The Real Mike Rowe

I'm only dirty on the outside.

Watch my new show People You Should Know on my @YouTube Channel. @PYSKshow

[The Real Mike Rowe @mikeroweworks]

https://t.co/xTVl2QYivc
The reaction to yesterday‘s announcement from @Meta and mikeroweWORKS has been rather astonishing. More to come…

[The Real Mike Rowe @mikeroweworks]

https://t.co/W5E3KgVZ9p
As most of you here know, my foundation has sent thousands of men and women to trade schools all over America. Through our work ethic scholarship program, mikeroweWORKS has helped train the next generation of skilled workers, and in the coming months and years, we’ll train thousands more. But the truth is, there aren’t enough trade schools in the country to meet the current need, and a lot of people who might otherwise consider a career in the skilled trades, have been discouraged by the cost of doing so.

Happily, a lot of influential CEO's have done the math and concluded that closing the skills gap is nothing less than a matter of national security. Every week, some leader in some consequential industry calls to tell me about a new initiative to reinvigorate the trades, and many have reached out to see if mikeroweWORKS might join their efforts to help train the next generation of skilled workers. Recently, I’ve been really encouraged by companies like @WellsFargo, @BlackRock, @Ford @HomeDepot, @Lowes, and so many others – all looking for better ways to make a more persuasive case for hundreds of thousands of AI-proof, six-figure jobs that don’t require a four-year degree. The most recent initiative to hit my radar comes from Meta. It looks promising, and I’m happy to support it.

The attached op-ed appeared in yesterday’s The @WSJ and outlines the details of The American Workforce Academy - a five-week, super-intensive training program that doesn’t cost the workers a dime. In fact, the workers are actually paid as they learn. And then, they’re guaranteed a job on the other side. I co-authored the piece with Dina Powell-McCormick the President of @Meta, and today, Dina and I'll be making the rounds on the usual networks, talking about the pressing need to attract more workers into the skilled trades as soon as possible.

The AI economy, like it or not, is upon us, and the infrastructure that’s being proposed to support it will cost upwards of $10 trillion and require hundreds of thousands of skilled workers. Workers that, for the moment anyway, do not exist. I know that data centers are controversial, and I know people are nervous about AI. I’m not downplaying any of that. In fact, I think it’s really important for those in power to make a more persuasive case for a future that has so many unsettled. All I can tell you for sure is that the future is coming at us very quickly. The AI Race is real, the stakes a very high, and the United States cannot afford to lose.
On the other hand, we can’t possibly hope to win, without skilled labor. This program, and others like it, are an important step in the right direction.

COMMENTARY (U.S.)
High-Tech Seeks Skilled Tradesmen

Americans have been told a fable about our economic future. Construction and manufacturing were giving way to a digital economy based on knowledge alone. Skilled labor was outdated. Shop class was defunded. Four-year degrees were idolized. Blue-collar job losses and brittle supply chains were the price of progress.

This myth assumed that high-tech and the trades were alternatives, even rivals. In fact, they are interdependent. For 250 years, America has claimed the lion’s share of the world’s greatest inventions. But it was generations of American workers who strung the telegraph wire, laid the railroad tracks, and built the interstate highways and buried the fiber. They shared in the prosperity that resulted.

The artificial-intelligence revolution shows that America’s technological progress and skilled workforce are still inseparable. To maintain our technological edge, we need to build infrastructure at scale and with great speed. This requires better pathways into high-paying trades for Americans hungry for opportunity.

The skilled trades and Silicon Valley need each other—and America’s future needs them both.
That’s why Meta and our partners, including the @ABCNational and the The National Urban League are announcing the launch of America’s Workforce Academy, the largest private-sector commitment to the skilled trades in American history, beginning with a $115 million commitment in the first year and committing hundreds of millions over time.

