The Real Mike Rowe
@mikeroweworks • 679,070 subscribers
I'm only dirty on the outside. Watch my new show People You Should Know on my @YouTube Channel. @PYSKshow
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Years from now, long after the final credits roll, this actor will be remembered for his incredible contribution to film and television. And based on his latest work, I think it's likely he'll also be remembered for his contribution to music. But thanks to his affection for the first amendment, his unapologetic patriotism, and the principled stand he took 10 years ago that caused Hollywood to permanently lose his number, he will be remembered for something a lot more important. Courage, for starters. And character. Say hello to a familiar face, and my new friend, James Woods . Our whole conversation is here. I think you'll love it.
The Real Mike Rowe2,345,606 просмотров • 6 месяцев назад
This version of The Star Spangled Banner is dedicated to the 322 men and women who will learn this weekend that they received a work ethic scholarship from MRW. A total of $3 million is being awarded this quarter. Details to follow, later today. In the meantime, please join me and a few of our past recipients in a gentle reminder that our national anthem can - and should - be sung in under a minute. And feel free to sing along!
The Real Mike Rowe132,785 просмотров • 19 дней назад
Today’s guest was influenced in large part by his Mamaw, a devoted Christian woman with an unrepentant potty-mouth, and the bestselling memoir that made her, and him, famous. I'm reminded of the first saw him interviewed, shortly after the presidential election in 2016, by a panel of flabbergasted talking heads on CNN who were trying, desperately it seemed, to make sense of Trump’s unlikely victory. As you might recall, most of the pollsters got that one wrong, and a lot of deeply confused journalists were wondering why Trump won in Ohio, and in many so other places where Hillary Clinton was expected to easily prevail. The author of Hillbilly Elegy offered a thoughtful explanation, which came down to the simple fact that a lot of Americans in a lot of flyover states felt overlooked and underserved and taken for granted by their elected officials. Coincidentally, around the same time, I was invited on to Meet the Press to answer the same question. Prior to the election, I had predicted that the outcome was going to be a lot closer than people thought, and Chuck Todd wanted to know if the men and women I’d highlighted on Dirty Jobs might have provided me with some unique insight. After the interview, Kim Strossel – a reporter at the The Wall Street Journal who was also on the panel - asked me if I’d read Hillbilly Elegy or met the author. “Not yet,” I said. “But I just saw him on CNN and liked what he had to say.” “There’s an obvious parallel,” she said. “You’ve gotten famous working alongside a lot of forgotten Americans, and he’s gotten famous writing about them. You two would probably have a lot to discuss.” Ten years later, it seems that Kim was right. I do in fact, have a lot to discuss with the author of Hillbilly Elegy, including his latest bestseller, Communion, which he’s been writing for the last decade. I suspect he’d have published it sooner had he not been distracted with his run for the Ohio Senate and subsequent elevation to Vice President of the United States. But regardless, Communion is finally available, and JD Vance has dropped by to discuss it, along various matters of national importance. Our whole conversation is here. Hopefully, Mamaw is watching…
The Real Mike Rowe86,342 просмотров • 14 дней назад
I couldn't make it to Davos this year, but I'm delighted to see that my message has. Here's an enlightening exchange between two of the most successful businessmen in the world, Jensen Huang and Larry Fink, regarding the impact of AI on skilled labor. I watched it lie this morning, as I waited for the coffee to kick in. The entire clip is 30 minutes, but I've attached a short clip wherein Jensen, the CEO at NVDIA, talks about "the greatest infrastructure project in the history of mankind," and the opportunities for those entering the skilled trades today. Obviously, our workforce is nowhere near ready for what's coming. In fact, we're not ready for what's already here. We're going to need to dramatically rethink the way we train the men and women who will build the infrastructure in question, and the speed with which we do so. I'm heartened and encouraged to see Silicon Valley at the table, along with the current administration, who seems determined to reinvigorate the skilled trades by whatever means necessary. At this point, it's only a matter of national security...
