Techstrong Gang is your go-to weekday show on Techstrong TV and your favorite podcast platform, bringing together a rotating lineup of top thought leaders and technologists to break down the biggest stories and trends shaping the tech world.
Hosted by industry veterans Alan Shimel, Mike Vizard, Mitchell Ashley, Jon Swartz, Lisa Martin, Tracy Ragan, Sulagna Saha, Anne Ahola Ward, Bonnie Schneider, and more, the show dives deep into everything from DevOps and cybersecurity to AI and cloud innovation. Tune in Monday through Friday for insightful discussions, expert analysis, and lively debates on the issues that matter most to today’s tech professionals.
AI Election Influence, Security Backlogs and the SAP Agent Test
How can leaders judge AI claims when trust is under pressure? Mike Vizard joins Jon Swartz, Elizabeth Safran, Robert Reeves and Andi Mann to discuss election influence, vulnerability backlogs and SAP’s agent workflow ambitions.
The panel examines the limits of election-infrastructure defenses, reporting on AI propaganda and opinion on AI persuasion. HackerOne’s findings raise a separate operational challenge: discovery is accelerating, but unresolved vulnerability backlogs keep growing despite faster remediation.
SAP’s Joule Work rollout brings agent orchestration into enterprise workflows. The discussion considers what is available now, what is planned and where human oversight belongs.
Story links:
https://securityboulevard.com/2026/10/plans-by-cisa-dod-to-protect-elections-may-be-too-little-too-late/
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/06/opinion/ai-propaganda-information-spy.html
https://www.nacionale.com/en/articles/russia-accused-using-ai-claude-pro-russian-campaigns-central-africa
https://pulitzercenter.org/stories/inside-russias-ai-propaganda-machine
https://devops.com/hackerone-report-surfaces-massive-increase-in-vulnerability-backlogs/
https://techstrong.ai/articles/sap-delivers-framework-for-managing-agentic-ai-worflows/
6 Oct 2026
Industrial AI, GitHub's Report Limits and Safer AI Agents
How much integration does industrial AI need, and how much reporting can maintainers absorb? The panel examines Schneider's pending PTC deal and GitHub's new limits on private vulnerability submissions.
Then the discussion turns to agent permissions, policy-as-code and gateway controls from Apple, AWS, Kong, CData and Cribl, alongside California's investigation of OpenAI. The distinction between announced safeguards and demonstrated protection matters.
Host: Mike Vizard. Guests: Kate Scarcella, Sid Nag and Chris Blask.
Story links:
https://techstrong.it/featured/schneider-electric-to-acquire-ptc-for-22-6-billion-in-record-software-expansion/
https://devops.com/github-slams-the-brakes-on-private-vulnerability-reports/
https://securityboulevard.com/2026/10/apple-tightens-macos-security-controls-to-stop-ai-agents-from-harvesting-private-user-data/
https://techstrong.ai/articles/aws-adds-local-instance-of-dogwood-tool-for-governing-ai-agents-as-code/
https://techstrong.ai/articles/kong-extends-reach-and-scope-of-ai-gateway-to-improve-governance/
https://techstrong.ai/articles/cdata-adds-gateway-that-leverages-context-engine-to-govern-ai-agents/
https://techstrong.ai/features/cribl-launches-ai-gateway-to-route-prompts-control-costs-and-enforce-governance/
https://securityboulevard.com/2026/10/california-subpoenas-openai-over-ai-agent-cybersecurity-breaches/
5 Oct 2026
Who Controls AI? Data Centers, Agent Errors and Shared Meaning
Who gets a say in the AI buildout, and what should enterprises trust agents to do? Mike Vizard, Jack Gold, Chris Blask and Jon Swartz connect the politics of data centers with the practical limits of automated IT operations.
The conversation moves from public opposition and community commitments to AWS's cloud recommendations and the risk of meaning drifting between systems. It closes with Apache Ossie and the push for shared semantic models across data and AI tools.
Host: Mike Vizard. Guests: Jack Gold, Chris Blask and Jon Swartz.
READING FOR THIS EPISODEMost Americans Want Powerful AI Development Slowed or Stopped, Quinnipiac Poll Findshttps://techstrong.ai/articles/most-americans-want-powerful-ai-development-slowed-or-stopped-quinnipiac-poll-finds/AI Industry Pours Millions into 2026 Midterms to Head Off State Regulationshttps://techstrong.ai/articles/ai-industry-pours-millions-into-2026-midterms-to-head-off-state-regulations/Amazon Responds to Data Center Resistance with $1 Billion Community Fundhttps://techstrong.it/featured/amazon-responds-to-data-center-resistance-with-1-billion-community-fund/AI Data Center Boom Reshapes U.S. Landscapehttps://techstrong.it/features/ai-data-center-boom-reshapes-u-s-landscape/Meta Claims Billions in AI Tax Breaks by Labeling Data Centers as ‘Experimental’: Reporthttps://techstrong.it/ai/meta-claims-billions-in-ai-tax-breaks-by-labeling-data-centers-as-experimental-report/Goldman sees US data center growth intact despite oppositionhttps://www.reuters.com/business/goldman-sees-us-data-center-growth-intact-despite-opposition-2026-10-05/AWS AI Agent Surfaces Recommendations to Optimize Cloud Computing Environmentshttps://devops.com/aws-ai-agent-surfaces-recommendations-to-optimize-cloud-computing-environments/Welcome to the Error Planehttps://securityboulevard.com/2026/09/welcome-to-the-error-plane/Microsoft, Google Back Apache Ossie for Data and AI Interoperabilityhttps://techstrong.ai/features/microsoft-google-back-apache-ossie-for-data-and-ai-interoperability/
Who has been a guest on Techstrong Gang
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Andi Mann
Kate Scarcella
Sid Nag
Chris Blask
Jack Gold
Podcast Authority Score: 44 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
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YouTube
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Questions about Techstrong Gang
Who hosts Techstrong Gang?
Mike Vizard and Alan Shimel and Jon Swartz and Teri Robinson host the show. Published by Techstrong Group.
How often do new episodes come out?
The show publishes daily, based on its RSS feed.
Does Techstrong Gang take guests?
Yes. Guests have been identified in episode analyses.
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