AWA will reject the failed approach that asks workers to pay for their own training and hope to be rewarded with a job. The men and women who enroll will be paid for their time. Parents won’t be blocked from learning tomorrow’s skills because they need to put food on the table today. Courses will take weeks and leave graduates with industry-standard certifications in high-demand fields such as electrical work, mechanical systems and plumbing. Every graduate will be guaranteed a job on a @Meta partner’s construction site. AWA, we believe, is the start of a revolution our economy needs.

Practically every major industry is desperate to hire more skilled workers. The mikeroweWORKSFoundation has spent years sounding this alarm. At Metaalone, we anticipate needing thousands more workers as we build infrastructure to empower students, families and small-business owners.

There is no lack of Americans eager to learn and work. Earlier this year, Meta launched LevelUp, a smaller training program focused on fiber installation. In the first seven days, we received more than 35,000 applications for 1,000 openings. Demand isn’t the problem. What has been missing is a practical bridge linking America’s workers to America’s needs. AWA will be that pathway.

Skilled workers electrified rural America one pole at a time. They manned the factories that built the arsenal that won World War II. Now a new generation will pour the foundations and lay the fiber that secures American economic strength for a new age. The AI revolution is bringing change and uncertainty, but also historic opportunities.

Americans don’t flinch from challenges. When opportunity shows up as a hard hat or a pair of overalls, we put them on and get to work. That’s always been our story. AWA will help us write the next chapter—one where the future is for everyone.

@dinapowellMcC is president of Meta. Mr. Rowe is CEO of the mikeroweWORKS Foundation and host of the Discovery Channel’s “Dirty Jobs.”

[The Real Mike Rowe @mikeroweworks]

I was seven years old when America made it to the moon. Too young to fully appreciate the significance of that accomplishment, but old enough to assume – logically, I think – that we would have surely ventured a whole lot farther by 2026. But we didn’t, and I think I understand why. We were in a space race, and we won. But, when the race was over, we had to reconsider our motivation in every category, including cost, risk, and so forth. In the end, I guess we had bigger fish to fry.

Later that same year, Concorde broke the sound barrier and proved that supersonic travel for non-astronauts was for real. The implications of that were a lot more impactful, potentially, to a lot more people, and the possibilities were intoxicating. In the early seventies, lots of smart people in the aerospace industry predicted extraordinary advancements in the coming decades, to the point where most everyone agreed that we’d be able to fly from Los Angeles to Paris in under two hours by 2000. But of course, we didn’t. We just kind of…slowed down. It was if someone, somewhere, decided that air travel should not exceed the speed of sound. That we were going fast enough, and that was that. Weird, right? Unlike every other form of technology, we simply gave up on going faster, and today’s guest is determined to change that.

His name is Blake Scholl, and he plans to bring commercial supersonic flight to the masses by 2029. His company is called Boom, and his airliner, Overture, aims to cruise at Mach 1.7 (twice the speed of today's jets), cutting flight times dramatically, such as London to New York in just 3.5 hours or New York to Rome in under 5 hours. Overture is designed to carry between 64 and 80 passengers and run on 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel. Major carriers, including United Airlines, American Airlines, and Japan Airlines, have already placed orders and pre-orders.

I find the whole endeavor to be utterly fascinating, as well as our conversation. The whole this is here, and worth your time. Especially if you've come to the conclusion that air travel is ripe for a massive upgrade. https://t.co/ZEwcKVhPGU

[The Real Mike Rowe @mikeroweworks]

Whenever someone tells you they hate to brag, you can rest assured they’re about to do that very thing. In the long history of the world, no one has ever said, “I hate to brag,” and then proceeded not to brag. It’s like taking a rental car to a car wash. It simply doesn’t happen. So, before I boast about another extraordinary accolade for my grandfather’s whiskey, I just want to take a moment to tell you that I won’t be taking a moment to tell you that I hate to brag. Instead, I’ll just cut right to the chase and tell you that The American Distilling Institute has just determined that Knobel Tennessee Whiskey is the best Tennessee Whiskey in the world. It says so, right here in Forbes. https://t.co/u32X5Xzs2C Better than Jack Daniel's, Uncle Nearest, George Dickel, etc.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. You’re wondering if the American Distilling Institute is a legitimate organization. Well, that’s a reasonable concern. Many people in this industry, (especially those who hate to brag), rely on endorsements and praise from various organizations that exist purely to heap praise upon those who pay to receive it. So I asked the AI if the ADI was legit, and this is what I learned.

