Welcome back to 'This Should Work*,' the podcast dedicated to the spirit of making, creating, and innovating. I'm your host, Jay Margalus, diving deep into the heart of America's most vibrant innovation centers and creative spaces. After a meaningful hiatus and a transformative relocation to Virginia, I am thrilled to present the reboot of TSW* - but with an exciting new angle. In this inaugural episode of Season 1, we unveil a new format for TSW* as I embark on a quest to unravel the essence of what makes innovation spaces not just exist, but flourish. This season, we'll explore the intertwined elements of community, creativity, and collaboration that form the backbone of successful innovation hubs. From the gritty tech havens like mHub in Chicago to the artistic corridors of Harbourfront Centre in Toronto, we'll dissect the universal traits that these dynamic ecosystems share. But this journey isn't just about observations; it's about understanding the tangible and intangible ingredients that contribute to a thriving innovative community. With the support of a Lenfest Grant from Washington and Lee University, this season will take you on a cross-country expedition to meet the minds behind these pivotal spaces and discover the secrets behind their success and the lessons from their challenges. Join me as we delve into discussions on the philosophy, architecture, and community dynamics that define the best innovation centers across the nation. Get ready for a season filled with enlightening conversations, thought-provoking insights, and a quest for what truly makes innovation 'work.' Tune in as we kick off this exciting journey with Season 1 of This Should Work*, starting May 1, 2024. Let’s explore together what it takes to build spaces that inspire, support, and drive the future of innovation.

Rob and Rudy join us in this session to discuss the development of conference badges for the hacker conference Thotcon. We also cover the global parts shortage and the near-term future of badge making.

Jonathan Tomek is the CEO of the cybersecurity firm MadX, LLC, and the co-founder of Thotcon, Chicago's biggest hacking event. In this episode, we have a wide-ranging discussion about tinkering, hacking, and how to remain curious about the world around us. Jonathan's company, MadX, LLC can be found at https://madx.co/ And the hacking conference Jonathan co-founded is Thotcon (which stands for Three-One-Two) NFP can be found at https://thotcon.org/

Interview with AnnMarie Thomas, Professor at University of St Thomas in Minnesota, author of Making Makers, creator of the Playful Learning Lab, and all around awesome person!

Amanda Hudgins is a game designer and the creator of the Thousand Button Project, many other awesome alternative controllers, and is the managing editor of Unwinnable. Amanda's game projects have been featured at events like Bit Bash and at many other events -- I had a really fun time with this interview! Enjoy. For more on Amanda's work, check out http://amandathrows.rocks/ Visit Amanda on Twitter @ barelyconcealed Other Notes from the show: * Thousand Button Project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eN1zWjLXeo8&list=PLi_Qv13BlyFKa_tkxXMa-FkvcC51ee8yh&index=9&t=0s * Amanda Hudgins Assembles an Alternative Controller: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbXhyDn7wr4

Maya Bird-Murphy is the founder of Chicago Mobile Makers and an architect. Chicago Mobile Makers is an awesome program that aims to bring a mobile fabrication lab into communities and become the hub for transformational -- and educational -- local projects.

Paul Valente manages facilities automation at Chicago Public Schools and additionally sits on their makerspace committee as they begin to roll out best practices and standards within the school system. In this episode, Paul and I talk about makerspaces in K-12, IOT and building automation, and some of the things we're both involved in with the Chicago hacker scene.

Joe Spanier is one of the co-founders of River City Labs -- a Peoria makerspace. He's also a co-founder of Midwest Maker Fest, a previous employee at Aleph Objects (the company that makes Lulzbot printers), and Caterpillar. Joe and I have a wide-ranging talk about tech in education, his enthusiasm for making and tinkering, and more. A note: The audio for this interview may be off in parts. The recording software that I use had some issues synching audio up, and so this was done manually. Enjoy!

Sasha Neri runs the Harold Washington Library Maker Lab in the Loop of Chicago, Illinois and runs Chicago's yearly Maker Summit. This is the fourth and final part of our educational makerspaces series, and I'm happy to have Sasha on to talk about how makerspaces work in a library setting, and the benefits they have for the broader community of patrons that libraries serve.

Jeff Solin is an educator, makerspace administrator, and all around good-guy at Lane Tech College Prep High School in Chicago. This is the third part in This Should Work's* series on educational makerspaces, and I'm really grateful that Jeff joined the podcast to talk about the way he thinks about educating students in makerspaces and fostering a supportive educational makerspace environment.

Terry Steinbach is an Associate Dean in the College of Computing and Digital Media at DePaul University, and Betty Shanahan is the Associate Vice President of DePaul University. Both have been instrumental in building makerspaces and spreading maker-centered learning at DePaul University, and come on the show this week to talk about how to make a makerspace work in higher ed. This is the second part in a series of interviews about makerspaces in education.