On Day thirteen of the trip, we talk with Chad Rosen - founder of Victory Hemp Foods.   Chad moved from California in 2014 and put down roots in Northern Kentucky, where Victory Hemp Foods is based. Chad was on the cutting edge of developing Hemp as a legal, American crop and is dedicated to bringing hemp into the rural economy where sustainable economic development is a priority. www.victoryhempfoods.com

This Craft Nation

S1E10 | Chad Rosen | Victory Hemp Foods | Carrollton, KY

We talk with Wes Shugart who founded Music City Leathers, continuing an American tradition by making custom cowboy boots, by hand the old way.  Wes lends an interesting historical perspective, along with a wealth of knowledge about how custom boots go beyond fashion statements and live as an example of functional art.  www.musiccityleather.com     

TCN S3E9 | Wes Shugart | Music City Leathers | Nashville, TN

In Part Two of this incredible farm-tour interview with the legendary Joel Salatin of Polyface Farms, we talk more about the overall farm rotation, but also get deeper into the food systems at large, how food gets to the consumer and how our choices can make a difference.  http://www.polyfacefarms.com/ http://www.polyfacefarms.com/joels-bio/

TCN S3E8 | Joel Salatin | Polyface Farms | Swoope, VA | Part 2

In Part I of a two-part interview, we tour Polyface Farms with the passionate and whip-smart, Joel Salatin, the "Lunatic Farmer."  Joel shows us everything from his cow-manure-composting pig beds to his mowing and mobbing cattle and his mobile chicken rigs, in this walking tour with loads of information about sustainable agriculture.

TCN S3E7 | Joel Salatin | Polyface Farms | Swoope, VA |PART I

Kyle and Fred get a solid night of farmhouse-quality sleep in upstate New York, and enjoy a heartfelt conversation with Deanna Fox,  a food writer, teacher and a kind, supportive voice towards compelling stories and quality-driven, mindfully sourced, food and drink.

TCN S3E6 | Deanna Fox | Albany Cooking School | Upstate NY

Fred and Kyle talk about the world of beer with John Holl, Co-founder and editor of Beer Edge and host of the Drink Beer, Think Beer podcast, over morning beers at Departed Soles brewery in Jersey City, New Jersey

TCN S3E5 | John Holl | Beer Edge | Jersey City

Roger Sadowsky leads Fred and Kyle on a tour of Sadowsky Guitars in a warehouse building in Long Island, NY.  Roger is a world-renown maker, and he generously shares how his approach and methods developed over the years, including the impact of working with clients like Marcus Miller and Will Lee early in his career.  

TCN S3E4 | Roger Sadowsky | Sadowsky Guitars | Long Island, NY

Kyle and Fred arrive in Baltimore, MD and meet Founder and President of the American Distilling Institute Bill Owens for gin and tonics and lively conversation about brewing, distilling, photography and travel. 

TCN S3E3 | Bill Owens | American Distilling Institute

Fred, Kyle, Jeff and Seth introduce the interviews from Third Man Records in the Cass Corridor of Detroit, MI.  They talk about the origin story of Third Man Records, and the context and method of pressing vinyl in the digital age.  

TCN S3E2 | David Buick & Eddie Gillis | Third Man Records - Detroit

Fred and Kyle connect digitally and reflect on the current state of the project, how COVID-19 will impact the marketplace for makers and craftspeople, and what to expect in Season 3. 

TCN S3E1 Season Opener | Fred and Kyle from the Quarantine

In our final episode of this mini-series of Farm Aid interviews, we talk with Jennifer Fahy, Communications Director for Farm Aid. Jennifer helped put our whole day together and brings an interesting perspective to the entire series that balances the history of Farm Aid with their current and very forward-moving mission and message. 

TCN S2E11 | Jennifer Fahy | Farm Aid 2018

At Farm Aid's 2018 Farm Advocate event, On the Road to Resilience, we were fortunate to talk with Savi Horne, Executive Director of the Land Loss Prevention Project  founded in 1982 by the North Carolina Association of Black Lawyers to curtail epidemic losses of Black owned land in North Carolina.  Savi put many things into perspective, and helped us understand the severity of systemic discrimination; then and now. Joe Schroeder was the in-house Farm Advocate for Farm Aid, overseeing the hotline and working to connect farmers to the resources and organizations that could help.  Like Savi, Joe is straight and to the point; explaining several origins of farm crisis, and how the situation today is similar and different from the crisis of the eighties.  We recently learned that Joe has since gone on to work with farmers in another way.  Farm Aid wishes him well and continues to work with the passion Joe did to bring new farm advocates to the movement.

TCN S2E10 | Savi Horne & Joe Schroeder | Farm Aid 2018

 We continue our Farm Aid 2018 series of interviews from "On the Road to Resilience" with Farm Advocates from across the country, talking with Niaz Dorry, Coordinating Director at Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance (NAMA) and Executive Director at National Family Farm Coalition (NFFC).  Niaz generously shares her passionate insights on the steps of Lyceum Center in Hartford Connecticut.      

TCN S2E9 |Niaz Dorry | Farm Aid

Fred and Kyle chat with Chef Brandon Johns, owner of Grange Kitchen and Bar in Ann Arbor, Michigan at the tail end of Day Two of the original TCN trip.  Brandon and his crew have been on the bleeding edge of farm-to-table cooking for more than a decade. This rollicking conversation between old friends gets into the nitty gritty of quality and locally conscious cooking and eating; while often comically veering off into the ridiculous.    

TCN S2E8 | Brandon Johns | Grange Kitchen and Bar

We met with Shirley during the all-day workshop for the Farm Advocates in Farm Aid's amazing and inspiring Farm Advocate network.  Her intersection with Farm Aid began in 1986 when she was the Georgia state lead for the Federation of Southern Cooperatives at the inaugural United Farmer and Rancher Congress in 1986, in St. Louis, Missouri. Shirley's story, compassion and humility is moving and compelling.

TCN S2E7 | Shirley Sherrod | Farm Aid

We are setting out on a cross-country quest to further understand the makers movement and craft renaissance. We will take our readers and listeners deep into the creative combustion engine of our country; talking to the colorful characters who hold the deeper truths of This Craft Nation.

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