taking notice. Morningstar has reported that dividend-focused funds have attracted billions of dollars in new money over the past two years. Using dividend funds is one option, but at Wilsey Asset Management, we prefer investing in individual companies because we believe it can provide a higher yield while giving us more control over the companies we own. Of course, a high dividend yield alone doesn't make a stock a good investment. We look at several factors to manage risk, including: The company's payout ratio based on earnings and cash flow to make sure the dividend is sustainable. The company's debt and interest expense to make sure it isn't overly burdened by high-interest payments. The valuation of the company to make sure investors aren't paying too much for its earnings. Investors should also remember that dividends are never guaranteed. Companies can cut or even temporarily suspend their dividends when their business requires them to preserve cash. For that reason, diversification is important. We believe investors should consider owning at least 12 to 15 different dividend-paying companies across multiple industries rather than relying heavily on just a few stocks. Dividend investing isn't just about the yield today. It's about the potential for income, dividend growth and total return over time. As investors get closer to retirement, that income can become a much more important part of the overall investment strategy.   You could be paying more for products because of something called dynamic pricing. Most people assume that when they see a price online, everyone else is seeing the same price. That may no longer be the case. With AI and the enormous amount of data companies can collect, retailers can learn a surprising amount about you. They may know your browsing history, location, the type of device you're using, your purchase patterns and even how long your cursor stays over a particular product. They can also potentially determine whether you're a college student, a businessperson, or a senior citizen. They may also know what competing apps or websites you use. The thinking is simple: If you're not shopping around, a retailer may believe you're more willing to pay a higher price. You may be thinking, Isn't this illegal? According to the Federal Trade Commission, it appears to be somewhat of a gray area. The FTC has recently addressed the use of consumer data to personalize prices and has said that businesses need to be transparent about what information they're using and when they're using it to personalize an offer. My guess is this will be like many other disclosures: We'll see them, but most people won't take the time to read them. So, what can you do to protect yourself? Shop around. Before making a purchase, compare the same product on at least two or three different websites. Don't assume the first price you see is the best price. And here's the interesting part: retailers may know you're shopping around. If they can see that you're comparing their price with competitors, they may have an incentive to offer you a better deal. In other words, the same technology that could potentially be used to charge you more could also work in your favor.   AI Is Creating Turmoil in the Book Publishing Industry AI is disrupting many areas of our lives that we've become accustomed to and the book publishing industry is no exception. The publishing industry is struggling with a difficult question: How much AI should authors be allowed to use? Some authors believe books should not be created by machines. Last year, 70 well-known authors signed a pledge opposing the use of AI to generate books. But the major publishing houses, including Random House and HarperCollins, aren't necessarily taking such a hard-line approach. They've discovered that AI can be extremely useful for authors, particularly when it comes to research. It can also make it possible to publish more books, which can obviously be lucrative for publishers. There are even programs publishers can use to detect whether AI was used in a book, such as the Pangram program. At the same time, the industry is trying to combat something known as “slop books.” These are books produced very quickly, often with little creative value, simply to generate a quick profit. AI has made it much easier to produce these types of books at scale. One study found that roughly 20% of e-books on Amazon contain substantial AI assistance. So, the big question is: How much AI is too much? Should AI not be used at all? Should it be limited to research and helping authors brainstorm and organize their ideas? Personally, I think AI can be a great tool for research, but it shouldn't be used to write the book for you. The creativity, ideas and actual writing should still come from the author. That said, I wonder if those resisting AI in writing today are making the same mistake car companies once made when they resisted the assembly line because they wanted to continue hand-building cars. We may not like technological progress. It can feel uncomfortable and even scary at times. But history has shown us that you can't stop it. AI is going to continue changing the way we work and create. The people and businesses that learn how to use it effectively and adapt to it will likely be the ones who benefit the most.   GM May Lose the Title of No. 1 Auto Seller in the U.S. General Motors has held the No. 1 spot for auto sales in the United States for 100 years, but that streak could be coming to an end. Toyota is closing in, and based on sales through July, GM has sold only about 100,000 more vehicles than Toyota. At first, that sounds like bad news for GM. But I actually think it's a positive development. For years, GM sacrificed profits in an effort to remain the No. 1 automaker. The company frequently relied on large rebates and discounts to move vehicles off dealer lots, which helped sales but hurt profitability and contributed to GM's financial struggles. That strategy has changed dramatically under CEO Mary Barra, who took over in 2013. The goal is no longer to sell the most vehicles, it's to make the most money. GM has moved away from low-priced cars and sedans with thin profit margins and focused more heavily on larger, higher-margin SUVs and trucks. Vehicles like the Cadillac Escalade and Chevrolet Silverado can generate significantly more profit than lower-priced models. Compare that with Toyota, which sells popular vehicles like the Corolla and Camry in the roughly $24,000–$30,000 range. GM is selling trucks that can cost around $50,000 or more, while high-end models like the Cadillac Escalade can surpass $100,000. In many ways, GM has become more of a premium automaker, competing more directly with companies like Mercedes-Benz and BMW. One challenge GM is facing is factory utilization. Its utilization rate has fallen to about 73% this year, down from 78.5% in 2024. Automakers generally want factory utilization around 80%–85%, while Toyota is operating at roughly 92%. GM plans to add new models to its production lines, which should help improve factory utilization and spread its costs over more vehicles. So, yes, it may be a little disappointing that we won't be able to pound our chests and say General Motors sells more vehicles than anyone else in America. But if you're a GM shareholder, I think you should care a lot more about profitability than bragging rights. And so far, shareholders have been rewarded with a significant increase in GM's stock price.   Company Discussed: Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (Ticker: AAP)

Throughout history, people have been fascinated by automation, technological progress, and how it can change our lives.In 1956, General Motors made a film about the distant future of 1976, when cars would drive themselves with the help of traffic-control towers. In 1993, AT&T envisioned what sounds a lot like today's smart home and smart watch technology.Much of what the companies behind these advertisements promised has come true. The idea, running through all of it, was that technology will set you free. It will connect you. It will give you power over your own life. It will make things better.We sit down to talk with historian Jill Lepore about whether or not that's true.Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

Mike Lomas and Glenn Wiggle open with a look at market stability and the quiet that has followed cuts to organizations they argue were funding street unrest, including commentary on fraud charges tied to Black Lives Matter leadership. The conversation turns to research integrity, with Glenn walking through recent guilty pleas from a vaccine researcher and a former senior advisor to Dr. Fauci, and the hosts arguing that funding structures create incentives to shape findings in both public health and climate science. They discuss the New York Times finally acknowledging the lab leak theory, and press the case for accountability over pandemic school closures and business shutdowns. From there, the hosts critique what they describe as misplaced public sympathy for criminal defendants, citing a viral video and a Texas sentencing case. The back half centers on trade, with clips from Prime Minister Mark Carney's White House meeting prompting a debate over reciprocal tariffs, the shift from NAFTA to USMCA, and the decline of private sector unions. Mike shares a client story about a Lockport manufacturer that grew from ten employees to a hundred after General Motors moved sourcing stateside. The episode closes with Trump's remarks on South Korean defense payments, Treasury action against Iranian money laundering, concerns about federal spending and the national debt, and a lighter Rochester-area story about a children's lemonade stand run by local teachers.00:00:00 Quiet Markets and the Money Behind the Riots00:02:50 Research Fraud and Conflicts of Interest in Science00:04:48 Fauci, COVID Accountability, and Guilty Pleas00:07:53 Lab Leak Origins and the New York Times Op-Ed00:10:33 Misplaced Sympathy, Social Media, and Soft Sentencing00:19:44 Canada Tariffs and the Carney White House Meeting00:23:34 From NAFTA to USMCA and the Decline of Private Unions00:29:04 How Tariffs Grew a Lockport Manufacturer00:33:41 South Korea Defense Payments and Iranian Money Laundering00:42:07 A Rochester Lemonade Stand and a Misspelled Sign

