Épisodes

  • Construction layoffs, data centers overheating, US politics slowing Texas.

    Construction layoffs, data centers overheating, US politics slowing Texas.
    Oct 9 2026
    In Episode 13 of The Punch List Podcast, Jon Wright, Kanav Hasija, and Tanmaya Kala break down the latest Census Bureau construction spending numbers and what they hide: data centers are carrying a market that is otherwise shrinking. They cover what that means for small and mid-size general contractors, why construction layoffs are at their lowest level since 2000, and whether Texas Governor Abbott's data center permit pause is real policy or election-season politics.This episode starts with Jon's path from a small town in Kentucky to real estate development, then moves into the numbers. Three people who work inside the AEC industry, reading the data the way operators do.What You'll HearJon's path from Kentucky, finance, and law school to working in a presidential administration, private equity, and 15 years in real estate developmentWhy Jon thinks the best politicians come from other careers, and why he doesn't plan to run for officeTK's walkthrough of the Census Bureau report: total construction spending down about 1.7% year over yearWhy data centers went from 10% of the office category in 2020 to roughly 60% today, about $85 billion of a $150 billion segmentWhy pulling data centers out of the numbers shows roughly 3.5% compression across the marketResidential spending down about 5%, manufacturing down 19.2% from $211 billion to $170 billion, and multifamily nearly flatWhy home improvement spending tends to rise when single family dropsTK's case that small and mid-size GCs get squeezed as interest rates, supply chains, and tariffs hit them harder than the big playersWhy the top 400 contractors are gaining market share while total construction shrinksWhy the craft labor ceiling hits small GCs even harder, and why backlog is how you hold on to your best foremenConstruction layoffs falling about 46% year over year to the lowest level since 2000, and what that says about industry confidenceThe new trade schools training people for data center and fiber workWhat ABC's backlog data shows: about 8.5 months of work booked, with smaller project sizes up and projects over $100 million downFour moves for small and mid-size GCs: build your preconstruction team, partner with strong subcontractors, retain your people, and go slightly upmarketJon's call on Governor Abbott's permit halt until ERCOT completes an audit: election signaling, and not likely to slow Texas data center developmentWhy data centers have a messaging problem, and the Louisiana parish where data center tax revenue turned into bonuses for teachers and a comeback for the townJon on a former uranium enrichment site in his hometown being repurposed for a data center, and why communities that want data centers should get themWhy the AI buildout could be the catalyst for new power generation, and how China's power capacity growth comparesThis Episode Is For You If You've Ever AskedIs the construction market really flat, or are data centers hiding the real picture?How much of nonresidential construction spending is actually data centers?Why is manufacturing and industrial construction dropping so fast?What does the data center boom mean for small and mid-size general contractors?Why are construction layoffs so low when the market is soft?How much does backlog matter, and what is a healthy backlog right now?What can a smaller GC do to compete when the big firms are busy with data centers?Is Texas actually pausing data center development?Why do communities push back on data centers, and what changes their minds?Can the AI buildout finally force the US to expand power generation?Listen to the full podcast on:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033OOZ7K5P9aDTX8opEYUo?si=2efcf20614814e44Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-punch-list/id6790447693YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thepunchlistpodStay Connected With The Punch List :Website: https://thepunchlistpod.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-punchlist-podcast/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepunchlistpod/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thepunchlistpod/X: https://x.com/thepunchlistpod(00:00) - Intro(00:40) - Welcome and Check-Ins(01:42) - Jon's Path Into Real Estate Development(04:17) - Law, Politics, and Construction(06:48) - Construction Spending Update(07:33) - Reading the Census Bureau Data(10:24) - Home Improvements vs Single Family(12:00) - The Squeeze on Small and Mid-Size GCs(14:41) - Industrial Drop-Off and How Census Sorts Categories(17:00) - Top 400 Contractors Gain Market Share(19:08) - Why Backlog Is the Name of the Game(21:26) - Construction Layoffs at a 25-Year Low(24:05) - ABC Backlog Data(26:16) - Four Moves for Small and Mid-Size GCs(28:35) - Texas Permit Pause and Election Politics(30:58) - Why Data Centers Have a Messaging Problem(32:24) - The Louisiana Data Center Story(34:07) - Repurposing Federal Land for Data Centers(35:39) - Power Generation and the China Gap(37:52) - Closing Thoughts
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    39 min
  • AI millionaires in 2026, US condo insurance scam, grok bot vs claude

