The Manufacturing Report

New Hampshire is poised to join dozens of other states and the federal government in passing legislation that would reinvest taxpayer dollars into local workers and communities. State Sen. Tom Sherman shares how the bill has bridged the partisan divide in its aim of cultivating a more robust and independent domestic manufacturing base for the state's most vital infrastructure.

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When Mitch Cahn founded his custom apparel and accessory company, Unionwear, committing to a unionized workforce was one of his first steps. Listen in for why it’s been the foundation of his success and how the Newark, N.J., company is evolving to be cost-competitive with even offshore manufacturers and navigating the challenges of the current labor market.

Photo courtesy Unionwear

Guatemala-born Consuelo Poland Lockhart had long planned a career in the arts when a foray into welding sparked a new trajectory. Now, she’s making it her mission to show Latina and non-Latina women in Central Indiana that they have a place behind the blowtorch with her nonprofit, Latinas Welding Guild.

Photo by Jonathan Galeano

As Russia's unrestrained aggression and its alliance with China roils geopolitics, America's relationship with Beijing is under ever greater pressure. Isaac Stone Fish, CEO of research firm Strategy Risks and author of "America Second: How America's Elites Are Making China Stronger", reveals the deep network of China's influence in America's highest circles of power that shapes the United States' relationship with Beijing.

Photo courtesy Isaac Stone Fish

Supply chain chaos and geopolitical unrest is forcing trade policy and domestic manufacturing to “the middle of the conversation” for policymakers and brands alike. But American Giant, the Made in America apparel brand, is well prepared to offer some answers. Listen in for how American Giant CEO Bayard Winthrop is expanding his business and investing in the men and women who make America work.

Photo courtesy American Giant

As the nation tuned into this year’s State of the Union address, a special few Americans were invited to join First Lady Jill Biden in the audience. Second-generation steelworker and U.S. Army veteran Joseph “JoJo” Burgess was among those honored guests. But this wasn’t Burgess’s first time meeting President Biden.

Official White House Photo by Erin Scott

More than 5 million jobs were lost over the past two decades due to the impacts of globalization, and workers of color were hit the hardest, according to new research from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). National Economic Association President Valerie Wilson, an author of the EPI report, joins the podcast to share how smart policy can increase valuable manufacturing jobs for all workers. And, United Steelworkers Local 9462 President Kameen Thompson offers how his factory job has contributed to his success.

Photo courtesy of Kameen Thompson

Ben Napier, who stars in HGTV's "Home Town" alongside his wife Erin, dreamed of opening his own factory since childhood. Now he’s opened a factory to make butcher blocks, creating the family-supporting manufacturing jobs that he hopes will be his legacy. Listen in for Ben’s plan for the Scotsman Manufacturing Company factory — and how the 1995 movie “Tommy Boy” inspired it.

Check out our past interviews with Ben: https://soundcloud.com/keep-it-made-in-america/hgtvs-ben-napier-shares-the-view-from-americas-favorite-small-town; soundcloud.com/keep-it-made-in-america/why-the-stars-of-hgtvs-home-town-keep-it-made-in-america

Photo courtesy of Scotsman Manufacturing Company

Bringing transparency to federal purchasing and an innovative approach to expanding the federal government’s reliance on domestic supply chains, the Made in America Office (MIAO) has been hard at work since its creation via President Biden's executive order one year ago. Celeste Drake, the office’s first director, joins the podcast to share what the MIAO has accomplished so far and the project that’s consuming most of her office’s time right now.

Photo courtesy of the Made in America Office

Amid a growing global outcry against rampant human rights abuses, China is set to host the Winter 2022 Olympics. In this episode, the Human Rights Watch’s Director of Global Initiatives, Minky Worden, explains why the International Olympics Committee and the Olympics corporate sponsors must prove that its supply chains are free of forced labor.

Photo by llee_wu via Flickr