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Employee of the Month — Society & Culture
Employee of the Month

We spend most of our time working, so what does it take to (mainly) love what you do? How do even the most gifted, talented, intelligent, ambitious, disciplined, imaginative, inventive, and lucky people develop their point of view, find meaning, serve a greater good, deal with work place politics, rejection, finances, boredom, red tape, logistics, and creative roadblocks? What are the perks or enjoyable about forging your own path? Catie Lazarus and her guests delve into beauty, banality and absurdity of work, jobs, and labor.

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Copyright: © Catie Lazarus

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Keegan-Michael Key schools President Barack Obama, sings, and preps for Hamlet Jun 09, 2017

Show notes

William Shakespeare shed light on humans’ hypocrisy, absurdity, and complexity with unparalleled acuity. It’s obvious why Keegan-Michael Key, who with his gifted partner-in-crime Jordan Peele, chartered new waters with their hilariously subversive sketch comedy series Key & Peele, has always felt an affinity for the bard. But it is a dream come true, one he'd spoken of for decades, for the Emmy and Peabody winning actor to be in Hamlet at The Public Theater in New York. Directed by Tony winner Sam Gold and starring Oscar Isaac as Hamlet, the three month run sold out as soon as tickets went on sale. In our Employee of the Month interview, we spoke about Keegan’s two-decade detour in comedy, his first film Hamtramck, improvising with President Barack Obama for The White House Correspondents Dinner, and how comedian Mike Birbiglia’s indie Don’t Think Twice proved the perfect segue for extending his already rich repertoire to more dramatic roles. Did I mention Keegan-Michael Key can sing?

Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to Employee of the Month and the rest of your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe directly from the Employee of the Month show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Or visit slate.com/employeeplus to get access wherever you listen.

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Big Thief's Adrianne Lenker sings and talks songwriting Jun 02, 2017

Show notes

This week on Employee of the Month, I spoke between songs with indie darling Adrianne Lenker. In our interview, which was recorded live at Joe's Pub, the singer, guitarist and front woman of Big Thief performed the heralded Masterpiece and a new surprise from their second album Capacity. She also spoke about her early forays performing at open mic nights in Minnesota as a kid and the craft of storytelling. In addition to Lenker, Big Thief features her longtime partner Buck Meek (guitar) as well as Max Oleartchik (bass), and James Krivchenia (drums). On June 9th, their second album will be out on Saddle Creek.

This episode was produced by Rob Schulte. http://robkschulte.com

Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to Employee of the Month and the rest of your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe directly from the Employee of the Month show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Or visit slate.com/employeeplus to get access wherever you listen.

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Astrophysicist Priya Natarajan on black holes to Carl Sagan May 24, 2017

Show notes

Priya Natarajan, a world-renowned theoretical astrophysicist, is making dark matter maps of clusters of galaxies, the largest known repositories of dark matter in the universe. Her accessible, fascinating book Mapping the Heavens: The Radical Scientific Ideas That Reveal the Cosmos (Yale University Press) chronicles her journey, as well as that of the field of astrophysics which has undergone astronomical changes in recent years. In our interview, which was recorded live at Joe’s Pub at The Public Theater, Natarajan revealed what it’s like to be an outsider in academia, and what it meant to her to watch Carl Sagan as a child, growing up in India.

This episode was produced by Rob Schulte.

Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to Employee of the Month and the rest of your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe directly from the Employee of the Month show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Or visit slate.com/employeeplus to get access wherever you listen.

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John Roberts on Bob's Burgers, Blondie, and a Trump Tribute May 17, 2017

Show notes

John Roberts is a musician and comedian, who got his start when his hilarious Youtube videos inspired by his own mother went viral. He perfectly captured the spirit of his Italian, suburban, Catholic, New Jersey mom. His career as a comedian took off and he has toured doing comedy with Margaret Cho and gained national fame as the voice of Linda Belcher on Fox's hit animated series Bob's Burgers. Roberts, who is also a musician, also performs with Blondie, Gregory Brothers and as a solo act. At the end of our delightful interview, Roberts was joined by Alex Borstein, an Employee of the Month Alum who plays Lois on Family Guy to gives real quotes by President Donald Trump the gravitas they deserve.

This episode was produced by Rob Schulte. http://robkschulte.com

Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to Employee of the Month and the rest of your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe directly from the Employee of the Month show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Or visit slate.com/employeeplus to get access wherever you listen.

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RACHEL FEINSTEIN on living and working with Amy Schumer & myths about comedians May 10, 2017

Show notes

RACHEL FEINSTEIN is best known for her stand up, and we spoke about how she started acting, be it in her roommate's INSIDE AMY SCHUMER on Comedy Central, RED OAKS on AMAZON or Judd Apatow and Pete Homes new HBO series, CRASHING. We spoke about how she embodies characters, living with comedians, like Amy Schumer and Sherrod Small, and the myth that all comedians are broken. Her own comedy special ONLY WHORES WEAR PURPLE is out and she performs stand-up all over the world.

