Weird Work

Ann Wroe writes obituaries for The Economist. And she knows what you’re thinking: Writing about death must be terribly depressing, right? Maybe, but not for Ann. Sam gets Ann’s take on how she deals with death, and Ann shares her unique approach to writing about those who live on in the pages of the magazine. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pamela Paquin may have grown up on a farm, but she never thought her life would forever be linked with animals. She was living in Denmark with a high-paying job when her life was completely upended. That’s when Pamela began to notice inefficiencies in the fur industry. And after seeing the amount of fur going to waste on the side of the road, she grabbed a knife and got to work. She now creates hi...

Peter “PPD” Dager is one of the winningest professional gamers in history. But we’re not just talking about trophies. Peter has made millions (and millions) of dollars as a professional gamer. Sam talks with Peter about his journey from being on top of the gaming world with Evil Geniuses, to becoming the team’s CEO, only to return once more to the lights, camera, controller with his new team, OpTi...

Katelyn Hempstead is a comedian and the host of Lizard People: Comedy & Conspiracy Theories, a podcast where her brilliant friends try to convince her to believe different conspiracy theories. You can even find Sam on there talking about the rogue artificial intelligence that created Bitcoin. Today, Sam and Katelyn peel back the podcast curtain to reveal how anyone (even the Illuminati) can ge...

Thomas Edwards is a real life Hitch. And after nearly a decade of work, he’s helped over 150 people find love and get married. But this self-proclaimed hopeless romantic wasn’t always the ideal wingman. Thomas’ journey starts with Gary Vaynerchuck, hits a potential detour courtesy of Mark Cuban, and ends with the founding of a global wingman empire.--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/we...

Martin Gregory scours the streets looking through people’s trash and sells his garbage finds on eBay. He writes about them on his website, Things I Find in The Garbage. Sam talks with Martin about teacups, the growing trend of minimalism, and just how much money you can make from selling garbage online. Because what’s one person’s trash is this man’s treasure. Sign up for free classes at HubSpot A...

Cosplay is a world of transformation, where art meets performance. And no one knows that better than Riki LeCotey. You might’ve seen her on SyFy’s reality tv show Heroes of Cosplay, or maybe you’ve seen her judging costumes at your local convention. Riki has turned her passion project into a full-time business. And she tells Sam how cosplay helped her land her latest dream gig: working on costumes...

Em Schulz is the co-host of And That’s Why We Drink podcast. But Em’s resume runs the gamut: Clown school graduate, professional Segway tour guide, and the list goes on. These days, Em makes props for Hollywood, famously making Eggo waffle boxes on a little show called Stranger Things. Em tells Sam what it’s like working at the top prop shop in Hollywood, and why not knowing what you want to do fo...

Gary Vincent is a vintage arcade game technician at Funspot, the world’s largest arcade. He’s also the president of the American Classic Arcade Museum where he works to preserve and promote the history of arcade games. On today’s episode, Sam learns that arcade game repair can be a dangerous job. And that there’s an entire world of history to be learned, right below his fingertips.--- Send in a vo...

Sister Kate isn’t your average nun. She’s a self-declared nun who owns Sisters of the Valley, a cannabis-based healing products company. But after her early days in the Occupy movement, she now answers to a higher calling. Sam talks with Sister Kate about working in the marijuana industry, how she grew the company into a million dollar global business, and how she’s helping empower women through h...

We asked you to tell us your favorite Weird Work episode of 2017 and man did you guys deliver. You mentioned Jen Glantz, the professional bridesmaid, Steven Kutcher, the Hollywood bug wrangler, and Kassandra Brown, the professional cuddler. But one episode stood a full broadsword above the rest. That’s right. Today, we bring to you, the Weird Work "Listener Favorite Episode." --- Send in a voice m...

Will Shortz is the crossword puzzle editor at The New York Times. But he’s also the only person in history to receive a degree in Enigmatology -- the study of puzzles. And he’s been creating and publishing his own puzzles since he was 14 years old. Today, Will talks with Sam about the origin of the paper’s famous crossword, and Will explains how the puzzle’s history is not so different from today....