“The American Distilling Institute is the oldest and largest craft spirits trade association in the world. It's the primary governing voice, educational resource, and overall advocate for small-batch, independently-owned distilleries. ADI is widely respected for its educational programs, industry conferences, and lobbying efforts to support small distillers. They’ve also run the International Spirits Competition since 2007, the most prestigious blind-tasting competitions in the spirits world. Winning a medal here carries significant industry weight.”

Obviously, when you’re going out of you way not to brag, it’s important not to sell past the sale, but it’s equally important to understand that in the spirits world, many competitions are nothing more than "pay-to-play" marketing schemes. However, there's an undeniable consensus among experts that the ADI International Spirits Competition is unexampled for its strict integrity and blind tastings. Expert panels taste spirits without knowing the producer or brand, and every entrant is provided written feedback to every single submission, helping craft distillers improve their products.

According to Chat GPT, “If Knobel wins "Best of Category" or a medal from the ADI, it is a genuine stamp of approval from qualified industry expert, not a bought endorsement.”

In other words, my grandfather’s award winning whiskey keeps on winning awards, and online sales still benefit the Mikeroweworks Foundation. I'm not bragging; I'm just telling you the ADI says we make the best Tennessee Whiskey in the world.

Try a sip, and tell me if you agree.
https://t.co/aEBGbjJGWw.

[The Real Mike Rowe @mikeroweworks]

Like many of you, I was troubled by my last guest. I’ve followed Jason Ladayne for over a year, and I’ve seen him do things with a deck of cards that left me flabbergasted, amused, bemused, amazed, and occasionally, gob smacked. Most of it, however, can be explained by raw skill. Jason is one of the best card mechanics to ever live, and when the cards are in his control, he can conjure up anything. But what he does in this clip takes things to another level.

Watch it and tell me what you think. I cut the deck several times when his back is turned. There’s no way he can see what I’m doing. After the final cut, which is left entirely up to me, I take three cards off the top, and put them into my shirt pocket. Jason tells me to remove one. Any one. I doesn’t matter which. And somehow, he knows what it is. Likewise, the other two.

How?

On the other hand, do I really want to know? I think I do. But the world is more interesting with a bit of mystery, right?

[The Real Mike Rowe @mikeroweworks]

https://t.co/SA8F6HFV2m

A couple years ago, my algorithm started feeding me clips of a smart ass doing inexplicable things with a deck of cards. I’m not talking about card tricks – I’ve seen lots of impressive card tricks over the years. But Jason Ladayne is not a magician who does tricks. He’s a card mechanic who makes you question the nature of space and time by doing things with cards that simply defy the laws of physics, as well as the bounds of imagination. And, as I mentioned, he’s also a smart ass.

In a typical Ladayne video - and there are many out there - Jason will accept an online challenge from some skeptical viewer, and then, humiliate the skeptic by demonstrating a level of card mastery that’s difficult to describe, usually while insinuating an inappropriate relationship with the skeptic’s mother. Here is on Instagram doing that very thing, blowing the Internet’s collective mind, along with my own. https://t.co/Ys71PrQyGQ.

I finally caught Jason live last week, at a little club up in Oxnard. He was every bit as fantastic and rude as he is online, and thoroughly entertaining. The next day, he joined me on the podcast for one of my favorite conversations, ever. It’s not just a chat about the business of fooling millions of people every single day or entertaining a live audience several times a week. It’s about the challenge of mastering a skill that few possess, and then, figuring out a way to make a living in these challenging times. I know the secret to Jason's success – hard work, determination, and decades of practice. As for the card stuff, I have absolutely no idea.

