A team of lumberjacks take to the forests of coastal Alaska to harvest the cornerstone commodity that frames our lives. But with a last-minute order to fill, they're working overtime to cut, haul and ship out a record amount of lumber.

Lumber

A team of roughnecks shows what it takes to bring the lifeblood of modern society out of the ground and into everyday existence.

Waste management workers bring cameras along for a day of taking out America's trash, but with a staff shortage and the same tight deadlines, keeping the streets clean will be a tall order.

Waste

The employees of the Hoover Dam work to bring electricity to the masses; when a heat wave hits in the middle of maintenance season, the race is on to get all 17 generators online before the demand for power skyrockets.

Electricity

The men and women aboard a massive fishing boat toil 24/7 to harvest America's sustenance from the sea, but after coming up short on their last trip, the pressure is on to fill their quota.

Fish

The hard-working men and women of America's entertainment industry in Las Vegas are ramping up for post-COVID masses; and at Circus Circus Casino, that means bringing all operations back to 100 % capacity for the first time in over a year.

Entertainment

The Sunday after Thanksgiving, the busiest day for airports.

Airports

A team of sewer technicians work out of sight.

Sewers

Salt workers brave a barren landscape in Carlsbad, N.M.

Salt

Steel workers labor to make the nation's infrastructure.

Steel

Cameras follow the men and women of the Wilmington Police Department as they struggle to keep a lid on crime during the busy holiday season.

Law Enforcement

A team of modern-day cowpunchers works tirelessly to bring beef from a ranch in southern Oklahoma to dinner tables across the country; with branding day upon them, they must double their efforts to tend the herd and process calves before sundown.

Beef

Corn growers and millers labor year-round to bring America's top crop to the masses; with Super Bowl Sunday fast approaching -- the peak day for corn consumption -- mills like Lifeline Foods race to process 1 million pounds of product per day.

Corn

With supply chain issues the world over, demand for aluminum in the United States has never been higher; in Russellville, Ky., a thousand workers are laboring day and night to churn out the aluminum needed to keep the country running.

Aluminum

Textile manufacturers in Stafford Springs, Conn., work long hours to keep the country clothed; with a last-minute order to fill in the middle of a staffing shortage, all of them are doubling down to hit their quotas by quitting time.

Textiles

Building booms are springing up all over the United States, and the men and women at Volvo are working harder than ever to assemble the heavy equipment that makes all those projects possible, but creating multiple machines in a day is no easy task.

Heavy Machinery

Cameras board the USS George H.W. Bush to show what it takes to keep one of the country's largest aircraft carriers barreling forward and battle-ready; with 30 aviators to qualify for deployment, there's a lot to do before heading back to port.

Navy

The men and women of U.S. Sugar work around the clock to harvest, mill and refine the sweet stuff that Americans crave.

Sugar

While most brick makers now rely on automation, the workers at Old Carolina still create theirs the old-fashioned way... all by hand; with building booms spurring higher demand, they too must belt out bricks faster than ever before.

Brick

Paper manufacturers are experts at turning wood pulp into needed products, but in the wake of the pandemic, demand for those products has spiked and sent paper mills and plants across the country into overdrive.

Paper

In the wake of COVID-19, supply shortages in the U.S. are rampant; but that doesn't mean cargo workers are sitting idle; how companies like Watco are grinding it out to bring goods back to a ravenous nation.

Cargo

Firefighters battle more than 3,000 infernos every day; how the men and women of Grayback Forestry do their part to keep a lid on backcountry blazes.

Firefighting

As the second most used resource behind water, the importance of concrete can't be understated. And with demand for it reaching all-time highs, the workers of GCC simply can't make it fast enough.

Concrete

Join the men and women of Ft. Carson as they conduct a training exercise like none before. But to pull it off, they'll need to win a simulated battle complete with apache helicopters and ground artillery.

Army

Pipelines

It's not easy, wrestling one of America's metallic mainstays from the ground. Featuring how the folks at Rio Tinto do it at one of the world's largest open pit mines.

Copper

America doesn't just work through building booms and essential industries. It also works greatly to the things chosen to conserve. Finding out how that's all done at Joshua Tree National Park.

National Parks

Wheat is still one of America's cornerstone commodities. Featuring how the farmers and millers of the nation bring this all-important crop from the ground to the grocery store.

Wheat

From the moment Americans wake up in the morning, they are surrounded by glass. Finding out what it takes for companies like ARC Americas to make that all possible.

Glass

Featuring tools. With infrastructures growing the nation over, the demand for tools is at an all-time high. Leaving the works of Channellock Inc. in a mad dash to keep up.

Tools

Narrated by Mike Rowe, the hour-long series will showcase the many individuals that work round the clock to keep our infrastructure in working order. He will take a deeper dive into everything from casinos to oil to airports.

All Episodes of How America Works

Season 1

Lumber

Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 9/20/2021

Oil

Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 9/27/2021

Waste

Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 10/4/2021

Electricity

Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 10/11/2021

Fish

Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 10/18/2021

Entertainment

Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 10/25/2021

Airports

Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 11/1/2021

Sewers

Season 1 Episode 8 - Aired 11/8/2021

Salt

Season 1 Episode 9 - Aired 11/15/2021

Steel

Season 1 Episode 10 - Aired 11/22/2021