    AI millionaires in 2026, US condo insurance scam, grok bot vs claude
    Oct 1 2026
    In Episode 12 of The Punch List Podcast, Jon Wright, Kanav Hasija, and Tanmaya Kala cover three forces shaping construction and development right now: the Bay Area's AI-fueled comeback and the utility bottleneck holding projects back, why condos have nearly vanished from new construction in California, and how a fast-splitting market of AI agents is changing the day-to-day for project managers and developers.This episode is an honest look at what is actually going on, with no filter. Three people who operate inside the AEC industry, not outside it, sharing what they see on the ground and the tools they actually use.What You'll HearWhy the Bay Area went from "don't touch it with a ten foot pole" to the hottest market in the world, while Southern California faces more structural challengesJon on utility interconnection taking 6 to 12 months, and why long switchgear lead times are backKanav's math on AI IPOs: about $4.2 trillion in first-day value from 3,300 tech IPOs since 1980, against roughly $5.2 trillion from SpaceX, Anthropic, and OpenAI combinedWhy newly minted Bay Area wealth will push up luxury housing demand, and why regulators need to add supply nowWhat Austin and Texas got right by building enough supply to keep prices in checkTK's three-part condo problem: construction defect liability, insurance costs 3 to 4 times higher, and NIMBYismJon on how condos went from almost 30% of California new construction starts to under 4% after SB 800 and its ten year liability tailWhy Jon says 100% of new condo builds end up in litigation, and why moisture readings are a common triggerBuffy Wicks's condo liability reform bill that failed this year, and why it is coming backWhy general contractors say pricing looks steady only because volume is low, and why you should underwrite a price increase when the boom hitsMeta's new Muse personal AI assistant and how it stacks up against the other agentsKanav on the AI market splitting up: Claude for complex work, OpenAI's Astra for computer use, Grok Bot for cheap daily tasks, and Muse for consumersWhy a small classifier model can sort invoices, support tickets, and cost codes about 100x cheaper and far faster than a large language modelWhy X is the best place to track AI, and how to ask your favorite model who to follow in construction and real estateTK on using Claude to compare estimates, contracts, and change orders across drawing iterationsKanav's steelman: employees showing up to offer letter conversations armed with AI-generated questions they don't fully understandJon's picture of a project manager running bid leveling from a 45 minute commute with skill files and a mobile agentThe story of a second-generation contractor who tried to vibe code his own bid leveling tool and got pointed to a finished product by ClaudeJon on the family calendar agent and the two month minivan lease negotiation bot that beat the dealershipWhy AI is best at the mundane work, like coding invoices and checking subcontractor bills against contractsThis Episode Is For You If You've Ever AskedWhy is the Bay Area market turning around while Southern California struggles?Why does utility interconnection take so long, and how do I plan around it?Will the AI boom push Bay Area housing prices even higher?Why won't developers build condos in California anymore?Should I underwrite higher construction pricing on projects starting now?Which AI model should I use for which task?Can AI actually compare estimates, contracts, and change orders for me?How can a project manager use AI agents to cut down the paperwork?Is it worth connecting an AI agent to my email and calendar?How do I stay current on AI without the noise?Connect with us:Connect with Tanmaya Kala on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tanmaya-kala-pe-3324a13/Connect with Jon Wright on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonpwright/Connect with Kanav Hasija on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kanavhasija/Listen to the full podcast on:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033OOZ7K5P9aDTX8opEYUo?si=2efcf20614814e44Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-punch-list/id6790447693YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thepunchlistpodStay Connected With The Punch List :Website: https://thepunchlistpod.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-punchlist-podcast/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepunchlistpod/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thepunchlistpod/X: https://x.com/thepunchlistpod
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    59 min
  • The Careers That Will Survive AI

