The Disruption Lab

Kevin McGinnis
  • 5.0 (7)
  • SOCIETY & CULTURE
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Step into the world of innovation with The Disruption Lab live podcast, where groundbreaking ideas and strategic insights come to life. Hosted by Kevin McGinnis and filmed in front of a live studio audience at Keystone Sessions, each episode brings you face-to-face with the visionaries reshaping industries and pioneering new paths in entrepreneurship. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, innovator, or professional eager to fuel your growth and unlock strategic collaboration, The Disruption Lab delivers the tools, stories, and wisdom from top industry disruptors and founders. Join us as we explore the minds of industry leaders to inspire and equip the next wave of disruptors.

  1. 1D AGO

    Stop Calling It Charity. Affordable Housing Is Infrastructure.

    What if everything you think you know about homelessness is wrong? Forty to fifty percent of people experiencing homelessness in America are employed. They're working. They're contributing. And they still can't afford a place to live. That single fact dismantles most of the narratives we tell ourselves about who this crisis affects — and who's responsible for solving it. Jarrod Sanderson is the Executive Director of The Way Home, a Kansas City-based organization working at the connective layer between developers, funders, city systems, and community — not to run programs, but to redesign the conditions that keep affordable housing stuck in small-ball thinking.   In this episode, Jarrod challenges the framing that has quietly defined this issue for decades: that affordable housing is a charitable cause. His argument is more urgent and more disruptive — it's economic infrastructure. And until we treat it that way, the people who actually make cities function — teachers, nurses, city workers, first responders — will keep getting priced out of the places they serve. This is a conversation about systems, capital, coordination, and what it actually takes to build a city that works for everyone — not just the people who can already afford it.

    44 min

  2. MAR 20

    The Money Isn’t the Problem

    Everyone assumes that underinvested communities, early-stage ecosystems, and emerging innovation hubs need more money. More grants. More venture. More philanthropic dollars. But the evidence from 50+ conversations on this show tells a different story. The communities and companies that are actually building durable growth aren’t the ones that raised the most capital. They’re the ones where the capital was designed — with the right governance, the right accountability, and the right timeline.

    10 min

  3. MAR 13

    From Grammy Stages to Kansas City Creative Economy

    Jo Blaq left Kansas City because the infrastructure for a music career didn't exist. He went to LA, built one anyway — Grammy nominations, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, private jets — and then came back. Now he's building what he calls ground zero for creatives, a multimedia creative hub in the Crossroads designed to change the equation: world-class tools, real career pathways, and a community built to keep Kansas City's talent home instead of exporting it. This is creative infrastructure as economic development — and Jo believes Kansas City is ready. https://www.distrkct.com/home

    37 min

  4. FEB 27

    95% of It Goes Through China — And We Can't Do Anything About It

    The U.S. offshored its critical minerals processing decades ago. Now 95% of the world's nickel runs through China — regardless of where it comes out of the ground. Jamie Andes and William Highsmith from Critical Materials Crossroads break down what that dependency actually means, why Kansas City has the infrastructure and history to lead the reshoring effort, and what a $160 million NSF Engines grant could catalyze for a region sitting on $3-4 billion in economic potential. This is supply chain as national security — and the clock is running.

    47 min

  5. FEB 21

    The #1 Bottleneck in Drug Development Isn’t Science

    Why do new drugs and medical breakthroughs take so long to reach real people? In this episode of The Disruption Lab, we sit down with Kyle McAllister, founder of trially, an AI-driven clinical trials company, to unpack the uncomfortable truth: the biggest bottleneck in clinical trials isn’t innovation — it’s patient recruitment. And in many hospitals, that process still looks like teams of research staff manually reading patient charts line-by-line to find eligible participants. Kyle shares how his “lived experience” inside electronic health records (EHRs) and hospital data systems pushed him to build a company that helps research teams identify qualified trial candidates faster — and then actually engage them through AI-powered calling, texting, and email outreach that can screen patients using complex clinical criteria. But this isn’t a hype episode. We talk about the real friction: trust, data security, procurement, and the fear of change in one of the most regulated industries on the planet. Kyle also gets personal about the emotional whiplash of entrepreneurship, learning not to take rejection personally, and why founder fellowship (and Kansas City’s ecosystem) matters more than people realize. If you’re interested in AI in healthcare, clinical trials innovation, health tech startups, or how founders sell into high-risk enterprise systems, this conversation will give you a real behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to modernize medicine without breaking trust. In this episode, you’ll learn: Why patient recruitment is the #1 reason clinical trials move slowly How AI can scan millions of patient records to match trial eligibility criteria What hospitals struggle to believe when an AI startup claims it can “do it faster” Where AI helps most — and where precision and error margins still matter How to build trust in healthcare tech (because “healthcare builds at the speed of trust”) The founder lessons: feedback, faster decision-making, and imposter syndrome 🎧 Listen now and see why the future of clinical trials might depend less on laboratories… and more on better systems.

