Weird Work

By Sam Balter & Matthew BrownSociety & Culture Documentary Personal Journals

Weird Work episodes

October 23, 2019 “I’m a pet influencer agent.”
Colleen Wilson was a top private mortgage banker in New York City. She was also the youngest. No small feat. But after rescuing a deaf pooch named Charlie, it completely changed the way she saw the banking industry. So she left it all behind. Not long after, Colleen founded Pets on Q, an animal influencer agency. She talks about what makes an animal a true influencer and what it’s really like to manage famous pets.
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28 min
October 09, 2019 "I'm a dream analyst."
Jane Teresa Anderson knows how to get inside someone’s head. And her work as a dream analyst has helped countless people better understand their waking lives. That way, the subconscious becomes reality. She even reaches into Sam’s psyche to break down a dream he’s long struggled to understand.
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28 min
September 25, 2019 “I’m a conlanger.”
David J. Peterson is a creator of languages -- otherwise known as a conlanger. And he’s behind some of the most iconic languages ever heard on television and films. Maybe his most well-known conlang is Dothraki and High Valyrian for a little show on HBO called Game of Thrones. David talks about what it takes to create a language, how he landed the coveted Game of Thrones conlang gig, and he spills the secret to speaking Dothraki like Jason Momoa. Sign up for Classhook with promo code: WeirdWork
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24 min
September 11, 2019 “I’m a podcast librarian.”
Ma'ayan Plaut is the podcast librarian at RadioPublic. But she’s not like the typical master of the Dewey Decimal System you know from your local public library. And she just so happens to be the only podcast librarian on the planet. In her three years at the company, Ma’ayan’s role has evolved from recommending individual podcasts to solving the larger discoverability issues with podcasting.
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26 min
August 28, 2019 “I’m a surf therapy dog.”
Ricochet is a champion surf dog, who’s ridden giants with the likes of Rob Machado, and starred in films like Superpower Dogs. But it’s her surf and therapy work that makes this pooch a real surf legend.Judy Fridono, Ricochet’s owner and certified dog trainer, tells Sam how this surf-ice dog helps those with PTSD and those on the Autism spectrum.Sign up for Giftogram with the code: weirdworkAdditional research: National Autism Association--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/weird-work/messageSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/weird-work/support
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25 min
August 07, 2019 “I’m an Elvis impersonator and wedding official.”
Brendan Paul grew up as a young punk living in LA. But after one fateful haircut and a handful of paying impersonation gigs around town, he found himself ditching the Sunset Strip for the Vegas Strip. Today, Brendan is Sin City’s premier Elvis impersonator and wedding official at Graceland Wedding Chapel. Sign up for Giftogram with the code: weirdwork--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/weird-work/messageSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/weird-work/support
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30 min
July 31, 2019 “I’m an international pizza consultant.”
Anthony Falco is the reigning pizza czar of New York. And he’s taken his expertise around the world to help others realize their own dreams of opening up a pizza shop. We crawl the streets of New York in search of the best pizza and find out why pizza is so internationally beloved.
--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/weird-work/messageSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/weird-work/support
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39 min
July 24, 2019 “I’m bringing Weird Work back for Season Two.”
Weird Work returns on July 31 with all new episodes every Wednesday. See you soon, you beautiful unicorn star children.
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3 min
May 24, 2018 “I make ramen that helps people find their dreams.”
You’ve been listening all season long to how people turned their passions into professions. And want to make the jump, too. But what if you don’t know what your passion is? How do you pursue your dream if you don’t know what your dream is? Well, there’s a ramen shop in Boston called Yume Wo Katare, and it’s got just the bowl for you. We talk with owner Tsuyoshi Nishioka about the concept behind his restaurant, and how he made helping others find their dreams his personal mission.
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29 min
May 17, 2018 “I’m a comic book inker.”
Mark Morales has probably worked on all of your favorite comic book characters. But the job of comic book inker is not only one of the most ambiguous in the industry, it’s an increasingly rare position.

Mark takes Sam through the comic book production process, and explains how even outside the traditional 9 to 5, the almighty deadline still wields its own kind of superpower.
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28 min

About Weird Work

From the publisher's feed

Not everyone is fit for the 9 to 5. Weird Work celebrates all the folks who've pursued their passion and made a living -- no matter how weird it might sound. Hosted by Sam Balter & produced by…