    The Careers That Will Survive AI
    Sep 25 2026
    In Episode 11 of The Punch List Podcast, Jon Wright, Kanav Hasija, and Tanmaya Kala cover three forces reshaping construction and development right now: record copper prices driven by the AI data center build-out, the aging skilled trades workforce and who replaces it, and the promise versus reality of office-to-residential conversions.This episode is an honest look at what is actually going on, with no filter. Three people who operate inside the AEC industry, not outside it, sharing what they see on the ground and what they think it means.What You'll HearWhy copper jumped roughly 20% in a year, from about $5.50 to $6.60 per pound, and why copper futures climbing 36% means the market is already forward bookingTK's case for shifting more wiring from copper to aluminum, and why a Canadian supply chain makes it a safer bet on escalationWhy data center builders won't swap out copper even as prices climb, when a proven 10-month build plan beats a 24-month experimentJon on contingency, padding, and why forward contracts and options hedges are rarely used outside the largest developersHow owners push material risk onto subcontractors with 60 and 90 day signing windowsTK's argument that domestic copper sitting in the ground in Nevada, stuck in environmental review, may be the real long-term playWhy a generation was told the trades were a step down, and how that decision is catching up with the industry todayKanav's comparison: a starting lawyer and a union electrician can both earn around $150K, but one carries $150K in debt and the other about $10KWhy the hosts believe AI will come for white collar jobs long before it comes for the electricianJon's take on the boomer retirement wave as a business acquisition opportunity for millennials and Gen Z already working in the tradesWhy TK leans on a strong superintendent in preconstruction, and why "just ask Claude" can't replace someone who has actually installed the workMcKinsey's projection of roughly $200 trillion in global construction demand through 2040 against about $160 trillion in labor capacity, a 20% gapWhy San Francisco office buildings have sold at up to 70% discounts, and why converting to biotech labs was a smarter play than residentialJon breaking down the four hurdles to office conversion: debt and "extend and pretend," the buyer-seller standoff, physical design, and zoningWhy side-core buildings are the ones that actually work for conversion, and why most successful projects are likely subsidizedTK on plumbing, hidden conditions behind every wall, and mandatory code upgrades that make conversion costs unpredictableWhy California hospitals facing a 2030 code deadline are being torn down and rebuilt instead of repurposedNational office vacancy rising from about 16% to 20%, with Boston now leading Class A office construction and the Bay Area at the bottomJon on why workers will return to new, well-designed offices but not to "their father's office"Kanav's theory on why New York is the most capitalistic city in the world, and what mixed-use planning gets rightHow long commutes connect the trades shortage to the housing problem, and the case for factory-built constructionThis Episode Is For You If You've Ever AskedHow is the AI data center boom affecting material costs on my projects?Should I be hedging copper, or just padding my contingency?Is aluminum wiring a realistic alternative to copper in commercial buildings?Who is going to replace the retiring skilled trades workforce?Is a career in the trades now a better deal than a college degree?Is there an opportunity to buy a trades business as owners retire?Why aren't more empty office buildings being converted into housing?Is it cheaper to convert an old building or tear it down and start over?Connect with us:Connect with Tanmaya Kala on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tanmaya-kala-pe-3324a13/Connect with Jon Wright on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonpwright/Connect with Kanav Hasija on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kanavhasija/Listen to the full podcast on:**Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033OOZ7K5P9aDTX8opEYUo?si=2efcf20614814e44**Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-punch-list/id6790447693**YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thepunchlistpodStay Connected With The Punch List :Website: https://thepunchlistpod.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-punchlist-podcast/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepunchlistpod/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thepunchlistpod/X: https://x.com/thepunchlistpod(00:00) - Intro(01:06) - Copper Price Surge(02:22) - Data Centers Won't Drop Copper(03:59) - Hedging and Contingency(05:31) - Risk and US Copper Supply(06:37) - The Trades Shortage(08:41) - Electrician vs Lawyer(10:03) - Trades for Our Kids?(11:54) - Buy a Trades Business(13:04) - Field Experience Wins(14:18) - Global Labor Gap(15:48) - Office Conversions(18:15) - Four Conversion Hurdles(21:29) - Why Conversions Fail(23:47) - Office Vacancy ...
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    33 min
  • AI will destroy humanity or it’s just PR for IPO?

