I normally love the window seat, but 3 feet from the propeller… not so much!
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Latest posts 5
“You Gotta Eat the Rat!”
A quick prediction regarding the midterms: When the results are in, a lot of people are going to be very, very disappointed.
Aside from that, I got nothin’.
Except this. I suspect that disappointment will leave a lot of Americans even less enamored with both parties, and more open to candidates who don’t belong to either one.
According to Gallup’s figures for 2025, 27% of American adults identified as Democrats. Another 27% identified as Republicans. Independents? Forty-five percent.
That’s a lot of people without a team jersey.
Obviously, calling yourself an independent doesn’t mean you agree with everyone else who does. But with numbers like those, why are so few independent candidates elected? And why should someone who wins as an independent have to pick a side once they get to Washington?
How did “We the People” become “We the Party?”
I put those questions to @JoeManchinWV, who answered with remarkable candor—and explained what he and his daughter, Heather, are doing about it.
They’ve launched the Independent Leadership Council to help independent candidates get the money, support, and visibility they need to compete. The goal is to elect a handful who will remain independent once they arrive. In a closely divided Congress, a handful could matter quite a bit.
I knew I was going to enjoy this conversation. I didn’t realize how much. On the eve of another national election, it seems like a useful time to hear from a guy who knows what happens when you tell your own party “no.”
The whole conversation is here, and worth your time:
bit.ly/TWIHI509JoeMan…
The attached clip explains the rat. (You'll want some context for that.)
Bon appetite!
A quick prediction regarding the midterms: When the results are in, a lot of people are going to be very, very disappointed.
Aside from that, I got nothin’.
Except this. I suspect that disappointment will leave a lot of Americans even less enamored with both parties, and more open to candidates who don’t belong to either one.
According to Gallup’s figures for 2025, 27% of American adults identified as Democrats. Another 27% identified as Republicans. Independents? Forty-five percent.
That’s a lot of people without a team jersey.
Obviously, calling yourself an independent doesn’t mean you agree with everyone else who does. But with numbers like those, why are so few independent candidates elected? And why should someone who wins as an independent have to pick a side once they get to Washington?
How did “We the People” become “We the Party?”
I put those questions to @JoeManchinWV, who answered with remarkable candor—and explained what he and his daughter, Heather, are doing about it.
They’ve launched the Independent Leadership Council to help independent candidates get the money, support, and visibility they need to compete. The goal is to elect a handful who will remain independent once they arrive. In a closely divided Congress, a handful could matter quite a bit.
I knew I was going to enjoy this conversation. I didn’t realize how much. On the eve of another national election, it seems like a useful time to hear from a guy who knows what happens when you tell your own party “no.”
The whole conversation is here, and worth your time:
bit.ly/TWIHI509JoeMan…
The attached clip explains the rat. (You'll want some context for that.)
Bon appetite!
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For the life of me, I can’t see how this video requires further explanation.
0:52
I wrote this 13 years ago today. Still holds up, I think. And this is still my best Halloween costume ever. I've updated the parts that need updating in caps. And according to AI, Toby Sells is still out there, doing what he does so well....
Is There a Zombie in Your House?
Psychologically, the journey from TV host to brain-dead zombie is a fairly short one. Physically, though, the transformation requires time, skill and a lot of hard work. I learned this firsthand from Toby Sells, a talented special-effects artist who turned me into a soulless corpse for an episode of Dirty Jobs back in 2007.
Toby plies his trade in a creepy little studio outside Atlanta. He studied his craft for years as an apprentice, practiced under the supervision of a seasoned professional, and worked his butt off getting very good at what he does. Then the world came to an end over on AMC, the zombie business blew up big time, and Toby got busy breathing new life into the walking dead. Today, he’s still carving out his own pound of flesh from an industry that thousands are dying to get into.
Unfortunately, while millions of legitimate zombies are alive and well, the work ethic and apprentice model that put Toby Sells in business is now on a kind of death watch. And this Halloween, you’ll see the results, as a whole new breed of trick-or-treaters knock on some very familiar doors.
But these "walkers" are looking for more than candy. They want dinner. And breakfast. And brunch. And car payments. And if you don’t answer the door, they won’t leave a bag of burning dog crap on your porch, or wrap your shrubs in toilet paper. They’ll just let themselves in with the spare key, raid your fridge, crash on your couch, and play Call of Duty and Halo until someone turns off the electricity. These are zombies of our own making. And they are very, very scary.
The facts are pretty simple, even if the numbers are big. A trillion dollars in student loans. [NOW 1.8 TRILLION] Three million available jobs that don’t require a four-year degree. [NOW OVER 5 MILLION] And tens of thousands of unemployed college graduates moving back home, perfectly educated for jobs that no longer exist, and completely untrained for those that do. It's a nightmare.
But really, how surprised should we be? We've gutted the technical trades from our high schools and consistently portrayed vocational education as something ..."alternative.” And yet, we still push a four-year degree like it’s the best path for the most people. The result? A one-size-fits-all approach to education that all but guarantees the dysfunctional relationship with hard work and skilled labor we have today.
mikeroweWORKS is an attempt to turn that around. At its base, it's a PR campaign for alternative education. By the end of this year, we’ll award around $4 million in Work-Ethic scholarships [NOW OVER $20 MILLION] to a small number of extraordinary trade schools, beginning with Tulsa Welding School and Midwest Technical Institute. These scholarships are designed to reward two things: the willingness to work hard and the desire to learn a useful trade.
In the near future, you may expect to see me interrupt your favorite TV programs (maybe even your favorite zombie drama) with short messages in support of this program. Here’s an example:
ispot.tv/.../mike-rowe-…...
Thanks in advance for not fast-forwarding through them, but if you must, you can support our efforts in a variety of other non-traditional ways at mikeroweWORKS.org.
