Maritime industry interview: Michael Fabey discusses his new book, Heavy Metal

Benjamin Hayden recently spoke with Michael Fabey about his latest book. Heavy metal, the hard days and nights of shipyard workers building America’s supercarriers. The book details the lives of the workers employed there. Newport News Shipyard 1,106-foot aircraft carrier under construction USS John F. Kennedy.

Fabey’s decades of reporting on US national security provide a compelling first-hand narrative. This book details what goes on behind the scenes at a high-security, nuclear-powered naval shipyard. we discussed:

• Fabey’s initial fascination with shipbuilding and his “super fandom” of shipbuilders themselves.
• The size of a “city within a city” at Newport News Shipyards.
• Navigate yard leadership as the reporter’s grandfather.
• The successes and difficulties of building a 1,106-foot aircraft carrier.
• The implementation of digital shipbuilding, cross-generational collaboration, and the increased employment these factors bring.
• Willingness of particular individuals to communicate serious building concerns despite possible consequences.
• Fabee’s next project focused on the Coast Guard’s Arctic exploration as a geopolitical focus brought on by climate change.

Watch the interview below and order Fabey’s bookheavy metal, here.