    AI will destroy humanity or it’s just PR for IPO?
    Sep 17 2026
    In Episode 10 of The Punch List Podcast, Jon Wright, Kanav Hasija, and Tanmaya Kala cover three things happening in the real world of construction and development right now: the Dubai construction boom, the uncertainty around interest rates and bond markets, and the AI regulation debate that took over the industry conversation over the weekend.This episode is an honest look at what is actually going on, with no filter. Three people who operate inside the AEC industry, not outside it, sharing what they see on the ground and what they think it means.What You'll HearWhy Dubai's residential market shrugged off the war while hospitality fell from 85% occupancy to single digits overnightHow GCs in Dubai are self-performing all trades and what that vertical integration model means for quality, margins, and the future of specializationWhy Sobha Realty, an $8 billion fully vertically integrated developer, is widely considered to produce the best finished product in the regionTK's theory on why immature markets trend toward vertical integration and whether fragmentation eventually comes backWhy cost estimates in Dubai routinely come in 50% below final cost and what that says about where the market is in its maturityJon breaking down the difference between the Fed short rate and the bond market long rate, and why most people have it wrongWhy construction loan costs, steel prices, diesel, and copper are all moving in the same direction at the same timeHow AI data center construction is adding borrowing pressure to the broader bond market and what that means for the long rateKanav's controversial read on why Dario Amodei, Sam Altman, and Elon Musk all agreed publicly in the same weekend to slow down AI developmentWhy Kanav, as an Anthropic investor, still thinks the slowdown call is more about IPO narrative than genuine riskThe actual facts behind the Hugging Face hacking incident, what OpenAI confirmed, what Hugging Face confirmed, and what nobody knows yet because the prompt logs have not been releasedWhy Kanav says the 2024 AI blackmail story falls apart once you know it took 38 rounds of prompting to get thereTK's argument that we are already building physical infrastructure AI could eventually exploit, and why regulation now matters more than regulation laterJon on regulatory capture: what it means, whether it applies here, and why he still wants the labs to show us the dataKanav's simpler fix for the rogue nation threat: stop selling Claude outside the US. No Washington hearing required.Why anyone designing, building, or supplying data centers needs to pay attention to where this AI regulation debate landsThis Episode Is For You If You've Ever AskedWhy is Dubai building so fast with 20-year-old technology?What is actually happening with interest rates and why is the long rate going up even when the Fed cuts?Is the AI slowdown call from Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google genuine or is there something else going on?What really happened with the Hugging Face hacking incident and should I be worried about it?How do I think about AI risk as someone who builds physical things?If there is a regulation pause on AI, what does that mean for data center construction in the near term?The conversation this weekend around AI was loud. But the loudest voices in the room are also the ones with IPOs on the street and capital needs to meet. That matters.Meanwhile, the bond market is doing something real, Dubai is building towers faster than anyone thought possible with technology you would not recognize as modern, and the construction industry is sitting at the intersection of all of it.Connect with us:[LinkedIn / Website, if applicable]Connect with Tanmaya Kala on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tanmaya-kala-pe-3324a13/Connect with Jon Wright on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonpwright/Connect with Kanav Hasija on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kanavhasija/Listen to the full podcast on:**Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033OOZ7K5P9aDTX8opEYUo?si=2efcf20614814e44****Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-punch-list/id6790447693****YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thepunchlistpod**Stay Connected With The Punch List :**Website: https://thepunchlistpod.com/****LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-punchlist-podcast/****Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepunchlistpod/****Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thepunchlistpod/****X: https://x.com/thepunchlistpod**(00:00) - Intro(00:53) - Dubai Market Is Ripping(02:23) - The Master Builder Model(03:55) - Sobha Realty Breakdown(04:57) - Why Dubai Is Booming(06:56) - Will Integration Last?(09:58) - Dubai's Budget Overrun Problem(11:36) - Dubai vs. US Cost Estimating(12:30) - Fed Rates Explained(14:49) - Why Long Rates Keep Rising(17:48) - How Rates Hit Construction(19:31) - AI Stocks vs. The Real Economy(21:39) - Steel Lead Times Are Insane(22:59) - AI Labs Drama Explodes(24:30) - The Hype Cycle Argument(26:48) - The Controversial ...
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    50 min
  • The Honest Truth About AI in Business Right Now