Chinese automakers just captured 77.4% of China's passenger-vehicle market—and exports have topped one million vehicles for two consecutive months.In Episode #258 of China EVs & More, Tu and Lei unpack a dramatic shift in the world's largest auto market: Chinese brands dominating at home, NEVs approaching 70% of domestic passenger-vehicle sales, and China's automakers increasingly turning to exports as domestic demand weakens.We discuss:

Today on CarEdge Live, Ray and Zach discuss the latest new from General Motors. Tune in to learn more! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

GM is doubling down on China for another 20 years—just as China's auto market enters one of its toughest periods in years.In Episode #257 of China EVs & More, Tu and Lei break down General Motors' extension of the SAIC-GM joint venture, China's slowing domestic auto market, booming vehicle exports, and what it all means for global automakers competing with BYD, Geely, Chery, NIO, XPeng and other Chinese OEMs.We also discuss:

In der heutigen Folge sprechen die Finanzjournalisten Daniel Eckert und Lea Oetjen über die steigenden Nvidia-Preise, den ökonomischen D-Day und den Milliarden-Coup von Alibaba. Außerdem geht es um Seagate Technology, Sandisk, Micron Technology, Western Digital, Rocket Lab, Ford, General Motors, J.B. Hunt Transport, Cleveland-Cliffs, Nucor, Steel Dynamics, Century Aluminum, Infineon, SUSS MicroTec, Wacker Chemie, thyssenkrupp, SoftBank, KKR, Live Nation Entertainment, CTS Eventim, Robinhood Markets, Interactive Brokers. Am 2. Oktober findet unser „Alles auf Aktien“-Summit in Berlin statt. Mit dem Code „AAAFRIENDS“ sparst du 50 Prozent auf dein Ticket – aber nur unter folgendem Link: https://veranstaltung.businessinsider.de/event/financesummit26/summary?rp=c6dc55d6-6f4f-4fb4-b75f-3f3501d84859 Wir freuen uns an Feedback über aaa@welt.de. Noch mehr "Alles auf Aktien" findet Ihr bei WELTplus und Apple Podcasts – inklusive aller Artikel der Hosts. Hier bei WELT: https://www.welt.de/podcasts/alles-auf-aktien/plus247399208/Boersen-Podcast-AAA-Bonus-Folgen-Jede-Woche-noch-mehr-Antworten-auf-Eure-Boersen-Fragen.html. Hier könnt ihr den AAA-Newsletter abonnieren: https://www.welt.de/newsletter/article232797673/Alles-auf-Aktien-Der-taegliche-Boersen-Newsletter-fuer-WELTplus-Abonnenten.html Und – ganz neu: AAA gibt es jetzt auch auf Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alles_auf_aktien/ Disclaimer: Die im Podcast besprochenen Aktien und Fonds stellen keine spezifischen Kauf- oder Anlage-Empfehlungen dar. Die Moderatoren und der Verlag haften nicht für etwaige Verluste, die aufgrund der Umsetzung der Gedanken oder Ideen entstehen. Hörtipps: Für alle, die noch mehr wissen wollen: Holger Zschäpitz können Sie jede Woche im Finanz- und Wirtschaftspodcast "Deffner&Zschäpitz" hören. +++ Werbung +++ Du möchtest mehr über unsere Werbepartner erfahren? Hier findest du alle Infos & Rabatte! https://linktr.ee/alles_auf_aktien Anzeige: Eight Sleep: Der Pod 5 reguliert die Temperatur im Bett automatisch, trackt Schlaf- und Gesundheitswerte ohne Wearable und kann so zu besserem Schlaf beitragen. Mit dem Code ALLESAUFAKTIEN erhaltet ihr auf https://www.eightsleep.com/allesaufaktien bis zu 350 Euro Rabatt. Impressum: https://www.welt.de/services/article7893735/Impressum.html Datenschutz: https://www.welt.de/services/article157550705/Datenschutzerklaerung-WELT-DIGITAL.html

P.M. Edition for Aug. 21. “Ghost jobs”—posted roles that companies have no real intention of filling—are a big source of frustration for job seekers. Now, as Journal reporter Lauren Weber discusses, lawmakers in a few states are proposing bills to reel companies in. Plus, bitcoin just had its best week in two years. Vicky Ge Huang, who covers cryptocurrencies, explains what's behind the surge. And President Trump is boosting U.S. beef imports in an effort to lower prices–but the cattle industry is pushing back. Alex Ossola hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free What's News newsletter. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Many hardworking professionals are doing “all the right things” financially, earning a solid income, contributing to their 401(k), and saving consistently yet still feel like true financial freedom is out of reach. Today's guest, John Casmon of Casmon Capital, shows busy corporate professionals how to change that trajectory by investing in multifamily apartments in a way that builds wealth and cash flow without turning them into stressed-out, hands-on landlords. In this episode of Marketer of the Day, John pulls back the curtain on how apartment investing really works and why treating real estate like a business, not a lottery ticket, is the key to long-term wealth. Drawing from his experience watching his parents struggle with job insecurity, seeing General Motors go bankrupt from the inside, and navigating his own painful flip gone wrong, John explains why relying on a “good job” or a 401(k) is no longer enough, and what to do instead. We dig into passive investing and syndications, where everyday professionals can own shares of large apartment communities without dealing with tenants, toilets, contractors, or 2 a.m. emergencies. John explains the role of the general partners, how syndications are structured, and why passive investors can truly “write the check and step back” while still receiving updates, distributions, and the benefits of real estate ownership. John also shares his powerful 3C Framework for raising capital and building trust; Confidence, Credibility, and Connections, and how these principles apply whether you're investing, leading, or building a brand. You'll hear how he leverages his background in advertising and marketing, his experience managing $100M campaigns, and his ability to build relationships to attract investors and operate properties like real businesses. We don't just talk about the upside, either. John walks through the exact risks every investor should understand, including cash flow challenges, fraud, and uncontrollable events like rising costs or natural disasters. He explains why you must ask, “How can I lose money in this deal?” and breaks down critical safeguards such as reserves, underwriting discipline, and the difference between replacement cost vs. replacement value insurance, details that can make or break your returns. Throughout the conversation, John reinforces a key mindset shift: investing is a long-term game, not a single “win or lose” deal. He shares how viewing investing like a game, where bad turns happen, but you stay focused on the end goal (retirement, freedom, college funds, a beach house) can keep you from quitting after one bad experience and instead help you build durable wealth over time. https://youtu.be/fC8Xvedg7Z0?si=K1isNPrQ6zQVWESy If you're a high-earning professional who wants passive income, diversification, and a path to financial freedom, but you don't want a second job swinging hammers or chasing tenants, this episode is a must-listen. John's frameworks, stories, and practical questions will help you evaluate apartment deals, vet operators, and take your next step with clarity and confidence. Quotes: “If you're going to raise capital for deals, you've got to follow the 3 Cs: confidence, credibility, and connections.”  “With real estate, you're buying a business that happens to provide housing, but you have to run it like a business.”  “Real estate is a great tool. That doesn't mean one strategy is right for you… You have to find the strategy that works for you.”  Contact Details: Ready to Build Wealth Through Multifamily Real Estate? Discover Casmon Capital Invest Smarter. Avoid Costly Mistakes. Get the 7 Questions Guide → Get the Free Guide Follow J. Casmon on Instagram for Multifamily Investing Tips & Wealth-Building Strategies Connect with John Casmon on LinkedIn for Multifamily Investing Insights & Strategies Join John Casmon's Investor Community & Grow Your Real Estate Knowledge