The Real Mike Rowe770,148 просмотров • 6 месяцев назад
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 Rowe178,861 просмотров • 1 месяц назад
I saw Airplane when I was a senior in high school and thought it was the funniest movie I’d ever seen. My date, however, did not agree. In fact, she didn't laugh at all. Not even once. Not even when the Japanese soldier stabbed himself to death in the window seat, rather than listen to Ted Striker drone on and on about his broken heart. When the credits rolled, she looked at me like I was an alien. “What’s the matter with you?” she asked. “How was any of that funny?” In her defense, there were others in the theater who didn’t get it, several of whom left early. But there were many others like me who not only laughed themselves sick but stayed to watch it again. So, my date left me in the theater and spent the next two hours shopping in the mall, while I laughed even harder the second time around. “Tell me Johnny, have you ever seen a grown man naked?” "Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue!” "Pardon me Stewardess, I speak Jive." And this gem, perhaps the greatest exchange in the history of cinema, between two very sophisticated ten-year old Caucasians dressed like adults. Boy: Coffee? Girl: Yes, please. Boy: Cream? Girl: No, I take it black....Like my men. Later, in the food court, I bought my date a Coke and a slice of pizza, but it was too late. The damage had been done. “I can’t believe you’d rather sit there alone and watch that stupid movie again instead of spending time with me. "Surely," she said, “you not that much of an idiot.” “Don’t be too sure,” I said. “And don't call me Shirley.” That was our last date, obviously, thanks to David Zucker, the man who wrote and directed this ridiculously silly film along with Jim Abrams and Jerry Zucker. Since its release, Airplane! is now considered one of the greatest comedy films ever made, inspiring numerous references, homages, and further parodies in popular culture. In fact, in 2010, Airplane! was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant," proving once and for all that my date had no sense of humor. What an honor to meet interview David Zucker, 46 years later. And what a relief to learn that he can still make me laugh... Our whole conversation is here.
The Real Mike Rowe505,030 просмотров • 5 месяцев назад
My first two words on this particular Sunday morning were "Hallelujah!” followed by, “Amen!” I was not in church when I uttered them. I was at my kitchen table, watching the CEO of the most valuable company in the world say precisely what mikeroweWORKS has been espousing for the last sixteen years. In other words, this is what I look like before coffee, when I find myself in violent agreement with a multi-billionaire. If you haven’t already heard, a massive challenge is upon us. With regard to artificial intelligence and the energy we need to feed it, America will either change its current direction, or get left far, far behind. I know this because I run a modest foundation that has been arguing for decades that the portion of our workforce most often described as “the skilled trades,” will become the most essential component of our economy, our independence, and our collective future. Well, the future is here. Obviously, I didn’t know that the race to dominate artificial intelligence would be the thing that finally galvanized the folks at the grown-up table. When I founded mikeroweWORKS in 2008, I figured it would be a new commitment to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure that would necessitate a collective push to reinvigorate the trades. That need is still pressing, but I never imagined the most urgent cry for more welders and electricians would be ushered in by the need for more data centers. Back then, I didn’t even know what a data center was. But today, here we are. Data centers are headline news, because they are – as Jensen Huang says - AI factories. And if we want to remain competitive with China, we need to build thousands of them. Now. And presently, we simply don’t have the workforce to do it. I’ll be discussing all of this next Tuesday in Pittsburgh, at the Energy and Innovation Summit, which is turning out to be a pretty high-profile event. looks like I’ll be joining a panel of elected officials, including the President, and dozens of well-known CEO’s to discuss Pennsylvania’s role in the energy renascence. A lot of money is being invested in Pennsylvania, (a LOT), and my message to those writing the checks will be no different than it’s been since we launched mikeroweWORKS: "Set some of that money aside to make a more persuasive case for the work itself. The skilled trades need better PR, and they need it on a national level. The country needs to see thousands of examples - real world examples - of men and women who have prospered as a result of learning a skill that's in demand." I first made this point