…

What Works

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Tara McMullin

"Work" is broken. We're overcommitted, underutilized, and out of whack. But it doesn't have to be this way. What Works is a podcast about rethinking work, business, and leadership as we navigate the 21st-century economy. When you're an entrepreneur, independent worker, or employee who doesn't want to lose yourself to the whims of late-stage capitalism, this show is for you. Host Tara McMullin covers money, management, culture, media, philosophy, and more to figure out what's working (and what's not) today. Tara offers a distinctly interdisciplinary approach to deep-dive analysis of how we work and how work shapes us.

#392

EP 484: The Freedom to Buy

So, health insurance is in the news. And so is Americans' feelings about it. I got to wondering how we ended up with this terrible health insurance system in the United States. I uncovered a fascinating story about the marketing campaign that sunk Truman's national health insurance program in the 1940s. I also discovered some interesting parallels to popular marketing messages among today's influencers, gurus, and marketers. Today's episode is a little trip through history that will hopefully put some of our current issues in perspective. Footnotes: --- [Gallup's survey data on healthcare] (https://news.gallup.com/poll/4708/healthcare-system.aspx) ---" [The Lie Factory] (https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/09/24/the-lie-factory?_sp=8d9b873a-fd2c-4a70-adcb-cf85b4c7061f.1733847531596) " by Jill Lepore, in The New Yorker --- [Interview with Leone Baxter] (https://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-151-1n7xk85321/) in the American Archive of Public Broadcasting ---" [Campaigns, Inc.] (https://artsandculture.google.com/story/campaigns-inc-california-state-archives) " via the California State Archives ---" [The deprofessionalization of medicine. Causes, effects, and responses.] (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3682117/) " by RR Reed and D Evans ---" [Professional Identity Misformation and Burnout: A Call for Graduate Medical Education to Reject “Provider] (https://meridian.allenpress.com/jgme/article/13/2/167/464032/Professional-Identity-Misformation-and-Burnout-A) ” by Deborah Ehrlich and Joseph Gravel ---" [White Privilege and Professionalization: A Decolonial and Critical Feminist Perspective on Professional Nursing] (https://witness.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/default/article/view/153/103) " by Natalie Stake-Doucet ---" [Why Doesn’t the United States Have National Health Insurance?] (https://www.nber.org/papers/w32484) The Role of the American Medical Association" by Marcella Alsan and Yousra Neberai ---" [Oli London & the Right Wing Grift] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vT32-40G_Vc) " by Matt Bernstein Find an essay version of this episode at [whatworks.fyi] (http://whatworks.fyi) ! [★ Support this podcast ★] (http://whatworks.fyi) ... Read more

12 Dec 2024

27 MINS

27:31

12 Dec 2024

#391

EP 483: Avoiding Acquiescence Bias

A problem, question, or challenge is often more than meets the eye. But we're biased to accept how an issue is initially framed. We acquiesce to the original terms. That's called acquiescence bias. When we don't counteract our acquiescence bias, we miss opportunities to get to the root cause or think creatively about a challenge. Today, I share 3 ways to resist acquiescence bias as you consider your next moves, goals, or plans. Footnotes: ---"In Your Spare Time" from No Time to Spare by Ursula K. Le Guin ( [read it] (https://www.ursulakleguin.com/blog/in-your-spare-time?rq=in%20your%20spare%20time) or [listen on Spotify] (https://open.spotify.com/show/0iAHAmVZBDE5CmhttpVm2j) ) ---" [Don't call it a Substack.] (https://www.anildash.com/2024/11/19/dont-call-it-a-substack/) " by Anil Dash --- [More on why podcast metrics were so screwy this year] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnktQrpXHrQ&t=1s) ---A [skeet thread] (https://bsky.app/profile/earleyedition.bsky.social/post/3lbvwgzurbc2y) on the difference in referral traffic from Bluesky and X [★ Support this podcast ★] (http://whatworks.fyi) ... Read more

05 Dec 2024

21 MINS

21:09

05 Dec 2024

#390

EP 482: Seeing Software

Do you see your software?Do you see how it influences how you run meetings, brainstorm ideas, fulfill your responsibilities, and communicate with others? Do you see how its text boxes, radio buttons, tabs, search results, and menus train you to think? Do you see it, or do you just use it? Footnotes: ---" [The impossible dream of good workplace software] (https://www.theverge.com/24266372/workplace-productivity-enterprise-software-ai-microsoft-office-google-workspace-slack-decoder) " on Decoder ---" [Practico-inertia] (https://robhorning.substack.com/p/practico-inertia) " by Rob Horning [★ Support this podcast ★] (http://whatworks.fyi) ... Read more

