The Way I Heard It with Mike Rowe

Twenty-three years in the Marine Corps, a decade chasing a career in comedy, and eventually a seat at the Saturday Night Live and Daily Show tables—Rob Riggle's journey from Kansas to Hollywood is anything but conventional. A retired Marine lieutenant colonel, he's also one of comedy's most recognizable faces, with memorable roles in The Hangover, 21 Jump Street, and The Other Guys.

Rob joins Mike to talk about the unlikely intersection of military discipline and comedy, the ten-year pursuit of his SNL dream, and the Dr. Scholl's audition that nearly broke him. They also explore why boredom mi...

What's really going on with America's national debt, and why should any of us care? Dr. Carolyn Bourdeaux is giving us a much-needed lesson in fiscal reality and sounding the alarm bell. A former U.S. Representative from Georgia, Bourdeaux is a public finance expert who holds degrees from Yale, USC, and Syracuse University.

Today, she's the Executive Director of The Concord Coalition, a nonpartisan organization dedicated to educating Americans about the dangers of our growing federal debt and unsustainable fiscal policies. Carolyn and Concord are working to mobilize citizens and pressure lawmakers to get serious about...

For decades, Joe Manchin was a Democrat in a state that increasingly voted Republican. He served two terms as governor of West Virginia before spending 14 years in the U.S. Senate, where his willingness to buck his own party made him one of the most consequential—and controversial—voices in Washington. But eventually, even Manchin had enough. In 2024, he left the Democratic Party and registered as an independent.

So what changed? Why was he a Democrat in the first place, and what finally convinced him to leave? On this episode of The Way I Heard It, Mike Rowe...

What do you get when you combine labor, energy, and intelligence? According to Toby Rice, you get the ingredients for abundance—and a better standard of living for all Americans. The CEO of EQT Corporation and co-founder of Rice Energy, Rice began his career as a chimney sweep before working his way into the energy business.

On this episode, he joins Mike to make the case for American energy abundance, explain why affordable, reliable energy is essential to human progress, and discuss Energy Corps, his nonprofit dedicated to addressing energy poverty around the world.

He al...

Jim McKelvey is an entrepreneur, innovator, computer engineer, and master glassblower who helped build a billion-dollar company. That's not the usual career path, but then, Jim McKelvey isn't your usual entrepreneur. The co-founder of Square, along with Jack Dorsey, McKelvey turned a frustrating experience in his glass studio into a business that changed the way small businesses get paid. Mike talks with Jim about the art of blowing glass, his involvement with TechShop, and why a guy who helped invent the future of payments is downright terrified of AI. They also discuss The Innovation Stack, McKelvey's book about the...

What does it really feel like to fly into combat knowing you may not come home? Colonel Nick Nichols knows the answer. A 30-year Air Force veteran, F-16 pilot, and seven-time combat veteran, Nick now leads Folds of Honor, providing scholarships to the families of fallen and disabled service members and first responders.

Nick joins Mike to pull back the curtain on life in the cockpit, what deployment is really like, and the unlikely path that led him from the cockpit of an F-16 to a new mission with Folds of Honor. Then he tells Mike a...

This is a two-parter in one episode! Part One was recorded in May, when Mike sat down with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to talk about her vision for American agriculture, the challenges facing farmers and ranchers, and the future of food production in America. Four months later, Mike needed to follow up after President Trump's proclamation calling for 300,000 metric tons of additional beef imports—a decision that was met with concern by many American ranchers. So, Part Two was recorded in September. Mike asks the Secretary to explain the decision, what it means for American ranchers, and what it me...

What happens when a nation forgets the value of the people who make, build, fix, and grow things? Historian, classicist, farmer, and Hoover Institution Senior Fellow Victor Davis Hanson joins Mike for a wide-ranging conversation about what America values—and what it may have forgotten. They explore the difference between the generalist and the specialist, the importance of the "muscular" trades, and why a strong middle class is essential to a healthy society.

