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PODCAST

Sidecar Sync

Amith Nagarajan and Mallory Mejias

Welcome to Sidecar Sync: Your Weekly Dose of Innovation for Associations. Hosted by Amith Nagarajan and Mallory Mejias, this podcast is your definitive source for the latest news, insights, and trends in the association world with a special emphasis on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its pivotal role in shaping the future. Each week, we delve into the most pressing topics, spotlighting the transformative role of emerging technologies and their profound impact on associations. With a commitment to

business non-profit

All Episodes

51:36

The Little AI Models That Could | 130

Sidecar Sync ·

2026/04/16

Send us Fan Mail This week on Sidecar Sync, Amith Nagarajan and Mallory Mejias trace one of the biggest stories in AI: how cutting-edge intelligence keeps getting compressed into smaller, faster, cheaper models. From GPT-4-era pricing to today’s open models like Gemma 4, they unpack the forces driving this shift, including distillation, mixture-of-experts architectures, quantization, and Google Research’s new TurboQuant breakthrough. Along the way, they explore what this means for association...

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52:10

An FBI Operative’s Guide to Cybersecurity, Deepfakes,...

Sidecar Sync ·

2026/04/09

Send us Fan Mail In this interview edition of Sidecar Sync, Mallory sits down with Eric O’Neill—former FBI counterintelligence operative, attorney, cybersecurity expert, and founder of The Georgetown Group and NeXasure AI—whose career has spanned undercover FBI work, national security law, and advising organizations on how to defend themselves against modern cyber threats. Eric shares stories from the extraordinary operation that led to the capture of Robert Hanssen, the longtime FBI agent wh...

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48:51

The Claude Mythos Leak & the Reality of...

Sidecar Sync ·

2026/04/02

Send us Fan Mail This week on Sidecar Sync, Amith Nagarajan and Mallory Mejias unpack a whirlwind of Claude news, from Anthropic’s accidental “Mythos” leak and what it could signal about the next major leap in AI capability, to the increasingly practical reality of Claude using your computer to complete real tasks on your behalf. They also dig into Mistral’s new open-weight text-to-speech model, the growing cybersecurity implications of more powerful frontier models, and what all of this mean...

en-us

48:16

A New Era of AI Education with the ‘AI Learning Hub’...

Sidecar Sync ·

2026/03/26

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Sidecar Sync, co-hosts Amith Nagarajan and Mallory Mejias dive into the explosive rise of OpenClaw—an open-source AI agent that’s taken the tech world by storm. From being dubbed “the next ChatGPT” at NVIDIA GTC to triggering widespread security concerns, OpenClaw represents both the promise and peril of the agent era. Amith breaks down what OpenClaw actually does, why its viral adoption matters more than its underlying tech, and how its vulnerabilities hig...

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50:30

Meet Grace: Sidecar’s New AI Agent Takes the Stage | 126

Sidecar Sync ·

2026/03/19

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Sidecar Sync, Amith Nagarajan and Mallory Mejias pull back the curtain on one of Sidecar’s most ambitious experiments yet: Grace, a real-time AI audio agent designed to transform how organizations engage with users. From a beachside hackathon to a live deployment in under two months, they unpack the full journey—covering the business case, rapid development process, tech stack decisions, and early learnings. Along the way, they explore how audio AI captures...

en-us

52:33

AI Agents Shake Up the Software Market,...

Sidecar Sync ·

2026/03/12

Send a text In this episode of Sidecar Sync, Amith Nagarajan and Mallory Mejias unpack three major developments shaping the AI landscape for associations and nonprofits. First, they explore the rapid evolution of AI models—including ultra-fast releases like Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite and the growing capabilities of systems like GPT‑5.4 that can interact directly with legacy software. Next, they discuss how AI agents could disrupt traditional software pricing models, potentially reducing the need f...