Ultimately, closing the skills gap will only happen when the entire country starts to think differently about the definition of a “good job.” This will come down to parents, teachers, pundits, Scoutmasters, clergy ... anyone in a position to influence a kid who’s trying to figure out what he's good at, or what to do with the rest of her life. We need to change some fundamental stigmas and biases toward hard work and skilled labor, and that won’t be pretty.
But hey - if the zombie trade is booming, maybe there’s hope for those industries that make civilized life possible for the living?
And maybe, with a little luck, we can keep the Walking Dead where they belong - on TV, and out of our refrigerators.
Happy Halloween!
Is There a Zombie in Your House?
Psychologically, the journey from TV host to brain-dead zombie is a fairly short one. Physically, though, the transformation requires time, skill and a lot of hard work. I learned this firsthand from Toby Sells, a talented special-effects artist who turned me into a soulless corpse for an episode of Dirty Jobs back in 2007.
Toby plies his trade in a creepy little studio outside Atlanta. He studied his craft for years as an apprentice, practiced under the supervision of a seasoned professional, and worked his butt off getting very good at what he does. Then the world came to an end over on AMC, the zombie business blew up big time, and Toby got busy breathing new life into the walking dead. Today, he’s still carving out his own pound of flesh from an industry that thousands are dying to get into.
Unfortunately, while millions of legitimate zombies are alive and well, the work ethic and apprentice model that put Toby Sells in business is now on a kind of death watch. And this Halloween, you’ll see the results, as a whole new breed of trick-or-treaters knock on some very familiar doors.
But these "walkers" are looking for more than candy. They want dinner. And breakfast. And brunch. And car payments. And if you don’t answer the door, they won’t leave a bag of burning dog crap on your porch, or wrap your shrubs in toilet paper. They’ll just let themselves in with the spare key, raid your fridge, crash on your couch, and play Call of Duty and Halo until someone turns off the electricity. These are zombies of our own making. And they are very, very scary.
The facts are pretty simple, even if the numbers are big. A trillion dollars in student loans. [NOW 1.8 TRILLION] Three million available jobs that don’t require a four-year degree. [NOW OVER 5 MILLION] And tens of thousands of unemployed college graduates moving back home, perfectly educated for jobs that no longer exist, and completely untrained for those that do. It's a nightmare.
But really, how surprised should we be? We've gutted the technical trades from our high schools and consistently portrayed vocational education as something ..."alternative.” And yet, we still push a four-year degree like it’s the best path for the most people. The result? A one-size-fits-all approach to education that all but guarantees the dysfunctional relationship with hard work and skilled labor we have today.
mikeroweWORKS is an attempt to turn that around. At its base, it's a PR campaign for alternative education. By the end of this year, we’ll award around $4 million in Work-Ethic scholarships [NOW OVER $20 MILLION] to a small number of extraordinary trade schools, beginning with Tulsa Welding School and Midwest Technical Institute. These scholarships are designed to reward two things: the willingness to work hard and the desire to learn a useful trade.
In the near future, you may expect to see me interrupt your favorite TV programs (maybe even your favorite zombie drama) with short messages in support of this program. Here’s an example:
ispot.tv/.../mike-rowe-…...
Thanks in advance for not fast-forwarding through them, but if you must, you can support our efforts in a variety of other non-traditional ways at mikeroweWORKS.org.
Ultimately, closing the skills gap will only happen when the entire country starts to think differently about the definition of a “good job.” This will come down to parents, teachers, pundits, Scoutmasters, clergy ... anyone in a position to influence a kid who’s trying to figure out what he's good at, or what to do with the rest of her life. We need to change some fundamental stigmas and biases toward hard work and skilled labor, and that won’t be pretty.
But hey - if the zombie trade is booming, maybe there’s hope for those industries that make civilized life possible for the living?
And maybe, with a little luck, we can keep the Walking Dead where they belong - on TV, and out of our refrigerators.
Happy Halloween!
I've been unforgivably derelict in my solemn duty to keep you all up to speed as to the extraordinary run of guests I've been honored to interview here of late. So many great minds, from so many different disciplines. The latest is a former floor hand and roughneck who paid his dues, and then some, on the oil rigs in West Texas, not so long ago.
Toby Rice (@Shalennial) knows the oil and gas industry better than most, and worked his way up in the most literal way possible. Today, he's the CEO of EQT, one of the largest producers of natural gas in America. His personal story is fascinating and inspirational, but his take on energy independence is the reason I wanted to talk to him, and share his common sense with all of you. We caught up in Wyoming not too long ago, and had a hell of a chat. My only regret in this conversation is that I forgot to thank him for buying the drinks the night before, in a subterranean watering hole at the incomparable Brush Creek Ranch. As I recall, there was a bottle of 68-year old McCallum on hand, the depletion of which Toby generously facilitated. (If the label appears blurry, it's only because everything else was.)
Our entire conversation is here, and worth your time. bit.ly/TWIHI408TobyRi…
A short clip is below.
Toby Rice (@Shalennial) knows the oil and gas industry better than most, and worked his way up in the most literal way possible. Today, he's the CEO of EQT, one of the largest producers of natural gas in America. His personal story is fascinating and inspirational, but his take on energy independence is the reason I wanted to talk to him, and share his common sense with all of you. We caught up in Wyoming not too long ago, and had a hell of a chat. My only regret in this conversation is that I forgot to thank him for buying the drinks the night before, in a subterranean watering hole at the incomparable Brush Creek Ranch. As I recall, there was a bottle of 68-year old McCallum on hand, the depletion of which Toby generously facilitated. (If the label appears blurry, it's only because everything else was.)
Our entire conversation is here, and worth your time. bit.ly/TWIHI408TobyRi…
A short clip is below.
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