Hanson also discusses his new book, The Counterrevolution: The Fall and Rise of Donald Trump and the MAGA Movement, which examines Trump's political comeback an...

What if some of the food we've been told is convenient, affordable, and perfectly safe is actually making us sick? Alex Clark, host of the popular Culture Apothecary podcast and a passionate advocate for healthier food, joins Mike to discuss Breaking Big Food, a documentary in which she appears that takes a hard look at what's really behind America's processed-food problem.

The conversation explores how Big Food adopted tactics pioneered by Big Tobacco, the science and marketing behind ultra-processed foods, what happens when corporate interests collide with public health, and why it's so difficult to know what's...

Nearly 2,000 years ago, Roman Emperor Hadrian built a wall to protect the empire's northern frontier. Today, another Hadrian is building something very different—but with a similar purpose: helping protect America by rebuilding its industrial strength.

Chris Power is the founder and CEO of Hadrian, an advanced manufacturing company using AI and automation to produce critical components for America's aerospace and defense industries. Born in Australia, Chris believes America is the greatest country in the world—and he's determined to help keep it that way.

His mission is to reinvigorate America's industrial base, starting with the...

Andy Stumpf knows what it takes to operate when everything goes wrong. A former Navy SEAL who served with SEAL Team Six, Stumpf spent 17 years in the military, including a tour as a BUD/S instructor responsible for training hundreds of aspiring SEALs. He was also shot at close range by an Iraqi insurgent with an AK-47—and somehow came back to serve again.

In this episode, Andy pulls back the curtain on the world of special operations and the psychology of becoming a SEAL. He reveals what he learned about the candidates who ring the bell, th...

What happens when your son drops out of MIT at 19, starts a defense company in his twenties, and sets out to reinvent the way America builds weapons? If you're Tamara Thornton, you get a job.

In this episode, Mike sits down with the Head of Marketing and Communications at Mach Industries, Tamara Thornton, who also happens to be the mother of the founder and CEO, Ethan Thornton.

Ethan's decision to leave MIT and pursue his vision for Mach has led to a company now valued at $1.8 billion. But the story gets more interesting when you...

What do a Home Depot employee and a satellite have in common? More than you might think. In this episode, Mike Rowe talks with two CEOs about the people and technology quietly building the future around us.

First, Mike sits down with Ted Decker, CEO of The Home Depot, to talk about workforce development, the company's "inverted pyramid" philosophy—where frontline associates and customers sit at the top and management exists to support them—and why developing people from the ground up is central to the company's success. Decker also explains the story behind Home Depot's Kids Work...

What exactly is communism—and why has it failed so spectacularly everywhere it's been tried? Bill Whittle has spent years answering those questions, and in this episode, he makes the case in a way that's hard to misunderstand.

Bill is a writer, filmmaker, and political commentator whose work includes Empire of Terror, a detailed examination of the history and ideology of communism. Here, he breaks down the fundamental differences between individualism and collectivism, explains how free markets actually work, and makes the case for capitalism and the constitutional republic that makes it possible.

Using simple an...

Ethan Thornton doesn't shy away from problems—he goes looking for them. At just 22, the founder of Mach Industries is tackling some of the biggest challenges in American defense manufacturing, rethinking how weapons are designed, built, and produced.

In this episode, Ethan takes Mike deep into the problem he believes America can no longer afford to ignore: How did we get to a place where China has such an enormous advantage in manufacturing, production capacity, and the ability to produce things at scale? And, more importantly, what are we going to do about it?

Ethan ex...

For decades, Americans have been told that cholesterol is public enemy number one. But cardiologist and heart surgeon Dr. Philip Ovadia says we've been fighting the wrong battle. Despite decades of lowering cholesterol with drugs and dietary advice, heart disease remains the #1 killer in America—and Dr. Ovadia believes it's time to rethink what's really making us sick.