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39:18

The State of AI Agents in 2026 | 124

Sidecar Sync ·

2026/03/05

Send a text In this special solo edition of Sidecar Sync, Mallory Mejias unpacks Anthropic’s 2026 State of AI Agents report and translates what it actually means for associations. Drawing from data across 500+ technical leaders, she explores how organizations are moving beyond basic chatbots to multi-stage AI agents that handle workflows end to end. From research and reporting to customer service and coding, the results are clear: speed and quality are driving ROI—not just cost savings. Mallo...

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53:59

Agent Tollgates & MCP Mayhem: Who Really Owns Your...

Sidecar Sync ·

2026/02/26

Send a text In this episode of the Sidecar Sync, Mallory and Amith dive deep into two seismic shifts rocking the AI landscape for associations: the rise of “agent tollgates” in SaaS platforms and the growing security concerns around Model Context Protocol (MCP). Sparked by comments from HubSpot’s CEO about monitoring and monetizing agent access to customer data, the conversation explores what happens when vendors start charging for AI agents to access “your” data—and why this may signal a bro...

en-us

42:44

The Maya 200 Breakthrough, Project Genie’s Living...

Sidecar Sync ·

2026/02/19

Send a text In this episode of Sidecar Sync, Amith Nagarajan and Mallory Mejias zoom out to explore the AI infrastructure quietly reshaping everything beneath the surface—from Microsoft’s new Maya 200 custom AI chip and the race to lower inference costs, to Google’s Project Genie and the rise of interactive world models that could transform everything from credentialing simulations to digital twins of annual conferences. They also unpack bold predictions about the future of work, including AI...

en-us

52:44

From Deep Learning Indaba to Algorithmic Sovereignty...

Sidecar Sync ·

2026/02/12

Send a text If you think the future of AI is being decided only in Silicon Valley or Beijing, this conversation will stretch your perspective. Amith Nagarajan and Mallory Mejias sit down with Benjamin “Benji” Rosman—Professor at the University of the Witwatersrand, Founder of the Machine Intelligence and Neural Discovery (MIND) Institute, and recently named to the Time 100 Most Influential People in AI for 2025—to explore how Africa is building its AI ecosystem from the ground up. From the or...

en-us

51:10

Kimi K2.5’s Swarm of Agents, Claude Goes Vertical,...

Sidecar Sync ·

2026/02/05

Send us a text In this high-octane episode of Sidecar Sync, Amith and Mallory cover an ambitious trio of AI developments with massive implications for associations. They dive into Kimi K2.5, a Chinese open-source model built for multimodal agent swarms that rival GPT-5.2 at a fraction of the cost. Then, they explore Claude’s new domain-specific plugins for Cowork and what it means for associations when Big AI moves into vertical markets like legal and finance. Finally, they unpack Elon Musk’s...

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45:19

From White House Strategy to Youth Safety Tools:...

Sidecar Sync ·

2026/01/29

Send us a text What do AI companions, deepfakes, and White House briefings have in common? Bruce Reed. In this episode, Mallory Mejias and Amith Nagarajan are joined by Bruce Reed, Head of AI at Common Sense Media and former Deputy Chief of Staff in the Biden-Harris White House. Bruce shares an insider’s view on how the U.S. government reacted to the launch of ChatGPT, the urgent need for AI guardrails for youth, and why you don’t need to be a tech expert to lead responsibly. Bruce Ree...

en-us

48:45

Global Gaps in AI Use & What Happens When Capital...

Sidecar Sync ·

2026/01/22

Send us a text In this episode of Sidecar Sync, Mallory Mejias and Amith Nagarajan unpack two powerful narratives shaping our AI future: the surprising global leaderboard of AI adoption and a provocative economic thought experiment on capital, labor, and AGI. From Mallory’s firsthand experience using Claude to navigate the stress of first-time home buying to Microsoft’s latest diffusion report revealing where AI is truly taking hold (spoiler: it’s not the U.S.), this episode blends the person...

en-us

46:34

The Physical AI Moment: Dispatches from CES 2026 | 117

Sidecar Sync ·

2026/01/15

Send us a text CES 2026 brought the heat—and the robots. In this episode, Amith Nagarajan and Mallory Mejias break down the biggest stories from the Consumer Electronics Show, where AI made its move from code to corporeal. They cover Meta’s $2B acquisition of Manus, Groq’s $20B licensing deal with Nvidia, and how LPUs are set to revolutionize inference computing. From humanoid robots dancing across stages to Nvidia’s open-source models reshaping robotics and autonomous vehicles, this episode ...

