The Channel 19 Experience Trucker Podcast, hosted by Tony, was born to recreate something amazing he thinks we’ve lost, Channel 19. Tony grew up in trucking and started driving himself in the mid 1990s. The 1990s were sunset of an era, the era before the internet and cell phones took over. Channel 19 thrived in that time between the 1970s and 1990s and created an experience like no other for truck drivers. Truckers were actually more connected then to each other, than to most anything else in our lives. And it was a helluva lot of fun. Truckers are a hilarious diversity of characters that is truly representative of every group in America. And yes we bickered and insulted and not all of it was great, but it was something special and we miss it. Come join the community, listen to others stories on the podcast, share your stories with us and the audience. Channel 19 on the CB is pretty much gone, but the Channel 19 Experience can live on as a community.
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The Channel 19 Experience Trucker Podcast, hosted by Tony, was born to recreate something amazing he thinks we’ve lost, Channel 19. Tony grew up in trucking and started driving himself in the mid 1990s. The 1990s were sunset of an era, the era before the internet and cell phones took over. Channel 19 thrived in that time between the 1970s and 1990s and created an experience like no other for truck drivers. Truckers were actually more connected then to each other, than to most anything else in our lives. And it was a helluva lot of fun. Truckers are a hilarious diversity of characters that is truly representative of every group in America. And yes we bickered and insulted and not all of it was great, but it was something special and we miss it. Come join the community, listen to others stories on the podcast, share your stories with us and the audience. Channel 19 on the CB is pretty much gone, but the Channel 19 Experience can live on as a community.
Episode 30: Things I Can’t Find – The Machinery Beneath
Channel 19 Experience Trucker Podcast
2 hours 23 minutes
1 month ago
Episode 30: Things I Can’t Find – The Machinery Beneath
🎙️ Episode 30: Things I Can’t Find – The Machinery Beneath
Interview with Will Cook
This week Tony sits down for a two-hour deep dive with Will Cook — 🚛 35-year driver, 🏆 ATA Million Mile Award winner, and 📚 author of The Driver Shortage and The Machine Behind the Wheel.
Together they peel back the layers of the so-called “driver shortage,” exposing how mega-carriers, visa mills, and false freedoms fuel a system built on churn and set the stage for autonomous trucking.
From Birmingham’s 🎸 Black Sabbath to America’s highways, the theme is the same: workers turned into disposable parts.
Tony also talks about how “flexibility” pilots are really permission to exploit yourself longer, why cheap labor paves the way for automation, and Will talks about how truck-on-demand could change freight forever.
🎵 Featured Track
“Paranoid” – Black Sabbath (1970)
👤 Special Guest
Will Cook – A Driver’s Perspective🔗 Facebook Profile🔗 Amazon Author Page
🗂️ Topics Covered
🔍 The real story behind “driver shortage” claims
🎭 Dispatcher Appreciation Week thought experiment
🏛️ OOIDA’s role in trucking advocacy
🤖 Autonomous trucks & the future of linehaul
🌎 How mega-carriers use visa programs
⚖️ The disconnect between regulators and drivers
📏 Why training standards matter more than ever
📌 Mentioned Resources
✍️ Bobbi McGee’s Blog – A Hard Shell Life
🏛️ OOIDA (Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association)
🌟 TJ Graff – STAR Behaviors
🚛 CB Trucking Ltd – Chris Barber
💰 Mike Ritzema – Superior Trucking Payroll Service
👩🦰 Deb LaBree – A Woman Trucker
💼 Episode Sponsors
💵 Trucker’s Wealth
📑 Trans Carolina Permits
📝 Quote of the Week
“None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.”— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
📡 Connect with Channel 19 Experience
📧 Email: inbox@channel19experience.com
🌐 Website: channel19experience.com
📱 Facebook: facebook.com/channel19experience
⏭️ Next Week – Episode 31
Tony heads to England 🇬🇧 to ride with UK lorry driver Matt Rainer, explore Birmingham’s industrial history, and gain perspective on the American trucking crisis from across the pond.
🔖 Hashtags
#Trucking #TruckDriver #DriverShortage #OOIDA #WillCook #TruckingPodcast #Channel19Experience #18Wheeler #SemiTruck #CDL #TruckingIndustry #OverTheRoad #OTR #OwnerOperator #TruckingLife #TruckingNews
Channel 19 Experience Trucker Podcast
The Channel 19 Experience Trucker Podcast, hosted by Tony, was born to recreate something amazing he thinks we’ve lost, Channel 19. Tony grew up in trucking and started driving himself in the mid 1990s. The 1990s were sunset of an era, the era before the internet and cell phones took over. Channel 19 thrived in that time between the 1970s and 1990s and created an experience like no other for truck drivers. Truckers were actually more connected then to each other, than to most anything else in our lives. And it was a helluva lot of fun. Truckers are a hilarious diversity of characters that is truly representative of every group in America. And yes we bickered and insulted and not all of it was great, but it was something special and we miss it. Come join the community, listen to others stories on the podcast, share your stories with us and the audience. Channel 19 on the CB is pretty much gone, but the Channel 19 Experience can live on as a community.
