What Works Tara McMullin

For justice-minded people, navigating the world of work in the 21st-century economy can feel... impossible. A real no-win scenario. There's a constant tension between what's good for the communities we inhabit and what's good (and necessary) for us as individuals. But it's in this tension that we find a "margin of maneuverability"—a source of hope, possibility, and creativity.
That's the theme of a new book called The Myth of Making It by Samhita Mukhopadhyay, a feminist writer and editor, and the former executive editor of Teen Vogue. I sat down with Samhita to talk about the book and explore our margins of maneuverability. Footnotes:
Grab your copy of The Myth of Making It by Samhita MukhopadhyayFind out more about SamhitaStar Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and more on the Kobayashi Maru in Star Trek loreThe Politics of Affect by Brian Massumi"At 20, Teen Vogue knows its readers contain multitudes" by Annie Aguiar for PoynterRelated episodes:
466: Making Room for Others with Leonie Smith455: The Case for Uncertainty (and How to Navigate It)457: How to Define Hard-to-Define Work Stress450: The Will to Share Power with Tania LunaJoin me for Summer Seminar x What Works! It's an 8-week guided learning and reflection experience that provides a structure for examining your relationship with rest. Learn more and register here!


★ Support this podcast ★

Our podcast feeds and streaming services are full of real stories of real people. And not all of those stories feel... true. I mean, even if the facts are accurate, the way something is edited, packaged, and marketed can dramatically alter a story's impact.
Artist and audio producer Jess Shane wanted to create a project that would expose some of the problematic elements of this booming (and highly profitable) industry. The result is a podcast series for Radiotopia Presents called Shocking, Heartbreaking, Transformative. Listening to it made me deeply uncomfortable, so I knew I needed to have her on What Works to discuss it!
In this episode, you'll get the behind-the-scenes on this project. And you'll learn what happens when attention becomes a fetish.
Footnotes:
Listen to Shocking, Heartbreaking, Transformative from Radiotopia PresentsFind out more about Jess ShaneCurated Stories: The Uses and Misuses of Storytelling by Sujatha FernandesThe Crisis of Narration by Byung-Chul Han

★ Support this podcast ★

Okay, this isn't really an episode about speculative investing. Well, it is. But I'm not talking about crypto or meme stocks. I'm talking about the challenges of living and working as a speculative investment.
Today's episode is a brief reflection on self-speculation, the "anticipatory, speculative self," and why the second person is so ubiquitous on social media.
Footnotes:
"Verified: Self-presentation, identity management, and selfhood in the age of big data" by Alison Hearn in Self-(Re)presentation Now"The Truth About Influence" by Alison Hearn in Re-thinking Mediations of Post-Truth Politics and TrustPsychopolitics by Byung-Chul Han"What 'You' and 'We' Say About Me" by Ariana OrvellAs always, find an essay version of today's episode at whatworks.fyi


★ Support this podcast ★

What would happen if you archived all of your Instagram content, announced that you had taken a job at a fictional wellness company, and then got fired for disclosing your experience with company-mandated colonic hydrotherapy? Well, Leigh Stein did exactly that.
Leigh wears many hats—novelist, poet, cultural critic, book coach, publishing expert. And when she realized that she wasn't wearing the hat she wanted to wear on Instagram, she decided to have some fun with a satirical performance art project.
Listen for the whole story and a provocation to embrace your own social media use as a project of identity performance!
Footnotes:
Leigh Stein's books and cultural criticismLeigh Stein on Instagram, TikTok, and SubstackGender Trouble by Judith ButlerJudith Butler on Why Is This Happening with Chris HayesSarah Urist Green on performance art for The Art AssignmentPerformance by RoseLee Goldberg"From Work to Text" by Roland BarthesRuPaul explaining drag on The PreachersAlso in this series:
Organizing Indie Labor with Chiarra Lohr of the Indie Sellers GuildFiguring Out the Creator Economy with Charlie Gilkey & Kate TysonBuilding Solidarity in the Creator Economy with Charlie Gilkey & Kate TysonRethinking Creativity: An Interlude
Find an essay version of this episode at whatworks.fyi
***
I'm teaching a new workshop on May 15 & 16, 2024! It's called World-Building for Business Owners, and it's based on a process I've been honing for more than a decade. I'll help you apply creative, even playful thinking to your business strategy—and help you create an internally consistent business that causes fewer headaches, meets your needs more efficiently, plays to your strengths, and creates satisfying work.

Click here for all the details or go to explorewhatworks.com/world


★ Support this podcast ★

Good luck going anywhere today without running into a message about creativity.
I was going to say, "anywhere online," but really, it's just about anywhere. We get creative in the kitchen. Creative in our workouts. Creative in bed. And of course, creative at work. Creativity is somewhat of a "cult object," as Samuel Franklin put it in his cultural history of creativity.
Today, I want to get uncomfortably close to that cult object and ask, "What is our fascination with creativity hiding?" So join me as I venture onto the third rail of the 21st-century economy.
Footnotes:
The Cult of Creativity: A Surprisingly Recent History by Samuel W. Franklin"The Surprising Origins of Our Obsession with Creativity" by Samuel W. Franklin in Behavioral Scientist"The Origins of Creativity" by Louis Menard (book review) in The New YorkerCapitalist Realism by Mark FisherAlso in this series:
Organizing Indie Labor with Chiarra Lohr of the Indie Sellers GuildFiguring Out the Creator Economy with Charlie Gilkey & Kate TysonBuilding Solidarity in the Creator Economy with Charlie Gilkey & Kate Tyson
Find an essay version of this episode at whatworks.fyi
***
I'm teaching a new workshop on May 15 & 16, 2024! It's called World-Building for Business Owners, and it's based on a process I've been honing for more than a decade. I'll help you apply creative, even playful thinking to your business strategy—and help you create an internally consistent business that causes fewer headaches, meets your needs more efficiently, plays to your strengths, and creates satisfying work.
Click here for all the details or go to explorewhatworks.com/world
***
If you enjoy What Works, please consider supporting this work by becoming a premium subscriber for just $7 per month.


★ Support this podcast ★

I'm teaching a new workshop on May 15 & 16, 2024! It's called World-Building for Business Owners, and it's based on a process I've been honing for more than a decade. I'll help you apply creative, even playful thinking to your business strategy—and help you create an internally consistent business that causes fewer headaches, meets your needs more efficiently, plays to your strengths, and creates satisfying work.
Click here for all the details or go to explorewhatworks.com/world


★ Support this podcast ★