I’ll be back next week with a new essay and a new interview. In the meantime, since we are again coming up on his big night, here’s an interview with Santa Claus from early this year.
Back in January, his 2011 duties finally complete, Santa took a break and spilled the beans. In the interview, I learned how he landed the job, how much it pays, and—mandatory ‘ho ho ho’s aside—whether it’s any fun.
About the podcast…
The first Work Stew interview was released in February 2011. I spoke with Gretchen Peters, an intrepid investigative reporter who explained how she went from a job on Rodeo Drive to a hut in Afghanistan. Since then more than 50 other interviews have been released; you can view a complete list here.
The ten most downloaded interviews to date are these:
A former CIA spy does a reality check on the TV show ‘Homeland’—what rings true, what doesn’t, and the scene that made her tear up.
A newspaper cartoonist explains what it takes to be funny seven days a week, for more than sixteen years.
A husband-and wife team who make their living as long-haul truckers describe their life on the road.
The voice in my GPS describes how she got there. Turns out she’s an accomplished singer and songwriter.
A writer of closed captioning for adult films explains how he got into such an unusual line of work and how he feels about it. One listener commented, “See, there ARE jobs for English majors!”
A particle physicist describes what it’s like to be focused on topics that most of the world knows nothing about.
A certified mediator explains why he loves getting involved with other people’s disputes.
A comedy writer on the path he travelled to arrive at his role on Comedy Central’s hit show Tosh.O.
A long-time flight attendant who recently retired from the airline industry to become…a gorilla caretaker. Seriously.
A marketer-turned-cook describes how hard she works, how little she earns—and how much she loves her new career.
Work Stew 