PJ Vogt

They'd take that invention, and instead of doing the normal thing, sending their design to be manufactured outside of America, they'd attempt to make it here with American workers. How hard could that be? I mean, it wasn't an iPhone or a laptop. It was a barbecue scrubber. But Destin, of course, would run into all kinds of interesting problems.

They'd take that invention, and instead of doing the normal thing, sending their design to be manufactured outside of America, they'd attempt to make it here with American workers. How hard could that be? I mean, it wasn't an iPhone or a laptop. It was a barbecue scrubber. But Destin, of course, would run into all kinds of interesting problems.

They'd take that invention, and instead of doing the normal thing, sending their design to be manufactured outside of America, they'd attempt to make it here with American workers. How hard could that be? I mean, it wasn't an iPhone or a laptop. It was a barbecue scrubber. But Destin, of course, would run into all kinds of interesting problems.

And he'd start to understand the deeper reasons why it's so hard these days to build new things in America. Before we get to the interesting problems Destin would encounter, I actually want to start the story before those problems ever existed. I want Destin to tell the story of how he learned to make stuff.

And he'd start to understand the deeper reasons why it's so hard these days to build new things in America. Before we get to the interesting problems Destin would encounter, I actually want to start the story before those problems ever existed. I want Destin to tell the story of how he learned to make stuff.

And he'd start to understand the deeper reasons why it's so hard these days to build new things in America. Before we get to the interesting problems Destin would encounter, I actually want to start the story before those problems ever existed. I want Destin to tell the story of how he learned to make stuff.

What it was like growing up in Morgan County, Alabama, where that just seemed to be what everybody did.

What it was like growing up in Morgan County, Alabama, where that just seemed to be what everybody did.

What it was like growing up in Morgan County, Alabama, where that just seemed to be what everybody did.

How and why that all went away, that's not actually today's story, but nobody really argues that it did. When Destin was growing up in the 80s, there were about 19 million American manufacturing jobs. Millions of those jobs began evaporating in the 2000s, around when Destin's parents retired. They hit a low of 11 million in 2010. Destin watched that sharp downhill graph in his hometown.

How and why that all went away, that's not actually today's story, but nobody really argues that it did. When Destin was growing up in the 80s, there were about 19 million American manufacturing jobs. Millions of those jobs began evaporating in the 2000s, around when Destin's parents retired. They hit a low of 11 million in 2010. Destin watched that sharp downhill graph in his hometown.

How and why that all went away, that's not actually today's story, but nobody really argues that it did. When Destin was growing up in the 80s, there were about 19 million American manufacturing jobs. Millions of those jobs began evaporating in the 2000s, around when Destin's parents retired. They hit a low of 11 million in 2010. Destin watched that sharp downhill graph in his hometown.

He watched jobs go away and not come back. But he knew he wanted to make stuff, and so he aimed himself at the place where jobs still did exist, engineering.

He watched jobs go away and not come back. But he knew he wanted to make stuff, and so he aimed himself at the place where jobs still did exist, engineering.

He watched jobs go away and not come back. But he knew he wanted to make stuff, and so he aimed himself at the place where jobs still did exist, engineering.

What does an intern do at a place that makes jet fuel pumps for aircraft? Like, what do they let the intern do?

What does an intern do at a place that makes jet fuel pumps for aircraft? Like, what do they let the intern do?

What does an intern do at a place that makes jet fuel pumps for aircraft? Like, what do they let the intern do?

Not the oatmeal cream pies. I'm not crazy about the oatmeal cream pies.

Not the oatmeal cream pies. I'm not crazy about the oatmeal cream pies.