The best manufacturing podcasts (2026)

If you only have time for four: Making Chips, Manufacturing Happy Hour, Gemba Academy Podcast, and Arc Junkies.

I listened to a lot of manufacturing podcasts in 2025. Then I analyzed 101 of them and 3,182 episodes. This is the ranked list from that research.

Quick list

Making Chips for machine shop owners and job shops
Manufacturing Happy Hour for Industry 4.0, automation, and digital transformation
Gemba Academy Podcast for lean manufacturing and continuous improvement
Arc Junkies for welding and fabrication
Business of Machining for CNC machining business operations
Within Tolerance for quality, metrology, and precision manufacturing
The Manufacturing Executive for manufacturing leaders and executives
Lean Blog Interviews for lean leadership and operational excellence
The Manufacturing Employer for hiring and workforce development
Futurized for the future of manufacturing
Advanced Manufacturing Now for advanced manufacturing technology
Manufacturing Talk Radio for manufacturing news and policy
Swarfcast for machine tools and production trends
Being an Engineer for engineers building manufacturing careers
Manufacturing Unscripted for shop-floor conversations and operator perspectives

Comparison

Podcast	Best for	Main topics
Making Chips	Machine shop owners	CNC shops, quoting, leadership, culture
Manufacturing Happy Hour	Industry 4.0	Automation, AI, digital transformation
Gemba Academy Podcast	Lean manufacturing	TPS, Six Sigma, kaizen, CI
Arc Junkies	Welding	Welding skills, fabrication, trades culture
Business of Machining	CNC machining business	Margins, capital equipment, shop management
Within Tolerance	Quality	Metrology, inspection, quality engineering
The Manufacturing Executive	Manufacturing leadership	Strategy, sales, marketing, leadership
Lean Blog Interviews	Lean leadership	Lean systems, management, improvement
The Manufacturing Employer	Workforce	Hiring, retention, employer brand
Futurized	Future trends	AI, sustainability, future of work

By listener type

Machine shop owners: Making Chips, Business of Machining, Swarfcast
Lean manufacturing: Gemba Academy Podcast, Lean Blog Interviews
Welding and fabrication: Arc Junkies
Industry 4.0 and automation: Manufacturing Happy Hour, Advanced Manufacturing Now, Futurized
Executives and plant managers: The Manufacturing Executive, Manufacturing Talk Radio, Gemba Academy Podcast
Hiring and workforce: The Manufacturing Employer

1. Making Chips

Hosts: Jason Zenger and Nick Goellner
Best for: Machine shop owners, job shops, and machining leaders
Apple Podcasts: 4.7 stars, 300+ reviews
Covers: Running a machine shop as a business, including hiring, quoting, scaling, leadership, and shop culture
Why it ranks: The default answer when someone asks "what should I listen to?" for machine shops. Broad name recognition, consistently strong guests (Paul Van Metre, Chris Luecke, Meaghan Ziemba)

2. Manufacturing Happy Hour

Host: Chris Luecke
Best for: Digital transformation, automation, and Industry 4.0
Apple Podcasts: 4.9 stars, 102 reviews
Covers: Smart manufacturing, industrial AI, connected operations, leadership, and plant-level change
Why it ranks: Makes Industry 4.0 make sense without drowning you in jargon. Chris shows up as a guest on half the other podcasts on this list, which tells you something

3. Gemba Academy Podcast

Host: Ron Pereira
Best for: Lean manufacturing and continuous improvement
Apple Podcasts: 4.8 stars, 197 reviews
Covers: Toyota Production System, Six Sigma, kaizen, operational excellence, and continuous improvement
Why it ranks: Been around a long time and earns it. Practical, specific, and useful for plants actually trying to improve throughput and management systems

4. Arc Junkies

Host: Jason Becker
Best for: Welding and fabrication
Apple Podcasts: 4.8 stars, 282 reviews
Covers: Welding techniques, fabrication careers, trade culture, and shop stories
Why it ranks: Most-reviewed podcast on this entire list (282 reviews). If you weld, you probably already know this one

5. Business of Machining

Hosts: John Saunders and Willy Sandoval
Best for: CNC shop financials and operations
Apple Podcasts: 4.8 stars, 215 reviews
Covers: Margins, equipment decisions, pricing, workflow, and the economics of running a CNC shop
Why it ranks: Most machining podcasts talk about cutting metal. This one talks about whether you're making money doing it

6. Within Tolerance

Host: Dylan Koch
Best for: Quality and precision manufacturing
Apple Podcasts: 4.9 stars, 103 reviews
Covers: Metrology, quality control, measurement uncertainty, inspection methods, and precision engineering
Why it ranks: Quality is underrepresented in manufacturing podcasts. If your day involves tolerance stack-ups, inspection capability, and repeatability, this is the one

7. The Manufacturing Executive

Host: Joe Sullivan
Best for: Manufacturing leadership, strategy, and growth
Apple Podcasts: 4.8 stars, 50+ reviews
Covers: Growth strategy, leadership, sales and marketing alignment, and commercial execution for industrial companies
Why it ranks: Leadership and growth strategy, not shop-floor tactics. If you're a VP or commercial leader at a mid-market manufacturer, start here

