Work Stew Podcast

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The more people I interview, the more I realize that I’ve been harboring all sorts of false notions about job satisfaction. For example, I’ve had it in my head that people who grow up knowing exactly what they want to do for a living are happier with their work than those who have to cast around for a while looking for the right fit. I’ve also suspected that job happiness belongs almost exclusively to the “true believers”—people who have such conviction in what they do, such passion about their work, that (at least in my imagination) they operate free of doubt, untroubled by any inner conflict.

The process of listening to real people talk frankly about their careers has started to dismantle some of these ideas, and my interview with Lara Rosenthal was particularly powerful in this respect. In the course of our talk, Rosenthal explained that her work is profoundly satisfying—and yet the path she has taken was neither direct nor doubt-free. (Yee haw! There’s hope for us all.)

About Lara Rosenthal: Lara Rosenthal, L.Ac. is a licensed acupuncturist and board certified Chinese herbologist specializing in women’s health and fertility. She runs a private practice in Manhattan, is a faculty member at Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in New York, and a clinical supervisor at the NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases’ Initiative for Women with Disabilities. She has a B.S. in Biological Sciences from Stanford University, is fluent in Mandarin Chinese, and studied and worked in Taiwan for three years. Rosenthal regularly conducts lectures for both the general public and for practicing physicians on the uses of acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine to enhance fertility and treat common gynecologic issues. Her work on acupuncture and in vitro fertilization has been published in Fertility and Sterility, and the Journal of Chinese Medicine.

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Listen to the interview by clicking the arrow on the audio player below.

Back when Work Stew consisted of little more than my own inaugural essay, two friends of mine agreed to contribute essays of their own to what I assured them would eventually be a “collection.”

Ex-spy Lindsay Moran wrote a piece on the hazards of working while parenting and, in the days after the Abbottabad raid that killed Osama bin Laden, she contributed a second essay reflecting on her decision to leave the CIA back in 2003.

Coincidentally, the Abbottabad raid also inspired Jeff Wenker’s contribution to Work Stew: in his essay “In Praise of Uncertainty,” he speculated that, even on a bad day, he was a better stay-at-home Dad than bin Laden ever was.

Several weeks ago, I learned that both Lindsay and Jeff have now turned their attentions to teaching: Lindsay recently completed a long-term substituting gig, and Jeff is currently working his way through a certification program.

In this interview, I talked to both Lindsay and Jeff about their reasons for wanting to teach after years in other roles; we also discussed the logistics involved in effecting such a major career transition. For anyone who liked the banker-turned-teacher interview but felt that it needed at least one Dick Hertz joke, this is for you.

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Listen to the interview by clicking the arrow on the audio player below.

In this episode, I talk to professional lice remover Lisa Weisberg. When I first heard about Lisa’s business, a service in the Chicago area called The Nit Pickers, I took note mainly because it was yet another unusual job (so now we have gorilla caretaker, adult film closed captioner, high-rise window washer, jolly old elf, funeral director, dating coach AND lice remover). But that wasn’t all: the more I thought about it, the more I needed to understand Lisa’s motivation. I would find it difficult to deal with lice in my own family…why on earth, I wondered, would someone choose to tackle the infestations of strangers?

But as you will hear in the interview, Lisa loves her work. In this great talk, psychologist Shawn Achor makes a strong case for positive thinking, and Lisa’s enthusiasm for her work proves to me, possibly in a way that nothing else ever has, that happiness on the job is indeed largely a function of attitude.

About Lisa Weisberg:  Lisa Weisberg was a stay-at-home mom when her family endured a long and expensive battle with lice. In the course of the struggle, she realized there was a business opportunity in providing compassionate, expert lice removal at affordable rates. And so The Nit Pickers was born. Based in Northbrook, Illinois, the business centers around a salon focused exclusively on the removal of head lice; the company also offers home delousing services.

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Chris Soldevilla has been a working actor for more than 20 years, and his wife, Elizabeth Mitchell (ER, Lost, V), is also in the business—so he knows a thing or two about “playing” for a living.

In Follow Your Heart, Do the Math, or Somewhere in Between?, I asked Work Stew readers what they would tell young people seeking career advice today. Most of the commenters, perhaps still bruised by these recessionary times, suggested they’d lean towards “Do the math.” In other words: focus on acquiring marketable skills and pursue your passions in your spare time. Given this, I was intrigued to speak with someone who has in fact followed his heart—and fared just fine.

About Chris Soldevilla: Chris has been performing and teaching in Boston, L.A., and Seattle for over 20 years. He performs regularly with The Edge Improv, a well regarded Seattle-based improv troupe; he appears in plays and other projects; and he teaches a range of acting and improv classes for teens and adults. He has also appeared in commercials, TV shows (7th Heaven, Arli$$) and movies (Coyote Ugly).

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Many contributors to Work Stew wrestle mightily with the question of what to do for a living. They’re not sure where their passions lie, or they worry that pursuing the work they love won’t yield a living wage.

But in this episode, I talk to Dr. Jennifer McDonald, on OBGYN who knew exactly what she wanted to do for a living from the moment she delivered her first baby. And she loves it so much that in addition to managing her private practice, she also moonlights at three hospitals and teaches at a local university.

Moreover, Dr. McDonald continued her 100-hour weeks of tending to pregnant women, even as she herself was struggling with the pain of infertility. In the interview, she describes how difficult this was, and she explains how her own journey made her a better doctor.