After losing more than 100 pounds by adopting a diet centered primarily on meat, Dr. Ovadia began challenging conventional wisdom about cholesterol, nutrition, and metabolic health. Mike sits down with the bestselling author of Stay Off My Operating Table to di...

Todd Rose, bestselling author of Collective Illusions, former Harvard professor, and co-founder of Populace, joins Mike for a conversation about the surprising gap between what people really believe and what they think everyone else believes.

Together they explore the collective illusions that shape our society, the barriers that keep us from living our best lives, and the disconnect between public perception and private conviction.

They also dive into Todd's newest brainchild, Be The People, a growing movement that empowers ordinary citizens to bridge divides, strengthen their communities, and prove that meaningful change often begins with...

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent joins Mike for a wide-ranging conversation about the state of the U.S. economy, the ideas behind his influential speech While America Slept, and the policies he believes can restore long-term American prosperity. Then they take a deep dive into the new Trump Accounts—how they work, who qualifies, and why Secretary Bessent believes they could give the next generation a stronger financial foundation.

Vice President JD Vance joins Mike for a wide-ranging conversation about faith, family, and the future of America. From the dignity of work and the lessons he learned in the Marine Corps to his return to Christianity and the deeply personal journey that inspired his new book, Communion, Vance reflects on the people and experiences that shaped him. He also explains why America's energy future may determine whether we can keep pace with China in the decades ahead.

Before he became the Father of His Country, George Washington was a young man with doubts, ambitions, failures, and a calling that would eventually shape a nation. Mike sits down with filmmaker and entrepreneur Jon Erwin to discuss his new film Young Washington, and to explore the remarkable true story behind America's most iconic founder.

Jon also shares how he launched The Wonder Project and his mission to tell stories that elevate faith, hope, and the human spirit. Along the way, he recounts the extraordinary legacy of his grandfather, a recipient of the Medal of Honor whose...

What if school could be reimagined from the ground up? This week, Mike sits down with entrepreneur and education innovator MacKenzie Price, the founder of Alpha School, a model that's attracting global attention for helping students learn twice as much in half the time.

Using artificial intelligence, personalized learning, and an unconventional approach to education, MacKenzie is challenging nearly every assumption about how kids should be taught.

She also makes the case that meaningful change in education won't come from top-down mandates, but from bottom-up solutions created by parents, teachers, and entrepreneurs willing to rethink...

In honor of Father's Day, we're sharing several hilarious chapters from the audio version of Peggy Rowe's bestselling book About Your Father. 

Buy all three audiobooks from bestselling author Peggy Rowe for $30 or $15 individually at:

https://bit.ly/MomsAudiobooks

Why do so many of the things that make us stronger, healthier, and happier require doing things the hard way? Mike sits down with bestselling author, journalist, and researcher Michael Easter to explore the surprising benefits of discomfort, challenge, and voluntary hardship in a world engineered for convenience. Easter, whose work has appeared in Men's Health, Outside, Esquire, and Scientific American, discusses the ideas behind his bestselling books The Comfort Crisis and Scarcity Brain, along with his newest release, Walk with Weight: The Definitive Guide to Rucking. From carrying heavy loads to carrying life's burdens, Michael explains why the...

Spontaneous Order might sound like a contradiction, but according to author, entrepreneur, and educator Connor Boyack, some of society's most important innovations emerge without a master plan.

Mike sits down with Connor, the bestselling co-creator and co-author of The Tuttle Twins book series that inspired the hit animated show, founder and president of the Libertas Network and a leading advocate for teaching the principles of liberty, entrepreneurship, personal responsibility, and free markets to the next generation. Connor shares the mission that drives his work: helping families understand how free people, voluntary cooperation, and decentralized problem-solving can create...

Mike Rowe sits down with Blake Scholl, the former Amazon software engineer turned aerospace entrepreneur who walked away from Silicon Valley to revive supersonic passenger travel.