8. Lean Blog Interviews

Host: Mark Graban
Best for: Lean methodology and management systems
Apple Podcasts: 4.7 stars, 80+ reviews
Covers: Lean systems, management habits, leadership, and operational improvement across manufacturing and adjacent industries
Why it ranks: Takes lean beyond the factory floor. Good for plant leaders who want better management systems, not just isolated kaizen events

9. The Manufacturing Employer

Host: Lisa Ryan
Best for: Workforce development and hiring
Apple Podcasts: 5.0 stars, 27 reviews
Covers: Hiring, retention, workforce development, employer branding, and employee engagement
Why it ranks: Workforce was the fastest-growing podcast topic in 2025, up 32% year over year. Hiring is the constraint everyone talks about. This show actually digs into it

10. Futurized

Host: Trond Arne Undheim
Best for: Future of manufacturing and technology
Apple Podcasts: 5.0 stars, 29 reviews
Covers: AI, sustainability, automation, industrial innovation, and the future of work
Why it ranks: Most manufacturing podcasts stay close to today's operations. This one looks further out. Good if you're thinking about where the industry is headed, not just where it is

11. Advanced Manufacturing Now

Publisher: SME (Society of Manufacturing Engineers)
Best for: Manufacturing technology
Apple Podcasts: 4.6 stars, 40+ reviews
Covers: Additive manufacturing, robotics, smart factories, advanced materials, and industrial R&D
Why it ranks: SME has the Rolodex. They bring in researchers, technical experts, and industry leaders that smaller shows can't book. Real technical depth

12. Manufacturing Talk Radio

Hosts: Lew Weiss and Tim Grady
Best for: Manufacturing industry news and policy
Apple Podcasts: 4.5 stars, 50+ reviews
Covers: Manufacturing news, tariffs, reshoring, trade policy, economics, and industry trends
Why it ranks: The longest-running show on this list. Tracks the macro side of manufacturing: tariffs, reshoring, trade policy. Less tactical, more "what's happening in the industry"

13. Swarfcast

Host: Noah Graff
Best for: Machine tool industry
Apple Podcasts: 4.7 stars, 30+ reviews
Covers: Machine tool market trends, used equipment, precision machining, and industrial sales conversations
Why it ranks: Niche pick. If you care about the machine tool market specifically (used equipment, precision machining, industrial sales), not just general plant management

14. Being an Engineer

Host: Aaron Moncur
Best for: Engineering careers in manufacturing
Apple Podcasts: 4.9 stars, 54 reviews
Covers: Career development, engineering leadership, team management, and professional growth
Why it ranks: Career advice for engineers who happen to work in manufacturing. Less about the plant, more about growing as a leader

15. Manufacturing Unscripted

Host: Matt Guse
Best for: Conversations with manufacturing operators
Apple Podcasts: 4.7 stars, 30+ reviews
Covers: Conversations with operators, owners, and practitioners across the manufacturing ecosystem
Why it ranks: Draws guests from the same network of manufacturing voices that show up on the bigger podcasts. More conversational, less polished. Good for the shop-floor perspective

How I ranked these

I started with my study of 101 manufacturing podcasts, then ranked based on Apple Podcasts ratings, review volume, topic depth, consistency, and cross-podcast influence (how often hosts appear on each other's shows).

I also weighted topical relevance. Leadership and strategy appeared on 73% of podcasts, AI and automation on 66%, workforce on 64%. Reshoring, supply chain, and digital transformation all grew year over year, so podcasts strong in those areas moved up.

FAQ

What is the best manufacturing podcast?

Making Chips, hosted by Jason Zenger and Nick Goellner. It covers running a machine shop as a business (hiring, quoting, scaling, leadership) and has the broadest name recognition in the manufacturing podcast space. 4.7 stars with 300+ reviews on Apple Podcasts.

What are the best lean manufacturing podcasts?

Gemba Academy Podcast (hosted by Ron Pereira) and Lean Blog Interviews (hosted by Mark Graban). Gemba Academy focuses on Toyota Production System, Six Sigma, and kaizen. Lean Blog Interviews goes broader, covering management systems and leadership habits. Both are rated 4.7+ stars on Apple Podcasts.

What are the best podcasts for machine shop owners?

Making Chips for general machine shop business, Business of Machining for CNC shop economics and margins, and Swarfcast for machine tool market trends. All three are rated 4.7+ stars.

What is the best welding podcast?

Arc Junkies, hosted by Jason Becker. It covers welding techniques, fabrication careers, and trade culture. 4.8 stars with 282 reviews on Apple Podcasts, making it the most-reviewed podcast on this list.

What are the best manufacturing podcasts for executives?

The Manufacturing Executive (hosted by Joe Sullivan) for growth strategy and commercial execution. Manufacturing Talk Radio (hosted by Lew Weiss and Tim Grady) for industry news, tariffs, and trade policy. Gemba Academy Podcast for operational excellence at the plant level.

What manufacturing podcasts cover AI and Industry 4.0?

Manufacturing Happy Hour (hosted by Chris Luecke) is the best starting point for Industry 4.0, smart manufacturing, and industrial AI. Advanced Manufacturing Now from SME goes deeper on robotics, additive manufacturing, and R&D. Futurized (hosted by Trond Arne Undheim) takes a longer view on where industrial technology is headed.