Slate Careers

Getting past "and what is it you do?" to "how do you do it?" and "why?" These episodes, drawn from across the Slate network, dive into how to live while making a living.

Business
101
Working: How a Colonial Williamsburg Actor Huma...
Actor and historical interpreter Stephen Seals shares his process for performing and educating simultaneously.
45 min
102
Well, Now: Doctors Agree: Obesity is a Disease....
We don’t blame a knee replacement on “lack of willpower.” Why does that change when we talk about weight?
48 min
103
What Next TBD: Fee’d Up: A Musician’s Take on T...
Look what you made Merrick Garland do
19 min
104
Working: Money Advice for Freelancers
Personal finance whiz AJ Ayers offers actionable tips for creative people whose income streams can be a little inconsistent.
35 min
105
What Next: The Hollywood Strikes Are Over. No O...
Film and TV crewmembers were burning through their savings during the last Hot Strike Summer. Their own union contracts are running out this July.
19 min
106
Well, Now: The Isolation of a Life-Threatening ...
How author Suleika Jaouad grapples with identity after a leukemia diagnosis, remission, and re-emergence.
40 min
107
Working: A Broadway Hit That Defies Genre
Choreographer Justin Peck talks about his new show Illinoise, which is based on a beloved Sufjan Stevens album.
47 min
108
Well, Now: How Doulas Make Childbirth Safer For...
For centuries, doulas have guided us through major life transitions, from childbirth to death and everything in between (even first menstruation!).
43 min
109
How To!: Take a Gap Year
Abby Falik on the benefits of taking a break from traditional education.
41 min
110
Working: A Classic Opera Gets an Overdue Update
Francesca Zambello, artistic director of the Washington National Opera, talks about a bold new staging of Puccini’s unfinished final opera, Turandot.
44 min
111
Well, Now | “As Little Regulation as Guns”: How...
Minors are facing a mental health crisis, and data supports social media as a culprit. One city health commissioner is helping fight back in the courts.
37 min
112
ICYMI: The Aftermath of a Layoff
Yowei Shaw’s new podcast Proxy investigates the psychological and emotional residue of a layoff — starting with her own
41 min
113
Working: A Much-Needed History of Queer Women’s...
Writer June Thomas talks about bringing journalistic rigor to a subject that’s close to her heart.
42 min
114
Well, Now: Is Biohacking a Scam?
Or is it only for the rich?
45 min
115
How To!: Handle Feedback at Work
Alison Green on the pitfalls of constructive criticism.
40 min
116
Working: The Evolution of One of Scotland’s Bes...
Tracyanne Campbell of Camera Obscura talks about writing new music after the band's long hiatus.
48 min
117
Working: Writer Anne Lamott’s Difficult Persona...
The Bird By Bird author discusses her new book about love, her proclivity for deeply honest memoir writing, and some of her go-to advice about writing and publishing.
49 min
118
Well, Now: How a Former Surgeon General Took on...
Even surgeon generals get sticker shock. Here are Jerome Adams’s suggestions for how to fight back.
40 min
119
Working: Interviews That Get to the Point
Death, Sex & Money host Anna Sale shares her strategies for conducting interviews about things that really matter.
45 min
120
Death, Sex & Money: A Tarot Reader Explains Why...
North Carolina-based witch Rebecca Auman helps Anna through a rough patch. Then she explains why it’s so hard for some of us to make sense of our own inner voices.
39 min
121
Working: How Fact-Checking Can Improve Your Fic...
Novelist Julia Hannafin and ecologist Adam Rosenblatt talk about Julia’s new novel Cascade and its commitment to scientific accuracy.
45 min
122
Working: A Clarinetist Finds His Flow State
Anthony McGill, principal clarinetist for the New York Philharmonic, explains what it’s like to both perform and take in the beauty of the orchestra simultaneously.
45 min
123
What Next: How Young Is Too Young to Work?
Child labor laws are changing—in different directions, in different states.
22 min
124
Working: How to Be Both a Critic and a Creator
NPR host Linda Holmes explains how her work as a professional pop culture critic impacts her work as a novelist, and vice versa.
43 min
125
Working: Creator Mode vs. Editor Mode
21 min