21 Nov 2024

17 MINS

17:57

21 Nov 2024

#389

EP 481: Preservation in the Post-Information Age with Sari Azout

Stop me if you've heard this before: we're overloaded and overwhelmed by information. There's more content than you could ever hope to consume. More scientific theories, philosophical concepts, and art forms than you could ever hope to engage with. Enter personal knowledge management (PKM). It's a modern term for an ancient practice—how one collects, preserves, and utilizes knowledge worth remembering. In this episode, I speak with Sari Azout, the founder of Sublime, an app for personal knowledge management (but that description truly doesn't do it justice). We talk about the philosophy behind the product and how that plays out in the product's design. Plus, I dive into how Sari's PKM philosophy is part of a long lineage of practices people have used to remember what's worth preserving. Footnotes: --- [Check out Sublime] (http://sublime.app) or [get started right away with an invite] (https://sublime.app/invite/nP9WuGb7) ! --- [Too Much to Know] (https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300165395/too-much-to-know/) by Ann Blair ---More about [Sarah Mackenzie & Read-Aloud Revival] (http://readaloudrevival.com) ---" [The Glassbox and the Commonplace] (https://stevenberlinjohnson.com/the-glass-box-and-the-commonplace-book-639b16c4f3bb) " by Steven Johnson ---More on [John Locke's commonplace book index system] (https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/john-lockes-method-for-common-place-books-1685/) --- [What do you want to preserve?] (https://sariazout.substack.com/p/check-your-pulse-57#:~:text=Our%20idolatry%20of,want%20to%20preserve%3F) ---More on Corita Kent at the [Corita Art Center] (http://corita.org) Every new episode is published in essay form at [WhatWorks.FYI] (http://whatworks.fyi) ! [★ Support this podcast ★] (http://whatworks.fyi) ... Read more

25 Oct 2024

29 MINS

29:52

25 Oct 2024

#388

EP 480: Exceedingly Complex Systems

In management cybernetics, there are 3 types of systems: simple, complex, and exceedingly complex. The systems we pay the most attention tend to be, you guessed it, exceedingly complex. In this episode, I explore what that means for how we do our work and run our businesses—and what happens when we forget that people are exceedingly complex systems, too. Footnotes: --- [Cyberboss] (https://www.versobooks.com/products/2958-cyberboss?srsltid=AfmBOopLD_476n25Rieu-pzpiwqK6ry7Rr8rWZjcUcEVl61PfIfBEqps) by Craig Gent --- [Thinking In Systems: A Primer] (https://www.chelseagreen.com/product/thinking-in-systems/) by Donella Meadows --- [Emergent Strategy] (https://www.akpress.org/emergentstrategy.html) by adrienne maree brown ---" [Practicing the Future: 3 Ideas for Rethinking Change] (https://www.whatworks.fyi/p/practicing-the-future-3-ideas-for?r=3p5vn&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web) " at What Works Every episode is published in essay form at What Works and delivered in my newsletter— [check it out and subscribe!] (http://whatworks.fyi) [★ Support this podcast ★] (http://whatworks.fyi) ... Read more

17 Oct 2024

20 MINS

20:32

17 Oct 2024

#387

EP 479: A Theory of Resourcefulness

You've probably heard of a scarcity mindset. Maybe you've even been accused of having one! In this short, I explore the false binary of scarcity and abundance mindsets to propose a third way: resourcefulness. Footnotes: ---" [Thought-terminating cliché] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thought-terminating_clich%C3%A9) " on Wikipedia --- [Adam Tooze on The Ezra Klein Show] (https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/17/podcasts/transcript-ezra-klein-interviews-adam-tooze.html) --- [Information on the US tax gap] (https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p5869.pdf) ---" [Breaking boundaries to creatively generate value] (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0883902621000513) " in The Journal of Business Venturing --- [Braiding Sweetgrass] (https://milkweed.org/book/braiding-sweetgrass) by Robin Wall Kimmerer ---This is a significant revision of a piece originally published in 2021 Essay versions of every episode are published at whatworks.fyi! [★ Support this podcast ★] (http://whatworks.fyi) ... Read more