As the founder of Boom Supersonic, Blake explains the century-long pursuit of faster flight. From the Cold War race to break the sound barrier to the rise—and fall—of the Concorde, Blake explains why supersonic travel disappeared just as it seemed destined to change aviation forever. He also shares how Boom Supersonic is working to make high-speed passenger flight practical again, and what it will take to shrink a 12-hour flig...

Mike sits down with master card mechanic and sleight-of-hand expert Jason Ladanye, whose impossible demonstrations of gambling moves and psychological deception have earned him a reputation as one of the best card handlers working today.

Jason explains how a childhood obsession with cards—and an influential mentorship with legendary magician Darwin Ortiz—shaped his career performing around the world.

Along the way, Jason shows Mike how magicians secretly track cards through a shuffled deck, demonstrates the art of bottom dealing, and reveals why the real secret behind great magic isn't fast hands—it's storytelling, conviction, and un...

Founder and president of Montana Knife Company Josh Smith sits down with Mike to discuss his unlikely path from working as a lineman to becoming one of America's premier master bladesmiths. The conversation dives into the grit, craftsmanship, and obsession with quality that helped turn a small operation into one of the fastest-growing knife manufacturers in the country.

The two also talk about the grand opening of MKC's brand-new 50,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Missoula, where Josh explains why controlling his supply chain matters now more than ever—and what "Made in America" actually requires behind the scenes. Al...

In this episode Mike explores the growing race for critical minerals hidden deep beneath the Pacific Ocean with mining executive Tom Albanese, Chairman of American Ocean Minerals and former CEO of Rio Tinto and Vedanta Resources.

Tom has spent more than four decades in the global mining and metals business, overseeing some of the largest resource projects on earth. Now he's focused on something even more ambitious: harvesting polymetallic nodules from the ocean floor—potato-sized rocks packed with nickel, cobalt, copper, manganese, and rare earth elements that are critical to batteries, AI infrastructure, defense systems, smartphones, and mod...

In this special LIVE edition of Coffee with Mome, Mike heads home for Mother's Day and sits down with the woman who taught him everything worth knowing — his mom, Peggy Rowe. Recorded in front of a live audience at the place Peggy refers to as The Home, this episode is filled with the warmth, wit, and wonderfully sharp observations fans have come to expect from America's Grandmother.

From family stories and hard-earned wisdom to laughter that only comes from decades of shared history, Mike and Peggy talk about motherhood, growing older disgracefully, and the strange adventure of be...

Mike sits down with author and Cultural Revolution survivor Xi Van Fleet for a conversation that's equal parts personal history and cautionary tale.

Xi recounts her childhood under Mao Zedong's China, where conformity wasn't encouraged—it was enforced. As a schoolgirl, she watched teachers publicly humiliated, neighbors turn on each other, and young people mobilized as ideological foot soldiers. Education gave way to indoctrination, and individuality was crushed in favor of collective obedience—the kind that produces "shiny little screws."

Drawing from her first book, Mao's America, Xi lays out how mass movements rooted in ideo...

Former congressman Jason Altmire has spent years in Washington—and even more time outside it—making the case that America's biggest opportunity isn't behind a desk, but behind a welding mask, a set of tools, or the wheel of a big machine. Now leading Career Education Colleges and Universities, he's on a mission to close the skills gap and reconnect hard work with real opportunity.

In this episode, Mike and Jason dig into why millions of good jobs go unfilled, why the stigma around skilled labor refuses to die, and what it'll take to convince a new gene...

Matt Ebert didn't set out to build a billion-dollar business—he just wanted to fix cars the right way. Today, he's the CEO of Crash Champions, one of the fastest-growing collision repair companies in the country, valued in the billions and trusted to bring wrecked vehicles back to life.

Mike sits down with Matt to unpack what really happens after a crash, why the skilled trades behind collision repair matter more than ever, and how a kid with no grand plan or college degree wound up leading a national powerhouse. Along the way, Matt tells how he go...

