Between the Seams

Between the Seams is a podcast from Understory Collaborative about where software projects get stuck. Each episode brings together technical product managers and delivery leaders who've worked in the gaps between teams: the handoffs, the words two teams define differently, and the work everyone thought someone else owned. They talk through what they've seen and what helps.

It's for leaders whose dates keep sliding and for TPMs who want to get better at the job. Episodes come from Understory's webinars.

Or add the feed to any podcast app: understorycollab.com/podcast/feed.xml

Episode 2 · November 5, 2026 · 38 minutes

Where Do Projects Actually Break Down: Inside Teams or Between Them?

This is Understory Collaborative's second webinar, and episode 2 of Between the Seams. Danielle Christophe hosts Jess Kern and webs for a conversation about where projects get stuck: inside one team, or in the handoffs between teams. Jess's quick test is to ask who owns the problem. "If you get a name, it's inside a team. If you get a meeting, it's a seam." From there, the panel covers why "who owns this?" so often goes unanswered, whether ai is helping or hurting handoffs, and one habit that keeps them from breaking.

Want to know the state of your engineering team? Take the What's On Fire? quiz. understorycollab.com/assessment

Watch, read the transcript, and jump to a chapter

Chapters

0:00 Welcome
0:36 Meet the panel, and what a TPM does
2:49 Is the problem inside a team or between teams?
8:59 Where handoffs fail most
14:40 Why "who owns this?" goes unanswered
20:40 One change to help a team talk better
24:02 Is ai helping or hurting handoffs?
30:19 What a TPM does when things break down
33:18 One habit that keeps handoffs from breaking
36:56 Assessments and office hours

Episode 1 · October 22, 2026 · 37 minutes

What Is a TPM, and Why Does the Job Feel Harder Than Ever?

This is Understory Collaborative's first webinar, and episode 1 of Between the Seams. Danielle Christophe hosts Al, Jess Kern, and webs for a conversation about what a technical product manager does, how the job differs from a PM's, and why it feels harder right now. For leaders deciding whether to hire one, Al's advice is that they "need to have the humility to hire someone that has the ability to tell them no." The panel also covers whether ai makes TPMs more productive, and the one thing never to hand off to it.

Which kind of TPM are you? Take the TPM self-check. understorycollab.com/tpm-self-check

Watch, read the transcript, and jump to a chapter

Chapters

0:00 Welcome
0:59 Meet the panel
6:48 What makes a TPM different from a PM?
16:03 Does ai make TPMs more productive?
24:07 The one thing never to hand off to ai
27:15 Do you need a TPM? Advice for non-technical leaders
36:07 The self-check and office hours

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