10 Oct 2024

17 MINS

17:50

10 Oct 2024

#386

EP 478: Data Never Speak For Themselves

We're constantly bombarded by data. And it's easy to think that with the right clues, we could answer the ultimate questions of life, the universe, and everything. But data aren't facts. They're not a secret code. Data are media—they mediate our interactions with the world around us. To make them useful and meaningful, we need a critical framework for working with data as media. That's what I've got for you today—a deep dive on how predictability, relevance, and actionability can help us see data for what they are and for what they're not. Footnotes: ---Anytime I talk about data and how it mediates our lives and work, I'm referencing the work of philosopher C. Thi Nguyen and [his concept of value capture] (https://philarchive.org/rec/NGUVCH) . I've written about his theory previously [here] (https://www.whatworks.fyi/p/metrics-incentives-and-the-seduction?utm_source=publication-search) ---I also make use of Byung-Chul Han's The Crisis of Narration, specifically his critique of a 2008 Wired essay by Chris Anderson about the end of theory Get written versions of all new episodes at [whatworks.fyi] (http://whatworks.fyi) —where you can also become a premium subscriber for just $7 per month and help support the work I do at What Works. [★ Support this podcast ★] (http://whatworks.fyi) ... Read more

26 Sep 2024

23 MINS

23:50

26 Sep 2024

#385

EP 477: Here's a tip

Today's episode is about tips. As in gratuity. Wait, wait, wait! Where are you going? I know, you probably don't receive tips for your work. Maybe you don't live in the US, and you're thinking, 'What is this American BS about tips?' Well, when I first heard about Trump's (and then Harris's) proposal to eliminate federal taxes of tipped income, my brain went a hundred different places: how many people would it impact, how much savings are we talking about, what will this do to the proliferation of tipped work, and how much could this accelerate re-proletarianization?! You probably weren't expecting that last one. Here's the thing: tipping is a class issue. Which means it's also a social justice issue. And it's also an issue that intersects with frustrations with the way all of us work. To find out how, you've got to trust me—and listen. Footnotes: ---Information on the [federal tipped minimum wage] (https://kamalaharris.com/issues/#:~:text=She%E2%80%99ll%20fight%20to%20raise%20the%20minimum%20wage%2C%20end%20sub%2Dminimum%20wages%20for%20tipped%20workers%20and%20people%20with%20disabilities%2C%20establish%20paid%20family%20and%20medical%20leave%2C%20and%20eliminate%20taxes%20on%20tips%20for%20service%20and%20hospitality%20workers.%C2%A0) ---' [Tip baiting] (https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/05/tech/instacart-tipping-policy-update/index.html) ' Instacart drivers via CNN ---" [The Economic Logic Behind the 'No Tax on Tips' Policy] (https://www.mondayeconomist.com/p/the-economic-logic-behind-the-no) " by Jadrian Wooten --- [Tipping: An American Social History of Gratuities] (https://www.google.com/books/edition/Tipping/PJfTYcB48uIC?hl=en&gbpv=0) by Kerry Segrave ---" ['It's the Legacy of Slavery': Here's the Troubling History Behind Tipping Practices in the U.S.] (https://time.com/5404475/history-tipping-american-restaurants-civil-war/) " via Time ---" [Tipping is a racist relic and a modern tool of economic oppression in the South] (https://www.epi.org/publication/rooted-racism-tipping/#:~:text=Following%20the%20Civil%20War%20and,small%20tip%20for%20their%20services.) " via the Economic Policy Institute ---" [Errand Runners of Digital Platform Capitalism] (https://www.triple-c.at/index.php/tripleC/article/view/1438) " by İsa Demir ---" [Defending Hierarchy: The Conservative Impulse] (https://www.liberalcurrents.com/defending-hierarchy-the-conservative-impulse/) " by Matthew McManus --- [The Society of the Spectacle] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Society_of_the_Spectacle) by Guy Debord ---" [The problem is proletarianization, not capitalism] (https://www.radicalphilosophy.com/article/the-problem-is-proletarianisation-not-capitalism) " by Solange Manche (about Bernard Steigler) --- [Capitalism is Dead: Is This Something Worse?] (https://www.versobooks.com/products/887-capital-is-dead?srsltid=AfmBOoqBw8o0XHkfQsV4qlIFqwKZd8g3aWybO2DTOajHPQrYdCp5kvYP) by McKenzie Wark ---" [The Practical Utopian's Guide to the Coming Collapse] (https://davidgraeber.org/articles/a-practical-utopians-guide-to-the-coming-collapse/) " by David Graeber Find essay versions of every new episode at [whatworks.fyi] (http://whatworks.fyi) ! [★ Support this podcast ★] (http://whatworks.fyi) ... Read more