Neon lights aren't supposed to be profound. They're supposed to buzz, flicker, and sell you a cold beer or a bad decision. But Evan Voyles—founder of The Neon Jungle—has made a career out of bending that expectation into something stranger… and maybe a little wiser.

Evan is a self-taught craftsman who works with fire, gas, and fragile tubes of glass to make signs that don't just glow—they say something. His work has been commissioned by brands, collected as art, and—on more than one occasion—made people stop and wonder if the joke is on them.

Numbers don't lie—but they can obscure significant information. In this episode, Mike sits down with economist, demographer, and Harvard-educated brainiac Nicholas Eberstadt to explore a different kind of arithmetic—one that measures not just how many Americans we have, but how we're actually living.

In his latest book, America's Human Arithmetic, Nick digs into three uncomfortable truths: first, the steady decline in prime-age labor force participation that persists even in strong economies. Second, the growing imbalance between those producing and those receiving—an economic equation increasingly tilted by entitlements and transfer payments. And third, a demographic slowdo...

Adam Carolla sits down with Mike for a wide-ranging, no-holds-barred conversation on comedy, culture, and California. Adam breaks down his no-nonsense approach to making people laugh, building a podcasting empire, and telling the truth as he sees it—whether it's popular or not. The two also take a hard look at the Palisades more than a year after the fire, the growing frustration with California's regulatory maze, and what Adam really thinks about Newsom. Spoiler alert—it ain't good. Oh, you better believe Adam Carolla has some thoughts.

What does it take to rebuild America's industrial backbone—and who's actually going to do the work? Mike sits down with Michael Cadenazzi, Assistant Secretary of War for Industrial Base Policy, to discuss his role at the Department of War (DOW) and his mission focused on restoring the muscle behind America's might.

Cadenazzi makes the case that while the U.S. still produces world-class engineers and cutting-edge weapons designs, there's a growing gap where it matters most—the skilled workforce needed to actually build them. From welders and machinists to technicians and fabricators, he argues the country's stre...

Mike talks with Jan Jekielek, senior editor at The Epoch Times and host of American Thought Leaders, to discuss his new book, Killed to Order: China's Organ Harvesting Industry and the True Nature of America's Biggest Adversary. It's an explosive investigation into allegations of state-sanctioned organ harvesting in China. Jan shares what he's learned from years of interviews with doctors, investigators, and even survivors of this gruesome industry where political prisoners are killed for their organs. The conversation is a rumination on good versus evil, raising urgent questions about human rights and medical ethics. Referenced in this episode is...

Mike chats with Jeff Childers—the attorney-turned-writer behind the wildly popular Coffee & Covid Substack—for a wide-ranging conversation about media narratives, pandemic politics, and the strange new world of citizen journalism. What began as a daily blog written during lockdown has grown into a must-read for hundreds of thousands of devotees looking for sharp legal insight, media criticism, and a dose of wry humor with their morning coffee. Jeff explains what it takes to crank out 2,000 to 6,000 snarky words every single day of the week, why he started writing in the first place, and how an attorney accidentally became one...

Mike talks with Will Swaim, CEO of the California Policy Center. California has long marketed itself as the future—a place where trends are born and the rest of the country eventually follows. But Swaim argues that when it comes to public policy, that's the last thing America should do.

Despite spending roughly $24 billion, California still leads the nation in homelessness. The state ranks near the bottom in education outcomes, while residents face the highest energy and gas prices as well as marginal income tax rates in America. Swaim argues these aren't accidents—they're the predictable results of b...

Mike sits down with comedian, voiceover pro, cookbook author, and culinary entrepreneur, Anna Vocino. Anna shares how her Eat Happy journey—from her bestselling cookbooks Eat Happy, Eat Happy Too, and Eat Happy Italian to her podcast Fitness Confidential—grew out of personal health struggles and a lot of hustle. She also pulls back the curtain on her voiceover career and explains why getting a food product onto grocery store shelves is a lot harder than most people think. It's a candid conversation about creativity, rejection, persistence, and what it really takes to turn passion into product.