The Today in Manufacturing Podcast is brought to you by the editors of Manufacturing.net and Industrial Equipment News (IEN).Sponsor: Is Your Manufacturing SMB Ready for the Digital Revolution?SMBs need to understand where their priorities lie. For about ten years, there has been a major push for businesses to get on board with an evolving slate of digital tools, and for good reason: according to KPMG, 59% of businesses who undertook digital transformation strategies saw profits grow by 11% or more. But as we know, not all manufacturing businesses are created alike. Many experts point to the need for small and medium sized manufacturing businesses to look carefully at the unique requirements necessary for success. In this new whitepaper recap, IEN Editors David Mantey and Anna Wells help manufacturing SMBs understand where their priorities should lie when assessing the best path towards a digital transformation win.Watch the recap right now. https://www.ien.com/formstack/is_your_manufacturing_smb_ready_for_the_digital_revolution_?utm_source=podcastEvery week, we cover the three biggest stories in manufacturing, and the implications they have on the industry moving forward. This week:GM Exits Joint Venture for $3.5B EV Battery Planthttps://www.ien.com/22972203Samsung SDI recently acquired General Motors' stake in the SynergyCells joint venture.SpaceX Picks Texas Home for Massive, Multi-Billion-Dollar Terafabhttps://www.ien.com/22972037Last week, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Tesla and SpaceX announced that Grimes County will be the site of Terafab, a massive vertically-integrated semiconductor fabrication plant.Yamaha to End U.S. Side-by-Side Productionhttps://www.ien.com/22971933Yamaha Motor recently announced some major structural reforms to its outdoor land vehicle (OLV) business, which includes ATVs, ROVs and golf cars.In Case You Missed ItKimberly-Clark Picks Arizona for $100M Pilot Projecthttps://www.ien.com/22972026This low-water plant could be transformative.Milwaukee Tool Thief Gets 5 Yearshttps://www.ien.com/operations/video/22972080/milwaukee-tool-thief-gets-5-yearsLast year, an employee at Milwaukee Tool was arrested for stealing more than $1 million in tools from the Wisconsin tool maker.Small Implant Can Deliver Cancer-targeting Light Directly Inside the Body https://www.medicaldesigndevelopment.com/22972364It could make photodynamic therapy more effective against internal cancers.#Manufacturing #ManufacturingNews #TodayInManufacturing #ManufacturingPodcast #EV #ElectricVehicles #Semiconductors #ChipManufacturing #SpaceX #Tesla #SupplyChain #AmericanManufacturing #FactoryNews

Thaddeus Ladd has spent seventeen years at HRL as the theoretical anchor of its silicon spin qubit program — co-authoring the 2023 Nature paper that demonstrated universal logic with encoded spin qubits, and contributing to the 2026 QPU paper that integrated qubits, a cryo-CMOS controller, and a new superconducting ribbon cable into a single digitally controlled system. He is not a commentator on this acquisition; he is one of the people whose work made it happen.The conversation is recorded eleven days after IBM announced a definitive agreement to acquire HRL from Boeing and General Motors — a deal that has not yet closed. That timing makes this one of the few technically grounded, insider-adjacent conversations available about what IBM is actually buying, why the exchange-only spin qubit architecture is strategically distinctive, and what the combination of HRL's research culture with IBM's fabrication ambitions could produce. Listeners who follow quantum hardware, quantum computing strategy, or the evolution of industrial research labs will find this episode unusually substantive.What We Get IntoWhy the 2026 QPU paper is a systems story, not just a fidelity story — the qubit chip, the cryo-CMOS controller operating at four Kelvin, and the new superconducting ribbon cable are all part of one integrated QPU, and that framing is central to understanding what IBM acquired.What "exchange-only" actually means — why using only voltage-controlled exchange interactions (no microwaves, no local oscillators, no phase tracking during idle) is both a technical constraint and a significant engineering advantage for scaling.Why the jump from six dots to fifty-four dots happened so fast — and what was happening in HRL's fabrication program that wasn't being published.What EUV lithography has to do with spin qubit scaling — and why the connection between HRL's process and IBM's Anderon 300 mm quantum foundry is one of the clearest pieces of strategic logic in the acquisition announcement.How HRL's cryo-CMOS work could benefit IBM's superconducting program — and why the control-and-interconnect bottleneck is a shared problem across modalities, not a spin-qubit-specific one.The "chandelier" reframe — Thaddeus's argument that the cables, filters, and control electronics surrounding a superconducting qubit chip are not overhead; they are part of the QPU, and understanding that changes how you read the HRL acquisition.Which modality Thaddeus thinks will reach commercially useful scale first — and why he still believes spin qubits are the long-term answer, using an analogy to vacuum tubes and silicon microprocessors that is worth hearing in full.What the acquisition means for HRL as an institution — the context of lost program funding, the December 2025 Q2B meeting, and what it means for a defense-oriented industrial research lab to find a commercial path through IBM.Resources & LinksGuestThaddeus D. Ladd — Personal Website & Publications — Self-curated, annotated bibliography; the best single source for his research arc across spin qubits and quantum communication.Thaddeus Ladd — Hertz Foundation Profile — Biographical overview of his career and role at HRL.Thaddeus D. Ladd — Google Scholar — Full citation record.Papers & ArticlesA Digitally Controlled Silicon Quantum Processing Unit — arXiv (April 2026) — The QPU paper discussed at length in this episode: 54-dot device, cryo-CMOS controller at 4 K, superconducting ribbon cable, and error correction experiments — all working as one integrated system.Universal Logic with Encoded Spin Qubits in Silicon — Nature (2023) — The landmark result demonstrating universal logic with exchange-only encoded qubits; Ladd was co-author and lead theorist.Two-Dimensional Si Spin Qubit Arrays with Multilevel Interconnects — PRX Quantum (2025) — Scalable 2D spin-qubit arrays achieving greater than 99.9% single-qubit gate fidelity; the step between the 2023 and 2026 results.Silicon Encoded Spin Qubits Achieve Universality — HRL (2023) — HRL's public announcement of the Nature result; accessible summary for non-specialists.Semiconductor Spin Qubits: The Certainty of Progress — HRL (December 2025) — HRL's public framing of the platform's trajectory, published shortly before the Q2B meeting where Sebastian and Thaddeus first met.Acquisition & IBM StrategyIBM to Acquire HRL Laboratories — IBM Newsroom (July 23, 2026) — The definitive transaction announcement; names the full scope of what IBM says it is acquiring.IBM to Acquire HRL Laboratories — HRL Laboratories (July 23, 2026) — HRL's concise confirmation of the deal and the beginning of regulatory review.What Are Spin Qubits? — IBM Quantum (July 23, 2026) — IBM's technical explanation of HRL's Si/SiGe exchange-only qubits and the shared silicon fabrication argument.A Brief History of HRL Laboratories — IBM Research (July 23, 2026) — IBM's institutional framing of HRL, including its history with the laser, self-aligned-gate MOS fabrication, and the 2026 spin-qubit QPU.IBM and U.S. Department of Commerce Announce Anderon Quantum Foundry (May 21, 2026) — The 300 mm quantum foundry announcement that Thaddeus identifies as one of the clearest pieces of strategic logic behind the HRL acquisition.IBM Commits More Than $10 Billion to Quantum Computing (June 2, 2026) — Capital context for the acquisition: R&D, manufacturing scale-up, M&A, and ecosystem investment over five years.Tools & PlatformsspinQICK — GitHub — HRL's open-source FPGA-based spin-qubit control toolkit; a concrete artifact of HRL's approach to open tooling.HRL Launches Open-Source spinQICK — HRL (July 2025) — Announcement and context for the spinQICK release.HRL Quantum — Collection of HRL quantum research, talks, and news.Organizations

