Future of Work
58 episodes
#6362: Where Mathematicians Actually Work and How AI Fits In
A surge of over 700 automated AI proof manuscripts hit the mathematics community in October, testing how researchers verify claims.
#6083: The Second Noun: Where AI Careers Are Still Empty
Everyone's headline says "AI consultant." The real openings sit where AI attaches to a second noun you already know cold.
#6046: Five Jobs, One Laptop: The Overemployed Playbook
A British civil servant allegedly held five full-time jobs at once — until his make-up started separating on a Teams call. What the overemployed pl...
#6030: Who Do You Actually Hire to Train a Model?
Research engineers and data engineers are diverging. Here's who you actually hire to train a model — and why the org chart keeps changing.
#5402: Amazon Go and the Humans Behind the AI
Amazon promised a store with no checkout. The Information reported 700 of every 1,000 sales needed human review in 2022.
#5400: Amy, Presto, and the Thousand Workers Behind "AI
From X.AI's Amy to Amazon's Just Walk Out, the humans quietly doing the "intelligent" part while the product says AI.
#5399: Who's Actually Behind the AI? Fauxtomation Explained
Amazon's Just Walk Out needed 1,000 workers in India. Google Duplex, Facebook M — the pattern of selling humans as software goes deep.
#5255: When AI Writes the Code, Who Checks It?
If agents write the code, the human job becomes knowing when it's wrong. What that means for languages, jobs, and CS degrees.
#5183: Where AI Actually Sits on the Hype Cycle
AI has been doing real work for decades. So why do vendors still shout it from the rooftops?
#5162: Retirement Was Invented: Work, Aging, and the Pension Cliff
Retirement as a funded life stage is barely a century old. Here's what pre-industrial work lives actually looked like — and why the cliff-edge pers...
#4989: The Easiest Rides in the Workforce
High salary, minimal effort, and jobs where doing nothing means everything is going right.
#4980: Can You Learn to Code Backwards?
When AI writes your code, do you still learn? Aviation, atrophy, and building a mental model from scratch.
#4874: Why Greece Works More Hours Than Germany
Southern Europe works more hours for less output. The lazy stereotype collapses on contact with the data.
#4658: Will AI Coding Kill Programming Languages?
Machines now write code better than humans. What happens to Python, TypeScript, and COBOL when no human reads the code?
#4313: Did You Really Build That App? AI Imposter Syndrome
You built a working app with AI in a weekend. So why does it feel like you don't deserve to charge for it?
#4251: How to Run a Job Interview Like a Spy
Three elicitation techniques that reveal what a company is really like — without sounding like an audit.
#3852: The Hidden Workforce Behind AI's Intelligence
Behind every "intelligent" AI system are millions of workers in Kenya, India, and the Philippines doing repetitive tasks for poverty wages.
#3848: When Freelance Success Hides Stagnation
Making good money freelancing? That steady income might be hiding a dangerous skill atrophy spiral.
#3839: Bad Bosses Are a Feature, Not a Bug
70% of managers are rated ineffective. The data shows it's a systemic failure, not bad luck.
#3796: Why Electricians and Lawyers Used to Be the Same Thing
Why do we call some skilled work a profession and other work a trade? The medieval answer might surprise you.
#3659: Late-Stage Capitalism vs Post-Capitalism: What Do These Terms Actually Mean?
Late-stage capitalism" is a mood, not a prediction. We break down where these terms come from and what they actually mean.
#3451: Why Career Changers Peak at Age 39
The average age for a major career change is 39. Here's what the data reveals about midlife pivots.
#3428: Logistics Careers That Survive AI
The jobs in logistics and warehousing that are actually growing — and the skills you need to get them.
#2971: How Much Fuel Does Your Suitcase Really Burn?
Baggage fees aren't about fuel savings. The real story is a $5.7 billion profit center dressed up in green PR.