443: Rick Perry—The Fight of a Lifetime

The workforce participation rate that is.  The number of able-bodied men choosing not to work is a crisis, and Nicholas Eberstadt, Henry Wendt Chair in Political Economy at the American Enterprise Institute, can prove it.

18 Okt 20221h 2min

New York Times bestselling author Peggy Rowe is at it again—this time giving a hilarious inside look at her writing career. She has been writing all her adult life. In fact, she doesn’t know how not to write—even through those years of constant rejection from publishing houses. But between her tenacity and the encouragement of her family, Peggy’s breakthrough finally came at the tender age of 80. Vacuuming in the Nude is most likely her funniest prose to date as she shares her journey of attending myriad writers’ conferences and honing her ability to see humor in everyday situations. Forward by Mike Rowe.

14 Okt 20221h 15min

It's a classic catch-up with mom that starts with a dramatic reading of her viral short story Old Blue, becomes an announcement that her third New York Times bestseller Vacuuming in the Nude will be available as an audiobook on this podcast, and then somehow devolves into a scatological story-swap evoking the Thomas Crapper episode.

11 Okt 20221h 16min

The lifelong environmentalist and one-time California gubernatorial candidate talks about the current energy crisis, climate narcissism, and how what’s good for the climate is not necessarily good for the environment.

4 Okt 20221h 27min

Today’s episode honors the man who unwittingly inspired Mike’s career by inventing the first flushable commode, Mike shares a David Sedaris story about a turd that won’t flush titled Big Boy then, in an homage to eighth-grade humor, Mike and Chuck swap embarrassing stories involving the necessary.

26 Sep 20221h 3min

For half a dozen years Chuck has been trying to introduce Mike to Peabody Award winning actor, Nick Searcy who is best known for playing Chief Deputy U.S. Marshall Art Mullen on the FX series Justified, one of Mike’s favorite shows.  They discuss Nick’s career, why he made a movie about 1/6/21, and how he met President Bill Clinton at the White House.

20 Sep 20221h 12min

Journalist Salena Zito keeps the conversation lively by dissecting the student loan forgiveness act, the lost notes of Baptist churches, moonshine coal, and her obsession with Fiestaware.

13 Sep 20221h 14min

They say you can’t judge a book by its cover and that is certainly true with this week’s special Labor Day episode.  It begins with a true story written by Mike about a particularly industrious Dirty Jobber, and it ends with Mike and Chuck discussing the origins of Labor Day, America’s work ethic crisis, and the pros and cons of labor unions.

5 Sep 20221h 13min