iFixit’s Shahram Mokhtari joins us to talk about the hidden engineering behind modern electronics. What do glue, modularity, and repairability reveal about design and manufacturing? Plus: CES-week stories on cooling, satellites, and packaging, and a Reconstruction of Juicero, the over-engineered $700 juicer that became Silicon Valley’s favorite cautionary tale.

Links from the discussion:

iFixit: RedMagic 11 Pro Teardown: The Phone With a Tiny Pump Inside : ⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHcglQFr-Ss⁠

The Verge – Racks of AI chips are too damn heavy : ⁠https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/844966/heavy-ai-data-center-buildout⁠

The Verge – Starlink and Chinese satellites nearly collided last week : ⁠https://www.theverge.com/news/844502/starlink-and-chinese-satellites-nearly-collided-last-week⁠

FT – The surprising survival of fashion catalogues : ⁠https://www.ft.com/content/ca0a447d-f8d5-4b6d-9143-a659be311a92⁠

TechCrunch – How Luminar’s doomed Volvo deal helped drag the company into bankruptcy : ⁠https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/16/how-luminars-doomed-volvo-deal-helped-drag-the-company-into-bankruptcy/⁠

Packaging Dive – Cold-chain packaging companies adapt as dry ice supply falters : ⁠https://www.packagingdive.com/news/cold-chain-packaging-adapt-dry-ice-supply-co2/807720/⁠

Juicero on Bloomberg : ⁠https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2017-04-19/silicon-valley-s-400-juicer-may-be-feeling-the-squeeze⁠

Juicero Teardown on Bolt : ⁠https://blog.bolt.io/juicero/

Spencer Wright, Editor-in-Chief of Scope of Work, joins Jon to uncover the hidden history of the plastic bottle, one of the most widely produced and least appreciated manufactured objects in the world. His essay, Evolution of the Plastic Bottle, published here on First Article, examines the bottle’s long evolution from early glass and acrylonitrile designs to today’s lightweight PET systems, exploring how advances in polymer chemistry, injection molding, and mass production turned an everyday object into an icon of industrial efficiency.

Jon and Alex also discuss the week’s biggest stories in manufacturing and materials—from Boeing’s completed Spirit AeroSystems acquisition to the growing strain of AI’s energy demand on the U.S. grid, and the expanding role of large-scale battery storage in stabilizing renewable energy.

The episode concludes with a Reconstruction segment on the 1982 Tylenol murders, when tampered capsules killed seven people and forced an industry-wide redesign of consumer packaging. The tragedy led to the creation of the tamper-evident seals and safety standards that are still with us today.

Links from the discussion:

Evolution of the Plastic Bottle: https://www.lumafield.com/first-article/posts/evolution-of-the-plastic-bottle

Scope of Work: https://www.scopeofwork.net/

Boeing completion of $4.7bn Spirit purchase paves way for Airbus supplier deal: https://www.ft.com/content/16abd98d-ae90-4876-b840-55725f2ca6a3

Millions of Defective Air Bags Have Been Recalled—but They’re Still Not Fixed: https://www.wsj.com/business/autos/recall-air-bag-not-fixed-050694a2

The power crunch threatening America’s AI ambitions: https://ig.ft.com/ai-power/

Once a Gamble in the Desert, Electric Grid Batteries Are Everywhere: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/business/energy-environment/battery-prices-electric-grids.html

We Bought a 450-Pound Mystery Pallet Packed With Returned Goods From Amazon and Beyond: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/mystery-amazon-pallet-unboxing/

Ralph Nader’s Pens Are Drying Out: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/ralph-nader-pens-drying-out/

Kyle Vogt, founder of Twitch, Cruise, and now The Bot Company, joins Go/No-Go to discuss what it takes to build practical, everyday robots. Drawing on his experience at Cruise and The Bot Company, he describes how AI and autonomy are merging with traditional hardware disciplines to create machines that can safely perform useful household and industrial tasks.

Jon and Kyle explore how today’s robotics startups must balance complexity and manufacturability to develop systems that can evolve through software while remaining cost-effective to produce at scale. Vogt also reflects on why the robotics field has generally shifted away from humanoid ambitions toward focused, purpose-built designs that solve real problems.

Jon and Alex round out the episode with manufacturing news, including iRobot’s near-collapse, the mixed reception of 1X Neo’s tele-operated home robot, our own investigation into battery quality issues with Haribo powerbanks. The Reconstruction segment revisits the decline of the American large sedan and the rise of crossover platforms that now define modern auto manufacturing.

Other links from the discussion:

The Bot Company Eyes $4 Billion Valuation: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-10-28/cruise-founder-kyle-vogt-s-robotics-startup-eyes-4-billion-valuation

iRobot Is in Trouble: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/roomba-obit/

1X Neo Home Robot: https://www.wsj.com/tech/personal-tech/i-tried-the-robot-thats-coming-to-live-with-you-its-still-part-human-68515d44

Honda Wheels Could Fall Off Due to an Italian Fence Mishap: https://www.ien.com/safety/video/22954694/honda-wheels-could-fall-off-due-to-an-italian-fence-mishap

The ultralight gummy bear power bank just got yanked from Amazon: https://www.theverge.com/news/818906/haribo-gummy-bear-power-bank-amazon-removed

Recycling Lead for U.S. Car Batteries Is Poisoning People: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/11/18/world/africa/lead-poisoning-car-battery.html

Aldi effect sweeps US supermarkets: https://www.ft.com/content/d70ff7b2-8096-45e4-829b-1de0ca321be9

Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA): https://global.toyota/en/mobility/tnga/

Upcoming Lumafield events: ⁠⁠https://www.lumafield.com/events⁠⁠