to President Obama in an open letter to The White House in 2009, shortly after he promised 3 million “shovel-ready” jobs in his Highway Infrastructure Act. I was rooting for the President back then, and offered to use Dirty Jobs and mikeroweWORKS as vehicles to help promote his initiative. I did so because I was skeptical that people would line up to take those jobs simply because they were "created." “Filling three million shovel-ready jobs,” I wrote, “will be a lot easier if people feel enthused about the prospect of picking up a shovel. Investment alone, won’t create that kind of enthusiasm.” The White House did not respond to my offer. Understandably, most presidents do not seek the advice of marginally famous cable television hosts best known for crawling through sewers. But it’s worth remembering that the unemployment rate back then was over 10%. Millions of people were newly unemployed, and I think the former President assumed that creating three million shovel-ready jobs would translate to three million people going back to work. But that’s not what happened. Because back then, even with record high unemployment, there were 2.3 million open jobs, most of which did not require a four-year degree. Nobody wanted to talk about that. Today, that number is more like 7.6 million. Nobody wants to talk about it now, either. This is why I'm going to Pittsburgh. Just as I was rooting for President Obama in 2009, I’m rooting for President Trump today. I hope he succeeds in reinvigorating our industrial base and reshoring our manufacturing capabilities, and I want to offer my support. But if he does succeed, we’re talking about millions new jobs in manufacturing alone. And currently, there are over 400,000 jobs in that sector that are currently open, begging the obvious question... If we can’t fill the openings we have, how will we fill the one’s we’re about to create? That’s the question I’ll pose in Pittsburgh. I’ll let you know if anyone has an answer. Mike PS. Not to put too fine a point on it, but this change is truly upon us, and I've had a front row seat. Over the last six months, mikeroweWORKS been flooded with inquiries to collaborate on various recruitment initiatives and multiple industries. I mean, flooded. Not a week goes by that I don't hear from an industry leader who has come to the realization that they’ve gone as far as they can go without more skilled labor. Panic, is not too strong a word. The Maritime Industrial Base for instance, is currently tasked with delivering three nuclear powered submarines to the Navy every year for the next decade, and looking to hire 140,000 tradespeople. 140,000!!! “Do you know where they are?” they asked me. “We’ve looked everywhere.” “Yes,” I said. “I know where they are. They’re in the 8th grade.” I’ve had similar calls with the automotive industry, who needs 80,000 technicians and collision repair workers. Every single home service company is hiring – from foundation repair to roofing. The energy industry is looking for hundreds of thousands of skilled workers, and so too is the construction industry. A few weeks ago, at something called The Aspen Ideas Festival, I heard Larry Fink, the CEO of Blackrock, say we’re short 500,000 electricians. A few months before that, at an Energy Conference in Newport, I heard Governor Rick Perry describe the race to build data centers and catch up to China with all things AI as nothing short of a “modern-day Manhattan Project.” I think he's right. Part of the problem is an aging demographic. For every five skilled workers who retire, two replace them. That’s why we need to engage with eighth graders today. Maybe even before that. We have to make a persuasive case for these jobs to the next generation, and just as importantly, to their parents. That won’t solve the immediate problem, but this is marathon, not a sprint, and these jobs need to be magnified and amplified at an early age. The more immediate problem is the labor force participation rate. As we speak, millions of able-bodied Americans - for all sorts of reasons - are not working and not looking for work. According to economist Nick Eberstadt, that number is close to 7 million able-bodied men. I’m not sure what to do about that, but it’s a colossal problem that needs to be addressed. On the positive side, our last round of work ethic scholarships generated unparalleled interest. This year, mikeroweWORKSwill award $5 million to help train the next generation of skilled workers. That's ten times the number of qualified applicants we got this time a year ago. The needle is moving, and I believe we can move it a lot further, with a little help from the companies most incentivized to see the trades reinvigorated. Should be a lively conversation in The Keystone State…
The Real Mike Rowe987,418 просмотров • 1 год назад
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. Xi Van Fleet 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.
