Working with Demons and Witches

Season 3, Episode 5 explores the death of 20-year-old Amazon worker Caes Grusbeck, examining how low regulatory penalties, production pressure, and unsafe workplace design contributed to a preventable fatality. Ocean combines factual reporting, legal context about Indiana's OSHA penalty caps, HR analysis, and symbolic 'demons and witches' archetypes to unpack systemic failures and offer practical...

Hey, Keepers. This week has been pretty hectic, so I'm going to take a day off, and I will catch up with you next week. Take care. Thanks.

In this episode of Working with Demons and Witches, Ocean responds to a listener facing threats from a boss who insists a younger worker familiar with AI will replace them. The episode explores the limits of AI as a tool, the legal and cultural risks of managers blaming employees for AI errors, and practical steps employers should take—training, clear expectations, and compassionate leadership. Li...

Season 3, Episode 3 follows a 25-year-old financial aid worker who faces escalating harassment after disclosing PTSD and anxiety accommodations: a trainer turned bully, a supervisor's secret partner, and a friend-turned-manager conspire to block a reasonable desk change and monitor her every move. The episode outlines the employee's documentation and HR interactions, highlights legal risks like di...

In Season 3, Episode 2, workplace coach Ocean walks through a story where a 16-year-old employee is terrified by a vague text from a senior manager and later discovers a coworker set him up by sharing the manager’s ex-wife’s photo in a group chat. The episode examines how jokes and unclear communication can harm young employees. Ocean and PCE WINS break down the incident with legal and...

In Season 3, Episode 1 of Working with Demons and Witches Ocean explores Nairobi County’s new menstrual leave policy, its implications for workplace dignity, and reactions from the public. The episode examines historical and global context, analyzes cultural and policy barriers, and offers practical reflections on leadership, gender equity, and how workplaces can better support bodily realit...

Ocean reads a listener’s account of moving 17 hours for a dream job only to face persistent harassment, public humiliation, exclusion, and managerial inaction that has caused severe physical and mental health decline. The episode walks through legal concepts like intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress and constructive discharge, and offers practical steps: document incide...

Ocean breaks down listener Sushi Girl 122’s experience with a bullying senior who’s protected by management, exploring how workplace favoritism can damage mental health. The episode offers practical steps, like document incidents, follow the chain of command, involve HR, set firm boundaries, seek support, and consider transfer or new opportunities, all while emphasizing that employee w...

Ocean examines the January 2025 mid-air collision near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, detailing how layered systemic failures (airspace design, ignored warnings, reliance on "see and avoid," technology gaps, and understaffing) aligned to cause the crash. The episode challenges quick blame of individuals (“witch hunts”), arguing for careful investigation and systemic reform...

Ocean examines the courtroom clash after DHS attorney Julie Le’s emotional plea about exhaustion and the constitutional crisis when detainees remain jailed despite court orders. The episode explains due process, habeas corpus, and the separation of powers while tracing how systemic failures shift responsibility onto individual lawyers. Through legal analysis and workplace metaphors, the epis...

Ocean breaks down the controversy around an EEOC message inviting white men to file discrimination claims, explains the legal baseline that Title VII protects everyone, and reviews key cases and the ongoing EEOC v. Nike enforcement action. The episode balances legal analysis, workplace examples, and practical tips for designing DEI that survives legal scrutiny while acknowledging historical inequi...

Ocean examines the intersection of medicine, race, and gender by centering the experiences of Black women physicians from pioneer Dr. Meta Christy to contemporary leaders like Dr. Fatima Stanford. The episode mixes personal stories, data on underrepresentation, and accounts of microaggressions and institutional gatekeeping. Through history, analysis, and practical advice, the show argues for syste...

Ocean returns to Hannah Dreier’s reporting on migrant children working night shifts in slaughterhouses, reading personal accounts and explaining the legal and moral issues surrounding child labor in the U.S. Through stories of young workers like Emilio and Marcus, Ocean reflects on how the series changed her perspective and urges listeners to speak up, protect children, and imagine a fairer...