20 Sep 2024

28 MINS

28:17

20 Sep 2024

#384

EP 476: Cult Value

If a chatbot writes your novel, did you really complete NaNoWriMo? Two niche internet panics caught my eye over the last couple of weeks: a bungled AI policy by the organization that promotes National Novel Writing Month and a viral story about people hiring Strava surrogates to run for them so they can claim the kudos. And those two stories got me thinking about the ways that we delegate away the intrinsic value of other activities. So with the help of a 1935 essay by Walter Benjamin, let's unpack the cult value of novel writing, running, and social media. Footnotes: ---" [NaNoWriMo Says Condemning AI is 'Classist and Ableist'] (https://www.404media.co/nanowrimo-ai-policy-classist-ableist/?ref=daily-stories-newsletter) " via 404 Media ---" [Some Thoughts on NaNoWriMo] (https://stone-soup.ghost.io/some-thoughts-on-nanowrimo/) " by Sarah Gailey ---Channel News Asia on the [Indonesian Strava jockey trend] (https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/indonesia-strava-jockey-trend-viral-running-4472421) ---" [People are paying 'Strava mules' to do their runs for them, but why?] (https://www.womenshealthmag.com/uk/fitness/running/a62044095/strava-jockey/) " via Women's Health --- [Velljko's Strava mule confession] (https://www.tiktok.com/@velljko/video/7403814400823479594) on TikTok --- [Leigh Stein on the internet's difficult with satire] (https://www.tiktok.com/@leighstein/video/7133609088713362734) on TikTok ---" [The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction] (https://web.mit.edu/allanmc/www/benjamin.pdf) " by Walter Benjamin ---" [Unpacking the Attention Fetish] (https://www.whatworks.fyi/p/unpacking-the-attention-fetish) " on What Works ---" [In Defense of Inefficiency] (https://www.whatworks.fyi/p/in-defense-of-inefficiency) " on What Works ---" [Why AI Isn't Going to Make Art] (https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-weekend-essay/why-ai-isnt-going-to-make-art) " by Ted Chiang via The New Yorker Essay versions of every episode are posted at [whatworks.fyi] (http://whatworks.fyi) , where you can also become a premium subscriber and support What Works for just $7 per month. [★ Support this podcast ★] (http://whatworks.fyi) ... Read more

12 Sep 2024

18 MINS

18:09

12 Sep 2024

#383

EP 475: Values aren't chains; they are wings

Inspired by the current vibe shift, I'm interrupting my rebroadcast of the Self-Help, LLC series with an interlude about values—personal values, business values, American values, even Christian values. And it's about what is so often misunderstood about values. Values aren't chains; they are wings. [★ Support this podcast ★] (http://whatworks.fyi) ... Read more

22 Aug 2024

07 MINS

07:24

22 Aug 2024

#382

What Does Power Sound Like?

