We’ve told you how the oil boom in North Dakota is changing global markets. All that new production is giving even the Middle East more competition. But it all starts with an oil rig and the men who keep it going.

Independent radio producer Todd Melby has been working on a series, “Black Gold Boom,” and he talked to a young roughneck named Tait Salzer. Listen to his series in the audio above.

Todd Melby’s series, Black Gold Boom, is an initiative of Localore and the Association for Independents in Radio.