Las políticas revolucionarias del bando republicano llevaron al trueque de alimentos o bienes básicos para realizar entierros. En este nuevo episodio del podcast de historia de Libertad Digital, Desmemoria Histórica, presentamos el libro del historiador, investigador y periodista Miguel Platón Por qué Franco ganó la guerra.Desmemoria HistóricaNuria Richart Que Franco no perdiera la Guerra Civil y el bando del Frente Popular no la ganara es algo que ha marcado nuestra historia política, económica y social. Han pasado 90 años y los españoles siguen sin saber qué pasó para que un bando ganara y otro no. Dos leyes de memoria y una continua manipulación de la historia, por acción, omisión o sobreactuación, nos tendría que hacer pensar qué es lo que hay detrás de este viejo empeño. En su libro Platón cita al historiador norteamericano Burnett Bolloten, que en 1961 advirtió: "Aunque el estallido de la Guerra Civil Española en julio de 1936 fue seguido de una revolución social a gran escala en la zona antifranquista —en algunos aspectos, más profunda que la Revolución Bolchevique en sus primeras fases— a millones de personas lúcidas fuera de España se les ocultó no únicamente su profundidad y su magnitud sino incluso su existencia por medio de una política de duplicidad e hipocresía de la que no hay paralelo en la historia". Desvelamos los factores clave que llevaron a la victoria al Bando Nacional cuando ni era evidente ni inevitable. Al inicio del conflicto, en julio de 1936, hace ahora noventa años, los sublevados se encontraban en una situación de clara desventaja material y territorial frente al Gobierno del Frente Popular. Pedro Fernández Barbadillo y Platón recuerdan en este nuevo capítulo de Desmemoria Histórica cómo los rebeldes solo controlaban la tercera parte del territorio, el 40% de la población y carecían de los recursos financieros e industriales del país, que permanecían bajo el control de la República en Cataluña, el País Vasco y Valencia.Las nefastas decisiones económicas revolucionarias Como resalta Platón, una mejor gestión de los recursos y una dirección militar unificada y profesional permitieron a Francisco Franco invertir la situación a lo largo de los tres años de guerra. Por cierto, el Partido Nacionalista Vasco (PNV) entregó intacta la industria siderometalúrgica de Vizcaya a los sublevados en agosto de 1937 en el Pacto de Santoña.Por qué Franco ganó la guerra: una contienda manipuladaMiguel Platón En el plano económico, en el podcast se detalla cómo la República destruyó su propio sistema productivo mediante las colectivizaciones forzosas o la abolición de la propiedad privada, lo que provocó una inflación desbocada y el colapso de la peseta republicana. En estas zonas el desabastecimiento obligó a recurrir al trueque para subsistir. Sindicatos como la CNT llegaron a exigir alimentos o bienes básicos para realizar entierros. La cartilla de racionamiento solo funcionó en las zonas revolucionarias. Cada bando también gestionó de forma muy diferente la ayuda internacional. Mientras que Franco obtuvo suministros militares, petróleo de la Texaco y más de 10.000 camiones de marcas norteamericanas como Ford y General Motors a crédito, la República dependió de la Unión Soviética. Stalin, por su parte, "estafó triplemente a los republicanos e hizo mucho daño al Ejército Popular", dice Platón. No solo exigió el pago al contado con el famoso oro del Banco de España, sino que estafó sistemáticamente al Gobierno frentepopulista: fijó un tipo de cambio arbitrario y cobró precios inflados por armamento obsoleto. Otro factor fundamental de la victoria del bando nacional fue la unidad política y el liderazgo militar que el bando rojo fue incapaz de alcanzar. En septiembre de 1936, el bando sublevado nombra a Franco generalísimo de los ejércitos y jefe del Gobierno del Estado y se establece el mando único, oficializado el 1 de octubre en Burgos. Además, los nacionales estuvieron dirigidos por oficiales profesionales y experimentados en las campañas de Marruecos. En contraposición, el Gobierno de la República huyó a Valencia y los sindicatos, anarquistas y demás partidos del Frente Popular se enfrentaron de forma sangrienta entre ellos; la violencia interna en la zona republicana se ejemplifica en los sucesos de mayo de 1937 en Barcelona. Hace unos días, el 13 de julio de 1936, también se han cumplido nueve décadas del asesinato del líder de la oposición, José Calvo Sotelo, el hecho decisivo para el Alzamiento militar. La violencia por parte de un Frente Popular revolucionario estaba desatada. Es poco conocido el dato de que la primera muerte de civiles en la guerra la perpetran los frentepopulistas.

¿Cuánto dinero mueve realmente la muerte? En este episodio #150 analizamos el negocio de las funerarias, el método con el que Toyota superó a General Motors y las estrategias más creativas para conseguir trabajo. También debatimos si deberías trabajar antes de emprender, cómo la IA camufla a los mediocres y por qué el software de pago podría tener los días contados. ‍ Accede al Curso Avanzado de Procedimientos Tributarios de CEF UDIMA: https://bit.ly/4q86hdy CEF: https://bit.ly/3RJToKf UDIMA: https://bit.ly/4wW8onCudima.esUDIMA Accede a la formación de Executive Lab y empieza a utilizar la IA en tu negocio: https://inscripcion.executivelab.ai/ Accede a nuestro NUEVO CANAL DE WHATSAPP: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb9Fct3CcW4iK4dkVu2g : Invierte de forma segura y recibe un 3% sobre tu efectivo con Trade Republic: https://trade.re/spicy4tuna Invertir conlleva riesgos, los rendimientos no están garantizados. Aplican T&Cs. Empieza tu PRUEBA GRATIS hoy con SHOPIFY: https://shopify.com Prueba gratis la Cuenta de empresa de Qonto y simplifica las finanzas de tu negocio: https://bit.ly/4lPuNxU ¿Quieres abrir tu propio BERTO's MILANESA?: https://spicy4tuna.com/bertos-milanesa/ Inspecciona tu futura vivienda y evita que se convierta en una pesadilla: https://hausum.com/?utm_source=spicy4tuna&utm_medium=youtube&utm_campaign=premier Invierte en inmuebles de forma pasiva y sin dolores de cabeza con Inversiva: https://inversiva.com/invierte-en-inmuebles/?utm_source=referral&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=spicy4tuna Contacta con el equipo de Executive Lab para acceder a nuestra formación de Inteligencia Artificial para Empresarios y Ejecutivos: https://executivelab.ai/ ════════════════ ️ Accede a la Web de Spicy4tuna y Suscríbete a nuestra Newsletter: https://www.spicy4tuna.com Contacto para Sponsors ➡ https://tally.so/r/nrPNE5 Email de Contacto ➡ podcast@spicy4tuna.com ════════════════ Todos los episodios completos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9XxulgDZKuzf6zuPWcuF6anvQOrukMom ════════════════ REDES SOCIALES DE SPICY4TUNA ➜ INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/spicy4tunapodcast/ ➜ TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@spicy4tuna ➜ FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/spicy4tuna ════════════════ ️ ESCUCHA SPICY4TUNA EN FORMATO PODCAST Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2QPC17Z9LhTntCA4c3Ijk9?si=39b610a14bb24f1f iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/es/podcast/spicy4tuna/id1714279648 iVoox: https://www.ivoox.com/escuchar-audios-spicy4tuna_al_33258956_1.html ════════════════ ¿QUIÉNES SOMOS? · Euge Oller: https://www.instagram.com/euge.oller/ · Willyrex: https://www.instagram.com/willyrex/ · Marc Urgell: https://www.instagram.com/marcurgelldiaz/ · Alvaro845: https://www.instagram.com/alvaro845/ ════════════════ 00:00 A continuación... 03:43 El negocio de los muertos 16:09 ¿Compensa pagar un seguro de decesos? 24:34 El futuro de las funerarias y la criogenización 31:09 Cómo Toyota superó a General Motors 39:12 Cómo evitar un recargo de Hacienda 43:34 ¿Deberías trabajar antes de emprender? 56:52 Lo que aprendes trabajando para otros 01:06:39 Lo que les habría gustado saber antes de emprender 01:16:24 Estrategias creativas para conseguir trabajo 01:30:36 La IA está camuflando a los mediocres 01:41:30 El auge y caída del mayor estudio de animación español 01:58:03 Idea de negocio: convertir software de pago en gratuito 02:09:24 Despedida

