In the last episode, you met David, a Georgia worker who lost his job, filed for unemployment, and then waited weeks while his claim sat “under review.”

In this episode of 159 Seconds with Nikki Porcher, we walk through what should have happened next.

This isn’t about paperwork. It’s about how Georgia’s unemployment system is designed, how delays turn job loss into financial crisis, and what the Georgia Department of Labor actually controls when a worker needs help.

David did what he was supposed to do.
 

The system didn’t.

This month, we’re telling the stories I’ve heard again and again while traveling across Georgia.

This episode introduces David.

David worked in manufacturing and logistics for nearly two decades. When his plant downsized, his job disappeared through no fault of his own. He did what he was supposed to do. He filed for unemployment, submitted his paperwork, and started looking for work.

And then he waited.

This episode looks at what happens when someone with a long work history, a family, and a mortgage suddenly has no income, and the system meant to help moves more slowly than their life does.

David’s story is not rare. It’s becoming normal.

This week, we met Angela. She is working full-time, raising her family, and still living one missed paycheck away from crisis.

In this episode, we go deeper.

We examine how Georgia’s labor systems actually shape Angela’s life: unemployment insurance that moves too slowly, training programs that don’t accommodate working parents, weak wage enforcement, and benefits cliffs that penalize progress.

This isn’t about personal choices. It’s about how systems are designed and what it would take for them to actually work for people like Angela.

If you believe work should create stability, not constant risk, you can support this work at Vote4Nikki.com.

This month, we’re shifting how we talk about work.

Over the past weeks, as I’ve traveled across Georgia, I’ve heard the same stories again and again from people who are working hard and still struggling to stay afloat. Not outliers. Not extremes. Everyday realities.

This episode introduces the first story.

Angela is a composite of workers I’ve met across the state: a full-time retail manager, a single mother, someone doing exactly what she’s supposed to do, yet still living with constant instability. She works two jobs, juggles childcare, and stays one unexpected expense away from crisis, even while being counted as “employed.”

This isn’t about individual choices. It’s about what work looks like right now for millions of people and why that experience has become so common.

Throughout the month, we’ll share one story per week to gain a deeper understanding of how labor systems impact people’s lives.

We talk about labor through systems, policies, and numbers. But those systems don’t exist on their own — they show up in people’s lives.

In this episode, we set the tone for January. After a month of examining how labor systems work, we shift the lens to what those systems look like when real people move through them.

January isn’t about changing values. It’s about clarity. One person at a time.

As the year comes to a close, headlines focus on job numbers and economic growth. But those numbers don’t always reflect what work actually felt like for millions of people.

In this episode, we look at the realities behind the data: job loss, delayed unemployment benefits, workforce systems under strain, and families navigating instability even while being counted as “employed.”

This isn’t a recap of statistics. It’s a reflection on what this year of work demanded from people and how often the systems meant to support them fell short.

Losing a job is hard. Waiting for help shouldn’t make it harder.

In today’s episode, we look at what happens after a layoff—when someone does everything they’re told to do, files for unemployment, and then waits. And waits. And waits some more.

This isn’t just about paperwork or delays. It’s about what prolonged gaps in income do to families, housing stability, and trust in the systems meant to help during a crisis.

Because unemployment insurance is supposed to be a bridge—not a bottleneck.

We’re often told that if the economy changes, the answer is simple: retrain, reskill, adapt.

But what happens when someone does everything they’re told and still can’t get ahead?

In today’s episode, we follow a worker who completed training, earned credentials, and put in the effort, only to find that opportunity didn’t follow. This isn’t a story about motivation or work ethic. It’s about what happens when training exists, but pathways don’t.

A full-time job is supposed to be enough.
 But for too many parents in Georgia, it isn’t.

In today’s episode, we follow the reality of a parent working two jobs just to keep up—managing a retail store during the day and picking up gig work at night. On paper, they’re employed. In real life, they’re exhausted.

This episode isn’t about individual choices. It’s about what happens when work stops providing stability—and families are left to survive instead.

Working people are doing everything they’re supposed to do, showing up, working hard, playing by the rules. So why does it still feel this hard to get by?

When Work Doesn’t Work explores what happens when labor systems fail the very people they’re meant to serve. Through real-life stories, lived experiences, and plain-language conversations, Nikki Porcher breaks down how wages, unemployment systems, and workforce policies impact everyday life across Georgia.

This podcast isn’t about political talking points or policy jargon. It’s about parents juggling multiple jobs, workers waiting months for unemployment benefits, people who did everything “right” and still got left behind—and what it will take to fix a system that isn’t working.

Because work should create stability, not stress.
 And a labor system should be in place when it matters most.