Michael Patrick F. Smith is a musician, playwright, former oilfield hand, and author of a new memoir documenting his experience in the North Dakota oil patch. He and Braver Angels host Alma Cook—a fellow musician with experience in the same oil patch Michael writes about in his book—traded stories about life in North Dakota and chatted about the global petroleum dependency, the dignity of blue collar trades, and music's role in the political space. 

Read Michael's front-page New York Times feature, "The First Step is Admitting You Have a Problem,” here.

Learn more about Michael's music, writing, and more: www.thegoodhand.org Twitter: @braverangels, @MPFSmith, @HearAlma