All Episodes
Displaying 61 - 90 of 390 in total
EP 436: The Myth of Rugged Individualism—and Hope for Something More (Remix)
This episode originally ran on May 25, 2022. It's been lightly remixed for today's release!“Rugged individualism” is the very language we speak in America. It shapes t...
EP 435: Self-Control, Surveillance, and the Body at Work (Classic)
So much of our modern discourse around productivity, empowerment, entrepreneurship, and personal growth includes messages about our bodies. These messages might not be...
This is Not Advice: Beyond Creating Versus Consuming
This is an episode of "This is Not Advice," a bonus podcast I do for premium subscribers of What Works. Instead of just a teaser this week, I wanted to share the whole...
EP 434: What do we really want from social media? with Jay Acunzo
This is an episode about Meta's new app, Threads. It's also about Substack and Substack's new-ish feature, Notes. But really, it's an episode about what we're looking ...
EP 433: What is Capitalist Realism? with Iggy Perillo
"It's easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism," say Frederic Jameson and Slavoj Žižek.Capitalist liberal democracy is construed as the "end o...
This is Not Advice: Accessibility Beyond the Checklist
Welcome to the 5th edition of This is Not Advice, a non-advice column for premium subscribers of What Works. If you’re already a premium subscriber, thank you! If you’...
EP 432: Queer Failure with Kate Tyson
"Failure" got a glow-up sometime in the last 20 years. Instead of something to be feared, gurus tell us to embrace failure. That failure is a waypoint on the path to s...
EP 431: The Shoulds and Supposed-tos of Baking
Buckle up—today's episode was inspired by something that got me really worked up this week: "I think home-baking is one of the stupidest things anyone can engage in," ...
This is Not Advice: Who is Responsible for Adapting?
"Outsiders" shoulder a disproportionate burden when it comes to fitting in. Can we demand more from the "insiders?"This is a preview of the 4th installment of This is ...
EP 430: Why Does Authenticity So Often Feel Fake?
What gets labeled as "authentic" is often quite predictable. It's a market-compatible expression of what was once something unique or personal. Authenticity is a vibe—...
EP 429: Maybe bigger isn't better?
On June 8, Skye Pillsbury opened the latest edition of her newsletter, The Squeeze, with the header RIP Gimlet. She continued:I’m heartbroken over the news that Spotif...
EP 428: "You paid WHAT for that?!" Or, How Echo Chambers Distort Prices and How We Think
I’m about to write the most journalistic thing I’ve ever written: I received a tip.I wish I could say it was an “anonymous tip” because that sounds even more journalis...
This is Not Advice: Making Work That Can't Be Sold
Welcome to the 3rd edition of This is Not Advice, my advice column that’s not an advice column for paid subscribers of What Works. This week, I am tackling a question ...
EP 427: The Trust-Profit Paradox
Today's episode is all about trust and responsibility—and how those qualities impact the cost of doing business and the work that's required for any company to be succ...
EP 426: This is Not Advice: It's Our World, AI Just "Lives" In It
What are we really talking about when we talk about our hopes and fears about AI?It's us. We're the problem.Actually, we're not the problem—we're more like the solutio...
EP 425: [Dispatch] Gone Meta
There's a sort of inside joke in the online business space of coaches, creators, and service providers. Or maybe, at this point, it's an "outside joke?"Q: What's the s...
EP 424: How the Game We Play Changes Our Work
“This cancerous economic principle means that executives and venture capitalists have abandoned the concept of value within a business. Through decades of corporate gr...
EP 423: This is Not Advice: What can I do to grow my audience?
Today’s quick episode is a sample of something I’m creating for paid subscribers to What Works. I’m calling it my “This is Not Advice” column. Or, TINA for short. Not ...
EP 422: The "Risks" of Losing What You Never Had with Nathalie Lussier
What does a bad movie from 1992, loss aversion, Steinbeck, pizza, farm animals, and the founder of a software company have in common? Well, you’ll find them all in thi...
EP 421: AI, Automation, and the Case for Luddism
I am on board when it comes to technological progress. I look forward to updating my devices (although I don’t do it as frequently as I used to). New apps and features...
EP 420: Why every business is "on a mission to..."
It seems like every company today claims to be "on a mission" to change the world or improve our lives. They bill themselves as social movements more than profit-drive...
EP 419: What is an “ethical business?” with Brooke Monaghan
At least in my corner of social media, there are a lot of folks asking what makes a business ethical. Or, perhaps more accurately, there are a lot of folks answering t...
EP 418: [Dispatch] Going beyond the "greedy corporation" critique
This Earth Month... buy more stuff?!We're about to be bombarded with messaging about corporate climate initiatives. We'll have the chance to buy merch to "support" the...
EP 417: [Dispatch] "All parasites have value"
"All parasites have value, Sibling Dex. Not to their hosts, perhaps, but you could say the same about a predator and a prey animal. They all give back—not to the indiv...
EP 416: Anxiety (and Mental Health) in the Achievement Society with Morra Aarons-Mele
I’ve called myself a recovering overachiever. I’m recovering not from the drive to excel but from the anxiety inherent to wondering if anything I achieve will ever be ...
EP 415: The Economics of Being Needy with Mara Glatzel
We all have deep human needs—for belonging, for autonomy, for creative expression, for safety and security. But modern life can make it a real challenge to get those n...
EP 414: The Economics of Ideas with Jenny Blake
What makes an idea valuable? What turns it into a product that can be bought, sold, or rented? Ideas turn into capital assets thanks to our system of intellectual prop...
EP 413: The Economics of Getting (And Paying) Attention: Part 2
This is Part 2 of The Economics of Getting (and Paying) Attention. If you haven’t listened to Part 1, I highly recommend starting there!In today’s episode, I explore t...
BONUS: Permission to Speak with Samara Bay
How comfortable are you with your own voice? How likely are you to say what's on your mind?Samara Bay, the author of the brand-new book Permission to Speak, is on a mi...
EP 412: The Economics of Paying Attention (Part 1)
How does the principle of supply and demand influence what we pay attention to? (And who pays attention to us?)
