The Way I Heard It with Mike Rowe

Mike chats with Sarah Yourgrau, one of the producers of Returning the Favor, to discuss why so many people loved the show, why it won an Emmy, why it made so many people cry tears of unbridled joy, and why it's cancellation took so many by surprise.

Mike talks to John Rich about what led to their viral smash, Santa's Gotta Dirty Job, and a whole lot more, including an outrageous phone call to Donald Trump, that led to the title of this episode.

Chuck crashes Thanksgiving at Mike's house, fails to book a proper guest, and relies instead on listeners to pose interesting questions for Mike to answer. The listeners come through, as always.

How safe is your space? This is the question Mike attempts to answer with Justin Folk, a filmmaker who left Hollywood behind to make the kinds of movies he believes matter most.

Mike's guest is a man called Lindsay Schnebly, an accomplished voiceover artist whose unusual name inspired a town, almost.

Mike interviews Chloe Hudson, a 28-year-old welder who received a work ethic scholarship from mikeroweWORKS, and went on to earn six-figures a year, and more recently, the subject of a new documentary called Trading Up. Together, they unpack The S.W.E.A.T. Pledge, and try to determine why a writer named Jake Maynard thinks it's "bonkers."

Mike has a very serious conversation with a very funny guest about a very serious topic that turns out to be very funny.

Mike chats with David Keltz, an actor from Baltimore who has assumed the identity of Edgar Allen Poe, and memorized most of his published works.

A show about nothing, a guy named Jerry, and the audition that changed television. Followed by a very funny conversation with Enrico Colantoni, one of the few actors to be a series regular every week for the last 20 years.

Mike has a most enlightening chat with his TV Big Brother, the one and only Tim Allen, who still seems a little incredulous that Mike didn't return to Last Man Standing to finish what he started. As for why Tim now lives on the runway of an airport, well, that's a bit of a mystery...

Mike chats with Tim Cotton, the famous cop who saved a stuffed bird from the trash heap and went on to write a couple of bestselling books.

The true story of the most important novel ever written, and a conversation with the filmmaker who tried to put it on the big screen.

The Human Calculator, Scott Flansburg stops by to demonstrate his Guinness world-record abilities, introduce Mike to a better calendar, and explain why he is determined to uncover the real story of how basketball was invented. 

Mike sits down with his "professional big brother," to discuss the relevance of 9/11, twenty years after the attack on America.

Mike responds to criticism from some guy named Tim Johnson, and celebrates the anniversary of mikeroweWORKS by reading the most popular essay of all time. Then, a spirited conversation with Chuck, the nervous producer.

Mike recalls the circumstances of a young man's first flight in a plane with an open cockpit, the mother who allowed it to happen, and the consequences that followed. With a little help from George Lucas, Jon Stewart, a mechanical shark, and a conversation with a pilot named Bill Whittle.  

Mike responds to America's withdrawal from Afghanistan in the only way he can - with the true story of a genuine hero, followed by a conversation with Travis Mills - a man who lost his arms and legs in Afghanistan, and lived to tell the tale. 

Mike reads the final and most disgusting chapter from his book, and then welcomes his mom back to the podcast, who takes the opportunity to once again steal the show and upstage her son at every opportunity.

A high speed chase, followed by a low speed chase, followed by a candid conversation with the executive producer who first allowed Mike to artificially inseminate a cow on local television.

Mike welcomes the author of The Four-Hour Work Week and many other best-selling books, not only to discuss the excellent advice for which Tim Ferriss has become famous, but rather to unpack the question he posed to Mike in 2008. The question that led to one of the most uncomfortable TED Talks of all time, and a speaking career Mike didn't know he wanted.

Mike takes a deep dive into the nature of authenticity, with a little help from Sean McCourt – a former Broadway actor who works today as a producer on After the Catch and contributor to The Way I Heard It, and God only knows what else. Sean also happens to be the father of Charlotte, the eleven-year-old Girl Scout made famous by her blisteringly honest critique of the cookies she was trying to se...

The true story of the most consequential pig in the history of Silicon Valley, or for that matter, the world. Followed by the true story of the most consequential pig in Mike's career – the one he put on a pedestal fifteen years ago, that went on to become the unofficial mascot of Dirty Jobs. Then, a most unusual redux, as Tom Frank returns to set the record straight, and explain in no uncertain t...

Mike tracks down Tom Frank, the Hollywood producer who hired him to host the game show that launched his career in television, only to learn his old friend has become a life coach. Or possibly, a career coach. Whatever he is, Tom Frank knows where all the bodies are buried, and tells a story or two that Mike would probably like to forget.

A hashtag and a me-too on steroids, followed by a series of digressions too voluminous to list, concluding with the true story of the time Mike knocked a famous movie star on his ass.

After sharing the true story of a hard-charging master sergeant with a voice like a jackhammer who went on to become a famous artist, Mike recalls the lessons learned from his soft-spoken grandfather – an artist of a different kind - whose unique talents inspired a show called Dirty Jobs, and a foundation called mikeroweWORKS. It's a rumination on men who scream, and men who whisper, complete with...