Para tranquilidad de los más puristas, no vamos a hablar de silenciosos coches eléctricos ni de eficientes y pesadas baterías. Quizás el AC Cobra sea el mejor "híbrido" que jamás haya visto la industria del automóvil. Fue una de las ideas más magistrales, salvajes y revolucionarias de todos los tiempos. Este mítico vehículo es el resultado de la brillante visión de Carroll Shelby, quien decidió cruzar la agilidad y ligereza extrema de un delicado chasis británico con la fuerza bruta y el empuje de un motor V8 norteamericano, reuniendo lo mejor de dos mundos diametralmente opuestos en un solo coche de ensueño. El cerebro detrás de este imponente deportivo pertenecía a uno de los hombres más astutos, irreverentes y testarudos de la historia del automovilismo: Carroll Hall Shelby. Nacido en 1923 en Leesburg, una pequeña y polvorienta localidad del estado de Texas, Shelby estaba muy lejos del clásico estereotipo de ingeniero de guante blanco o de aristócrata europeo que competía apoyado en una gran fortuna. Era un humilde criador de pollos que se arruinó de la noche a la mañana cuando una feroz epidemia de la enfermedad de Newcastle aniquiló todas sus aves. Esa asfixiante ruina económica, combinada con su enorme pasión por la velocidad, lo empujó a las carreras bastante tarde. Su leyenda se forjó cuando, al llegar con retraso a su primera competición, tuvo que correr al volante con su sucio peto a rayas típico de granjero tejano. Ganó con una superioridad tan insultante que convirtió ese peculiar mono de trabajo en su seña de identidad inconfundible. Su carrera como piloto alcanzó el máximo nivel de gloria en 1959. A los mandos de un Aston Martin DBR1 oficial y haciendo equipo con Roy Salvadori, Shelby logró la victoria absoluta en las durísimas 24 Horas de Le Mans. Lo que casi nadie del público sabía era que corrió aquella prueba de resistencia francesa sufriendo una severa angina de pecho, obligándose a llevar fuertes pastillas de nitroglicerina bajo la lengua para evitar sufrir un infarto mortal a más de 250 kilómetros por hora. Shelby era consciente de que los coches americanos poseían motores V8 fiables y con un par demoledor, pero estaban montados en chasis de acero pesadísimos con suspensiones blandas. Por su parte, los europeos fabricaban chasis de aluminio ágiles y soñados, pero con motores enormemente complejos y frágiles. Para lograr su "híbrido", contactó con AC Cars en Inglaterra, una pequeña fábrica artesanal que estaba al borde del colapso. Producían el AC Ace, un precioso y diminuto roadster inspirado en el Ferrari 166 MM Barchetta. Al quedarse sin los veteranos motores que les suministraba Bristol, aceptaron a la desesperada enviar sus chasis a Shelby para que él les acoplara una mecánica. Tras recibir un duro portazo de General Motors, que no iba a dar motores a un rival de su Corvette, Shelby convenció a un joven Lee Iacocca en Ford. La marca ansiaba desesperadamente una imagen deportiva y le cedió a crédito su innovador y ligero motor V8 de 260 pulgadas cúbicas. El milagro se obró en Los Ángeles en 1962: en un taller y en apenas ocho horas de trabajo ininterrumpido, acoplaron el enorme corazón de Ford en el frágil chasis británico, dando vida al primer prototipo, el CSX2000. Estando completamente arruinado para iniciar la producción en masa, Shelby ideó una genial estafa de marketing: pintó ese único y solitario coche de distintos colores, como amarillo, rojo y azul, para prestárselo a la prensa de la época. Creó así la falsa ilusión de tener una enorme flota saliendo de su fábrica y las reservas llovieron, salvando la empresa. El AC Cobra 260 pesaba apenas 1000 kilos y devoraba el 0 a 100 km/h en poco más de 4 segundos. Pronto llegó el bloque de 289 pulgadas cúbicas, creando el modelo más equilibrado de toda la saga. Sin embargo, su frontal casi plano como un ladrillo chocaba contra un muro de aire en la larguísima recta de Le Mans. Negándose a perder, Shelby encargó al diseñador Peter Brock carrozar ese chasis. Nació así el extravagante y aerodinámico Shelby Daytona Coupe de cola truncada, con el que finalmente derrotaron a los intocables Ferrari 250 GTO en el Campeonato Mundial de GT. Pero el tejano nunca tenía suficiente. En 1965 obligó a rediseñar todo el chasis, haciéndolo mucho más robusto con modernos amortiguadores, para introducir el gigantesco y pesado motor V8 de 7.0 litros derivado de la NASCAR. Había nacido el AC Cobra 427, un monstruo indomable de más de 425 caballos de fuerza.

It's ev.news Briefly for Wednesday 12 August 2026, only todays headlines and nothing else, in just 4 minutes if you haven't got time for the full show.Patreon supporters fund this show, get the episodes ad free, as soon as they're ready and are part of the ev.news Community. You can be like them by clicking here: https://www.patreon.com/evnewsKIA PRICES 2027 EV3 IN US FROM $29,890Kia will sell the EV3 in America starting at $29,890 for the Light front-wheel-drive model, with up to 321 miles of EPA-estimated range on the long-range version, five trim levels, and a standard NACS port for Tesla Supercharger access. The entry-level electric SUV offers front-wheel drive with 201 horsepower, all-wheel drive with 261 horsepower, or a GT variant at 288 horsepower, with AWD costing an extra $3,200 on most trims.BRITAIN'S USED EV SALES RISE 67% TO 110,761 IN SECOND QUARTERBritain's used EV market surged 67% to 110,761 sales in the second quarter of 2026, capturing a record 5.5% share of the used car market and claiming one in every 18 second-hand purchases. Electric cars nearly doubled their market penetration from 3.3% a year earlier as traditional petrol and diesel vehicles continued to dominate with 86.7% of transactions.USED EV VALUES RISE 1.6% IN JULY, FOURTH STRAIGHT MONTHLY GAINThree-year-old battery electric vehicles in the UK gained 1.6% in value during July, marking their fourth consecutive month of growth since March and a cumulative 7% increase of roughly £1,500 per car. Fleet EVs like the Peugeot 208 Electric, Mercedes EQB, VW ID.4, and Tesla Model Y now sell within 14 days, positioning them as the fastest-selling used cars in the market.AUSTRALIAN EV SALES DOUBLE AS PETROL HITS $2.53 A LITREElectric vehicle sales in Australia more than doubled in the second quarter of 2026 as unleaded petrol reached a record $2.53 per litre, making up one in five new cars sold. Market share for fully electric vehicles climbed from 12.25% to over 21% in the first half of 2026, driven primarily by fuel prices rather than policy.EVGO OPENS 350KW FLAGSHIP CHARGING SITE IN DETROIT WITH MEIJER AND GMEVgo opened a 350kW flagship charging station in Detroit with 12 CCS and NACS stalls beneath a canopy, capable of delivering a full charge in as little as 15 minutes and accommodating vehicles towing trailers through pull-through access. The site represents EVgo's vision for charging infrastructure, with the company expecting more than 100 flagship locations online by the end of 2026 after building nearly 2,400 stalls nationwide with GM's backing.GERMAN INSURER REPORTS 12% OF PRIVATE CAR SWITCHES GO ELECTRICGerman insurer HUK Coburg reported that 12% of private vehicle changes switched to battery-electric cars in the second quarter of 2026, more than double the pre-war rate of 6.3%, with 24% of licence holders citing fuel prices since the Iran conflict as motivation. Germany registered 368,000 new BEVs in the first half of 2026 (48% more than 2025) for a 24.8% market share, while Tesla's share among switchers jumped from 5.6% to 12.2% and German brands lost ground except in the used market.SAMSUNG SDI BUYS GM'S 49.99% STAKE IN INDIANA BATTERY VENTURESamsung SDI has acquired General Motors' 49.99% stake in SynergyCells, the Indiana battery venture formed in 2024, citing slower-than-expected EV demand and pivoting the plant to produce cells and modules for energy storage systems rather than GM vehicles. The $3.5 billion venture will still open in 2026, though Samsung SDI and GM have signed a separate agreement to develop next-generation prismatic cells together for possible future EVs.TOKYO RAISES EV SUBSIDY TO 1.3 MILLION YEN PER VEHICLETokyo's metropolitan government raised its electric vehicle subsidy to 1.3 million yen per vehicle with no purchase limit, stackable with national incentives and bonuses for vehicle-to-load capability, charging equipment installation, renewable energy, and solar power usage. The scheme grades manufacturers by subsidy level—Toyota, Nissan, and Honda receive 400,000 yen while BYD receives only 100,000 yen in Tokyo—allowing buyers to potentially pay as little as 2.2 million yen for a 4.8 million yen Toyota bZ4X after stacking both subsidy tiers.FORMULA E SPLITS INTO TWO RACE FORMATS FROM 2026/27From the 2026/27 season, Formula E will run two distinct race formats: the E-Prix Unleashed as a 30-minute sprint with high downforce and no mandatory pit stop, and the conventional E-Prix as a 45-minute race with low-downforce aerodynamics and compulsory pit stops. The split reflects the capabilities of the new GEN4 car, which features permanent all-wheel drive, up to 600kW output, and 0-62 mph acceleration in roughly 1.8 seconds.V ENGINEERING BUILDS 12.4KWH REPLACEMENT BATTERY FOR MCLAREN P1V Engineering, a McLaren specialist based in Berkshire, has developed Project Continuum, a replacement high-voltage hybrid battery for the P1 that stores 12.4kWh compared to the original 4.72kWh while weighing 23kg less and requiring no rewiring. Customer installations will begin in spring 2027 for cars across the UK, Europe, the Middle East, and the United States, addressing the 2010-era battery's deterioration after approaching 16 years in service.