The Real Mike Rowe200,371 просмотров • 2 месяцев назад
Late last year, Palmer Luckey flew his helicopter to my office for a quick chat. He sported one of his signature Hawaiian shirts, but instead of his usual flip-flops, he wore what looked like a pair of heavy-duty socks with individual slots for each toe. Kind of like a glove for your feet. “Flying the helicopter requires a lot of footwork,” he said. “These give me a better feel for the pedals.” As you may know, Palmer Luckey is the virtual reality guy who started a company called Oculus when he was in his twenties and sold it to Facebook a few years later for a couple billion dollars. He has since gone on to do a number of interesting things, including starting a company called Anduril, which manufactures state-of-the-art weapons and a variety of autonomous systems for the United States military. I first met Palmer back in April at an energy conference in Laguna Beach. He showed up at that event on a motorcycle, wearing a jacket made entirely of copper. “It’s the perfect jacket for motorcycle riding,” he told me. “Much tougher than leather if you have a spill.” “How much does it weigh?” I asked. “Five pounds,” he said. “I like it because copper is an anti-microbial, so it never gets moldy. Plus, I can put my phone in the pocket, and it acts like a Faraday cage. Nobody can track me.” Obviously, we had a fascinating conversation about a number of topics, including how to win future wars, deindustrialize our manufacturing base, and reinvigorate the skilled trades. Along with a plan to eliminate the TSA, and some Hobbit-related sidebars. A short clip is attached. Our whole conversation is here. It's a good one...
The Real Mike Rowe467,330 просмотров • 6 месяцев назад
Like a lot of people in California, myself included, Adam Carolla is worried about the future of this state, and frustrated with our elected officials. He would prefer to make jokes and tell amusing stories, which he’s very good at, but it’s impossible to live in Malibu and ignore the breathtaking incompetence and self-defeating policies that are making it impossible to rebuild after the fires. And so, Adam has been using his considerable platform to keep his enormous audience updated on the Idiocracy in which we find ourselves living. He’s been documenting the madness, vlogging every month, and talking every day to whoever will listen about the rank ineptitude on constant display, and the extraordinary arrogance that defines California governance. Today, he’s talking to me, and I’m encouraging you to listen, and take heed between the laughs. Our whole conversation is here.
The Real Mike Rowe252,323 просмотров • 3 месяцев назад
Hundreds of people have asked me if the video you're about to see is real. Spoiler alert - it isn't. It's just one of countless AI Fakes using my image to defraud unsuspecting viewers into giving up their personal information. This one involves the promise of free products from Yeti. Don't fall for it. And please share this. The number of people getting ripped off every day is extraordinary.
The Real Mike Rowe679,378 просмотров • 10 месяцев назад
If you’re tired of seeing my face in your newsfeed or on the TV, apologies in advance, because it’s about to get a lot worse. By the end of the year, you’re going to be absolutely sick of me, due to America’s ever widening skills gap, and our ongoing attempts to close it with a record number of work ethic scholarships from mikeroweWORKS, and therefor, a record number of invitations to apply. The situation is serious. Skilled tradespeople are retiring much faster than they’re being replaced. For every 5 that leave the workforce, two come in. The math is not sustainable, and not a week goes by that I don’t hear from some industry leader wondering if I can help with their recruiting challenges. Every trade is in demand like never before. In fact, there’s been so much outreach from so many CEO’s and elected officials, that we’ve doubled the size of our scholarship fund, and extended the application period this year from six weeks to nine months. Last year, we received 10X the number of applications we normally get, and this year, with the disruption of AI, I suspect the number will be even higher. These are AI-proof, six-figure jobs that don’t require college debt, but instead, training. Thus, I will be cluttering up the media landscape with an onslaught of invitations to apply for scholarships, (like the one attached,) and good-natured appeals to support our efforts with a modest (or immodest) donation. Toward that end, I’m pleased to announce that the enrollment period is officially open. Funds are now available to help train the next generation of skilled workers. My goal this year is to award $10 million in scholarships, and you’re invited to apply today. Or, if the spirit moves you, to support our efforts with a donation of any size. The donate button is big and red and hard to miss at If nothing else, please share this, so others can be similarly annoyed with another unsolicited invitation to help us close America's skills gap.