This episode was produced by Rob Schulte. http://robkschulte.com

Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to Employee of the Month and the rest of your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe directly from the Employee of the Month show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Or visit slate.com/employeeplus to get access wherever you listen.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Planned Parenthood's Cecile Richards on economics of sexism May 02, 2017

Show notes

"Don't ask for instructions " Cecile Richards, who serves as President of Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Planned Parenthood Action Fund, explains what it takes to be a labor. She has been involved in helping women fight for basic healthcare and economic equality since she was only a teenager in Texas. Before 2006, Ms. Richards served as deputy chief of staff for House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, founded the NGO America Votes, and began her career organizing low-wage workers. http://plannedparenthood.org

This episode was produced by Rob Schulte. http://robkschulte.com

Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to Employee of the Month and the rest of your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe directly from the Employee of the Month show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Or visit slate.com/employeeplus to get access wherever you listen.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oskar Eustis reveals The Public Theater's plans to hit Trump country Apr 19, 2017

Show notes

In a city overpopulated with ambitious, brilliant misfits, Oskar Eustis holds his own. The Artistic Director of the legendary Public Theater is somehow directing Julius Caesar with a star-studded cast including Oscar Isaac and Keegan-Michael Key for Shakespeare in the Park, while teaching at NYU, developing new works as far as Hong Kong, and as far, at least politically, as rural and Midwest, Trump voting counties go, while overseeing the mothership with a 120-person staff and at least 4 productions seven nights a week, not including the multiple writing and outreach programs, and stages, including Joe’s Pub. Eustis is an exceptional leader. Eustis is even training and nurtures potential successors. We spoke about how the Public became a global brand, his mission to make theater free and accessible, leadership, and what the windfall from Fun Home and Hamilton’s success on Broadway offers.

This episode was produced by Rob Schulte. http://robkschulte.com

Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to Employee of the Month and the rest of your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe directly from the Employee of the Month show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Or visit slate.com/employeeplus to get access wherever you listen.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Grammy winner Lady Rizo on embezzling money, sex, and her new album. Apr 13, 2017

Show notes

After winning a Grammy with Yo-Yo Ma (Songs of Joy and Peace), the inaugural Edinburgh Fringe Cabaret Award and the London Cabaret Award for best vocal act, Lady Rizo is touring with a whole new album Indigo. In 2004, her cabaret act was born. We spoke about her time before then from Princess Cruiselines, finding her own voice after flirting with the improv scene at Upright Citizens Brigade Theater, and loves, old and new. Our interview was recorded live at Joe's Pub at The Public Theater.

This episode was produced by Rob Schulte. http://robkschulte.com

Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to Employee of the Month and the rest of your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe directly from the Employee of the Month show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Or visit slate.com/employeeplus to get access wherever you listen.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John Benjamin Hickey on winning a Tony and reuniting with Allison Janney Apr 05, 2017

Show notes

John Benjamin Hickey, who won a Tony for his role in “The Normal Heart,” isn't a stranger to the grueling schedule of theater. He started hosting his own radio show on Sirius. But the Julliard-trained thespian was itching to be on Broadway, and is enjoying being in the revival of John Guare’s 1990 Tony- and Pulitzer-nominated play, “Six Degrees of Separation.” For starters, it means being reunited with Allison Janney. We spoke about contrived intimacy, dating within your profession, and why Six Degrees of Separation is sadly still timely.

This episode was produced by Rob Schulte. http://robkschulte.com

Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to Employee of the Month and the rest of your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe directly from the Employee of the Month show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Or visit slate.com/employeeplus to get access wherever you listen.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Judy Gold talks Holocaust jokes, Louie C.K., and sexism Mar 29, 2017

Show notes

While Steve Martin and Ricky Gervais dove into stand-up after they’d made a name for themselves and enough money for their great-great grandchildren’s grandchildren to never need to work, Judy Gold got her start in stand-up. It wasn’t easy to miss the 6’3, religious Jewish lesbian on the line-up, but it was her fearlessness and hilarity which won crowds over. She made a name for herself in theater, starting with her two one-woman shows 25 Questions for a Jewish Mother and The Judy Show, but she has more recently appeared in Shakespeare in the Park. We spoke about why she takes acting classes and her first job on Roseanne to Louie. When not performing stand-up or acting, Gold is also an Emmy Award-winning TV writer and producer and hosts her own podcast KILL ME NOW.

Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to Employee of the Month and the rest of your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe directly from the Employee of the Month show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Or visit slate.com/employeeplus to get access wherever you listen.

This episode was produced by Rob Schulte http://robkschulte.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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