A year-end recap is more than a highlight reel—it's a practical reset. In this New Year episode, Trace Blackmore walks through 2025 using a "12 Days of the Scaling Up Nation" format, tying together performance, community growth, listener engagement, and the sponsor support that keeps the podcast and its companion tools available at no cost.

Year-end by the numbers

Trace explains how he used to track every stat closely—and how that shifted into an unhealthy measure of self-worth—so the team now uses numbers as feedback, not validation. He notes the show released 56 brand-new episodes in 2025 (including the additional releases during Industrial Water Week) and explains why the data still matters: it helps confirm what the community is using, such as discussion guides and other tools, and what needs to be improved.

Most-downloaded episodes and what listeners leaned into

Trace shares the three most-downloaded episodes of 2025:

Episode 405 — cooling water innovation using treated wastewater
Episode 418 — maleic acid (with Mike Standish)
Episode 424 — chlorine dioxide (the most downloaded episode of the year)

Engagement that keeps learning moving

The episode highlights growth in the Scaling Up Nation across newsletter subscriptions, discussion guide downloads, and an expanding LinkedIn community.

Recognition, partners, and momentum into 2026

Trace acknowledges milestones including AWT naming Scaling Up H2O the official podcast of the Association of Water Technologies, and he thanks the sponsors who make the podcast's free content possible—19 sponsoring partners in 2025. The episode closes with a direct invitation for listeners to share what they want to learn next, who they want interviewed, and what stories could help the industry keep "raising the bar."

Listen to the full conversation above. Explore related episodes below.

Stay engaged, keep learning, and continue scaling up your knowledge!

Timestamps

02:50 — Show open and New Year framing: a reset point for leaders and operators heading into 2026

03:10 — Why the retrospective exists: improve the next year and celebrate what the Scaling Up Nation achieved together

05:00 — The format revealed: "12 days" of highlights built from what happened in 2025

08:40 — The final 2025 "Water You Know" question: hydroxide ion formula—and the answer reveal

16:30 — The top three downloaded episodes of 2025

29:00 — Signature segments and field lessons: community participation, Detective H2O, and "quicker is not better

Quotes

"Slow is smooth and smooth is fast."

"It's not going to take somebody's job away because of AI, but somebody who knows AI or is familiar with AI over somebody that is not familiar with it and refuses anything with AI, that person will probably take that other person's job."

"Lift others as you rise."

Connect with Scaling UP! H2O

Submit a show idea: Submit a Show Idea

LinkedIn: in/traceblackmore/

YouTube: @ScalingUpH2O

Scaling UP! H2O Resources Mentioned

AWT (Association of Water Technologies)

Scaling UP! H2O Academy video courses

Submit a Show Idea

The Rising Tide Mastermind

405 Cooling Water Innovation: Harnessing Wastewater for Sustainability

418 Maleic Acid-Based Corrosion Inhibitors: Expanding the Water Treatment Toolbox with Mike Standish