Advertise on podcast: Line Life Podcast

Every year, thousands of lineworkers and their loved ones travel to Kansas City for International Lineman's Rodeo Week, and this Line Life Podcast episode puts them in the spotlight. The guests for this episode include Lineworker Bryce Zahn and two of his three sons, who talk about apprenticeship life, storm response and the excitement of the annual Kids Rodeo.  If you have photos of your families you'd like to share with us for our new "Lineman's Rodeo Roundup" page on our T&D World website and our Lineman's Rodeo News enewsletter, please tag us @linemenworld on Instagram or email them to Amy Fischbach, Host of the Line Life Podcast.  Also, stop by T&D World Booth #001 on Oct. 15 and 16 at the Overland Park Convention Center to participate in a podcast recording, spin the wheel to win prizes, pick up a copy of the T&D World Lineworker Supplement and enter a drawing for a Milwaukee Tool prize package. We hope to see you there!

The 2026 International Lineman's Rodeo is just around the corner, and the competition will feature journeyman teams from around the world. One of the teams returning to the Rodeo is the first all-female journeyman team in the history of the competition: Cody James, Cassie Crabtree and Courtney Lupinek.  The team from IBEW Local 77 in the Pacific Northwest was sponsored by Norse FR last year. During this episode of the Line Life Podcast, they share their stories about entering the line trade, working storms and overcoming challenges in the field. They also offer advice to other women looking to get into line work, such as starting out as a groundman, going to line school and earning a CDL.  Learn more about this team by listening to the audio story, "Tribute to Team Trios," in our ICYMI series for the Line Life Podcast. Also, for more Rodeo coverage, check out our new International Lineman's Rodeo Roundup page on the T&D World website. If you have photos, videos or stories you want to share with us from the 2026 event, please email them to Amy Fischbach, host of the Line Life Podcast, or tag us @linemenworld on Instagram. Also, stop by Booth #001 at the International Lineman's Expo to participate in a recording for a future podcast episode, spin the wheel for prizes and enter a drawing for a Milwaukee Tool prize package. We look forward to seeing you and your families in Kansas City!

At the 2026 Trees & Utilities Conference this September in Portland, Oregon, more than 1,200 arborists, foresters, and utility vegetation managers gathered to share technologies, best practices, and strategies—especially around wildfire risk mitigation and a rapidly growing utility vegetation management (UVM) workload. The event, presented by the Utility Arborist Association (UAA) and the Arbor Day Foundation, featured 300+ exhibitors, a new integrated Women in Vegetation Management program, student mentorships and announcements about industry education partnerships and next year’s conference in Cincinnati. Listen to this episode, which features Dennis Fallon, executive director of the Utility Arborist Association (UAA), to learn more about this year's event. Also stay tuned to the T&D World website for a photo gallery from the event and to the Line Life Podcast for more UVM-related episodes. You can also submit an abstract for the 2027 T&D World Vegetation Management Supplement, published each June in partnership with the UAA. For more UVM content, subscribe to the Vegetation Management & Wildfire Mitigation enewsletter. Thanks for tuning in!

T&D World celebrates the line trade by covering storm response year-round. For our April 2026 cover story, we highlighted Entergy's response to Winter Storm Fern. This story is now part of our Line Life Podcast ICYMI series, which brings articles from the magazine to the airwaves so field subscribers can listen on the go.  Entergy coordinated a massive, safety-first restoration after Winter Storm Fern, mobilizing thousands of mutual assistance workers to repair poles, wires, substations and transformers across Louisiana and Mississippi. Facing ice, downed trees, and frozen roads, crews used specialized equipment and methodical processes to restore power while protecting workers and communities. To hear about the day in the life of one of the lineworkers responding to Winter Storm Fern, listen to the end of the episode for a sidebar written by Brandon Scardigli of Entergy. To read the full article online, go to the T&D World website.  Also,  lineworkers, if you have a storm story you'd like to share with us at T&D World, please email high-resolution photos of the damage caused by the storm and your crews restoring power to Amy Fischbach, Head of Content for T&D World and host of the Line Life Podcast. We look forward to hearing from you!