The Real Mike Rowe333,174 просмотров • 4 месяцев назад
Not that you asked, but I have a few quick recommendations for some worthwhile viewing and listening this week, beginning with my conversation with Jon Erwin the terrific director of a really good movie called Young Washington, which premiered in theaters on Independence Day. Modesty aside, the conversation is excellent, the movie is thrilling, and I encourage you to enjoy both at your leisure. We say it all the time, but it’s worth repeating – Washington was without question, the most indispensable American to ever live. It’s super interesting to see what shaped him as a young man, and the mistakes he made on the road to his remarkable presidency, especially in the wake of our semi quincentennial. Also, though I had nothing to do with it, I heartily recommend another very patriotic movie called “Pressure,” that tells the weirdly riveting story of a very unpopular weather forecast from a very disagreeable meteorologist whose instincts might very well have altered the outcome of WWII. I have no idea how this one got greenlit, because the treatment must have looked ridiculous on the page... “A WWII thriller that takes place almost entirely in a drawing room, wherein two meteorologists of differing opinions argue over the best day for Eisenhower to invade Europe.” There’s no way this movie should be as good as it is, but it is. And Brendan Fraser as Eisenhauer is terrific. And finally, I just got around to listening to Marc Andreessen 🇺🇸 Marc Andreessen on Joe Rogan. It’s another three-hour marathon that was recorded a month ago, but don’t be dissuaded. This is a must-watch for anyone who is open to the possibility that data centers and AI might not be the encroaching Armageddon that so many believe it to be. Or at least curious to understand how the genie got out of the bottle, and why it will never be returned. (I listened to it at 1.75 speed, which takes some getting used to, but knocks the running time down to less than two hours. You can also start listening to an hour in, and still come away with a lot of useful insight.) My conversation with Jon Erwin is here. Get tickets to watch Young Washington in theaters here. Pressure is somewhere on Amazon Prime. Just google Rogan & Andreessen. You’re welcome!
The Real Mike Rowe40,947 просмотров • 17 дней назад
Back in June of 2022, I was out for an early morning ruck when a guy on a bike skidded to a stop beside me and asked if I was Mike Rowe. I nodded and grimaced. I would have said “yes" and smiled, but the 65 lbs on my back had robbed me of my normal good humor. The man spoke with a French accent and bubbled with enthusiasm. “I have followed your career with great interest,” he said, “and I listen to your podcast every week! I very much appreciate your efforts to inspire the world with stories of grit and determination! I hope to one day do the same! Any advice?” He told me his name was Cyril. His last name didn’t stick, but it started with a “D” and had lots of letters. “Well,” I said, “you should probably get famous first. Nobody in this country listens to anyone who isn’t famous.” Cyril smiled and said, “I am going to pedal across the Pacific Ocean in a kayak, all by myself. I will be known for this!” Clearly, I had encountered another lunatic on the bike path. There’s no shortage of them in this part of the country, but at least this one was charming. “Sounds ambitious,” I said. “When do you leave?” “Next week,” he said. “I will pedal from Monterey, California, to Hilo, Hawaii. It will take me several months and require all of the strength and perseverance I possess. When I return, I would love to share my experience with you and your listeners.” “Pedal?” I asked. "You mean paddle, right?” “No, I mean pedal. My kayak has pedals, like my bike. It is why I ride every day. I will pedal across the Pacific Ocean, alone." “Sounds like fun,” I said. “If you live, I’d love to hear about your adventure.” Cyril laughed and gave me his number. I watched him ride off, legs pumping furiously, and got on with my ruck, fairly confident our paths would never cross again. But I was wrong. Two years later, on the same bike path, in roughly the same place that we’d met before, a man skidded to a stop beside me. “Mike! It is me! Cyril! Do you remember?” He had a beard this time, but there was no mistaking his voice or his enthusiasm. “Of course,” I said. “You’re the lunatic who was going to pedal across the Pacific Ocean in a kayak all by yourself.” “I am!” he said. “And I did!” “Congratulations!” I said. “And, I lived!” “I can see that,” I said. "How long did it take you?” “Ninety-one days and nine hours,” he said. “It was the adventure of my lifetime.” “That's incredible," I said. "I’d love to hear all about it. Can you come to Santa Monica to record an episode of the podcast?” “I would love to,” he said, “but