Part documentary. Part conversation. A real-time record of what it looks like to build AI-enabled products — inside the studio and across the broader world of builders, founders, engineers, and innovators.
Every episode weaves together two kinds of content — the raw inside story of student teams building in real time, and broader conversations with the people shaping how things get built in the world.
Every semester, we follow real Build Studio student teams in real time — from the moment they receive their sponsor challenge to the final demo. Students produce video footage as a course requirement. That footage becomes the spine of the show.
Beyond the studio, we invite people who build things — founders, engineers, researchers, product leaders, innovators — to talk honestly about what building actually looks like. No polished retrospectives. The messy, real version.
"A team can build something excellent and tell it badly. A team can struggle with the product but produce riveting footage. That tension is the show." — Build Studio: The Podcast
The podcast isn't separate from the initiative — it's the public face of it. Every other part of Build Studio feeds directly into the show.
Weekly video submissions from student teams are curated and shaped by hosts into documentary segments. The course requirement is the production pipeline.
Advisory Council sponsors are not just funders — they're characters in the story. Their reactions, feedback, and final verdicts are recorded on camera and featured in the show.
Guest conversations with founders, builders, and researchers run independently of the semester — bringing outside perspectives on building, AI, and the future of knowledge work.
Every episode (~30–40 min) follows the same six-segment structure, mixing student-produced footage with host commentary and guest voices.
| Segment | Produced By | What It Does |
|---|---|---|
| Cold Open | Students curated by hosts |
Drops the listener into a live moment of tension or surprise from the studio — no context, no framing. The hook. |
| The Frame | Aron | Introduces one sharp idea — from research, practice, or the news — that gives the episode its intellectual lens. Connects what the students are doing to something bigger. |
| Student Segment | Students + host reaction |
Multi-team check-ins or a single-team deep dive, with real-time host commentary. The core of the documentary track: what's getting built, what's breaking, what's surprising. |
| Sponsor or Guest Voice | Guest | A sponsor advisor reacts to what the teams are doing — or an external guest (founder, engineer, researcher, innovator) brings a broader perspective on the episode's frame idea. |
| The Confessional Cut | Students rotating teams |
One team, unscripted, direct to camera. What are they not saying in their main footage? The most honest two minutes of the episode. |
| The Takeaway | Aron | Closes the loop on the frame idea. One clean insight. A tease of what's coming next week. |
A full season maps to one semester of the Build Studio course, following the same arc from challenge reveal to open studio.
A thematic question that sharpens the frame for the whole season — connecting what student teams are doing to a broader conversation about AI and building.
| Season | Theme | The Question |
|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | First Contact | Can AI actually build it? Learning what the tools can and cannot do. |
| Season 2 | Build for Someone Specific | Sponsors bring named users with real, documented pain. Does knowing the person change what you build? |
| Season 3 | Accountability by Design | Products must include explainability. Who is responsible when AI builds? |
| Season 4 | Ship It | Only artifacts that could go live earn full credit. What does it take to actually finish? |
The podcast is for and about people who build things. That means we talk to the full range — from student teams finding their footing to seasoned builders who've shipped at scale.
The documentary core of every season. Real teams, real challenges, real footage — building AI-enabled products for real sponsors under real deadline pressure.
People who've shipped products and companies. What they've learned about building with AI, what surprised them, and what advice they'd give to someone just starting out.
The people making technical decisions at the frontier: how AI changes the engineering process, what "good" looks like when AI writes the code, and where humans still matter most.
What the evidence actually says about human-AI collaboration, creativity, and the future of knowledge work — translated into something useful for builders.
Building inside large organizations: how companies are restructuring around AI, where the inertia comes from, and what it takes to actually change how a big team works.
The organizations bringing real challenges to Build Studio. Their perspective on the student work — as it happens — and what they see in the next generation of builders.
The podcast is designed for people who build things, fund things, or teach people to build things — and who want an honest, intellectually serious conversation about what that looks like in the age of AI.
They don't just appear in the podcast — they make it. Weekly video submissions are course requirements. Learning to tell the story of building is as important as building.
Sponsors bring genuine challenges. Feedback is honest. Pivots happen for real reasons. Nothing is staged. The tension comes from the work, not from manufactured conflict.
Aron connect what student teams are experiencing to broader ideas about AI, product development, and the future of knowledge work. The studio becomes a lens on the field.
We're actively looking for guests across the full range of building — founders, engineers, researchers, product leaders, educators, and innovators with something honest to say about what building looks like today.
You don't need to be affiliated with Stevens. If you build things and have something real to say about it, we want to talk to you.
Get in TouchAdvisory Council members and sponsor organizations appear on the podcast as part of their engagement — revealing challenges, checking in mid-semester, and delivering final verdicts.
Learn About the CouncilThe first season launches with the inaugural cohort of BAI 411: Build Studio. Subscribe to be notified when episodes drop.
Available on all major platforms when Season 1 launches.