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38:47

The 95% Problem: Fixing What’s Broken in Enterprise...

Sidecar Sync ·

2026/01/08

Send us a text In this episode of Sidecar Sync, Amith Nagarajan and Mallory Mejias dig into the startling findings of a recent MIT study: 95% of enterprise AI initiatives are failing to deliver measurable impact. Why are so many organizations investing in AI only to watch their efforts fizzle? Mallory and Amith unpack 10 core reasons for these failures—ranging from building chat-first features instead of end-to-end workflows, to skipping the unglamorous data cleanup that powers real results. ...

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51:41

The New Year AI Checkup: What We Got Right in 2025...

Sidecar Sync ·

2026/01/01

Send us a text In this annual predictions spectacular, Amith Nagarajan and Mallory Mejias kick off 2026 by looking back at how well their 2025 AI forecasts held up (spoiler: pretty darn well) and then boldly lay out what’s coming next for artificial intelligence, associations, and knowledge work. From real-world AI recruiting agents and voice-first interfaces to the rise of AI literacy as a job requirement, the shift from SEO to AEO, and the very real possibility of AI-native platforms disrup...

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37:12

Supersonic Moments: The NFL’s Flight Problem & 100...

Sidecar Sync ·

2025/12/25

Send us a text In this special holiday edition of Sidecar Sync, Amith Nagarajan and Mallory Mejias unwrap two stories that feel wildly different—but point to the same big idea: technology breaks barriers we once assumed were permanent. First, they dive into the NFL’s quiet fascination with supersonic flight and how faster-than-sound travel could reshape sports, conferences, and global strategy. Then they shift gears to AI, unpacking a massive new study analyzing 100 trillion tokens of real-wo...

en-us

37:41

Domain-Specific AI : How Legal, Medical, and...

Sidecar Sync ·

2025/12/18

Send us a text Domain-specific AI is having its ‘main character’ moment—and Amith Nagarajan and Mallory Mejias break down three sharp examples. They unpack Three Points Law, an AI-first UK firm using tools like Legora and Qanooni to move beyond billable hours into value-based pricing; dive into Project Prometheus, Jeff Bezos’ big bet on ‘physical AI’ that learns from real-world experiments; and explore OpenEvidence as evidence-grounded clinical copilots surge in adoption alongside the America...

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50:50

Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast: AI & Legal...

Sidecar Sync ·

2025/12/11

Send us a text In this eye-opening episode, Mallory Mejias sits down with Ernie Svenson—better known as Ernie the Attorney—to talk tech, tradition, and the tectonic shifts in how professionals learn and connect. A former litigator turned AI advocate, Ernie shares why he believes many associations are at a crossroads: adapt to how members actually work today or risk becoming irrelevant. From the viral LinkedIn post that questioned the value of bar associations, to the behind-the-scenes of buil...

en-us

49:49

The November Model Wave: DeepSeek 3.2, Gemini 3,...

Sidecar Sync ·

2025/12/04

Send us a text This week on Sidecar Sync, Mallory Mejias and Amith Nagarajan unpack one of the most explosive weeks in AI so far—from the stunning debut of Google's Gemini 3 to the jaw-dropping image generation of Nano Banana Pro, and the best-in-class coding chops of Claude Opus 4.5. They also dive into Mistral 3 and DeepSeek 3.2, two powerful open-weight alternatives making waves in the AI space. With OpenAI allegedly declaring a Code Red in response, the co-hosts break down what this all m...

en-us

130 results

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