Voodoo conjures up pin-pricked dolls and black magic spells. But it’s all just a product of Hollywood, not an actual religion. Everything down to the spelling of its name is bogus. Vodou, however, is a religion. And today, Sam speaks with Sallie Ann Glassman -- a Vodou priestess. She tells Sam about her journey to becoming a priestess and puts to rest all the myths made by Hollywood and beyond.---...

Kevin Elkins is a scent maker. He’s crafted custom scents for luxury hotels like The W Hotels and Hotel Emma. For Kevin, the perfect scent is all about the romance. Today, Sam talks with Kevin about what it takes to be a scent maker, the science behind smell, and together, they figure out the unofficial scent of 2018.--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/weird-work/messageSupport this pod...

Iya Whiteley always dreamt of becoming an astronaut. Only, there was a slight hitch. Iya grew up in the USSR where women were not allowed to become pilots. So she pursued her other passion of studying human behaviors and decision making skills under intense pressure and became a space psychologist. She explains what it takes to become an astronaut and settles an argument about whether taking a one...

It’s an iconic sound. Lenny Pickett’s saxophone solo during Saturday Night Live’s opening credits has become a hallmark of the show. Lenny talks with Sam about his responsibilities as bandleader, how he overcame his initial fears of performing on live television, and why he thinks music today is completely undervalued.--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/weird-work/messageSupport this po...

For some actors, finding the line between intimacy on stage and in real life can be a bit murky. It takes strong direction and training in a safe environment. But like any good fight scene, it can’t be left up to the actors to choreograph themselves. Tonia Sina is an intimacy choreographer, and her work has helped provide protocols and safety nets that prevent the types of sexual harassment she’s...

When Paul Austin looks back on the first time he dropped LSD, he remembers the shame and fear associated with it. So when he created Third Wave, a company devoted to coaching the benefits of microdosing LSD, he knew he had to change an entire culture through education. You won’t die from taking LSD, nor will you later be labeled clinically insane. But some myths die hard. Paul puts these myths to...

Chivalry. Strength. Romance. There’s quite a few things knights are world renowned for. Only, knights died out centuries ago, right? If you’ve ever heard of Medieval Times, then you know the knightly tradition is alive and well. Today, we head down to New Jersey to talk with Andrew Thomas, the head knight at Medieval Times. He tells us how he made his way into knighting (turns out, it has everythi...

For some, the nude body is taboo. But for artists, it’s been a constant source of training and inspiration. Ruby Magic has travelled around the world as a nude model. She tells Sam how she’s become more empowered in her own skin, and even gets Sam to give nude modeling one more shot.--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/weird-work/messageSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/weird-work/...

Let’s say you’re a director, and you need to film thousands of locusts descending upon a group of people. It’s a major production, but CGI just won’t cut it. What do you do? Well, there’s really only one person to call. Steven Kutcher built his living as Hollywood’s resident bug wrangler. He’s worked on hundreds of movie scenes, from the spider that turned Peter Parker into Spider Man, to that swa...

It’s likely that at some point in your life, while you were out shopping at your favorite store, you were standing next to a fake customer. An imposter. These people are called mystery shoppers, and they act as quality control for many stores by pretending to be normal customers, and then reporting what they saw. In this episode, we talk to an original mystery shopper. Susan tells us all about the...

What’s life really like behind the bar of a reality dating show? Wells Adams made the jump from radio show host to The Bachelorette contestant a few years ago. But it’s his recent gig as the bartender on ABC’s Bachelor in Paradise that cemented him in the hearts of Bachelor fans everywhere. Sam talks with Wells about the show, the scandal, and so much more. Plus, Sam and Wells even come up with th...

In a previous life, Kassandra Brown was a parenting coach. Then one day, about six years ago, she was cuddling with a friend of hers when she had a personal breakthrough. So when she was searching for what to do next in her career, she landed on a combination of coaching and physical touch. She signed up for a company called Cuddlist. Kassandra believes that American culture has warped the idea of...

When you’re a kid, you can be anything. You can be a firefighter, a police officer, hell even a robot. The thing is, we rarely get to grow up and live that childhood dream. Unless you’re Maria Russo. Then you’re exactly who you always wanted to be. Maria is a professional mermaid. She has an entire company devoted to the art of mermaiding. In this episode, she tells us how being a mermaid is a mix...