About Dr. Jennifer McDonald: Dr. Jennifer McDonald is a Board Certified OBGYN. After undergraduate work at Drexel University in Philadelphia and several years of working for SmithKline Beecham in the research arena, Dr. McDonald attended medical school at the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine. She then headed to St. Louis for her internship at DesPeres Hospital followed by a four year Obstetrics & Gynecology residency at St. Johns Mercy Medical Center. She has been in private practice since 2004. Dr. McDonald has also been a part-time faculty member at Logan University of Chiropractic since 2005.

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Amy Gutman is a writer and lawyer whose career has already covered a lot of ground: among other things, she’s worked as a journalist; she co-founded an enduring educational program; she did a stint in corporate law; and she’s written two novels. And there’s more to come: as she contemplates her next move, Amy is thinking out loud—eloquently and movingly—on her new blog, Plan B Nation.

In this interview, Amy talks about her early career decisions and her ongoing quest to bring together her eclectic interests. She also discusses the broader context: how the recession and, more generally, America’s evolving role in the global economy will have most of us needing to rethink and reboot—again and again and again.   

About Amy Gutman: Amy is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School. As a journalist, she worked for newspapers in Tennessee and Mississippi. Her work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, and Salon. Before attending law school, she co-founded the Mississippi Teacher Corps, an organization focused on attracting recent college graduates to teach at the state’s most needy schools. After law school, Amy worked at two New York City firms, Cravath Swaine & Moore and Parcher Hayes & Snyder. Her two novels, published by Little, Brown & Company, are Equivocal Death and The Anniversary.

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Back in December, a Work Stew listener suggested that I interview Santa. I liked the idea, and I got right on it. After all, seasonal workers are an important element of the labor force. I wanted to know how Santa landed the gig, how much it paid, and—mandatory ‘ho ho ho’s aside—whether it was any fun.

Fortunately, it was easy to get in touch with Santa: it turns out he has a LinkedIn account. But actually booking an interview was much harder. On December 5, Santa sent this reply to my interview request:

“Kate, I would be glad to help, but this is a very busy time for me. Is it possible to do this after Christmas?”

The more I thought about it, and the more I consulted with my four-year-old, the more reasonable this seemed. I made a mental note to follow up in January—late January, in hopes that he might be rested and ready to dish. He did not disappoint…but then again, he rarely does.

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I was interested to speak with Gabrielle Burton in part because she has pursued a path I considered but then abandoned. For about two years after college, I worked as a production assistant for various film companies in New York. I answered phones, fetched cappuccinos…and nearly died of boredom. I didn’t stick with the film world long enough to get to the interesting parts—writing, producing, directing—and I often wonder what might have happened if I had persevered.

Gabrielle did persevere. She worked on the TV show Law & Order trailing directors as part of their director training program. She earned a Rotary Scholarship to study film in France. And, very wisely I think, she has surrounded herself with reinforcements: several years ago, she joined with her siblings in founding Five Sisters Productions, an independent film company through which the Burtons collaborate on a wide variety of creative projects.

About Gabrielle Burton: Gabrielle is a writer, director, and actor. Her current project is Kings, Queens, and In-Betweens, a documentary about drag kings and queens in Columbus, Ohio. Gabrielle directed the grassroots success Manna from Heaven with her sister Maria (MGM/Sony). Among other credits, Gabrielle also wrote, produced, and acted in the feature comedy Temps, co-produced the romantic comedy Just Friends, and produced the marital comedy The Happiest Day of His Life.

Photo: Gabrielle (second row, left) with her sisters Maria, Jennifer, Ursula, and Charity.

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Listen to the interview by clicking the arrow on the audio player below.

Some career paths are well-known: doctors and cops, for example, get heaps of screen time—and, in real life, most people have at least rubbed shoulders with these sorts of professionals. But there are scads of different ways to make a living, and one aim of Work Stew is to showcase as many paths as possible.

One day this thought led me to focus on the voice in my GPS not as the disembodied presence with whom I have a very complicated love-hate relationship, but rather as the voice of a real, live person. Thanks to the wonders of Facebook, I was eventually able to connect with Karen Jacobsen, the person behind the voice, for a brief phone interview. Karen forgave me my cursing, explained how she became “The GPS Girl,” and filled me in on what she does with her time when she’s not bossing me around from my dashboard.

About Karen Jacobsen: Karen Jacobsen is an Australian-born singer, songwriter, and voiceover artist. Before moving to New York, she performed regularly on Australian television, and her voice has been featured—singing and speaking—on thousands of television, radio, and online commercials. Karen’s voice became world-famous in 2002 when she was chosen as one of the options (“Australian Karen”) for the text-to-speech system used in millions of GPS units. These days, Karen is focusing on her singing; over the years, she has released six albums on her independent label Kurly Queen, and her latest is a CD for kids called Fun Fun Fun Fun Fun with Supa’ K. She has also recently published a book, The GPS Girl’s Roadmap for Your Future.

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Listen to the interview by clicking the arrow on the audio player below.

Some people’s careers follow a master plan developed at a young age. But many of us—in fact, most of us—figure things out as we go, and our career decisions are shaped at least in part by the chance events of our lives.

In Lisa Grey’s case, her experience as a breast cancer survivor inspired her to start a new venture. Pink Kitchen, which began as a blog aimed at cancer survivors, is quickly becoming a popular resource for anyone interested in healthy eating.

About Lisa Grey: Lisa is the founder of Pink Kitchen. Armed with a degree in Health Psychology as well as first-hand experience with the extreme fatigue that accompanies cancer treatment, Lisa aims to simplify healthy cooking. In addition to the online content she publishes on the Pink Kitchen website, Lisa is also the author of three cook books: Pink Kitchen PESTOS, Pink Kitchen SCONES, and Pink Kitchen SOUPS. Lisa’s latest recipes and nutrition tips can be found via Facebook and Twitter.

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