- Tariffs Give Imports $7K/Car Advantage - Ex UAW Presidents Oppose Fain Re-Election - GM Building $4.5 Billion Emergency Stockpile - How Hyundai is Using Gen-AI - Kia EV3 Enters U.S. Under $32K - Waymo Ojai More 'Affordable' Even w/ 102% Tariff - 1st Look at Jaguar Type 01 Interior

What happens when experience, entrepreneurship, and the next generation of motorsports all come together at one table? Recorded live at the 2026 High Performance Expo (HPX), this episode of the Outstanding Life Podcast brings together three incredible women with three very different stories, all connected by a passion for motorsports and the courage to chase what's next. Johnny D sits down with Laura Wontrop Klauser, who served as Sports Car Racing Program Manager for General Motors, overseeing the Cadillac and Corvette racing programs. Now, Laura is betting on herself, stepping into a new chapter as her own boss and launching a company as a motorsports advisor. Joining the conversation is 16-year-old aspiring race car driver Bella Bowman, whose dreams extend beyond the driver's seat into social media and marketing, along with her mom, Erin Bowman, a Motorsports Luxury Destination Developer who understands the business, lifestyle, and opportunities surrounding the sport. From leading major racing programs to starting over as an entrepreneur, from a young woman dreaming of a future behind the wheel to a mom helping build opportunities in the motorsports world, this conversation is about much more than racing. It's about dreaming big, taking chances, reinventing yourself, supporting the next generation, and refusing to put an expiration date on your goals. Three women. Three different journeys. One shared passion. And one OUTSTANDING conversation you don't want to miss. Because sometimes the next chapter of your life doesn't begin when you're ready, it begins when you're brave enough to start. Keep living the OUTSTANDING Life. PODCAST ‘Outstanding Life' HOST The Motivational Cowboy - Johnny D. (John Dmytryszyn) WEBSITE https://www.MotivationalCowboy.com/podcast/ SOUNDCLOUD PODCAST https://soundcloud.com/outstandinglifepodcast iTUNES APPLE PODCAST https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/outstanding-life-with-the-motivational-cowboy/id1410576520?mt=2 SPOTIFY PODCAST https://open.spotify.com/show/4OFNmM9Rv9jNA0gQMPv8XU STITCHER https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=389557&refid=stpr YOUTUBE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tttQkLT7SfE&list=PL1Jmeb31MqLiNLxcnufzmCCca3HGH20Rj&index=2&t=0s SUPPORT with PAYPAL https://www.paypal.me/motivationalcowboy LISTEN for FREE to ‘Outstanding Life' PODCAST with Johnny D. the Motivational Cowboy on iTunes, Spotify, SoundCloud, Stitcher, YouTube & other major platforms and stations. Now with Over 1 Million Listeners! Motivational Speaker, John Dmytryszyn (Johnny D) has developed a strong brand as “The Motivational Cowboy”. He impacts audiences across the country with his message of “Living the Outstanding Life”, helping to change lives by reshaping thoughts about Image, Attitude, Focus and Consistency. His podcast is the latest in a long list of platforms that allows him to reach people. Among his most notable accomplishments is a 2nd Grammy consideration for his recently released spoken word CD “Time to Stand Out!”. https://www.MotivationalCowboy.com

- Tariffs Give Imports $7K/Car Advantage - Ex UAW Presidents Oppose Fain Re-Election - GM Building $4.5 Billion Emergency Stockpile - How Hyundai is Using Gen-AI - Kia EV3 Enters U.S. Under $32K - Waymo Ojai More 'Affordable' Even w/ 102% Tariff - 1st Look at Jaguar Type 01 Interior

Can EHS transition from a cost center into a strategic business driver that protects the bottom line? In this episode of the MuuvWell Podcast, host Kevin sits down with Ryan Rouse (CSP), EHS Manager at Vybond in Franklin, Kentucky. Drawing from 10 years at General Motors and 7.5 years scaling safety operations at Amazon, Ryan breaks down how he applies enterprise-level systems to modern manufacturing.Discover how Vybond tackled soft tissue injuries—which previously accounted for over 54% of their recordable incidents—by establishing an innovative on-site injury prevention clinic covering both workplace and personal health at zero cost to workers. Ryan also shares how he eliminated expensive standalone EHS software, leveraging native Microsoft Power Automate tools to automate near-miss tracking and spend 50% of his team's time out on the plant floor.Key Takeaways:Lessons from GM & Amazon: Applying scalable mechanisms from enterprise environments to modern manufacturing facilities.Merging Personal Health & Ergonomics: How providing on-site physical therapy for personal physical issues lowers overall health insurance costs and prevents workers' comp claims.A New Safety Standard: Shifting from "go home in the same condition" to "go home feeling better than when you arrived."Consolidating EHS Tech Stacks: Replacing costly standalone EHS software with native Microsoft Power Automate, Power Apps, and Power BI integrated directly into operations.The 5-Level Near-Miss System: Prioritizing near-miss reporting into five distinct levels to automate follow-ups and eliminate spreadsheet tracking.Connect with MuuvWell:

