Beyond the Megawatt: Data Center Design, Technology Challenges, and Infrastructure Innovation
Tired of hearing the same perspectives at every data center conference? Join Mara and Val as they venture beyond the spotlight to bring you the real tech heroes actually building our digital world. Every Thursday, we chat with the hands-on experts about what truly works in the field—and what doesn't. We ask bold questions, share unfiltered insights, and promise plenty of laughter along the way. Come geek out with us as we power up conversations that truly go Beyond the Megawatt!
- Update frequency
- every 6 days
- Average duration
- 38 minutes
- Episodes
- 20
- Years Active
- 2025
Being your Authentic Self on Stage - You know more than you think you do!
The data center industry desperately needs more diverse voices on stage, but too often, women are backing down from speaking opportunities at the last minute. Why are qualified professionals declinin…
00:49:33 |
Thu 11 Sep 2025
No Victims, Just Builders: Carrie Goetz on Agency, Trades & Accountability
In this powerful episode, we sit down with trailblazer Carrie Goetz — author, educator, and industry pioneer. We’ll explore her human story: how she broke into the industry, the challenges she’s over…
00:45:03 |
Thu 04 Sep 2025
Quantum to Kilowatts: What’s New at DataCloud USA
The data center industry is shifting from fiber-first to power-first strategy, and DataCloud USA is bringing all the right players to the table. Joe Howarth and Lottie Westerling share what makes the…
00:17:16 |
Thu 28 Aug 2025
Labor Crisis as a National Emergency
When you flip a light switch, there's no David Copperfield hiding behind the sheetrock. That's science at work, not magic. But what happens when we can't find the people who understand that science? …
00:56:04 |
Thu 21 Aug 2025
From Tribes to Transformation: George Rockett on Uniting Digital Infrastructure at YOTTA in Las Vegas
This isn't just another industry event—it's a movement. 🚀 In this episode of Beyond the Megawatt, George Rockett shares how his vision to unite the "tribes" of digital infrastructure is transforming …
00:37:22 |
Thu 14 Aug 2025
Future-Ready Starts Early: Inspiring Kids to Discover Computer Science and the Trades
What if the workforce crisis isn't about lazy kids or entitled generations—but about a complete failure to show young people the pathways that actually exist? Michael Wilson from GenTech is proving t…
00:47:41 |
Thu 07 Aug 2025
Voices That Move Markets: Live From the WiMCO Tech Summit
What happens when you really listen to the conversations happening in the margins? Four years ago, Jackie Pasierbowicz overheard women talking about professional isolation right after a networking ev…
00:47:22 |
Thu 31 Jul 2025
Disrupting the Grid: Veterans, Energy Innovation, and the Future of Modular Power
What happens when a Navy submarine veteran challenges everything the data center industry thinks it knows? You get a conversation that's equal parts uncomfortable and essential. Tony Grayson doesn't …
00:49:20 |
Thu 24 Jul 2025
Nuclear Power by 2026? The Data Center Energy Crisis
The energy conversation in data centers just got real. In this episode, we dive deep with Alison Krager Hahn from the Department of Energy and Rhea Williams from E3 Energy Partners on the hybrid stra…
00:39:33 |
Thu 17 Jul 2025
The Eight-Week Mark: What We’ve Learned, and What Comes Next
Eight weeks into Beyond the Megawatt, Mara and Val pause to reflect on what they've learned about starting a podcast, challenging industry norms, and amplifying voices that typically don't get heard.…
00:50:57 |
Thu 10 Jul 2025
Talent That Scales: Redefining People Strategy in Mission Critical Infrastructure
Half of all data center talent will retire within the next decade. At the same time, we need to double our workforce to meet exploding infrastructure demand. This isn't just another workforce challen…
00:38:30 |
Thu 03 Jul 2025
Can Data Centers Ever Be Sustainable? These Women Say Yes!
What happens when you put three sustainability leaders in one room and ask them to call BS on industry practices? You get the most honest conversation about data center sustainability we've had yet.
…
00:41:09 |
Thu 26 Jun 2025
Redefining Power: Transformational Leadership in a Transactional Industry
Leadership in mission-critical industries isn't broken—it's being measured all wrong. This conversation with executive coach Lori Severson and leadership expert Andrea Janzen exposes the invisible ba…
00:48:13 |
Thu 19 Jun 2025
AI, Audacity & the Education Reboot We’re Too Scared to Start
What if the solution to the data center workforce crisis starts in kindergarten?
Dr. Sharon Jones, founder of the Dottie Rose Foundation, joins us for a conversation that challenges everything yo…
00:45:05 |
Thu 12 Jun 2025
Digging Differently: The Hidden Innovation Transforming Data Center Construction
Sometimes the most transformative technology comes from the most unexpected places. In this episode, we go below the surface—literally—to explore how hydro excavation is changing data center construc…
00:40:55 |
Thu 05 Jun 2025
Fiber, Foresight, & The future: Solving for scale in the age of AI
What happens when AI meets data center infrastructure? Dan Molloy—known throughout the industry as "Fiber Dan"—brings decades of networking expertise and bold predictions about the future of mission-…
00:30:06 |
Thu 29 May 2025
Design to Handover: Closing the Gap on Commissioning, Workforce, and the Future of Ops
What happens when you combine decades of commissioning expertise with a vision for transforming how we develop the next generation of infrastructure talent? You get a conversation that challenges eve…
00:30:43 |
Thu 29 May 2025
Mic Check: Accountability, Origins, and the Truth Behind the Podcast
Welcome to our inaugural episode! Hosts Mara Ervin and Valerie Crafton sit down with psychotherapist and workplace wellbeing consultant Kate Ahl for an honest conversation about inclusion, allyship, …
00:43:31 |
Thu 29 May 2025
🎙️ Beyond the Megawatt: Live from the Cloud Run! ☁️
Your Co-Hosts Mara Ervin & Valerie Crafton MBA are thrilled to share our latest episode, recorded live at the 3rd Annual Cloud Run hosted by the 7x24 Exchange DC Chapter.
This special edition kic…
00:08:35 |
Thu 22 May 2025
Coming Soon: Beyond the Megawatt - The Data Center Podcast You've Been Waiting For
Hosts Mara and Val introduce their new podcast "Beyond the Megawatt" from Data Center World, created specifically to amplify the voices of tech leaders who are actually building data centers but rare…
00:01:51 |
Sat 03 May 2025
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