Podcast
Dirt Talk Podcast
Hosted by BuildWitt · EN
Welcome to the Dirt World's top podcast (self-proclaimed). Every week, host Aaron Witt, founder of BuildWitt, interviews construction and mining industry leaders in long form and shares updates on what's happening inside of BuildWitt.
345episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Dragging Construction Into the Future - Tristan Wilson ( DT 450)
3d ago02:07:11Summary readyJune 11, 2026 Dragging Construction Into the Future - Tristan Wilson ( DT 450) Tristan Wilson is the founder of Edgevanta, an estimating automation software built for civil contractors, a former road construction operator, and author of a weekly newsletter covering construction technology and industry trends. He spent years on paving crews watching estimators hand-enter numbers into spreadsheets and wonder why nobody had fixed it yet — so he built the fix himself. He reveals why construction tech keeps failing contractors, why the industry is at a once-in-a-generation inflection point, and what it actually takes to drag one of the oldest industries in the world into the future. Follow Tristan on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tristan-a-wilson/ Learn more about Edgevanta at: https://www.edgevanta.ai/ Want to better develop your civil construction workforce and leaders? Check out BuildWitt Improve! https://buildwitt.com Questions or feedback? Email us at dirttalk@buildwitt.com! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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New Architecture, Frank and Announcements (Building BuildWitt 56) - DT449
6d ago00:13:08Summary readyJune 8, 2026 New Architecture, Frank and Announcements BuildWitt Update #56 – DT 449 Aaron recaps the wins and lessons learned at BuildWitt this week. Learn more about attending the 2026 Ariat Dirt World Summit by visiting https://events.dirtworld.com/event/summit-2026/summary Want to better train and develop your teams? Check out BuildWitt Improve! https://buildwitt.com/product Questions or feedback? Email us at dirttalk@buildwitt.com! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Why Construction Is Losing the Next Generation - Fred Mills (DT 448)
1w ago01:54:48Summary readyJune 4, 2026 Why Construction Is Losing the Next Generation - Fred Mills Fred Mills is the founder of The B1M, the world's largest YouTube channel dedicated to construction and infrastructure, a construction media pioneer, and author of the new book Mega Builds. He quit his job in construction the same week his son was born to build a media company nobody believed in — editing videos in hospital while his wife slept after giving birth. He reveals why the construction industry's mental health crisis isn't a people problem — it's a systems problem — and why the stories being left untold about the world's greatest projects are costing the industry an entire generation of talent. Follow Fred on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fred-mills-35a8412b/ Learn more about The B1M at: https://www.theb1m.com/ Check out the latest videos at: https://www.youtube.com/@TheB1M Want to better develop your civil construction workforce and leaders? Check out BuildWitt Improve! https://buildwitt.com Questions or feedback? Email us at dirttalk@buildwitt.com! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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African Mining Adventure (Building BuildWitt 55) - DT447
2w ago00:19:32Summary readyJune 1, 2026 African Mining Adventure BuildWitt Update #55 – DT 447 Aaron recaps the wins and lessons learned at BuildWitt this week. Learn more about attending the 2026 Ariat Dirt World Summit by visiting https://events.dirtworld.com/event/summit-2026/summary Want to better train and develop your teams? Check out BuildWitt Improve! https://buildwitt.com/product Questions or feedback? Email us at dirttalk@buildwitt.com! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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"It's Not the Pay, It Never Was" - Ken Rusk (DT446)