I'm happy to report that in real life, Jason is not a smart ass. He's a very generous and accommodating guy, who has mastered his craft. Our whole conversation is here, along with a few demonstrations that will break your brain. I guarantee it. https://t.co/SA8F6HFV2m

[The Real Mike Rowe @mikeroweworks]

Late one night, on a snowy evening in 1982, my brothers and I were watching PBS at my parent’s house in Baltimore. It was a Friday, which meant The Avengers at 11 pm, followed by Monty Python’s Flying Circus at midnight, and then, our favorite - Second City TV.

It was snowing on this particular evening, and my brothers and I were stretched out on the floor next to the wood stove with a couple of dogs who never wandered too far from the heat, quietly coveting Emma Peel, and laughing uproariously as John Cleese tried to buy some cheese from the proprietor of a cheese shop that didn’t carry any cheese. And then, five minutes into SCTV, an inexplicably dressed man-child armed with a musical triangle and gelled hair slinked onto the set in a pair or trousers pulled up to his sternum and made us laugh so hard we woke up the parents. That was my introduction to Ed Grimley, the first of many characters to spring from the mind of Martin Short, a comedic genius that I finally got to know last night, thanks to a film called Marty: Life is Short.

This is the best documentary I’ve seen in years, and I’m recommending all of you watch it this weekend. The director, Lawrence Kasdan, captures the essence of his subject – and his dear friend - in a way that feels utterly authentic. The movie is filled with famous people who don’t come off as famous, partly because their fame is secondary to their obvious affection for Marty, and partly because they are captured almost entirely in home movies. Tom Hanks, Steve Martin, Steven Spielberg, Kathreen O’Hara, Eugene Levy – all the Second City players, in fact, and many of the SNL alum – appear in hundreds of clips, filmed mostly at Snug Harbor, Marty’s lakefront cottage in Ontario. It’s through their eyes that we really get to know Martin Short in a deeply personal way that never feels mawkish or manipulative, in spite of all the tragedy he’s endured.

In large part, Life is Short is a love story between Marty and his late wife, Nancy Dolman, who died from cancer at 58. I knew their marriage was special, but I didn’t know how completely devoted they were to one another, or what a singular talent Nancy was, in her own right. What a pleasure to get to know her in this way. Of course, Marty’s grief at her passing was profound, but so too was his resilience. It’s one thing to “get on with life,” as we all must to do in the wake of a tragedy. But it’s another to do so in the public eye, as a comedian. Marty persevered, without a trace of self-pity, just as he did as a boy, when his beloved older brother died in a car accident. And just as he is doing today, in the wake of his daughter’s tragic suicide. In his first public comment on that particular tragedy, Marty quoted George Eliot. “The dead are never dead until they are forgotten.”

Who knew Jiminy Glick was made of such tough stuff?

Life is Short is also full of wisdom for anyone crazy enough to try and make a living in the entertainment business, and Marty is very candid about his many professional disasters. “98 percent of this business is failure,” he says. “Nothing works and then something works.” And then again, later in the film, he says something similar to fellow actor John Mulaney, who was devastated by the low ratings and terrible reviews for one of his projects.

“90% of everything you try creatively is going to fail, John. Get used to it. That’s the job.”

I’d never compare my own career to Marty’s or juxtapose whatever creativity I might possess to his immense and sprawling talent. But I understand the importance of failing and take great comfort in knowing that on that score, we have both excelled.

