Hello Monday with Jessi Hempel

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Ever wish you had a pal who could break down the biggest ideas of the new world of work and distill them into actionable insights you could apply to your own life, right away? Meet LinkedIn's Hello Monday with Jessi Hempel! Each week, Jessi explores the changing nature of work and how that work is changing us. Jessi welcomes big thinkers to share their best ideas: everyone from game-changing entrepreneurs like Aurora James, to research-based experts like Daniel Pink, to notable figures like Megan Rapinoe and Bozoma Saint John. Start your week by joining us every Monday for a dose of fresh ideas, then join us in community and conversation on LinkedIn. New episodes weekly.

  1. 1d ago

    Jenny Hagel on How to Build a Creative Career When the Odds Are Against You

    Comedy writer Jenny Hagel has six Emmy nominations. The other week, she wrote 20 jokes. One made it to television. She doesn’t see this as failure, though. It’s the nature of the job. And it might offer the most useful career lesson you'll hear all year. Jenny is a writer on Late Night with Seth Meyers, where she also regularly appears on camera in the popular segment Jokes Seth Can’t Tell. She is also the author of a new book of essays called Advice No One Asked For. In this episode, Jessi Hempel sits down with Jenny to talk about the arc of her non-traditional career, and what it actually takes to keep going in the face of failure. In this episode, Jessi and Jenny discuss: The live advice show Jenny built during the writer's strike, and how a room full of strangers asking earnest questions accidentally became the most community-building thing she's ever done How humor acts as a spoonful of sugar that lets us endure the heavy stuff a little longer The 411 call that landed Jenny a grad school internship Why the find-yourself period matters, and what gets lost when young people skip it The writing advice Jenny gives everyone: the part where you create and the part where you judge have to be two completely separate steps How growing up queer in the '80s and '90s inadvertently became a blueprint for every out-the-box decision she's made since Why a creative career isn't all-or-nothing, and what the middle actually looks like Find Advice No One Asked For wherever books are sold, and follow Jessi Hempel on LinkedIn.

    29 min

  2. 5d ago ·  Bonus

    Bonus: Lesbian Bars and the Secret Formula for Belonging

    Lesbian bars aren’t just nightlife, they’re evolving spaces of community and chosen family, and they have a special place in Jessi Hempel’s heart. On this bonus episode, Jessi sits down with one of Hello Monday’s own producers,  Rachel Karp, to talk about her new book The Lesbian Bar Chronicles: The Living History and Hopeful Future of America's Dyke Dives and Sapphic Spaces.  Rachel’s journey started as a passion project: a documentary podcast in which the Cruising podcast team went on a road trip to visit every lesbian bar in the US. Their goal was to tell the history of lesbian bars and stories of the people who go to them. Now, those stories– and the lessons we can learn from them about how to create real-life community spaces–are in a book. In this episode: Why Rachel and the Cruising podcast team went on their road trip Why lesbian bars have endured, even as culture, technology, and rights have shifted What makes physical spaces of belonging different from digital communities The role of leadership in shaping inclusive, values-driven spaces What “chosen family” looks like in practice, and why it matters What anyone (queer or not) can learn from lesbian bars Follow Jessi Hempel and Rachel Karp on LinkedIn.

    15 min

  3. May 25

    How to Build a Career You Actually Believe In

    We're trained to climb ladders and chase titles, but what if the real metric of career success was the positive impact you have on the world? In this episode from the Hello Monday archives, host Jessi Hempel sits down with Rutger Bregman to explore moral ambition—a framework for building a career based on what positive impact you can have on the world.  Rutger's groundbreaking book, Moral Ambition: How to Stop Wasting Your Talent and Start Making a Difference, is a wake-up call for anyone who's felt something was missing from their work. Whether you're early in your career, questioning your path, or rebuilding after a layoff, this conversation offers a practical roadmap for pivoting toward meaningful work. In this episode, Jessi and Rutger explore: What moral ambition is, and why it's the antidote to burnout Why "follow your passion" is the wrong advice for building a sustainable career How to shift from success-driven to service-driven work Which industries funnel talented people into unfulfilling roles, and how to break free Real-world examples of people solving humanity's biggest problems How to build coalitions and find collaborators aligned with your values The hidden cost of prestige, and how to redefine what winning looks like This episode is a call to action for anyone who wants to do good—and do it well. Follow Rutger Bregman and Jessi Hempel on LinkedIn

    30 min

  4. May 18

    We're Lonelier Than Ever. Ritual Is the Answer.

    Rituals work. They help us make meaning, process transition, and connect with each other. That’s why we’ve been doing them for more than 300,000 years. So why, in this century, have we largely abandoned them?  This week, bestselling author, repeat Hello Monday guest, and longtime friend Bruce Feiler joins us in the studio to talk about his new book, A Time to Gather: How Ritual Created the World and How It Can Save Us. Bruce traveled to 16 countries on six continents to explore why ritual matters and identify how we can bring it back into our everyday lives. In this episode: Why ritual is the original human algorithm and why we've abandoned it The difference between self-care and group care, and why the latter matters so much The rise of new rituals: cancer-versaries, sober-versaries, infertility ceremonies, and divorce parties Why funerals are disappearing, and what we're losing when they do A live ritual design class: Bruce walks Jessi through building one for her daughter's preschool graduation The three things every ritual needs: a beginning, a middle, and an end From "rites of passage" to "bites of passage": why small, frequent moments of connection matter as much as the big ones Virtual vs. ritual: why 2026 feels like the year we're choosing to come back together in person Follow Jessi Hempel and Bruce Feiler on LinkedIn. And let us know how you’re incorporating ritual into your own life.