not right now. I’m training very hard this month for my next adventure.” “What now?” I asked. “I am going to pedal across the Atlantic Ocean in my kayak, all by myself.” “Sounds ambitious,” I said. “When do you leave?” “In two months,” he said. “I will pedal from the Canary Islands to Martinique. It will take me several months and require all the strength and perseverance I possess. When I return, I would love to share my experience with you and your listeners.” “Great,” I said. “If you live, I’ll make sure we get you on this year.” Cyril laughed and rode off, legs pumping furiously, and a few months later, I googled the crazy Frenchman, and learned that Cyril Derreumaux had become the only human to pedal across both oceans in a kayak, all by himself. With the possible exception of my mother, I can’t think of a better guest to round out 2025. Cyril is fluent in six languages and a true student of life. He now holds three Guinness World Records and done something no other human has even attempted. And now, he’s out in the world, telling true stories of grit and determination, inspiring people with every incredible sentence, and challenging the species to boldly go into an uncertain future with humor, grit, and perseverance. I’m not saying Cyril Derreumaux isn’t a lunatic. You’ve got to be a little crazy to pedal over the world’s oceans in a kayak all by yourself. I’m just saying he’s a fantastic human being, who I was lucky to meet and honored to introduce. A short clip is attached. Our whole conversation is here. You’re gonna love him.
The Real Mike Rowe418,555 просмотров • 7 месяцев назад
"Is it my imagination, or have you and your podcast become more political? I enjoyed the interview with Riley Gaines but was really surprised to see you “go there,” and speak so candidly about such a politically charged topic." Carol Marks Hi Carol. It’s your imagination. Your question reminds of a common refrain I hear nowadays from friends of mine on both sides of the aisle. “I didn’t leave my party, my party left me!” I can sympathize. In this case, I would tell you that I haven’t become any more political than I’ve ever been – but everything around me certainly has. Or maybe, everything has just become more controversial, and therefore everything feels more political? Either way, the facts surrounding Riley’s ordeal are not in dispute. She and her teammates were told by the NCAA to either compete with a man or quit the sport they loved. They were told to either share a locker room with a man or seek professional psychiatric help. They were also told that failing to accept the swimmer formerly known as Will Thomas as a woman, might result in his suicide, and that his blood would be on their hands. For daring to question the fairness of these decisions, Riley Gaines was branded a bigot and a transphobe. She was attacked by protestors at San Francisco State and held against her will for several hours. Her captors were not punished. In fact, they were congratulated by the administrators at the college. It's also important to know that Riley Gaines never suggested to me that adults be denied the right to identify as a member of the opposite sex or take whatever steps they wish to take in order to facilitate a physical transition. We both support that right, even if we don’t support the idea that taxpayers should pay for it, or that minors should be allowed to proceed with irreversible surgeries without their parent’sconsent. But mostly, we both believe that it’s fundamentally unfair to allow men to compete against women, and deeply troubling that so many otherwise sensible Americans stood by and said nothing, as the NCAA made a mockery of Title IX, and ran roughshod over decades of hard-fought women’s rights. As I said to her on the podcast, Riley Gaines reminds me of the kid in The Emperor’s New Clothes - the only one in the crowd to point out the obvious fact that the man parading before them was stark naked, while the townspeople pretended, he wasn’t. Just like the townspeople in America who pretended that Lea Thomas was a woman, simply because he changed his name and claimed to be one. Even when he leapt from a ranking of #462 as "Will," to #1 as "Lea," the townspeople just couldn't see the difference between him, and the women he so completely and totally dominated. Even when the townspeople saw with their own eyes, a telltale bulge in the women’s bathing suit he wore on the podium, they still applauded the emperor's new clothes, and congratulated him for his great triumph. Those townspeople will not be remembered for their politics, Carol. They'll be remembered for their cowardice. Just as Riley Gaines will be remembered for her courage. Our whole conversation is here, or on Apple, and Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. Her book, Swimming Against the Current, is terrific, and worth your time.
