Authentic and Agentic with Jayson Manship

Educator and entrepreneur Don Wettrick reflects on decades in the classroom and what schools must change as AI reshapes learning and work. He shares why students should be taught to see problems as opportunities, how AI can widen the gap between haves and have-nots, and why grit, discernment and real-world creation matter more than grades. The conversation also looks at innovation centers in schools, preparing students for a workforce with fewer entry-level jobs, and helping young people move from consuming content to building something meaningful.

Jayson Manship talks with Brady Whitesel, a fractional CFO and former CEO, about how artificial intelligence is reshaping financial planning, accounting and decision-making for founders. The conversation explores the difference between bookkeeping and forward-looking financial modeling, why AI is a productivity multiplier rather than a replacement for CFO judgment, and how leaders should balance speed with discernment. Whitesel also shares how he used AI tools like ChatGPT and Replit to build a functional pizza-rating app for $200, and why financial discipline, accountability and monthly planning remain essential in an AI-driven economy.

Host Jayson Manship is joined by Kevin and Liz Schmidt to discuss how artificial intelligence is changing real work for developers, creators and small businesses. The conversation explores their move from Silicon Valley to Indiana, how AI is improving productivity without replacing people, and why community and communication matter as technology accelerates. Topics include AI in software development, creative workflows at Adobe, quality of life gains from automation, and what young professionals need to stand out in an AI-driven economy.

Spokenote founder and CEO, John Wechsler joins us for a conversation about how Spokenote is using AI to help them create personalized video that can be customized at scale while preserving a sense of authenticity. We'll discuss the future of AI and how we might retain our humanity in a world that continues to be transformed by Artificial Intelligence.

In this episode, Authentic & Agentic Podcast Host Jayson Manship sits down with Brian McGinnis, an intellectual property attorney at Barnes & Thornburg, to unpack the legal chaos surrounding artificial intelligence. They discuss what’s settled, what’s uncertain, and what professionals actually need to know right now.

Jayson Manship opens this episode of Authentic and Agent on the IBJ Media Network with his top AI headlines, including what he describes as Disney investing in OpenAI and a deal where “Disney characters and worlds are coming to Sora” inside a “licensed, controlled creative environment,” with Disney still governing approvals and use. He also highlights a new global survey from Teneo that he says shows many public company CEOs expect entry-level hiring to increase, alongside his view that roles are being redesigned and junior work is being compressed as AI boosts productivity. Manship then discusses President Trump signing an executive order dated “Dec. 11” that he says aims to create a national AI policy framework, discourage a patchwork of state laws, and establish an AI litigation task force.

In the interview, TechPoint VP of Talent Sally Reasoner explains how AI is changing the outlook for new grads in Indiana, why employers are shifting from a “skills gap” mindset to what she calls an “experience gap,” and how TechPoint’s extern program evolved from the “brain drain” era to today’s hiring reality. Reasoner and Manship also walk through TechPoint’s “AI-Driven Skills for Indiana’s economy” report and discuss what students can do now, including learning from trusted voices, building personal projects, and joining communities like TechPoint’s AI Innovation Network. They close with a message to employers to “seize the moment” on early-career talent, and Reasoner shares her wish list for Indiana, including taking upskilling seriously and incentivizing early-career hiring.

In this episode of Authentic and Agent, host Jayson Manship covers the week’s top AI news. Apple makes a surprise leadership change in its AI group, Microsoft positions Copilot as a platform across Windows, Office, Azure, Teams, and security tools, and the New York Times files a federal lawsuit against Perplexity AI. Jayson also breaks down key findings from McKinsey’s State of AI report on agentic AI, sales automation, and how AI is reshaping work.

Later, Jayson previews next week’s conversation with TechPoint Indiana about the state’s AI talent pipeline, and he introduces ChatGPT’s new Agent Builder. He then talks with Jim Brown of Valve+Meter Performance Marketing about digital agencies, AI driven workflows, performance marketing, SEO changes, and the future of AI in sales and marketing.

Host Jayson Manship opens this episode of the Authentic and Agentic podcast with a look at how AI is already reshaping holiday shopping, from AI powered product discovery during Black Friday and Cyber Monday to the way his own company, Moonshot Games, used dynamic pricing, predictive inventory and a stronger product mix to beat last year’s results. He also talks about early signs of ads inside the ChatGPT Android app, new U.S. Patent and Trademark Office guidance that only humans can be listed as inventors, and growing questions around a federal AI initiative known as Project Genesis.

After the news, Jayson sits down with Lou and Ty Gerig, the father son team behind strategic communications firm Sease Gerig in Fishers, Indiana. Lou shares candid memories from his time working closely with Jim Brady in the Reagan White House, including the day of the assassination attempt and what it taught him about crisis communication, trust and public service. Ty explains how their firm thinks about “friend raising,” media relations and thought leadership in a world of social media, influencers and AI, and why authentic relationships still sit at the center of effective communications.

The conversation explores how leaders can lean into AI without losing their humanity, how to stay consistent across channels from email to LinkedIn to podcasts, and why PR firms are already thinking about generative engine optimization so their clients continue to show up in results. Jayson closes by inviting listeners to his YouTube channel for a tactical walkthrough of how he now aggregates AI news using tools like Perplexity and ChatGPT Pulse.

In the debut episode of Authentic and Agentic, IBJ Media President Mitch Frazier sits down with host Jayson Manship to introduce the new weekly podcast and explain why now is the moment for a clear, human-centered conversation about artificial intelligence. Jayson shares his journey from an entrepreneurial student at Ball State to the founder of several Indiana companies, his early adoption of AI and why he believes the technology will shape every part of work and daily life.

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