
83 episodes

Rough Translation NPR
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- News
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4.8 • 7.1K Ratings
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Our expectations of work are changing. Whether you're a cubicle-dweller, side gig hustler, or blue-collar breadwinner, we're all experiencing some major changes to the idea of what a workplace should look and feel like. Can the culture of work change too?
In this latest season of Rough Translation, we'll be traveling the globe to see how people are shifting their relationship to their jobs. From the mysterious man who inspired a "slacker revolution" in China to an American trans woman trucker changing the rules of the road, and from to the new codes of small talk in the Brazilian metaverse, to the ways that a war can change how Ukrainians look at work (and how work can change how they see a war). We explore what happens when international workplace norms are challenged both by local customs and homegrown rule-breakers.
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Failing@Work: Epic Fails & Failure Epics
Many of us think we can't share our stories of failure until we've reached success. Some Mexico City entrepreneurs started a club to change that, and the world took notice.
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Stuck@Work: Your Country's Brand Is Escape, But You Can't
When Portugal forbade bosses from contacting employees after hours, international media jumped at the chance to cover the new law. Portuguese workers were oddly quiet. Why?
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Lunching@Work: When Eating at Your Desk Is Forbidden
In 2021, France suspended a law that forbids eating lunch at work. We talk to an American teacher relieved to see it go and a French historian determined to bring it back.
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Slackers@Work: A Song for the Exhausted
A video ricochets across Chinese offices, and a scooter thief becomes an icon for brewing discontent. Why is a thief who says he's tired of working viewed by the Chinese state as such a threat?
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New Season: @Work. Starting June 1.
We're back @Work. The new season of Rough Translation will tell surprising stories from workplaces and work cultures around the world.
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The Good Russians
Hundreds of thousands of Russians are leaving Russia. They're facing an uncertain welcome abroad. Poet and writer Linor Goralik joins us to read from "Exodus 22," her uncomfortably frank conversations with Russians who – before the war – lived in a Westernized bubble, ignoring the mounting threats of Putin's regime. Then, the bubble burst.
Customer Reviews
See the world , while you do dishes
I would listen to this podcast everyday if there were enough episodes.
My very favorite podcast
If I could listen to only one podcast, this would be it. I love hearing stories from around the world, I love Gregory Warner’s gentle, informed approach, and I love being surprised and gaining new insights.
Moving and eye-opening
Give it a listen to better understand the world!