From rising diesel prices and geopolitical instability to new defense sourcing requirements and rapid advances in artificial intelligence, procurement and supply chain leaders are navigating a business environment where the traditional playbook no longer works. In this episode of The Buzz, powered by Toyota Automated Logistics, hosts Scott Luton and Allison Giddens welcome James Meads, founder of Entrepreneurial Procurement, for a timely discussion on the forces reshaping procurement and global supply chains. The conversation explores major investments in domestic manufacturing, the growing tension between lean inventory and supply chain resilience, and the ripple effects of diesel shortages and commodity inflation. The panel also examines new Pentagon sourcing and traceability policies, including the challenges of reducing dependence on critical materials from countries such as China and Russia. James explains why procurement teams must move beyond a process-driven, support-function mindset and begin operating more like entrepreneurial business partners. He also shares practical AI applications that can eliminate repetitive work, improve research, and help procurement professionals focus on higher-value decisions without automating broken processes or relying on poor data. Key Takeaways: Why companies such as GE Aerospace and General Motors are investing heavily in domestic production, supplier resilience, and access to critical components How geopolitical instability is forcing businesses to reconsider just-in-time inventory strategies and qualify additional suppliers Why higher diesel prices can create widespread inflation across transportation, agriculture, manufacturing, and consumer goods The opportunities and risks associated with new defense sourcing, supply chain mapping, and material traceability requirements Why procurement leaders must advocate for investment, communicate their value, and adopt a stronger ownership mindset Practical AI use cases that can reduce manual work in procurement, including data entry, supplier research, category strategies, RFPs, and RFQs Why technology cannot successfully orchestrate broken processes or unreliable data How procurement teams can choose technology based on specific business problems instead of getting distracted by product demos and industry hype Procurement is no longer simply about controlling costs or processing transactions. It has become a critical source of resilience, innovation, risk management, and competitive advantage. Tune in to hear practical guidance on building stronger supplier strategies, selecting technology that solves real problems, and preparing your organization for a more uncertain and fast-moving global business environment. Additional Links & Resources:  Learn more about Toyota Automated Logistics: https://toyota-automated-logistics.com/ The latest edition of “With That Said”: https://bit.ly/WTS-2-August-2026 GM invests in U.S. onshoring: https://bit.ly/GM-Invests-In-Onshoring-2026 “Diesel Supply Crunch”: https://bit.ly/4yQTEI1 The White House issues executive order on DoD procurement: https://bit.ly/New-Executive-Order-for-DoD-CriticalMinerals Download the Procurement Tech Map from James Meads: https://resources.entproc.com/tech-map-for-mid-market-businesses Connect with James Meads: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-meads/ Upcoming Live Programming:  https://supplychainnow.com/upcoming-live-programming/ Supply Chain Now Resource Hub: https://supplychainnow.com/resource-hub/ Learn more about our hosts: https://supplychainnow.com/about Learn more about Supply Chain Now: https://supplychainnow.com Watch and listen to more Supply Chain Now episodes here: https://supplychainnow.com/program/supply-chain-now   Subscribe to Supply Chain Now on your favorite platform: https://supplychainnow.com/join   Work with us! Download Supply Chain Now's NEW Media Kit: https://bit.ly/3XH6OVk WEBINAR- From Volume to Resilience: How Automotive Supply Chains Are Adapting to a New Market Reality: https://bit.ly/4f6SUGA WEBINAR- The Automotive Industry's Next Digital Breakthrough: https://bit.ly/4vhUwT4 WEBINAR- From Disruption to Stability: Building Resilient Logistics Solutions in a Rapidly Changing Global Market: https://bit.ly/3TguZMt WEBINAR- SAP AI Inside the Supply Chain: From Silo to Orchestration: https://bit.ly/4bvpz6K This episode was hosted by Scott Luton and Allison Giddens, and produced by Trisha Cordes, Joshua Miranda, and Amanda Luton. For additional information, please visit our dedicated episode page at: https://supplychainnow.com/thebuzz-procurement-mindset-shift-modern-businesses-need-1619 The content in this episode, including all audio, videos, visuals, and graphics, is the property of Supply Chain Now and is protected by copyright law. Unauthorized use, reproduction, distribution, modification, or re-uploading of this content in any form is strictly prohibited without explicit written permission from Supply Chain Now.For licensing inquiries or permissions, please contact us at production@supplychainnow.com© 2026 Supply Chain Now. All rights reserved. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It's ev.news Briefly for Wednesday 05 August 2026, only todays headlines and nothing else, in just 4 minutes if you haven't got time for the full show.Patreon supporters fund this show, get the episodes ad free, as soon as they're ready and are part of the ev.news Community. You can be like them by clicking here: https://www.patreon.com/evnewsAUDI STRIPS BACK A2 E-TRON CAMOUFLAGEAudi has removed most camouflage from the A2 e-tron ahead of an autumn world premiere, calling it the most efficient car it has ever built, with the 140 kW efficiency-package variant quoting provisional WLTP consumption of 12.8 kWh/100 km (4.85 miles per kWh) from a 61 kWh gross/58 kWh net LFP cell-to-pack battery, aided by active cool-air intakes, air curtains, gap reducers, silicon-carbide power electronics and 89.6% wallbox charging efficiency. DC charging peaks at 105 kW with a 26-minute 10–80% charge, V2L supplies 2.3 kW and V2H is offered, and three packs of 50, 58 and 79 kWh are expected using the VW Group APP350 drive unit on the updated MEB platform rather than MEB+.EVGO GROWS IN TOWNS AND ON MOTORWAYSEVgo will add more than 500 DC fast-charging stalls at Brixmor Property Group shopping centres, covering at least 90 sites and over a quarter of Brixmor's retail portfolio, starting later this year at Barn Plaza near Philadelphia with further builds in Florida, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Texas, many with up to 12 high-power stalls. Its highway venture with Pilot Company and General Motors, launched in 2022, has now passed 300 locations and roughly 1,300 stalls across 40 states and about 75% of the contiguous US, more than halfway to a target of up to 2,000 stalls at 500 sites, and on 5 August 2026 EVgo said it will add Tesla V4 Superchargers to its network.RIVIAN PUTS VOICE CONTROL BEHIND PAYWALLRivian switched off Amazon's Alexa across its entire fleet on Monday 3 August 2026, retiring Alexa Built-in from 4 August and leaving voice control available only through Rivian Assistant, which runs on Google's Gemini and requires a Connect+ subscription at $14.99 a month (about £11) or $149.99 a year (about £112). Previously free voice calls and messages now sit behind that paywall, along with the loss of Alexa-linked Amazon Music, Pandora and smart-home controls, though touchscreen and Bluetooth dialling remain, and the move follows Rivian charging for hands-free driving from April via Autonomy+ at $49.99 a month or $2,500 outright, despite Amazon being Rivian's second-largest shareholder.ID. BUZZ CARGO GETS CHEAPER, GOES FURTHERVolkswagen Commercial Vehicles has replaced the ID. Buzz Cargo's entry 59kWh pack with a new 58kWh unit shared with the ID.3 Neo, lifting WLTP range from 201 miles (323km) to 218 miles (351km) through cell chemistry and efficiency rather than extra capacity, while cutting the price to £29,995 excluding VAT, £5,655 less than before, with the £5,000 Plug-in Van Grant bringing the effective entry price close to £25,000 and Contract Hire from £239 a month. Charging peaks at 105kW for a 26-minute 10-80% top-up, the 79kWh version is unchanged at 277 miles (446km) and 185kW, and vehicle-to-load arrives across the range supplying 2.0kW continuously and 3.6kW peak at 16A/240V through a three-pin loadspace socket.KONA ELECTRIC GETS FULL UK EV GRANTHyundai Motor UK has moved the Kona Electric from Band 2 to Band 1 of the Electric Car Grant, raising its discount from £1,500 ($2,010) to the full £3,750 ($5,025). With a list price of £35,000 ($46,900), the model now starts at £31,250 ($41,875) with the grant applied.TESLA JULY EUROPE DATA SPLITS SHARPLYTesla's July European registrations diverged sharply, rising 86% year on year in France and 52% in Denmark, while falling 97% in Norway, 60% in Sweden and 81% in Spain, where just 131 cars were registered. Spain illustrates the underlying weakness, with Tesla up 19.8% year to date through July against a 34.9% rise in the electrified market, and Matthias Schmidt of Schmidt Automotive attributing the pattern to Tesla steering allocation towards incentive-rich markets such as Germany and France, with German volumes potentially jumping in the second half of 2026.UK BEV SHARE HITS 27.4%UK battery-electric registrations rose 49% to 43,547 units in July, taking a 27.4% market share according to NewAutomotive, while petrol registrations fell 8.2% and diesel dropped 10.6%. Chinese brands took 16% of the UK new-car market in the month, led by MG, Omoda, Jaecoo and BYD.BRITTANY FERRIES STARTS PORTSMOUTH SHORE POWERBrittany Ferries will begin using shore power at Portsmouth International Port from Monday with two hybrid vessels, activating a system completed late last year that had sat idle due to a delayed grid connection and months of negotiation over financial terms, since plugging in costs more than burning marine fuel. Chief executive Christophe Mathieu called it a milestone that unlocks the potential of the Channel's greenest vessels and makes the company a better neighbour to Portsmouth residents, while urging government tax breaks, as Portsmouth becomes home to the UK ports industry's first multi-berth, multi-user shore power system.US ARMY PICKS HARBRINGER HYBRID UGV PLATFORMThe US Army has awarded American Rheinmetall an 18-month contract to build and deliver next-generation uncrewed ground vehicles under Project Sustainment, using California firm Harbinger's Praesidia series-hybrid powertrain, which pairs a high-torque electric motor with a compact petrol engine that charges the battery but has no mechanical link to the wheels. Praesidia can export up to 350 kW to external systems, with 48 kW continuous from the engine and 15 kW split-phase AC from an onboard inverter, and Harbinger claims over 500 miles (805 km) on a full tank and charge, including roughly 105 miles (169 km) on electricity alone, with the architecture suiting silent-watch operation where acoustic signature matters.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune is trying to get a bunch done ahead of the Senate's long summer break, from sanctions legislation on Russia to funding the government. But none of that seems to matter to President Trump. He's focused on the SAVE America Act – a sweeping piece of federal legislation that would dramatically change how Americans vote (and most likely, who gets to vote in the first place). Now, a group of far-right Senators – like Utah Sen. Mike Lee – are demanding Thune cancel vacation and put the SAVE America Act on the floor. So who is in charge in the Senate – John Thune, or Donald Trump? To find out, we spoke to Burgess Everett. He's the congressional bureau chief at Semafor.And in headlines, Trump defended his sweeping tariffs during a speech at a General Motors facility in Michigan; a New York Times report revealed that the Trump Administration canceled major grants for clean-energy projects based entirely on politics; and President Trump finally got to perform his stand-up routine at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner.Show Notes: Check out Burgess' work – semafor.com/author/burgess-everett Call Congress – 202-224-3121 Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/y4y2e9jy What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/ For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com