In this episode of the T&D World Line Life Podcast, Journeyman Lineman Michael Bulger of Xcel Energy shares stories from a career that began as a groundman and took him from traveling contractor work to electrical troubleshooting and, ultimately, utility management in Boulder, Colorado. Bulger, an electric operations manager for Xcel Energy, shares lessons he’s learned from storm restoration — including his experiences helping communities in Puerto Rico and responding to Hurricane Maria — and why lineworkers should approach every workday with the same heightened awareness they bring to a major storm. He also discusses how safety culture has changed over the years, the importance of thoughtful job planning, opportunities in the line trade and the tools and technologies he considers true “game changers."  From getting the lights back on for children at a school in Puerto Rico to finding safer ways to perform dangerous tasks, Bulger offers a firsthand look at what it means to build a career in the power industry — and why he believes the future of the trade is in good hands.

With the 2026 International Lineman's Rodeo Week around the corner, we are featuring the article "Tribute to Team Trios" from the March 2026 issue of T&D World magazine for our ICYMI series for the Line Life Podcast.  This episode shines a spotlight on three journeyman teams at last year's event: the first all-women team, the Sturgeon Electric/IBEW Local 77 championship trio and Duke Energy’s journeyman team, which participated in last year's event after taking a year off to respond to back-to-back hurricanes in their service territory.  For more information, read the story on the T&D World website. Also, if you plan to be at the 2026 International Lineman's Rodeo in mid-October in Kansas City, please swing by the T&D World booth to participate in a podcast recording for a future episode, pick up a copy of the 2026 Lineworker Supplement, enter a drawing and compete for prizes on the show floor. We look forward to seeing you!

For Part 2 of our two-part Line Life Podcast series on safety in the line trade, Max Fuentes shares practical safety advice for young and aspiring lineworkers, stressing continuous training, effective tailboards and pre-job briefings and the importance of having observers and teamwork during live-line work. He outlines common causes of accidents — poor rigging, damaged PPE, induction hazards, incorrect grounding and inadequate traffic control — and urges following procedures, learning from experienced lineworkers and prioritizing getting home safely each night. To listen to Part 1 of this series, visit the Line Life Podcast on Podbean or your favorite podcasting app. Thanks for listening to and sharing this episode to keep lineworkers safe in the field. For more information about safety in the line trade, you can attend the 2026 International Lineman's Rodeo Safety and Training Conference this October. While you're in Kansas City, stop by the T&D World booth at the International Lineman's Expo to participate in a future podcast recording for the Line Life Podcast.

This episode for our ICYMI series for the Line Life Podcast highlights the life-and-death importance of safety oversight for lineworkers, sharing injury and fatality statistics and explaining how active field oversight reduces risk. This audio story is narrated from an article from the February 2026 issue of T&D World in our field-focused Electric Utility Operations section. In the story, Kirk Coffey, director of client solutions at ATK Energy Group, shares how utilities can implement independent oversight programs to provide an extra layer of protection for their field workforce. To read the full story online, visit the T&D World website.  If you have a story you'd like to share with us for publication in T&D World magazine, please email Amy Fischbach, Head of Content for T&D World and host of the Line Life Podcast. We look forward to hearing from you and sharing your stories with our readers and subscribers in our magazine and as part of our ICYMI series for the Line Life Podcast.

What happens when decades of hard-earned knowledge leave the utility industry faster than it can be passed on? For Part 1 of this two-part Line Life podcast series, Host Amy Fischbach has a conversation with Max Fuentes, owner of Fuentes Consulting. He discusses the state of the line trade — and the lessons he believes today's workforce cannot afford to lose. During this episode, Max takes listeners through his more than four decades in the industry. After retiring in 2015, he transitioned into consulting, safety and training and expert witness work. That experience has given him a unique perspective on how line work has changed and where he believes today's practices may be creating new challenges. For example, as an expert witness, he said he has seen disturbing trends in injuries and fatalities, particularly among younger workers, and he questions whether utilities are doing enough to examine what happens before and after serious incidents. For more information, stay tuned for Part 2 of this series on Podbean or your favorite podcasting app. Also, look for a new article authored by Max in T&D World's field-focused Electric Utility Operations section in the October 2026 issue, soon to be available at tdworld.com.

This ICYMI episode for the Line Life Podcast explores ComEd’s new 2,800-sq-ft Testing and Commissioning Engineering (TCE) lab — a simulated substation control room where engineers train on protection, control and commissioning systems in a realistic, safe environment. The lab accelerates workforce readiness, reinforces safety and troubleshooting skills and supports ComEd’s long-range plan to modernize and expand the grid to meet rising power demands. The story, which went online as "ComEd's Advanced Substation Training and Grid Expansion," was originally published in the March 2026 issue of T&D World magazine as "Empowering Engineers to Work on the Future Grid." To read the article, visit the website. Also, if you would like to share your story of how your utility is training your workforce, please email Amy Fischbach, host of the Line Life Podcast and Head of Content for T&D World. We would love to help you share your story in T&D World and on the Line Life Podcast!

