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.