Line Life Podcast

Join the T&D World Line Life Podcast as we recap the record-setting 2025 International Lineman's Rodeo Week in Kansas City — a week of safety training, cutting-edge tools on the trade show floor, Trade Night traditions and the intense competition that showcases the best in the line trade.

Hear stories of resilience and self-preservation in the line trade from the safety and training conference and discover how the industry come...

In this special episode celebrating the 2026 National Lineman Appreciation Day, Line Life Podcast Host Amy Fischbach shares favorite clips from past podcast interviews featuring lineworkers recounting why they joined the trade, unforgettable storms and the camaraderie that keeps the lights on.

Listeners will hear voices from across the industry — from apprentices to veterans — with stories of resilience, community response to disas...

For more than four decades, the International Lineman's Rodeo has brought the line trade together for camaraderie and competition. Last October, the Rodeo Week drew a record crowd of more than 5,000 attendees. Apprentices and journeymen lineworkers competed in the Pole Climb, Hurtman Rescue and mystery events that showcased safety, skill, tradition and teamwork.

This Line Life Podcast episode revisits top winners, memorable moments...

Because lineworkers are heroes and first responders, they have been celebrated in songs, books and movies. For this episode of the T&D World Line Life Podcast, we are featuring an interview with William Wister Haines, Jr., the son of the author of Slim and the companion book, High Tension.

During this episode, William shares the story of how his father's book, inspired by his work in the line trade, became not only a national b...

This episode in our ICYMI series for the T&D World Line Life Podcast tells the story of the Wataynikaneyap Power Transmission Project. This $1.9 billion CAD Indigenous-led partnership connected 17 remote First Nations in northwest Ontario to the provincial grid, replacing costly diesel generators with clean, reliable electricity.

Learn how 24 First Nations, Fortis and partners overcame remote logistics, governance challenges, a...

In this episode of the T&D World Line Life Podcast, we are highlighting Shawn Becker, a first-year lineman student at Ozarks Technical Community College and a member of the U.S. Army National Guard. Shawn shares how he discovered the line trade, got involved with the training program and made connections during the International Linemen’s Rodeo week.

Listen for stories about military service, the lineman community and brotherho...

In this ICYMI episode of the Line Life Podcast, we are sharing the narrated version of an article from the November 2025 issue of T&D World magazine on how Ameren Illinois is using new technology to inspect aging sub-transmission conductors and prioritize line rebuilds.

The utility manages more than 45,000 miles of power lines supported by about 1.3 million utility poles, including 2,000 high-strength composite poles. Ameren Il...

In this episode of the T&D World Line Life Podcast, Host Amy Fischbach interviews Zane Stephenson, a student in the lineman training program at Metropolitan Community College–Kansas City. Zane shares his training experiences, early memories of his grandfather's time in the trade and what drew him to line work.

The conversation highlights safety lessons learned at the International Lineman's Rodeo's Safety and Training Conferenc...

In the electric utility industry, lineworkers often retire with years of experience and take that knowledge with them. Eversource discovered a way to bridge the knowledge gap by overhauling its electric and gas training using multimodal digital tools, e-books and mobile apps. This episode of the Line Life Podcast features a narrated version of the article "Eversource Advances Workforce Training" from the November 2025 field-focused...

This episode of the Line Life Podcast features Susan Blaser, a 2020 International Linemen Hall of Fame inductee and the first female journeyman lineworker in Missouri. Line Life Podcast Host Amy Fischbach interviews Susan about her career in the field, her role training students at Metropolitan Community College-Kansas City and her work promoting safety and inclusion in the line trade.

Topics include on-the-job safety (hydration, h...

The line trade gives apprentices the opportunity to earn while they learn and train for a lifelong career powering their communities. Before they even join an apprenticeship program, however, some high school graduates are learning the basics of line work through a pre-apprenticeship. For example, our latest ICYMI episode of the Line Life Podcast highlights the one-year Electric Utility Technology Program at Des Moines Area Communi...

For the third part of our Line Life Podcast series on Lineman Hall of Famers, we are featuring an interview with Bill Bosch, vice president of apprenticeship and client solutions for Northwest Lineman College (NLC). He has worked in a variety of different operations, safety, training and management roles over his more than 45 years in the line trade.

He also founded the National Association of Journeymen Linemen to promote the brot...

The powerline industry is entering a new era, shaped by the rise of smart grid technologies. These tools raise important questions. How will these innovations impact the job and how do line workers adapt to make the work safer and more efficient?

In this sponsored episode, managing editor Jeff Postelwait chats with Lea Maurer (Business Development Director at S&C Electric Company) about the push for more reliable, resilient pow...

By leveraging the power of AI, electric utilities nationwide are discovering ways to improve the efficiency and safety of their field crews. For example, the Grid Operations team at Southern California Edison (SCE) launched the AWARE system two years ago to mitigate outages, expedite restoration and improve productivity for the field workforce. 

Listen to the narrated version of the October 2025 cover story to learn how the AWARE s...

Brandon Wylie, who was inducted into the International Lineman Hall of Fame in 2023, is the guest for Part 2 of our Hall of Famers series. He has more than 27 years of experience in the power line industry and currently serves as a regional director of training for Quanta Services in the Southeast. In this role, he leads workforce development, safety and leadership training initiatives across multiple operating companies.

Before jo...

Every year, we try to feature a storm-related article in our annual T&D World Lineworker Supplement. The article, "Extreme Storms," pays tribute to the line crews who worked long hours on the line to restore power and rebuild infrastructure in the wake of severe storms in their service territories. 

This audio story shines the spotlight on three major storms: a bomb cyclone in Washington, a historic ice storm in Michigan and to...

The new location for the International Lineman's Museum and Hall of Fame may still be underway in Florida, but Journeyman Lineman Robert Padgett has been collecting historical tools and artifacts throughout his 31 years in the trade. During this episode of the T&D World Line Life Podcast, we kick off the New Year by featuring a new series showcasing Padgett and others inducted into the Lineman Hall of Fame.

Padgett started work...

For our third and final part of our series on safeguarding mental health in the line trade, we are featuring the how-to sidebars from the article, "Prioritizing the Mental Health of First Responders." 

Discover ways to focus on your well-being, look out for your crew members, and heal following a near-miss or a tragedy by listening to this Line Life Podcast episode.

While you're on Podbean, also check out Part 1, featuring a narrat...

For Part 2 of our Line Life Podcast series on mental health in the line trade, we are featuring an interview with Jennifer Lavin, the founder of Union Care Solutions, which supports mental health and peer support across the power industry.

She was featured in the article "Prioritizing the Mental Health of First Responders" in the 2025 T&D World Lineworker Supplement. Jenny also delivered the presentation, "Protection Under the ...