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.
We take the red pill on trucking’s “driver shortage” narrative. Tony goes underground with Dostoevsky and Orwell to ask why drivers accept equations that don’t add up—why 2+2 can feel like 5 in this industry. From bankruptcy to Key West to accounting classes in Minnesota, this is a story about cages we call freedom, laments we call songs, and the splinter you’ve felt your whole career.
👤 Guest: Mike Ritzema (Superior Trucking Payroll Service) brings receipts on payroll, per diem, and what the numbers actually say in 2023–2025. If there’s really a shortage, why haven’t wages kept pace—while operating costs keep climbing?
📣 Bulletin Board: an all-pro rideshare driver named Angela; voices you’ll hear throughout the series (TJ Graff, Will Cook, Gord Magill); and PBS’s Driver (POV) featuring Desiree Wood / Real Women in Trucking.
🎬 Bonus: Morpheus does the scene better than I ever could → https://youtu.be/DRnr3MiGWmo?si=6OkVsOYLOGFD1wan
Stay for the 💰 Money Line and the 🧭 Post-Trip: Morpheus, Metallica, and modern math.
👥 Guest
Mike Ritzema — Superior Trucking Payroll Service → https://truckingpayroll.com
🎙️ Podcast: Driven for Success
🔗 Sponsors & Friends of the Show
💰 Trucker’s Wealth — Financial tools for truckers → https://truckers-wealth.com
📝 Trans Carolina Permits — Compliance, IFTA, mileage & permits → https://transcarolinapermits.com
📊 True TMS — Cloud-based transportation management system → https://truetms.com
✍️ Deb LaBree → https://awomantrucker.com
🚨 Upcoming Truck Shows
🚚 Louisiana Truck Show — Oct 24–25, Rayne, LA → https://louisianatruckshows.com
🎪 American Truckers Jubilee — Oct, Searcy, AR (Lee Owens) → https://www.facebook.com/groups/912050416849260
🗓️ Full schedule → https://thetruckshowlist.com
🎵 Music Referenced
Metallica — “Bleeding Me” • Audioslave — “I Am the Highway,” “Set It Off”
📚 Resources
🎬 Driver.film — PBS Documentary → https://driver.film/index.html
👥 Real Women in Trucking → https://www.facebook.com/REALWomeninTrucking
⭐ Star Behaviors (TJ Graff) → https://starbehaviors.com
✍️ Will Cook — A Driver’s Perspective → https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61570019885862
📰 Gord Magill — Substack → https://autonomoustruckers.substack.com
📬 Connect
✉️ Email: inbox@channel19experience.com
🌐 Website: https://channel19experience.com
🎤 Book a Guest Spot: https://channel19experience.com/be-a-guest
⏱️ Timestamps
00:00 — Intro: Adding spice to the “shortage”
04:00 — Quote of the Week: Morpheus & the splinter
09:00 — Bulletin Board: Angela, the precision driver
11:00 — Voices in the Series: TJ Graff, Will Cook, Gord Magill
15:00 — PBS film Driver & safety in trucking
18:00 — Pre-Trip: Trucking as battleground
22:00 — Money Line: Going underground with Dostoevsky
29:00 — Learning the math: Why 2+2=5 in trucking
33:00 — Interview: Mike Ritzema — the payroll perspective
1:13:00 — Post-Trip: Healthcare & Orwell’s ghost
#DriverShortage #TruckingLife #OwnerOperator #TruckDrivers #FreightRecession #TruckingIndustry #CDL #TruckingPodcast #Channel19Experience #TruckDriverPay #SuperiorTruckingPayroll #DriverAppreciationWeek #TruckingMath #TwoPlus2Equals5 #Matrix #RedPill #TruckingReality #FreightRates #DriverRetention #TruckingCrisis
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.