Anyway, I’m not sure why this movie stuck such a chord with me, or why I feel compelled to recommend it. Maybe it’s the nostalgia of seeing Ed Grimley on my screen all these years later, and recalling those late nights with my brothers at my parent’s house alongside the dogs and the wood stove, and all the belly-laughter that Marty and his Second City pals inspired. Or maybe it’s the passing of my Aunt Janet last week, and seeing my mother cope with the loss of her sister with such dignity and grace. Or maybe it's those other sisters from Greece that have been on my mind all morning - Melpomene and the Thalia. The famous Muses of Tragedy and Comedy, whose dramatic masks are forever entwined, and destined to worn by us all.

Whatever the cause, Marty made an impression, and the film is worth your time. Maybe not as relevant this weekend as Band of Brothers or Saving Private Ryan, but a fine reminder that another Memorial Day is upon us, and that life is indeed, short.

[The Real Mike Rowe @mikeroweworks]

Josh Smith is one of the most talented bladesmiths in the world. He started the @Montanaknifeco six years ago, in his garage in Missoula. Last month, he moved his operation into a 51,000 square foot manufacturing facility. https://t.co/65mDOaRiSZ Josh invited me to the grand opening of his new facility, but the schedules didn’t work out. But when I saw the video online and observed hundreds of people standing in line for hours to take a tour of his new facility, I was intrigued. So, I invited Josh back onto the podcast talk about the remarkable growth of MKC, and the tricky business of making things in America.

It should go without saying, but I’ll say it anyway. It’s really, really, really hard to run a successful business that makes a quality product in this country. Some states make it harder than others, but no place makes it easy. Regulations, taxes, HR challenges, labor lawyers, and yes – tariffs – all pose enormous obstacles for entrepreneurs like Josh, and I thought it might be helpful to learn what it takes to turn a one-man knife making operation in a garage into a manufacturing triumph. I also wanted to do my part to acknowledge this extraordinary accomplishment and celebrate the way one man’s vision can transform a modest knife-making operation into a multi-million-dollar business that employs over a hundred people and does great things for the local economy. Anyone espousing the benefits of reinvigorating the skilled trades and bringing manufacturing to America should be using MKC as an example of how to do it right. Share if you concur.
Our whole conversation is here. https://t.co/LA9EMMcghC

PS I’m also grateful that Josh has chosen mikeroweWORKS as a cause for MKC to support. Thanks to sales of The Rocker - the perfect utility blade for the workingman - Josh has raised nearly $200,000 for our work ethic scholarship program. And now, he’s made some additional blades to benefit my foundation. I’ll have more details on that in a few weeks. As always, you guys will get the first look at whatever Josh has created. They always sell out in hours…

[The Real Mike Rowe @mikeroweworks]

There is no set criterion for who makes a great podcast guest. Or, if there is, it varies dramatically over the sprawling landscape of Podcastlandia. Personally, I look for people that I’d like to share a meal with. People who have lived big, adventurous, and consequential lives. People who have assumed great risk, worked hard, endured their own share of setbacks, but ultimately made the world a more civilized place without losing their sense of humor. Having shared several meals with today’s guest, I can assure you that he checks all the boxes, and I’m excited for you to meet him.

Tom Albanese has spent over 30 years in the mining industry, which is, with the possible exception of agriculture, the most important industry in the world. He has run, and continues to run, some of the biggest mining companies on the planet, and worked in over a hundred countries. His latest endeavor – the one that brought us together - involves the pursuit of polymetallic nodules. These are small, spherical deposits of critical minerals that have been laying on the seafloor for many millions of years. Some are as small as a milk dud. Others, the size of a softball. The ones in the attached video are golf ball sized. In fact, imagine a massive driving range covered with billions of black golf balls. That’s what much of the seafloor looks like 20,000 feet below the surface – thousands of square miles blanketed with round rocks, all packed with critical metals. They form like pearls over millions of years, and cover much of the abyssal plane. And they are suddenly, very, very important.