In Episode 3, Season 2, Ocean explores what rights minors actually have as workers, how state laws (like Colorado’s) create troubling exceptions for seasonal and agricultural work, and why collective bargaining and enforcement often fail young employees. The episode centers on investigative reporting about migrant children working dangerous night shifts in slaughterhouses, the legal loophole...

Ocean examines the growing movement to relax child labor protections, reading lawmakers’ and industry statements and tracing state and federal proposals like the Teens Act. The episode contrasts supporters’ claims about work experience and staffing needs with critics’ concerns about education, safety, and exploitation, and explains how these changes could reshape young people&rsq...

This episode introduces "The Legalized Child," a three-part series examining how child labor has been normalized and in some places expanded through law and policy in the United States. Host Ocean reviews federal and state rules, recent enforcement data and high-profile investigations, and previews the series' next episodes on policymaking, accountability, and who benefits from loosening child lab...

Ocean examines three workplace horror stories, secret replacements that weaponize trust, a grieving top performer shunned by colleagues, and the cruel practice of shadow onboarding, then breaks down the legal, ethical, and cultural risks each reveals. Through PCE WINS analysis and Demon & Witches metaphors, the episode highlights how secrecy and silence corrode dignity and morale, and offers p...

Episode 9 unpacks a long conversation between Stephen Bartlett and Tristan Harris warning that AI is not just a tool but a structural power shift that can replace human labor, judgment, and institutional memory without guardrails. The episode explores the ethical, legal, and HR implications, mass displacement of entry-level roles, lack of enforceable constraints, and the need for AI impact assessm...

This episode dives into a scandal at Campbell’s where a vice president allegedly disparaged the company’s soup, claimed it contained “bioengineered” chicken, and admitted he no longer eats the product. An employee recorded the remarks, reported them to HR, was later fired, and has now sued for retaliation and emotional distress. Ocean unpacks the fallout: executive miscondu...

Ocean walks through Episode 7’s anonymous Virginia case where a manager’s repeated gaslighting, racial remarks, ignored disability accommodations, and pattern of complaints may amount to constructive discharge. PCE WINS provides a legal overview comparing Virginia’s standards with federal laws like the ADA, explaining objective vs. subjective proof and why documentation and prior...

Ocean unpacks a listener’s nightmare: a 24-year-old employee whose stepmother, also her manager, repeatedly calls her boyfriend about sick days and attendance. The episode examines privacy and nepotism concerns, explains why HIPAA likely doesn’t apply, and offers practical HR-informed advice: document everything, set clear boundaries, and consider formal complaints or moving jobs if th...

Ocean digs into Starstruxxxx's story: a new colleague brings an elaborate coffee setup and keeps pressuring her to be the unpaid office barista despite her refusals. The episode explores gender microaggressions, power dynamics, bystander roles, and the added risk of being on probation, and offers practical advice: set clear boundaries, document incidents, recruit allies, propose fair solutions lik...

Ocean digs into a recent graduate's four-month job hunt that has left them bitter, anxious, and feeling robbed of their future, weaving listener comments and mental-health concerns into the conversation. PCE WINS provides labor-market data and balanced analysis on unemployment trends, education value, and skills-based strategies, while the show’s Demons and Witches segment uses metaphors to...

Host Ocean examines a listener’s disappointment after their five-year anniversary went unnoticed, using workplace anecdotes, listener comments, and a PCE WINS analysis to explore how capitalism reduces value to labor-for-wages. Through stories like the “just over broke” remark and metaphors of demons and witches, the episode discusses recognition, loyalty, and the healthier choic...

This week Ocean discusses whether loyalty to your Company is financially worth it...?🤷🏾‍♀️. She also discusses the difference between job security and stability. Tune in and participate in this week's Pop Quiz 🏫 📚 🔖!!