Welcome to Grit Nation, the Building Trades Podcast. I’m Joe Cadwell, the writer, producer, and host of the show and today I have the pleasure of speaking with Ken Rusk. Ken is a blue-collar career choice advocate, construction industry entrepreneur and the author of Blue-Collar Cash which details how you can…. Love Your Work, Secure Your Future and Find Happiness for Life. We’ll start today’s conversation by learning about Ken’s background and how his passion for har...

Welcome to Grit Nation. I’m Joe Cadwell the writer, producer, and host of the show and on today’s episode I have the pleasure of speaking with author Kathleen McLaughlin, about her new book titled; Blood Money – The Story of Life, Death and Profit Inside America’s Blood Industry. In her book Kathleen turns the lights on a healthcare crisis hidden in plain sight and reveals a stunning example of economic inequality in action. Intertwined with her own story as a working-class American man...

Use the link below to see the NBC Nightly News Story. https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/hidden-scourge-wage-theft-when-higher-profits-come-out-workers-n1272238 This episode of Stolen begins in the early morning of August 2020, when a storm system develops on the barren plains of the Nebraska and South Dakota border. Known as a Derecho, Spanish for straight, these type’s of storms are powerful, fast-moving systems that can generate hurricane force winds, and create tornado...

On today’s episode we will meet labor attorney, member of Teamster’s Local 810 in New York City and author, Mark Torres. Mark’s latest book, Long Island Migrant Labor Camps: Dust for Blood, chronicles the plight of thousands of poverty stricken migrant workers lured to the agricultural fields of New York State for decades with the promise of good wages and decent housing. Once there, they were preyed upon by corrupt camp operators who often cheated them out of pay and housed them in dea...

Welcome to Grit Nation. I'm Joe Cadwell, the host of the show, and on today's episode, I have the pleasure of speaking with urban law expert and author Michelle Wilde Anderson about her book, The Fight to Save the Town - Reimagining Discarded America. The San Francisco Chronicle writes that her book is "a sweeping and eye opening study of wealth inequality and the dismantling of local governments of working class US cities, and passionately argues for a reinvestment in people centered lead...

On today’s episode I have the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Mike Rucker about his book, The Fun Habit - How the Pursuit of Joy and Wonder Can Change Your Life. The Fun Habit is a science-backed, actionable case for the importance of seeking fun, rather than happiness, in our daily lives. Mike argues that fun is a resource available to anyone, at almost anytime, yet most people are not having enough of it. His insightful new book reveals how intentionally increasing your joyful moments c...

On todays episode I have the pleasure of speaking with professor of sociology at Middlebury College and author Jamie McCallum. Jamie’s latest work titled, Essential: How the Pandemic Transformed the Long Fight for Worker Justice, digs deep into the of today’s working class rage and uncovers the unravelling of the nation’s social safety net and regulatory standards. Essential is an in-depth look into how the Covid -19 pandemic changed the American labor movement and how an unprecedented recogn...

Welcome to Grit Nation. On this episode I have the pleasure of speaking with Dan Kerrigan the author of Functional Firefighter Fitness. Though written for firefighters this book is packed full of solid advice to help you maximize your output on the job no matter what your trade is. We’ll open our conversation by discussing what it means to be “fit for duty” as we investigate the similarities construction industry professionals share with other craft that rely not only on their cognitive...

Welcome to Grit Nation. I'm Joe Cadwell, the host of the show, and on today's episode, I have the pleasure of speaking with the co-writer of a newly released book titled Dead in the Water, a true story of hijacking murderer and a global maritime conspiracy. His name is Matthew Campbell, and he's an award winning reporter and editor for Bloomberg BusinessWeek magazine. Together he and his co author Kitt Chellel, have put together a page turner of a book and a real triumph of investigative ...

Welcome to Grit Nation. In this episode I have the pleasure of speaking with journalist, professor of sociology and author Eyal Press. Eyal’s latest book titled Dirty Work – Essential Jobs and the Hidden Toll of Inequality in America, addresses the morally troubling work that society silently condones and the hidden class of workers who do it. Eyal and I begin our conversation by discussing the origins of the term Dirty Work and how the unconscious mandate it reveals is as...