As a backlash against AI builds, CEOs of AI firms are beefing up security and telling employees to leave their company branded swag at home. WSJ's Zusha Elinson unpacks the violent threats putting the industry on edge. Plus, Tesla became the most valuable car company in the world by acting less like an automaker and more like a tech company. WSJ Detroit Bureau Chief Patrick George digs into the company's latest quarterly results, and why they made investors push the stock lower. Imani Moise hosts. Have you seen an AI-generated post you thought was real? We want to hear from you! Record a voice memo and send it to tnb@wsj.com or leave us a voicemail at (212) 416-2236. Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

P.M. Edition for July 21. Recent AI models from China claim they're just as powerful as some of the most cutting-edge models from OpenAI and Anthropic. Journal reporter Amrith Ramkumar joins to discuss the latest reactions from Silicon Valley and the White House. Plus, General Motors had a strong second quarter as consumers kept buying pickup trucks and SUVs. And New Jersey says a software error led to almost 400 non-citizens voting in elections in the state since 2023. Alex Ossola hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free What's News newsletter. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Plus: trade technology provider Altana acquires AI platform to tackle customs complexity. And Coinbase stock jumps after Clarity Act clears major hurdle. Julie Chang hosts. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Plus: Oil tops $90 a barrel as Middle East conflict continues. And shares of Utz Brands soar after the snack-food maker agrees to go private. Imani Moise hosts. Sign up for WSJ's free What's News newsletter. An artificial-intelligence tool assisted in the making of this episode by creating summaries that were based on Wall Street Journal reporting and reviewed and adapted by an editor. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Carl Quintanilla and Jim Cramer discussed the chip sector rally as stocks look to snap a three-day losing streak. Hear why Cramer says not to own "too much tech" and that "for the moment, it's time to go to other sectors." The anchors reacted to 3M and General Motors each posting Q2 earnings beats and raising guidance. SpaceX in the midst of a seven-day losing streak and falling below Meta in the market cap race. See how far SpaceX shares have tumbled since being added to the Nasdaq 100 two weeks ago. Also in focus: Oil rises on U.S.-Iran tensions, President Trump hits Canada with 50% tariffs, Nvidia's 9.3% stake in Nebius, Novo Nordisk sues weight-loss drug rival Eli Lilly, Oracle's credit risk and AI debt, earnings winners and losers.   Squawk on the Street Disclaimer Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

World Cup tourists discovered Ranch dressing… so Kraft declared an internal “code meme.”Kylie Jenner launched designer smartglasses made by Meta… it could make Zuck a trillionaire.The War in Iran has changed General Motors… because that Cadillac factory pivoted to drones.Plus, the Back-To-School Season just began this week… the earliest Calendar Creep ever.$KHC $GM $METAGrab your Tickets to the IPO Tour: Our In-Person OfferingSan Francisco 9/23: https://www.ticketmaster.com/event/1C0064AFB5F688BDBoston 10/14: https://tickets.citywinery.com/event/tboy-the-ipo-tour-in-person-offering-8cdhupSeattle 11/4 (21+): https://www.axs.com/events/1446394/the-best-one-yet-ticketsNEWSLETTER:https://tboypod.com/newsletter OUR 2ND SHOW:Want more business storytelling from us? Check our weekly deepdive show, The Best Idea Yet: The untold origin story of the products you're obsessed with. Listen for free to The Best Idea Yet: https://wondery.com/links/the-best-idea-yet/NEW LISTENERSFill out our 2 minute survey: https://qualtricsxm88y5r986q.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_dp1FDYiJgt6lHy6GET ON THE POD: Submit a shoutout or fact: https://tboypod.com/shoutouts SOCIALS:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tboypod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tboypodYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tboypod Linkedin (Nick): https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolas-martell/Linkedin (Jack): https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-crivici-kramer/Anything else: https://tboypod.com/ About Us: The daily pop-biz news show making today's top stories your business. Formerly known as Robinhood Snacks, The Best One Yet is hosted by Jack Crivici-Kramer & Nick Martell. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dave Rubin of "The Rubin Report" gives a first look to the stories you need to know to start your day including a viral moment involving former President Joe Biden at the opening of Barack Obama's presidential library reigniting questions about Biden's health, cognitive decline, and the media's years-long dismissal of concerns that were once labeled "cheap fakes" and conspiracy theories; renewed scrutiny of how Democrats, the press, Kamala Harris, and Biden's inner circle handled questions about his condition before the 2024 election; and General Motors facing backlash after replacing more than 1,000 workers with just 50 robots at its Factory Zero electric vehicle plant in Detroit, sparking a fight with the United Auto Workers over automation, artificial intelligence, manufacturing jobs, and the future of the American workforce, and much more.