Along with myriad rare earths, these polymetallic nodules consist of nickel, copper, cobalt, and manganese – all of which are critical to the $10 trillion infrastructure that America is now committed to building. These are the same critical minerals we’ve been mining in the rainforests for decades, except here, they’re not underground, they’re underwater. They don’t need to be mined, per se, they need to picked up and processed. Obviously, that's more complex than it sounds, but it's doable, and the United States is now fully committed to doing it. We need these metals, and we need them quickly. Tom Albanese is in charge of the only American company poised to get them.

Our whole conversation is here, and it's fascinating. https://t.co/bQqJ1Ap5J2

[The Real Mike Rowe @mikeroweworks]

There’s only one sensible guest for this Mother’s Day Special Edition of The Way I Heard It, and she needs no introduction. I should mention, however, that the conversation you’re about to hear between a mother and a son, was recorded in front of a live audience. Specifically, a live audience of administrators who run various Erickson retirement communities, including the one my mother calls “The Home.” I don’t know what they were expecting, but it probably wasn’t this. They did, however, seem to enjoy it – immensely. I hope you will as well.

For those of you who haven’t picked up a copy of her latest book, “Oh No, Not the Home,” they are available here. https://t.co/z3w5XkXq7g As you’ll see in the attached video, the stories therein might well inspire a spit take, so…please don’t drink and read. Our whole conversation is here and dedicated to moms everywhere. https://t.co/FNCx7UGhQG

[The Real Mike Rowe @mikeroweworks]

Not everyone has the ability to celebrate Mother’s Day by putting their mother in a national television commercial, but I do, so I did, and the proof is attached. This ad has only been running for a few days, but dozens of people have already gone out of their way to tell me how charming my mother is, and how much further along I’d be in my own career had I inherited just a small amount of her enormous charm and charisma.

People can be frightfully honest.

[The Real Mike Rowe @mikeroweworks]

"Mike - You said on your podcast that you have "tens of thousands of unanswered emails." It’s not that I don’t believe you, but…really? Tens of thousands? How can you function knowing your inbox is that flooded? Aren’t you tortured by what might be in there? A job offer? A note from an old girlfriend? A letter from the IRS? The anxiety would kill me...Candice Ramon"

Hi Candace,

I've told you a million times I never exaggerate.

Ha! See attached.

PS. Personally, I find it harder to ignore an email once I’ve read it. That’s when it needs to filed, or replied to, or deleted. Easier to just let them pile up. There was a time when a few dozen unread emails kept me up at night, for all the reasons you mention, but then, when it became a few hundred unread emails, I started to realize I could never catch up. My email address isn’t hard to find, and being a public figure invites a lot of unsolicited queries. Also, my time is now a zero-sum game, so every moment spent reading an unsolicited email is a moment spent not doing something more important. (Like answering your question.)

Several years ago, when I tried to explain this to Mary, my business partner, her left eye began to twitch. Mary had glanced down at my phone and noticed 1,100 unread emails.

“Eleven hundred unread emails!! Are you kidding me??”

“Yeah, it’s a lot,” I said. “More than I can handle.”

Mary is a legendary multitasker. I’ve seen her read an email and send a text at the same time - often while drafting a contract and running a Zoom call during a lunch meeting. This is a talent I admire, and benefit from a great deal, but do not envy.

“How can you possibly have eleven hundred unread emails?” she said, eyes bulging. “On your business account! What’s your Follow Up File look like?”

“My Follow Up File? What’s a Follow Up file?”

“What do you mean? How do you not know what a Follow Up file is?? It’s the most important file there is!!!”

“Well,” I said, “if I don’t read my emails, there’s really nothing to follow up on, is there?”

It was at this point Mary’s right eye began to twitch, so I quickly changed the subject, and got one of those privacy screens for my phone.

