The American Dream isn’t dead—it’s being rebuilt. The American Dream Factory is a podcast about the people and ideas reshaping what it means to build a life of purpose in the modern world. Hosted by entrepreneur and civic innovator Nick Smoot, the show dives into conversations with founders, investors, policy leaders, artists, and system disruptors who are creating new models for work, community, and human flourishing. From the factory floor to City Hall, from Silicon Valley to small-town Idaho,…
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What happens when a Republican entrepreneur, a Democratic political strategist, and a city manager sit down—not to win an argument, but to understand each other? In one of the most thoughtful conversations we've had on American Dream Factory , Nick Smoot and Joe Toney welcome Adama Iwu , one of America's leading political strategists and one of TIME's 2017 "Silence Breakers," collectively…
What happens when AI can think faster than us and robots can work longer than us? In this episode, Nick Smoot explores the future of work and argues that the real crisis won't be unemployment—it will be a loss of human purpose. After more than 16 years researching, testing, and building community-based innovation systems, Nick introduces Project-Based Incentives (PBI) : a new economic model that…
There are only about 76 daily newspapers left in America that are not owned by a major corporate chain or billionaire-backed private owner. Seventy-six. In a country with more than 19,000 cities, towns, and villages, that number should stop us in our tracks. Chapters 06:43 The State of Local Journalism 09:15 Challenges of Independent Voices 14:17 Reflecting Community Voices 16:01 The Role of Local…
In this episode of the American Dream Factory Podcast, Nick Smoot sits down with Morgan Linton, co-founder and CTO of Bold Metrics, early Sonos employee, AI builder, and one of the most compelling people experimenting at the edge of artificial intelligence. Morgan’s path is not linear, which is exactly what makes it valuable. He studied computer engineering and computer science at Carnegie Mellon,…
In this episode of the American Dream Factory Podcast, Nick Smoot sits down with Daron Babcock , Managing Director of Community Transformation at Stand Together Foundation and founder of Bonton Farms, for a powerful conversation about poverty, dignity, health, faith, entrepreneurship, and what it actually takes to transform a community. Daron’s story begins far from the nonprofit world. He started…
Nevada is putting real capital behind founders, manufacturers, builders, and companies ready to scale. In this episode of American Dream Factory , Nick Smoot sits down with Kyle Ferguson , head of Nevada’s Battle Born Growth Escalator venture program, to unpack how Nevada is deploying nearly $40 million into high-potential companies through venture capital, debt programs, and state-backed…
In this episode, Nick & Joe sit down with John Keisler, CEO of Sunstone Management and former Economic Development Director for the City of Long Beach, for a conversation about public-private partnerships, civic expertise, investment, and what it really takes to build stronger communities. John brings a rare perspective from both sides of the table. He spent more than 20 years in public service…
In this episode of American Dream Factory , Nick Smoot sits down with Morgan Dixon, a 24-year-old PhD student in artificial intelligence and machine learning at the University of Idaho. Morgan represents a rare but replicable archetype: a young man preparing to launch into the world with technical competence, grounded character, and calm confidence. While many of his peers feel uncertain about the…
Nick Smoot sits down with Doug Erwin, the entrepreneurship lead at EDAWN in Northern Nevada, for a wide-ranging, high-energy conversation about two things happening at once: AI is moving from “chat” to “do.” Agents are booking meetings, running workflows, and changing the cost and speed of building. Reno is quietly turning into a real startup boomtown. And EDAWN is literally putting money behind…
In this solo episode of the American Dream Factory podcast, Nick Smoot explores a simple but powerful idea that keeps people stuck. Waiting. Waiting for permission. Waiting for perfection. Waiting for someone else to go first. Nick shares a personal story about solving a ridiculous traffic problem with a bucket of yellow paint and a little courage, and how that small act quietly changed behavior…