    34 min

  6. JAN 31

    What Happens to Work When AI Knows Almost Everything? (And What That Means for You)

    What happens to work, dignity, and human purpose in a world where AI can write, diagnose, advise, and automate faster than most people ever could? In this episode, we sit down with Ed, a longtime social enterprise leader and Goodwill CEO, to unpack one of the most urgent questions of our time: How do we prepare people for the future of work without leaving the most vulnerable behind? Drawing from his lived experience as a Hurricane Katrina survivor, social entrepreneur, and workforce development leader, Ed shares why AI isn’t just a technology shift — it’s a human reckoning. We explore: Why AI literacy is becoming as essential as financial and digital literacy How Goodwill is using AI to expand agency, not eliminate jobs What “work” means when expertise is democratized Why co-creation matters more than top-down tech adoption The ethical lines we shouldn’t cross — even if we can How AI can restore time, dignity, and mobility for people facing poverty, disability, or reentry after incarceration This conversation goes far beyond hype. It’s about real people, real systems, and the responsibility leaders have when technology moves faster than policy, culture, or ethics. If you’re a: Workforce or nonprofit leader Entrepreneur navigating AI disruption Educator or policymaker Professional wondering how AI will affect your career Or simply trying to understand what the future holds This episode will change how you think about AI, work, and what it means to be human. Because AI isn’t coming. It’s already here — and the choices we make now matter.

    1h 6m

  7. JAN 23

    Building Autonomy and AI for National Security in Kansas City

    Artificial intelligence and autonomy are no longer future concepts in national security—they’re shaping real-world decisions, operations, and outcomes today. But while AI technology is advancing rapidly, the real challenge lies in data, culture, trust, and speed of adoption. In this special episode of The Disruption Lab, we explore Building Autonomy and AI for National Security in Kansas City, featuring leaders from the U.S. military, academia, advanced manufacturing, and the AI industry. Together, they offer an inside look at how AI and autonomous systems are being developed, tested, and deployed across defense and intelligence—and what’s still holding progress back. This conversation brings together: COL Dave Wright, Chief Data Officer, U.S. Army Combined Arms Command at Fort Leavenworth Col. Chris Hogan, Commander of the 184th Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Group, Kansas Air National Guard at McConnell AFB Matthew Hizer, Director of Operations, Global Security at the Kansas City National Security Campus (KCNSC / Honeywell FM&T) Dr. Michael J. Pritchard, PhD, Senior Faculty in Machine Learning & Autonomous Systems at Kansas State University Salina Aerospace & Technology Campus Jon Kramer, Chief Technology Officer at Torch.AI Throughout the episode, the panel discusses: Why AI in defense is fundamentally a data and systems integration problem How autonomy is changing intelligence, manufacturing, and battlefield decision-making The cultural and organizational barriers slowing AI adoption The importance of human trust, human-in-the-loop systems, and risk tolerance What the U.S. can learn from global competitors and real-world conflicts like Ukraine This special episode was presented by AFCEA Kansas City, with a special thank-you to our moderator Molly Christie, Public Sector leader at Unstructured.io, for leading a thoughtful and timely discussion. If you’re interested in AI in defense, national security innovation, autonomous systems, military AI, or the future of warfare, this episode offers a rare, behind-the-scenes perspective from those building and deploying these systems today.

    50 min

  8. 12/12/2025

    If Your Team Isn’t Listening, It’s Not Them—It’s This One Leadership Mistake

    We have more ways to communicate than ever… so why does it feel like nobody is actually hearing each other? In this live episode of The Disruption Lab, Kevin sits down with communication strategist and executive coach Eric Morgenstern to break down what’s really going wrong in leadership communication—and how to fix it fast. From workplace trust issues to pitch coaching for startup founders, Eric shares the frameworks he’s used with hundreds of leaders to help them get clearer, sound more confident, and move people to action. You’ll hear why great communication isn’t about what you want to say—it’s about what the other person needs to hear. Eric explains why listening is the skill most leaders are losing, how trust has shifted in the last 10–15 years, and what it takes to sound authentic when your online presence meets your in-person presence. Plus: practical tools you can use immediately—like the “What / So What / Now What” message structure, the three magic feedback questions, and the simple word swaps that remove “wimpy language” without coming off arrogant. If you’re a leader, founder, manager, or anyone who needs to communicate clearly in a noisy world—this episode will change how you show up. In this episode, we cover: Why listening (not talking) is the leadership superpower Recipient-oriented communication: how to say it so they can actually hear it How to build trust in a world where trust is low by default Why your written voice and spoken voice must match (or people don’t believe you) “What / So What / Now What”: the simplest way to explain any initiative The “wimpy words” that quietly destroy credibility—and what to say instead A clean feedback framework: what went great, what went poorly, what was missing Perfect for: leaders, entrepreneurs, startup founders, corporate teams, pitch competition contestants, and anyone trying to communicate with clarity and confidence.

    46 min
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5
out of 5
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About

Step into the world of innovation with The Disruption Lab live podcast, where groundbreaking ideas and strategic insights come to life. Hosted by Kevin McGinnis and filmed in front of a live studio audience at Keystone Sessions, each episode brings you face-to-face with the visionaries reshaping industries and pioneering new paths in entrepreneurship. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, innovator, or professional eager to fuel your growth and unlock strategic collaboration, The Disruption Lab delivers the tools, stories, and wisdom from top industry disruptors and founders. Join us as we explore the minds of industry leaders to inspire and equip the next wave of disruptors.

Information

  • Creator
    Kevin McGinnis
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    56
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2024 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    The Disruption Lab

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