Preview Mode Links will not work in preview mode

The Way I Heard It with Mike Rowe

All good stories have a twist, and all great storytellers are just a little twisted. Join me for a different take on the people and events that you thought you knew, from pop culture to politics, Hollywood to history… The Way I Heard It is a series of short mysteries for the curious mind with a short attention span.

DISCLAIMER: Each episode of The Way I Heard It is a true story about a real person, place, or thing. With respect to the facts, I try to be as accurate as possible. However, the Internet is full of conflicting accounts, and it’s entirely possible you might hear me say something about a person or an event that contradicts something you heard or read elsewhere. If so, feel free to bring any discrepancy to my attention. Just remember – I’m not wrong. It’s just the way I heard it…

  1. All Episodes
  2. 500: Tamara Thornton—The Mother of Mach

Aug 25, 2026

What happens when your son drops out of MIT at 19, starts a defense company in his twenties, and sets out to reinvent the way America builds weapons? If you’re Tamara Thornton, you get a job.

In this episode, Mike sits down with the Head of Marketing and Communications at Mach Industries, Tamara Thornton, who also happens to be the mother of the founder and CEO, Ethan Thornton.

Ethan’s decision to leave MIT and pursue his vision for Mach has led to a company now valued at $1.8 billion. But the story gets more interesting when you hear it from his mother—and learn what Ethan was like long before he became a CEO.

It’s a revealing and often surprising conversation about family, ambition, risk, failure, manufacturing, and the remarkable journey from a kid who liked to blow stuff up to the leader of one of America’s fastest-growing defense companies.

At the center of it all is a fascinating question: What happens when the son you raised becomes your boss?

Shout out to our great sponsors

PureTalk.com/ROWE—Switch your phone service today and enjoy your first three months of talk, text, and data for just $15 a month regardless of which plan you choose.

BuildFreedom.us—The best place to find a six-figure, AI-proof job. Build your future. Rebuild America.