2w ago01:57:57Summary readyMay 28, 2026 It's Not the Pay, It Never Was Ken Rusk w/ Rusk Industries – DT 446 Ken Rusk is the author of Blue Collar Cash, founder of Rusk Industries, a drainage and excavation company in Toledo, Ohio, and a Fox News contributor who has appeared on over 327 podcasts in the past two years. He spent 40 years figuring out why some employees thrive and others just survive — and the answer had nothing to do with pay or benefits. He reveals why employers who can't find good workers are the actual problem — and the surprisingly simple system he's used for decades to turn blue collar workers into goal-crushing machines. Follow Ken on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ken-rusk-2656a7175/ Learn more about Rusk Industries at: https://www.kenrusk.com/ Want to better develop your civil construction workforce and leaders? Check out BuildWitt Improve! https://buildwitt.com Questions or feedback? Email us at dirttalk@buildwitt.com! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Dirt World Sold Out (Building BuildWitt 54) - DT445
3w ago00:14:25Summary readyMay 25, 2026 Dirt World Sold Out BuildWitt Update #54 – DT 445 Aaron recaps the wins and lessons learned at BuildWitt this week. Learn more about attending the 2026 Ariat Dirt World Summit by visiting https://events.dirtworld.com/event/summit-2026/summary Want to better train and develop your teams? Check out BuildWitt Improve! https://buildwitt.com/product Questions or feedback? Email us at dirttalk@buildwitt.com! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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They Tried to Undo 100 Years of His Family’s Work - Herb Sargent (DT 444)
3w ago02:16:33Summary readyMay 20, 2026 They Tried to Undo 100 Years of His Family's Work Herb Sargent w/ Sargent Corporation – DT 444 Herb Sargent is the Board Chair of Sargent Corporation, a 100-year-old employee-owned civil construction company in Maine, and co-host of the Starbuck & Sargent podcast. He bought back his family's company — six times the size of his own — the same year a German-owned parent company tried to undo everything his grandfather built. He reveals why the construction industry's biggest problem isn't workforce shortage, it's leadership — and why employee ownership might be the only vehicle left to rebuild the American middle class. His new book, “The Hard Work Starts Today,” documents the 100-year Sargent journey, from simple REO Speedwagon to a 9-figure business. Follow Herb on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/herb-sargent--esop/ Learn more about Sargent Corporation at: https://sargent.us/ Want to better train and develop your civil construction workforce and leaders? Check out BuildWitt Improve! https://buildwitt.com Questions or feedback? Email us at dirttalk@buildwitt.com! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Speaking, Waiting Lists and Solving Problems (Building BuildWitt #53) - DT443
4w ago00:12:20Summary readyMay 20, 2026 Speaking, Waiting Lists and Solving Problems BuildWitt Update #53 – DT 443 Aaron recaps the wins and lessons learned at BuildWitt this week. Learn more about attending the 2026 Ariat Dirt World Summit by visiting https://events.dirtworld.com/event/summit-2026/summary Want to better train and develop your teams? Check out BuildWitt Improve! https://buildwitt.com/product Questions or feedback? Email us at dirttalk@buildwitt.com! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Give Us the Dirt - Brandon Lindsey (DT 442)
May 1401:46:45Summary readyBrandon Lindsey is VP at Hoopaugh Grading Company, host of the Give Us the Dirt Podcast, and Co-Founder of Dream on 3, a sports dream-granting organization for kids battling life-altering conditions. He quit his 20-year corporate career the day he was finally offered the job he'd been working toward his whole life and joined Hoopaugh Grading in 2018. He reveals why the construction industry doesn't have a workforce problem - it has a development problem - and why the companies ignoring that are headed toward extinction. Follow Brandon on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandonlindsey272/ Learn more about Hoopaugh Grading Company and Dream on 3 at: https://hoopaughgrading.com/ and https://dreamon3.org/ Want to better develop your civil construction workforce and leaders? Check out BuildWitt Improve! https://buildwitt.com Questions or feedback? Email us at dirttalk@buildwitt.com! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Indian Adventure (Building BuildWitt #52) - DT441
May 1100:27:42Summary readyAaron recaps the wins and lessons learned at BuildWitt this week. Want to better train and develop your teams? Check out BuildWitt Improve! https://buildwitt.com/product Questions or feedback? Email us at dirttalk@buildwitt.com! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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