This is the 6th installment in the Self-Help, LLC series, which originally ran in October 2022. Today's episode has been revised and re-engineered! We form an impression of our voices early in life. While it might shift some as we age, those impressions tend to stick with us. For many of us, what we learn about our voices is how they don’t quite measure up to the ideal: too high, too low, too soft, too loud, too this, too that. This is especially true for women, queer people, transgender people, non-native English speakers, Black people, people of color, indigenous people, and really anyone whose voice doesn’t fit into the white, male baritone mold. So what do we do? We try to sound more like everyone else. And that can not only mess with our ability to use our physical voices, but it messes with our ability to use our metaphorical voices and confuses our sense of self. Samara Bay, a Hollywood dialect coach who’s worked on blockbusters like Wonder Woman and Guardians of the Galaxy, is on a mission to help everyone find “permission to speak.” In this episode, we dig into how the self-help imperative to “own your voice” might be more complicated than it sounds. Footnotes: --- [Find out more about Samara Bay] (http://samarabay.com/) ---Get Samara’s book [Permission to Speak] (https://www.samarabay.com/book) ---“ [I still have a voice] (https://www.kqed.org/perspectives/201601142614/alice-wong-i-still-have-a-voice) ” by Alice Wong ---Samara Bay on [Anna Sorokin and Elizabeth Holmes’s voices] (https://jezebel.com/jezebel-investigates-did-anna-sorokin-really-talk-like-1848517987) --- [Women and Power] (https://bookshop.org/a/17354/9781631494758) by Mary Beard ---More about [African American Vernacular English] (https://www.pauseontheplay.com/potp/ep126) on Pause on the Play ---College students talk about their relationships to their Southern accents on [Dolly Parton’s America] (https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/dolly-partons-america/episodes/dolly-partons-america-episode) ---“ [The Magic of Voice Transitioning with Nicole Gress] (https://www.wildheartsociety.org/episodes/04-nicole-gress) ” on Camp Wild Heart with Mackenzie Dunham ---“ [Me minus me] (https://www.thisamericanlife.org/778/transcript) ” on This American Life (Sandy Allen’s vocal transition) ---“ [If you don’t have anything nice to say] (https://www.thisamericanlife.org/545/if-you-dont-have-anything-nice-to-say-say-it-in-all-caps) ” on This American Life (complaints about female voices) ---More on the [mid-atlantic accent] (https://youtu.be/5aXmNle560k?t=307) As always, find the essay version of this episode at [whatworks.fyi] (http://whatworks.fyi) [★ Support this podcast ★] (http://whatworks.fyi) ... Read more

15 Aug 2024

39 MINS

39:41

15 Aug 2024

#381

The Spectacle of Influence(rs) with Sara Petersen

How influencers, well, influence the way we see the world, our work, our families, and ourselves? And how does the spectacle we immerse ourselves in daily contribute to our perfectionism, anxiety, or fear? In the fifth installment of Self-Help, LLC, I talk about all that and more with Sara Petersen. This is an edited version of an episode that originally ran in October 2022. There’s an influencer for every thing these days. Camping equipment? Sure. Nutritional supplements? You bet. Miniatures? You know it. College admissions? But of course. In this episode, though, we’re going to focus on one of the original influencer niches: MOMS. The rise of the influencer ushered in a new outlet for self-help. Now, not only are there motivational books and talks, there’s a product endorsement to help you live your best life. Influencers give us, perhaps, the direct line between personal growth and consumer capitalism. I talk with the author of Momfluenced, Sara Petersen, about all of that and more. Footnotes: ---Subscribe to [Sara Petersen’s newsletter] (https://sarapetersen.substack.com/) ---Grab your copy of [Momfluenced] (https://bookshop.org/a/17354/9780807006634) ---“ [Life After Lifestyle] (https://subpixel.space/entries/life-after-lifestyle/) ” by Toby Shorin ---“ [The Rhetoric of the Image] (https://williamwolff.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Barthes-Rhetoric-of-the-image-ex.pdf) ” by Roland Barthes --- [The Society of the Spectacle] (https://bookshop.org/a/17354/9781922491282) by Guy Debord --- [Episode 393] (https://www.whatworkspodcast.com/self-help-llc-how-does-empowerment-get-sold-with-kelly-diels/) with Kelly Diels --- [Episode 395] (https://www.whatworkspodcast.com/ep-395-self-help-llc-instagram-the-algorithm-and-personality-types-with-steph-barron-hall-from-nine-types-co/) with Steph Barron Hall ---“ [The Influencer Industry: Constructing and Commodifying Authenticity on Social Media] (https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/3636/) ” by Emily Dean Hund New!Join me for an 8-week seminar called [Making Sense] (https://www.seminarby.work/making-sense) starting in September! I'll guide you through how to use the process of sensemaking to make media that helps your audience better understand the world. If you're bored by your current content strategy, tired of coming up with new how-tos or advice posts, and want a fresh and impactful way to approach how you write, podcast, speak, or communicate in any way, this seminar is for you. You'll work week-by-week through on-demand learning, office hours, workshops, and small assignments so that by the end, you have the draft of an essay, script for a video, outline of a podcast series, or slide deck for a presentation. [Learn more about Making Sense!] (https://www.seminarby.work/making-sense) [★ Support this podcast ★] (http://whatworks.fyi) ... Read more

08 Aug 2024

38 MINS

38:50

08 Aug 2024

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