James Respeto, lead supervisor, power delivery, for Avangrid. has spent nearly four decades in the electric utility industry, growing from a meter reader into an overhead line supervisor, trainer, mentor and safety leader. In this episode, he reflects on the career that has taken him across North America responding to major storms, rebuilding damaged electrical systems, and helping communities recover after disasters. James discusses what it takes to safely work long restoration shifts, the importance of communication and trust during mutual aid assignments and why every crew member — regardless of experience — has both the responsibility and the authority to speak up about safety. He also shares his passion for mentoring apprentices, supporting ethical leadership within the organization and encouraging his own son to pursue a future in the line trade.

This week for the Line Life Podcast, we are releasing a bonus episode, originally aired for our sister podcast, T&D World Live. In this episode, Editorial Director Nikki Chandler sits down with Chad Schimpf, Operations Safety Supervisor at Ameren Illinois, to discuss a life-changing incident that transformed both his career and his mission.   After spending more than two decades as a lineman, Chad survived a 7,200-V electrical contact that easily could have been fatal. Rather than hiding from the experience, he chose to openly share the decisions that led to the incident and the lessons that followed. Today, he has become one of the utility industry's strongest advocates for safety culture, leadership accountability and honest conversations that prevent serious injuries and fatalities.   Chad explains how small shortcuts, overconfidence and the mindset of "that's how we've always done it" can create dangerous conditions — even in organizations with strong safety programs. He reflects on the physical and emotional recovery after the incident, the difficult conversations with his family and coworkers and how his faith helped shape a new purpose focused on helping others avoid similar mistakes.   The discussion also explores why leadership plays such a critical role in creating psychological safety, encouraging employees to speak up, investing in ongoing training and building workplace cultures where stopping work or asking for help is viewed as a strength rather than a weakness.   To learn more about safety in the line trade, make sure you attend the 2026 International Lineman's Rodeo Safety and Training Conference this October. We look forward to seeing you in Kansas City!

Utility strikes cost more than $30 billion annually in the United States alone. This ICYMI episode of the T&D World Line Life Podcast explores how the Model for Underground Data Definition and Integration (MUDDI) and the UK’s National Underground Asset Register (NUAR) are harmonizing underground data to help utilities identify buried pipes and cables, reduce excavation risks and protect their field workforce. To read the article by Scott Simmons of the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC), visit the T&D World website.

In the line trade, lineworkers strive to work safely and efficiently, and new tools and technologies help to improve productivity and ensure they get home safely to their families every night. During this episode of the Line Life Podcast, we are featuring guest Miles Bell, a journeyman lineworker with 11 years in the trade, who is now working as a tools and methods specialist. In this role, he supports crews in the field, makes job-site visits and analyzes tools and technologies for lineworkers.  He also shares an update on the Hurricane Helene restoration, his lessons learned for storm response and his experiences competing at the International Lineman's Rodeo.  If you want to be part of a future episode, swing by the T&D World booth at the 2026 International Lineman's Expo, where we will be giving out free T-shirts and temporary tattoos for line families. We look forward to seeing you there!

Our ICYMI series for the Line Life Podcast brings stories from the pages of T&D World to life as audio stories. This episode features an article from our February 2026 issue of T&D World magazine on lessons learned from Hurricane Helene. Glenn Edwards, manager, distribution systems for AEP's Appalachian Power, shares the story of how in just 10 days, his company's crews and mutual aid partners logged more than 1 million work hours, replaced 1,485 poles, installed 471 transformers and rebuilt 214 miles of wire. In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Appalachian Power transformed storm response by adopting digital workforce management tools from Arcos. This episode highlights the shift from paper-based, bird dog-led workflows to shared, real-time coordination that improved safety, accelerated restoration and enabled efficient scaling of mutual aid resources. To read the full story, visit the T&D World website.  Also, we at the Line Life Podcast wish all of our listeners a Happy National Lineworker Appreciation Day on July 10. If you post at #thankalineworker, make sure you tag T&D World at Linemen World on Instagram or our other social media channels so we can put your crew in the spotlight. Thanks for all you do to keep the lights on and the power flowing!