Working

This season on Working, we're talking to people employed in fields potentially imperiled by the results of the recent U.S. Presidential election. Nithya Nathan-Pineau is Program Director of CAIR Coalition's Detained Children's Program. She spoke with Jacob Brogan about helping children understand their legal situation, and her work helping making arguments that kids facing deportation deserve asyl...

This season on Working, we're talking to people employed in fields potentially imperiled by the results of the recent U.S. Presidential election. Diane Horvath-Cosper is an OBGYN and family planning specialist who advocates for reproductive rights. She talked to Jacob Brogan about why she chose to train as an abortion provider and what it's like compassionately counseling women as they prepare for...

Carol Collins has performed over 40 years as Bingo the Clown. She tells Jacob Brogan, about how she got started, what goes into being a clown, and how the recent clown scares have affected her work. In a Slate Plus Extra, Collins shares some of her favorite memories from her 40 years in the clown industry including clown conferences around the world, her own articles for clown publications, and To...

Rosana helps professional find their own personal style. She rummages through their closet to help get a sense of who they are and what they have, then she goes shopping with them and helps them create outfits with their new and old clothing. In a Slate Plus Extra, Rosana shares her thoughts on style in Washington, D.C., a city with a reputation for dressing a little bland. If you’re a member, enj...

Nail Artist Vivian Cam helps her clients have healthy and beautiful nails. She'll even go a step beyond painting intricate designs and images on her customer's nails—everything from autumn trees to minions. Vivian talked to Jacob Brogan about how she got started doing nails and how she helps clients decide on the right design for them. In a Slate Plus extra, Vivian talks about the work she does on...

Self-described "tailoress" Cheryl Lofton makes new clothes fit better, brings new life to old clothes, and helps design customer's dream clothing on a budget. She spoke with Jacob Brogan about her family history in the industry and how she works with customers today. In a Slate Plus extra, Cheryl and her assistant Cindy talk about their relationship and measure Jacob for a pair of pants he needs h...

Working embarks on a new series with the people who make sure that we look good. This week, we start with foundation.  Christin Michelle , a professional freelance makeup artist helps clients get ready for weddings, photo shoots, galas, and more. She tells us how she began doing makeup artistry, what she carries around in the super heavy kit that she brings to jobs, and how she professionally mana...

This week, the Smithsonian's National African American History and Culture Museum had its grand opening, so we're sharing a conversation we had earlier this year with one of its curators. Ever find yourself at a museum wondering about who chose the artifacts and wrote the captions? We spoke with Mary Elliott, a museum specialist at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and...

Jim Adams keeps every plant at the White House healthy and beautiful as the Supervisory Horticulturist for the National Park Service Special Liaison to the White House. In this last episode of our Working at the White House series, we spoke to Adams in the White House’s Kennedy Garden about the history of the White House as a National Park, about his year-round rotation of plants, and about his en...

Outside the gates of the White House, Lafayette Plaza is often full of tourists, Secret Service, Performers, and Protesters. We spoke to Philipos Melaku-Bello, an advocate for nuclear disarmament who has been supporting a peace vigil across from the White House for over 30 years. Melaku-Bello shares how he and a small group of volunteers have kept the vigil going through winter blizzards and blist...

This season on Working, we’re going to the White House. For this week's episode, we spoke to someone who was a little less familiar with the institution. Chase Woods, a rising senior at the University of Chicago, served as an intern at the White House this past summer. He talked to us about how he found his way into that role, and what he did during his time there. We spoke to him about everything...

We're taking a short vacation, so it's a great time to catch up on the rest of the series. Learn about who writes the President's speeches, who picks out his letters, and who manages his schedule. We'll be back in early September with the end of this season. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Meet the President's chief negotiator in Congress, Amy Rosenbaum. This season on Working, we’re going to the White House. For this episode, we visited the West Wing office of Amy Rosenbaum, President Obama's Director of Legislative Affairs. She shuffles between the White House and Capitol Hill striving to persuade members of Congress to get behind the President's legislative priorities. She discus...

This season, we've been going to the White House trying to understand how the Presidential administration's employees operate and interact. To get a better sense of how the building itself operates, we spoke to Maju Varghese, Assistant to the President for Management and Administration. A former of member of the President's advance team, Varghese is now responsible for the literal management of th...

This week we took a step back from the administration itself to talk to the Washington Post's White House Bureau Chief, Juliet Eilperin. A former environmental reporter for the Post, Eilperin made the jump to her current beat back in 2013, and she's been covering the Obama administration ever since. She talked to us about everything from the challenges of covering a story in an environment where s...

This season on Working, we’re going to the White House. Head Speechwriter Cody Keenan writes and edits the President's speeches. He takes us through his career starting as a speechwriting intern in 2008 and how a speech goes from the blank page to the teleprompter.  In a Slate Plus Extra, Keenan tells us about some of the lighter speeches he's written over the years, including one he gave himself....

This season on Working, we’re going to the White House. Director of Scheduling Gregory Lorjuste is responsible for figuring out what the President will do from one minute to the next while he's on the road.  In a Slate Plus Extra tells us about scheduling the inauguration in 2009. If you’re a member, enjoy bonus segments and interview transcripts from Working, plus other great podcast exclusives....

This season on Working, we’re going to the White House. Because the jobs of the people who work there are sometimes unpredictable, we weren’t able to bring you an episode this week. But we’ll be back next week with another conversation. In the meantime, be sure to check out our first two episodes of Working at the White House. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This season on Working, we’re going to the White House. For our second episode, we spoke to Paulette Aniskoff, director of the White House Office of Public Engagement. Aniskoff has been working with the president since 2007, and she brings many of the strategies developed on the campaign trail to the administration’s outreach to the American citizenry. She explored question large and small, includ...

There's no workplace that looms larger in Washington, D.C. than the White House. Hundreds of employees work within its walls, but most of us don't know much about what really goes on there. In a special season of Working, we're peeking behind that curtain talking to some of those who make their way through the White House's gates each morning. For our first episode, we're talking to Fiona Reeves,...

We spoke to Faith Smith who orchestrates all of Slate's live events. She puts together live tapings of podcast episodes, and has also organized conferences, panel discussions, happy hours, and much more. She offered us a literal backstage look at the way that those events come together, starting with the way that she gathers participants and finds a venue. She also talked to us about preparing for...

Meet the Chief Scientist of NASA, Dr. Ellen Stofan. By training, Dr. Stofan is a planetary geologist who has studied volcanoes both here on Earth, and elsewhere in the solar system. In her current role, she helps coordinate scientific projects of all kinds, which means she has to keep up with a dizzying array of recent research topics. She also discussed how she helps communicate NASA's work to st...

Ever find yourself at a museum wondering about who chose the artifacts and wrote the captions? We spoke with Mary Elliott, a museum specialist at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture. Along with her colleague Nancy Bercaw, Elliott has worked years on a massive exhibit that explores the global history of slavery and the makings of America. And in a  Slate Plus  ...

Visit Second Story Books in Washington, D.C. and meet book buyer and seller Topher Lundell. He told us about how they acquire the thousands of books that line the store's shelves and discussed how the internet change his brick and mortar business model.  And in a  Slate Plus  extra, Topher tells us about some of the gloriously weird pulp Sci Fi novels that he posts to his Instagram  @topherlundell...

Jason Mogavero is a dog walker based in Washington, D.C. who looks after a dozen or more pups every day. He went in deep with us on the particulars of his job, from the way he gets to know new clients—human and animal alike—to the way he arranges his schedule. Along the way, he covered a lot of other ground, discussing the contents of his fanny pack, how he keeps bones out of the dogs’ mouths, and...