Many of us working in the asphalt world must travel. Whether we’re driving to visit customers, to attend a conference or simply going to another one of our plant locations – there can be a lot of windshield time! And listening to the news, true crime podcast or music can get a bit boring over time – or talking to your coworkers that hitched a ride. To avoid the awkward silence, why not listen to an entertaining and hopefully educational asphalt podcast? I sampled some of the podcasts that are out there, so you don’t have to.
Asphalt Talk – a podcast dedicated to all things asphalt and the people who work with it, by Dale Williams and Rick Biermann (Missouri Asphalt Pavement Association). Every episode features a new guest and some in depth conversation about the challenges and changes in our industry. Episodes typically are 15-30 minutes. Dale keeps the conversation lighthearted and leaves his guests a lot of room to talk without too many interruptions. Regional focus on Missouri, well done and entertaining.
Favorite episode: Interview with Asphalt Institute President Reed Ryan, back then Executive Director of the Asphalt Pavement Alliance.
Asphalt Talk | A podcast dedicated to all things asphalt.
Blacktop Banter – an asphalt industry podcast. Marvin Joles has published 187 episodes of this podcast about a wide variety of subjects related to the world of asphalt. The podcast ended on December 31, 2024, but is still available on Apple Podcast and Spotify. This is mostly geared toward the business owners in the paving industry and some episodes center around motivation and finding meaning and success specifically as entrepreneur in the paving industry. Others deal with application, equipment, new technologies and even asphalt-based sports. Overall, a very professionally produced podcast, but with the sheer number of episodes one would probably need to cherry pick the episodes that are of interest. Episodes vary in length; some are only very loosely connected to the asphalt industry.
Favorite episode: From Failing Family Business to a $10 Million Powerhouse
Pave it Black – the official podcast of the National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA). Great title and a very interesting podcast, hosts Richard Willis and Bret Williams cover a wide variety of topics from our industry with an emphasis on leadership, people, industry standards and innovation. Episodes are typically around 10-20 minutes and feature a guest. Some episodes feature international guests and topics from other countries. Catchy Theme Song! Available on all streaming platforms. Highly recommend checking out the Pave it Black section of on the NAPA website, good summary of the episodes and easy to navigate.
Favorite Episode: Putting Your People First
Pave It Black (Podcast) – National Asphalt Pavement Association
Everyday Asphalt – hosted by Jim Warren with the Texas Asphalt Industry Association. The podcast concentrates on Asphalt Pavement Materials, Design, Maintenance and Construction. Like the other podcasts, every episode features one or more guests from Texas, featuring practical discussions, looking at the science behind Asphalt Paving. Lively and entertaining, regional focus on Texas. Episodes are approximately 30-60 Minutes.
Favorite Episode: Launching the Asphalt Pavement Exchange
Everyday Asphalt – Texas Asphalt Pavement Association
Asphalt Talk (a different one) – My last review will be of a German Podcast. It is part of a digital platform – Super Site Skills – for the construction industry. Host Florian Alber discusses trends in the asphalt and construction industry with his guests. The focus here is on educating students and industry members on new developments, with a focus on sustainability. I found this podcast interesting, albeit very detailed and not overly entertaining. Overall, quite a bit harder to digest that it’s North American namesake. Episodes are approximately 45 minutes long and the podcast is available on Spotify, mostly recommended for listeners that understand German…
Favorite Episode: Episode 6
Media Portal – SuperSiteSkills
In Summary: From regional to international podcasts, there is a surprisingly wide variety of asphalt podcasts out there. For anyone that is interested in listening, I would recommend looking at the individual regions or themes of interest and then downloading the respective episodes. There is lot of informative and entertaining content available, I hope this selection is a good starting point to whomever is interested.
Now safe travels und gute Reise!
Fuehr is the Director of Sales and Supply for SWT Group. He recently participated in the Asphalt Institute EPIC Leadership Development program.