From a business perspective, I understand her exasperation with me. There were probably some legitimate opportunities buried in those eleven hundred unread emails, along with some other interesting...offers. Today, with 39,218 unread emails, I suspect there’s even more. And by the end of this year, when I expect to cross the 50,000-threshold, (hey, it’s important to have goals!) I guess they’ll be more still. But again – in a zero-sum game, every new opportunity means that Mary has to walk something else behind the barn a shoot it. So, what’s the point?

As for old girlfriends and the IRS, I suspect either will find me, if it’s really important. The bigger question, obviously, is what will happen to the rest of Mary's face if she sees this?

[The Real Mike Rowe @mikeroweworks]

Xi Van Fleet is an American patriot. She was born in China, lived through the Cultural Revolution, and was sent to work in the countryside at the age of 16. After Mao's death, she was able to go to college to study English and has lived in the United States since 1986. In 2021, she attended a school board meeting in Loudoun County, Virginia, and spoke with great passion about the danger, the madness, and the abject stupidity of Critical Race Theory. Cameras were rolling, thankfully, and her remarks went viral.

I was among the millions inspired by her willingness to speak out, and thought to myself, “I’d love to meet this woman someday.” Well, today is that day. @XVanFleet has written two terrific books about what America must do to resist the slow creep of communism and socialism taking root all over our country. The most recent is called Made in America, and I can’t recommend it enough. The book contends that the U.S. not only failed to understand communism, it allowed the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to rise. Xi argues - very persuasively - that American business and political elites enabled this, and that the U.S. is now facing its greatest threat as a result.

Xi now devotes all of her time and energy full to warning those who will listen about the dangers of communism, and the shocking parallels between what happened in China under Mao, and what’s happening in America today. I believe we ignore her at our peril. Our whole conversation is here. https://t.co/WpLB1BJmLN

[The Real Mike Rowe @mikeroweworks]

The only thing I knew about @jasonaltmire before I invited him onto the podcast was that he’d written a terrific book about the importance of reinvigorating the skilled trades, and that he was the current President and CEO of @CECUedu, a national trade association representing private career schools and trade programs. I didn’t know he was a life-long Democrat who had served three terms in Congress. I didn’t know he lost his reelection because he voted against the Affordable Care Act, or that he had the most centrist voting record in the House when he got out of politics. All I knew was that he shared my interest in closing America’s skills gap by making a more persuasive case for the skilled trades. And now, we're friends.

I have no idea what this guy might have accomplished had he survived his own primary, but he didn't, and the reason is clear - our current system is designed to smother even-handed, commonsensical, moderate voices who care about the country, on both sides of the aisle. To those of you who have urged me to enter politics, this is why I haven’t. To get the endorsement of your party, you have to fall in line. And I’m not a big fan of falling. Or lines, for that matter. And I guess, neither is Jason. Who else would object to the border fence between Mexico and the US, based on the fact that it was constructed of steel imported from China?

Anyway, that’s all behind him. Like many of his predecessors, once upon a time, Jason did his time and then returned to the real world and got busy. Today, he’s focused on reimagining our workforce, and I’m super interested in what he’s already accomplished. What a fun, non-partisan, totally worthwhile conversation. A short clip is below. Our whole conversation is here.
https://t.co/xCkjrSyCE7

His book, Trade Up: Why the Future Belongs to Skilled Trades and How Career Education is Transforming the Workforce, is out this week, and worth your time.
https://t.co/VF2JYJXSaz

[The Real Mike Rowe @mikeroweworks]

https://t.co/BpOoQ4LBqT
I was delighted to interview this guy a few months ago on my podcast, and today, I'm doubly delighted to see him featured in a terrific article by The Great @ZitoSalena. Thomas Tull is the kind of American billionaire you wish every American billionaire would emulate. Under the radar, generous, patriotic, self-made, and determined to make our country a better place for everyone in it. Knowing him as I do, I can assure you that this article made him blush. In fact, I'm pretty sure he's turned his phone off, given the response an article like this is sure to generate from those surprised to see him speaking out so publicly. Begging the obvious question, why would he risk his legendary privacy to speak out at such a time as this? Why would he agree to be interviewed by the likes of me and The Great Salena Zito?