Welcome to Grit Nation, I’m Joe Cadwell the host of the show and on today’s episode I have the pleasure of speaking with Waldo Waldman, a former Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, who is now a highly sought after motivational speaker and executive coach. He is also the author of The New York Times best seeking book, Never Fly Solo. Known to the tens of thousands of people who have attended his leadership seminars as the Wingman, Waldo’s unique and powerful presentation style was honed razor shar...

On today’s episode I have the pleasure of speaking with retired US Navy Commander, and author of the new fictional thriller, Secrets in Depth. His name is Joe Dituri and his laid-back persona and colorful and exciting life truly make for an interesting episode. We’ll open our conversation by learning about Joe’s journey as an enlisted sailor to being commanding officer in charge of the Navy’s’ deep submergence unit. Next, we’ll unpack his transition out of the spec-op commu...

Welcome to Grit Nation, I’m Joe Cadwell the host of the show and on today’s episode I have the pleasure of speaking with physician, adventurer and author of the newly published book titled, The Unseen Body. His name is Dr. Jonathan Reisman, and on today’s show Jonathan and I will discuss how his passion for, travel, prehistoric crafts, food, and practicing medicine all coalesced when writing his book. We’ll open our conversation as Jonathan explains how cutting into a cadaver in medical schoo...

On today’s episode I have the pleasure of talking with internationally acclaimed speaker and bestselling author, D.J. Vanas. D.J.’s latest work titled, The Warrior Within - Own Your Power to Serve, Fight, Protect and Heal, draws upon Native American philosophy and tradition to reveal insight on how to develop the resilience and toughness needed to face the overwhelming chaos and noise in today’s modern world. We’ll start our conversation as D.J. explains what the warrior spirit is...

Welcome to Grit Nation, I’m Joe Cadwell the host of the show and on today’s episode I have the pleasure of speaking with strength coach, self-defense instructor, and author, Varg Freeborn. I first came upon Varg’s unique perspective to self-defense and violence preparedness a few years ago and became a fan of his straight shooting, no BS philosophy. So, I was especially pleased to have the opportunity to talk with him recently. We’ll start our conversation as Varg details his chil...

Hi, I’m Joe Cadwell, writer, producer, and host of Grit Nation, but in this special episode of the Building Trades Podcast I’ll actually be the guest on someone else’s show. Join me today as I talk with Nate Wadsworth from the Essential Craftsman Podcast. If you haven’t heard of the Essential Craftsman, you should really check them out. I’m a big fan of their YouTube channel, which is hosted by Nate’s dad Scott, and in fact I have been recommending his video series to my carpenter...

On today’s episode I have the honor and privilege of speaking with Brian Bogert founder of the Brian Bogert Companies. Brian is a human behavior and performance coach, motivational speaker, and business strategist who has change the lives of thousands with his revolutionary coaching programs. Brian starts today’s conversation by sharing with us the horrific accident that he suffered as a child and then will explain how he was determined not to let that tragic moment define who he would become...

On today’s episode I have the pleasure of speaking with history professor and author Aaron Goings. Aaron’s latest work titled, The Port of Missing Men, is an in depth look into the life and legend surrounding Billy Gohl the charismatic, controversial and infamous labor organizer of the Sailors Union of the Pacific. After being convicted for the murder of a good friend, Billy was unjustly credited with the murder of dozens of port workers and was branded by the press as The G...

In this episode I’ll be talking with bestselling author Todd Brewster who together with co-writer Marc Lamont Hill have written Seen and Unseen – Technology, Social Media and the Fight for Racial Justice. This powerful book is a riveting exploration of the ways in which visual media has shaped the nations narrative on race and has fundamentally altered the centuries long battle for racial justice. We’ll open our conversation as Todd outlines his career as a journalist for Time/L...

Welcome to the Grit Nation podcast, I’m Joe Cadwell and in this episode I have the pleasure of speaking with logger, blacksmith, carpenter, and internet sensation Scott Wadsworth. Better known to over 1 million YouTube followers as the Essential Craftsman, Scott, together with his son Nate, have created a wealth of entertaining and educational videos designed to help anyone interested in learning more about blue-collar craft skills. Scotts laid back, straight shooting, and ...