The Real Mike Rowe1,186,143 просмотров • 2 лет назад
“CPAC? Really, Mike? Since you’re now officially out of the closet, are you still going to insist that you’re not a Republican stooge? I’m guessing you will. Go ahead, prove me wrong.” Carol Blevins Hi Carol The only way I can prove you wrong is by ignoring you, which is tempting, since there’s no hope in trying to change the mind of a person who doesn’t like me but follows me anyway. On the other hand, it’s entirely possible that other people on this page who share your disappointment - but not your lack of manners – might be curious to know why I accepted an invitation to speak at the largest gathering of conservatives in the country. So, I’ll answer your question with them in mind, and do so by sharing an open letter I wrote to Barack Obama sixteen years ago, shortly after I launched mikeroweWORKS. You can read it here/ That letter was posted in 2009, when the country was entering a recession and lots of people were unemployed. In an effort to get America back to work, President Obama pledged to create three million “shovel ready” jobs as part of his Highway Infrastructure Act. In my letter to him, I wished the new President every success, but shared my concern that many of the business owners I had met on Dirty Jobs were already struggling to fill thousands of “shovel ready” positions. According to the BLS, even with twelve million people out of work, 2.3 million of these "shovel ready" positions remained open, many in manufacturing and the skilled trades. Despite the mainstream assumption that more jobs would automatically lead to less unemployment, it seemed pretty clear that the skills gap was not a consequence of too few jobs, but rather, a consequence of too little enthusiasm for the jobs that already existed. In other words, along with the skills gap, there was also a “will gap.” It seemed to me that “creating” more shovel ready jobs would be a tough sell to a country that was not all that excited about picking up a shovel. That’s when I started to incorporate recruiting messages into every episode of Dirty Jobs. And that’s why I offered to help the Obama administration make a more persuasive case for the new “shovel ready” opportunities they hoped to create, by partnering with mikeroweWORKS. To be honest, I didn’t really expect President Obama to respond to a guy who had become famous for crawling through sewers, but it never hurts to ask – especially when you’re trying to raise awareness about an issue that impacts every American. And so, I wasn’t discouraged when my offer was ignored. In fact, over the last sixteen years, I’ve made similar offers to other presidents, and other elected officials. I’ve met with several governors, partnered with several likeminded state-run initiatives, and spoken to Congress, twice, about the importance a national campaign to reinvigorate the trades. Unfortunately, the “will gap” is still with us. Today, 7.2 million able-bodied men are not only unemployed, they’re not even looking for work. And still, according to the BLS, we now have 7.6 million open jobs - most of which do NOT require a four-year degree. In part, I think the “will gap” is a consequence of stigmas, stereotypes, myths and misperceptions that dissuade millions of people from considering a career in the trades. I think it’s critical to debunk those misperceptions with real-world examples, and mikeroweWORKS does that every day. But there’s nothing we can do about the underlying math, which is exacerbating the problem exponentially. Consider: for every five skilled workers who retire this year, two will replace them. It’s been that way for over a decade, and the arithmetic is clearly not sustainable. In fact, every big company in the country that relies on skilled labor – including those responsible for our national defense – is in desperate need of skilled labor, and competing with each other to get it. And now, President Trump wants to create more skilled jobs by bringing manufacturing back to America. As with President Obama, I wish President Trump every success. I want our country to be less reliant on China, and less dependent on foreign workers. But my questions today are no different than they were sixteen years ago – if the President succeeds with his objective, where will the skilled workers come from? As of last February, there were 600 hundred thousand open jobs in the manufacturing sector. If we can’t fill the jobs that already exist, how will we fill the jobs the president wishes to create? How will we persuade the next generation to give the skilled trades an honest look? At mikeroweWORKS, the answer is simple. We award work ethic scholarships to people who qualify, and then, after they begin their career of choice, we share their stories as widely as possible. Stories like Johnny Goodson’s, a former musician who found a rewarding career repairing heavy equipment. Johnny is one of 2,200 people we’ve assisted to date, who found a new and rewarding life in the skilled trades. Its stories like his that need to be shared far and wide, so please help me do so. As for my party affiliation, it’s hardly a secret. I’m a registered Independent, and have been for some time. It’s true that I hold some conservative opinions, but those opinions haven't kept me from addressing dozens of liberal organizations over the years, or from appearing on countless liberal outlets to talk about this issue. Nor do my political opinions keep me from encouraging you, Carol, or any other liberal leaning person you might know, to apply for a work ethic scholarship from This month, we have $2.5 million dollars set aside to help train the next generation of skilled workers. I wish we had ten times the amount, because as of today, we have ten times the number of applicants we did a year ago. Anyway, that’s why I went to CPAC. To let them know that we’re moving the needle, and to invite them to help us move it further still. The stakes are very high. In my view, closing the skills gap is now a matter of national security, and something ambitious needs to be done to reinvigorate the trades. We're doing what we can at mikeroweWORKS, and I welcome all the help I can get.