    The Honest Truth About AI in Business Right Now
    Sep 11 2026
    In this episode of The Punchlist Podcast, Jon Wright, Kanav Hasija, and Tanmaya Kala take an honest look at what's actually happening with AI in the architecture, engineering, and construction industry right now. Drawing from their experience as founders, developers, and operators inside the industry, they walk through the real state of AI adoption, why most demos fail, and what firms should actually be doing to prepare.This episode is an invitation to cut through the noise, get practical about how you evaluate AI tools, and understand where the real gains are coming from and where they aren't yet.What You'll HearWhy construction and engineering firms are experiencing AI demo burnout and what's actually causing itHow unfinished AI products are burning out the market and creating a false belief that AI doesn't workWhy construction is one of the most complex human endeavors and why most AI startups underestimate itKanav's two-day vendor test that replaces four months of painful evaluationThe three things every AEC firm should do right now without a big budgetWhy organizing your own data is the most future-proof move you can make todayJon's argument for why documenting your firm's knowledge and processes is the highest-leverage action right nowTK's process-first framework and why letting tools drive your process is dangerousWhy the S&P 500 net margins and sales growth are going down when you strip out AI producersWhere small, AI-native businesses are actually seeing real gains including skipping hires and moving faster on revenueKanav's honest read on the AI hype cycle even as an Anthropic investorWhy a correction is coming and what to do with your balance sheet before it hitsThis Episode Is For You If You've Ever AskedWhy do the AI demos always look great but fail on our actual data?What should we actually be doing right now without a massive budget?Are other businesses really seeing dollar gains from AI or is it just talk?How do I evaluate an AI vendor without burning four months on it?Where is AI genuinely useful in construction and where is it not?Is the AI hype cycle real and are we at the top of it?What happens to my business if there's a correction in the next two years?AI in construction isn't about buying the next shiny tool. It's about understanding the technology well enough to know where it helps, building the internal systems to evaluate it fast, and organizing your data so you're ready when the real gains arrive. The firms that do that work now will be the ones that benefit most when the hype settles and the real era of AI adoption begins.You don't have to overhaul everything at once. Start by swimming in the technology yourself. Start by building one tough test. Start by cleaning up your data.Connect with us:Connect with Tanmaya Kala on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/tanmaya-kala-pe-3324a13/Connect with Jon Wright on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonpwright/Connect with Kanav Hasija on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kanavhasija/Listen to the full podcast on:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033OOZ7K5P9aDTX8opEYUo?si=2efcf20614814e44 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-punch-list/id6790447693YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thepunchlistpodStay Connected With The Punch List : Website: https://thepunchlistpod.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-punchlist-podcast/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepunchlistpod/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thepunchlistpod/X: https://x.com/thepunchlistpod(00:00) - Trailer(00:38) - Intro starts (hosts introduce themselves)(01:06) - Topics overview announced(02:07) - Deep dive into AI demo burnout begins(04:00) - Discussion of the 150-180 startups per year(06:06) - Admin burnout & vendor responsibility(07:05) - Illusion of explanatory depth concept(12:00) - Reality gap discussion(20:00) - Preparation topic begins(25:00) - Real gains section starts(31:13) - S&P 500 ROI analysis(34:00) - Individual efficiency discussion(36:22) - Final thoughts on hype cycle(38:30) - Outro
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    39 min
  • Eric Lamb on why construction is its own biggest enemy

    Eric Lamb on why construction is its own biggest enemy
    Sep 4 2026

    Eric Lamb spent 45 years in construction. For 35 of them he sat on the founding management committee of DPR Construction, helping take it from a startup to a top-ten general contractor doing $14 billion a year. He's blunt about why an industry that can deliver an AI data center on an impossible schedule still crawls everywhere else, and the answer isn't permitting, labor, or technology.


    He joins Jon Wright, Kanav Hasija, and Tanmaya Kala to answer an uncomfortable question. If this industry can deliver an AI data center on a schedule no one thought possible, why does everything else still crawl? Eric's answer isn't permitting, labor, or technology. It's trust.


    He also walks through the investment DPR passed on in 2012, PlanGrid, which Autodesk later bought for $875 million, and the two lessons he took from it. Plus why AI in construction still needs a human sitting next to the field, and the one culture change he'd make at any contracting firm trying to grow.


    Guest: Eric Lamb, DPR Construction / WND Ventures / Blackhorn Ventures — linkedin.com/in/eric-lamb-084916


    Topics Covered

    • Why data centers get built fast and everything else doesn't
    • The $875M investment DPR passed on, and the two lessons from it
    • What AI in construction still can't do without a human in the field
    • The culture change worth more than any software purchase

    Chapters
    (00:00) Introduction
    (02:17) What the D, the P, and the R stand for
    (04:15) The decision that mattered most and the values behind it
    (09:47) Building data centers in the 1980s
    (15:29) Are we creating our own bottlenecks?
    (17:19) The filter for construction tech investing
    (18:47) The PlanGrid pass and the $875M lesson
    (22:10) What GCs need that the market isn't building
    (24:38) Why margins are a thousand small mistakes avoided
    (30:04) The boardroom and operator divide on AI
    (33:35) Building DPR's estimating database in 1991
    (37:58) Advice for executives growing a contracting business

    Connect with us:

    • Connect with Tanmaya Kala on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tanmaya-kala-pe-3324a13/
    • Connect with Jon Wright on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonpwright/
    • Connect with Kanav Hasija on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kanavhasija/
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    41 min
  • Why building on the moon is harder than it sounds?