    29 min

  5. May 14 ·  Bonus

    Feed Drop: WorkLife with Molly Graham

    You might think the biggest, most prestigious job is always the right career move. Patty Stonesifer — founding CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and an early Amazon board member — says that’s exactly the wrong way to decide what to do next. So what should guide your career? In this special episode from WorkLife with Molly Graham, Patty shares the nine-word personal mission statement she’s used for decades to filter opportunities, turn down what doesn’t fit, and speak up for what matters. Patty shares how you can write your own, and even coaches Molly through creating hers in real time.WorkLife is a podcast from TED where host and company builder Molly Graham and her expert guests talk through the messy feelings we all experience at work. Ambition and failure, joy and burnout, confidence and self-doubt — this show digs into it all to help you build a career without losing yourself. Listen now: https://link.mgln.ai/7r9KAe

    40 min

  6. May 11

    23,000 People Tried Moving Every 30 Minutes. Here's What Happened.

    We talk a lot about what technology is doing to our minds. But what about everything below the neck? This week, Jessi is joined by Manoush Zomorodi, host of NPR's TED Radio Hour and author of Body Electric: The Hidden Health Costs of the Digital Age, and New Science to Reclaim Your Wellbeing. Unfortunately, a killer workout or a standing desk won’t save us from the long-term health consequences of a sedentary lifestyle. But five minutes of gentle movement every half hour could. In fact, Manoush helped run a clinical trial with 23,000 people to prove it. Jessi and Manoush discuss: Why sitting all day drains your energy even when you haven't done anything The Columbia study that got 23,000 people moving, and what it proved Why standing desks aren't actually the fix we thought they were The "garden hose" model of what happens to your arteries when you sit or stand too long How people can restructure their workdays (and their calendars) to make movement stick What "information athletes" can learn from dancers, musicians, and pilots The shift from screen-shaming to something kinder and more practical This one might make you want to stand up and take a lap while listening. That's kind of the point. Follow Manoush Zomorodi and Jessi Hempel on LinkedIn.

    30 min

  7. May 4

    Feeling Powerless at Work? Here’s Where Your Agency Still Lives

    Work has always been demanding, but lately, it feels like the ground is constantly shifting. Business is moving faster, projects disappear overnight, expectations change without warning. Under pressure, teams see more tension and uncomfortable moments. So how do you stay steady through these times and even use workplace tensions to grow and improve? This week on Hello Monday, Jessi Hempel talks with Aiko Bethea, leadership coach and author of Anchored, Aligned, Accountable: A Framework for Transcending Bullsh*t and Transforming Our Lives. Aiko’s book comes with a forward from Brené Brown, and offers a road-tested framework for navigating modern work with more clarity and intention. Instead of looking outward for stability, she argues that the real work starts within: understanding your values, recognizing your impact, and reclaiming your sense of agency. In this conversation, Jessi and Aiko discuss: Why work feels more chaotic than ever What it really means to be “anchored” in your values—and why most of us get this wrong How to align your decisions and behavior with what actually matters to you A more generous, effective way to think about accountability (hint: it’s not about blame) The many forms of power operating inside organizations Why curiosity is the key to better leadership and stronger relationships How to stop waiting for external conditions to improve and start creating your own stability This episode is for anyone looking for a way to regain clarity, ownership, and direction in the middle of constant change. Follow Aiko Bethea and Jessi Hempel on LinkedIn.

    29 min

  8. Apr 27

    Jury Duty Creators on What Company Retreat Gets Right About Work

    Work can feel a little surreal. Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat makes that feeling literal. In this episode of Hello Monday, Jessi Hempel sits down with Lee Eisenberg, writer and co-creator of the Jury Duty franchise, and Nick Hatton, executive producer, to talk about the hit series. The show’s premise is simple but radical: one real person dropped into a completely staged world, surrounded by actors. In Company Retreat, that world is the workplace. Specifically, a hot sauce company navigating a looming acquisition in the midst of their annual retreat.  Beneath the comedy, the show lands because it feels real. Lee has built his career capturing the nuances of human behavior at work, spending 5 years in the writer’s room for The Office before co-creating Jury Duty. Nick, too, has built a career in comedy, with past producing credits such as Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat Subsequent Moviefilm and This Is America.  In this conversation, they unpack how they recreate workplace dynamics so convincingly, why audiences connect so deeply with these stories, and what the show reveals about modern work culture. Jessi, Lee, and Nick discuss: The "David vs. Goliath" design behind Company Retreat and why Anthony was cast as the lowest rung on the corporate ladder How the show argues that ordinary people are capable of extraordinary decency when given the right environment The unexpected discovery that many of their casting candidates were gig workers, and what that says about the modern economy The ethics and mechanics of "laying breadcrumbs" for their hero without compromising his free will Their fears and cautious hopes about AI's impact on the entertainment industry and the future of meaningful work Follow Jessi Hempel on LinkedIn

    28 min
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Ever wish you had a pal who could break down the biggest ideas of the new world of work and distill them into actionable insights you could apply to your own life, right away? Meet LinkedIn's Hello Monday with Jessi Hempel! Each week, Jessi explores the changing nature of work and how that work is changing us. Jessi welcomes big thinkers to share their best ideas: everyone from game-changing entrepreneurs like Aurora James, to research-based experts like Daniel Pink, to notable figures like Megan Rapinoe and Bozoma Saint John. Start your week by joining us every Monday for a dose of fresh ideas, then join us in community and conversation on LinkedIn. New episodes weekly.

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