The Real Mike Rowe743,353 просмотров • 1 год назад
Six years ago, Josh Smith was making knives in a garage in Missoula. Today, Montana Knife Company is operating out of a 51,000-square-foot manufacturing facility, employing more than 100 people, and proving that American manufacturing is alive and well. Josh is one of the finest bladesmiths on earth, but what impresses me most is what he's built—and the jobs he's created along the way. Thanks to sales of The Rocker, MKC has already raised nearly $200,000 for our Work Ethic Scholarship Program. I'm grateful he's chosen to support mikeroweWORKS. Now he's doing it again with this limited-edition Traditions knife. If you're looking for a great blade from a great American company that supports the skilled trades, here's your chance. First come, first served. Quantities are limited. Tonight at 7:00 PM MT. You know you want what's in the box.
The Real Mike Rowe51,807 просмотров • 1 месяц назад
Maybe it’s because of the business I’m in, or maybe it’s because I’ve been boycotted myself on several occasions. Or maybe it’s just because I used to drink a lot of beer. Whatever the reason, I’ve been fascinated by the demise of Bud Lite, and the way in which one of America’s most enduring brands managed to destroy decades of good will with a single, boneheaded decision, followed by a complete unwillingness to fix it. What a story. This week, I sit down with Anson Frericks, a former executive at Bud Lite who had a front row seat to the events that led to one of the greatest marketing disasters in modern history. His new book, Last Call for Bud Lite, is fantastic, and our conversation, modesty aside, is absolutely worth your time. You can watch the whole thing on YouTube. Spoiler Alert - what happened at Bud Lite was not unique to Anheuser Busch . Over the last decade or so, dozens of companies and corporations have slowly abandoned their commitment to building “shareholder value” in favor of building something called “stakeholder value.” Specifically, with stakeholders like Blackrock, State Street, and Vanguard. Known as The Big Three, these massive institutional investors manage over $20 trillion of American wealth, some of which is almost certainly in your IRA or 401K. They have also led the charge to elevate a long list of causes that focus on DEI, (diversity, equity and inclusion,) and more significantly ESG, (Environmental Social Governance.) Beneath the marketing debacle at Bud Lite is the story of how The Big Three applied extraordinary pressure to the thousands of publicly traded companies they now influence. Pressure to hire based on color, ethnicity, and sexual preference. Pressure to fall in line with all sorts of climate-related dogma. Pressure to embrace a long list of social justice and environmental causes that have absolutely nothing to do with fairness or meritocracy, and everything to do with elevating a cosmetic agenda around identity, race, and social activism. What a relief to see America finally awaken from this fever-dream of sanctimony and virtue-signaling. What a relief to see so many companies and corporations finally come to their senses, as they backtrack from so many ill-conceived policies. Hopefully, this excellent book will inspire other business leaders to avoid the mistakes that were made at Bud Lite. Or better yet, encourage them to start listening to the only stakeholders that matter - their customers.
The Real Mike Rowe600,313 просмотров • 1 год назад