    Why building on the moon is harder than it sounds?
    Aug 28 2026


    NASA is planning a permanent Moon base by the 2030s, and building it means solving problems no construction team on Earth has ever faced: zero atmosphere, moonquakes, temperature swings that would destroy anything we build here, and the brutal economics of shipping every material 240,000 miles. Jon, TK, and Kanav sit down with Kenny Cheung, a research scientist at NASA Ames and principal investigator on the ARMADAS project, to break down how NASA is thinking about foundational infrastructure, materials strategy, and robotics for lunar construction, and where that thinking eventually shows up back on Earth's job sites. From mining moon ice for rocket fuel to a "ship it vs. make it" materials framework to the case for modular, LEGO-like construction systems, this is a look at what it actually takes to build off-world.


    Guest: Kenny Cheung, NASA Ames Research Center — linkedin.com/in/kennethccheung


    Topics Covered

    • Foundational infrastructure in an environment with no atmosphere
    • Ship it vs. make it: NASA's materials strategy
    • The economics of building on the Moon
    • Where lunar construction tech lands on Earth first

    Chapters
    (00:00) Introduction
    (02:19) Why NASA needs a permanent Moon base
    (05:36) Foundational infrastructure and the lunar environment
    (07:04) Moonquakes, building codes, and lunar permitting
    (08:14) Mining moon ice for water, oxygen, and fuel
    (10:12) Ship it or make it: NASA's materials strategy
    (11:42) Structural materials, radiation shielding, and the economics of building on the Moon
    (14:46) Robotics, coordination, and construction sequencing
    (21:14) Where this technology lands on Earth first
    (25:35) Staying up to date on Lunar research
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    29 min
  • Why AI is bringing everyone back to the office

    Why AI is bringing everyone back to the office
    Aug 20 2026


    Something strange is happening in real estate right now. The same AI reshaping how we work is also reshaping where we work, and who can afford to live nearby.

    This week Jon, Kanav, and TK look at why office space is suddenly in demand again, why product development is now moving faster than marketing teams can keep up, and why San Francisco's housing market has flipped from pandemic ghost town to the most competitive market in the country, largely on the back of AI salaries and secondary stock sales. Then the conversation turns to Seattle's tech layoffs, the current state of capital markets for real estate investors, and a sharp pullback in foreign buyers' purchases of US property.

    The Punch List brings together a developer, a founder, and a general contractor every week to debate what's actually moving the AEC and real estate industries, rather than just repeating the headlines.

    Topics covered

    • The case for in-person collaboration over remote work
    • Seattle's tech layoffs versus San Francisco's AI-fueled real estate boom
    • How AI salaries and secondary stock sales are reshaping Bay Area home prices
    • Why foreign buyers are pulling back from the US real estate market

    Timestamps
     (00:00) Introduction
    (01:19) Kanav's update from Bangalore and the return to office
    (01:48) Why office space is in demand again
    (02:58) The case for in-person productivity over remote work
    (07:43) Why AI means you shouldn't become "a markdown file"
    (10:05) Building products faster than we can market them
    (10:57) A tale of two cities: Seattle versus San Francisco
    (14:39) How AI wealth is reshaping San Francisco real estate
    (17:26) Private credit, capital allocators, and real estate investing right now
    (24:03) Why foreign buyers are pulling back from US real estate

    Connect with us:

    • Connect with Tanmaya Kala on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tanmaya-kala-pe-3324a13/
    • Connect with Jon Wright on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonpwright/
    • Connect with Kanav Hasija on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kanavhasija/

    Resources:

    • CRE and office leases are back: Office vacancies had a sharp decline - https://www.facilitiesdive.com/news/office-vacancies-drop-sharply-in-q2-as-organizations-seek-space-cbre/826949/
    • CREs are top investor picks - https://finance.yahoo.com/real-estate/articles/cre-surges-back-top-investor-162724040.html
    • Decline in foreigners' buying real estate in US - https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/04/foreign-buyers-us-properties.html
    • Tale of two cities: Housing in Seattle dropped due to layoff - https://www.geekwire.com/2026/home-sales-slump-in-seattle-among-nations-worst-as-high-costs-and-tech-layoffs-inject-fear-into-market/
    • San Francisco is rising like anything - https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/san-francisco-homebuyers-officially-lost-082301561.html
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    40 min