510: Carolyn Bourdeaux—The Math Ain't Mathin'
The Way I Heard It with Mike Rowe
Release Date: 11/03/2026
510: Carolyn Bourdeaux—The Math Ain't Mathin'
The Way I Heard It with Mike Rowe
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 , 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...
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509: Joe Manchin—A Declaration of Independents
The Way I Heard It with Mike Rowe
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 sits down with the former...
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508: Toby Rice—Got Gas?
The Way I Heard It with Mike Rowe
What do you get when you combine labor, energy, and intelligence? According to , you get the ingredients for abundance—and a better standard of living for all Americans. The CEO of 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 also shares three harrowing near-misses on...
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507: Jim McKelvey—A Square Peg in a Glass Hole
The Way I Heard It with Mike Rowe
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 , McKelvey’s book about the...
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506: Nick Nichols—Folds of Honor
The Way I Heard It with Mike Rowe
What does it really feel like to fly into combat knowing you may not come home? knows the answer. A 30-year Air Force veteran, F-16 pilot, and seven-time combat veteran, Nick now leads , 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 deeply personal account of the one combat mission that still haunts him to this day Many...
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505: Brooke Rollins—Where’s the Beef?
The Way I Heard It with Mike Rowe
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...
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504: Victor Davis Hanson—The Counter Revolution
The Way I Heard It with Mike Rowe
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 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, , which examines Trump’s political comeback and argues that his return to power was part of a broader reaction...
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503: Alex Clark—Don’t Eat That
The Way I Heard It with Mike Rowe
What if some of the food we’ve been told is convenient, affordable, and perfectly safe is actually making us sick? , host of the popular podcast and a passionate advocate for healthier food, joins Mike to discuss , 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 actually good...
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502: Chris Power—The Other Hadrian's Wall
The Way I Heard It with Mike Rowe
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...
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501: Andy Stumpf—Gray Noise
The Way I Heard It with Mike Rowe
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, the methods he used as an instructor to get them to keep...
info_outlineWhat’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 balancing the budget and paying for the promises they make.
In this conversation, Carolyn schools Mike on the difference between debt and deficits, the staggering cost of servicing our national debt, the consequences of kicking the can down the road, and what happens when interest payments begin consuming an ever-larger share of our national resources. Turns out, the math ain't mathin'—and the bill is coming due. The question is whether Washington, and the rest of us, are paying attention.
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