In short, because Thomas is worried - seriously worried - about the state of our workforce, the state of vocational education, and America's ability to complete a $10 trillion infrastructure build-out that will determine our place in the world. The stakes are very high, and Thomas is going all in to back the home team. We're lucky to have him and could use a few more like him.

PS. We could also use a few more writers and journalists like Salena. No one has written more, or more eloquently, about manufacturing, reshoring, reindustrialization, and workforce than Salena. Or, for that matter, quoted me more kindly, and done more for mikeroweWORKS. Thanks Salena! Keep 'em coming!

[The Real Mike Rowe @mikeroweworks]

Matt Ebert was an average teenager from the Midwest when he wrecked his parent’s car, learned how to fix it, got hired to work in a garage, wrecked another car, fixed that one, opened up his own garage, and went on to launch Crash Champions, a national chain of auto-body repair shops in 38 states with over 650 locations currently worth $3 billion.

I met Matt last year in Atlanta, where I was speaking at the annual Skills USA competition. Matt was there to recruit the most promising competitors right off the competition floor and get them started with an AI-proof (for now, anyway) six-figure job. (He employs 11,000 and could easily hire hundreds more today.) He was not there to buy me and my crew dinner, but when he saw us in the hotel restaurant, he couldn’t help himself. He left before I could thank him, but I tracked him down the next day and expressed my gratitude.

“It’s the least I can do, Mike Rowe. I loved Dirty Jobs, and I appreciate what you’re doing to reinvigorate the skilled trades.”

He said some other nice things, but I was already sufficiently flattered and invited him to come on the podcast anytime. It took a year, (Matt’s busy building an empire,) but the schedules finally lined up, and we were able to sit down for a proper chat last month, which I think you’ll enjoy. It’s a great American success story, but it’s also further proof that opportunity is alive and well in these United States, and available to anyone with a modicum of ambition, a refusal to take no for an answer, and a relentless work ethic.

Our whole conversation is here. https://t.co/IMYw3QTvnq

[The Real Mike Rowe @mikeroweworks]

Take a breath, Exhale. I can prove every single thing I’ve ever claimed. In fact, I have, time and time again over the last 18 years, on every major network, and every major publication. And for the record, no one is making 300 grand a year “shoveling dirt.�� But running electric? Absolutely, positively.

[The Real Mike Rowe @mikeroweworks]

https://t.co/J0TtHRjGlH
A reasonable person who spent the last 24 hours scouring the Internet searching for an accurate understanding of what just happened to The Southern Poverty Law Center could not be blamed for coming away from the process less informed and more ignorant than they were this time yesterday. The amount of irrelevant and inaccurate information around this story is extraordinary. Most of the analyses, on both sides of the aisle, focus on the informants, and whether or not they were paid by the SPLC to foment racism within the very organizations they claim oppose. (The KKK and the Charlottesville debacle, in particular.) But most of these articles miss the larger point, i.e., the underlying financial crimes that led to an $800 million dollar war chest that will now likely be frozen, thanks to years of bank fraud and illegal fundraising.

Columns like the one I’ve attached are why I invited @jchilders98 onto the podcast last month. Jeff has a way of cutting through the clutter on days like today, when both sides miss the larger point. Yes, Jeff writes from a right of center perspective, and unapologetically so. But he’s also a lawyer with tons of experience in this area, and a lot of useful insight. So, if you're curious about what all this means from a legal perspective, or the black-letter law that governs financial crimes like those alleged, this column is definitely worth your time. Likewise, if you’re one of the many Americans who have financially supported The Southern Poverty Law Center over the years, this will be an essential, albeit very painful read.

PS If you like his blog, you'll love the episode we recorded last month. https://t.co/U88Q1tmsMY It's been amazing to watch the C&C Army grow...