90,000 Hours

Dr. Lilian Herron is a veterinarian living and working in Hendersonville, NC. With over 20 years combined experience working as both a technician and a doctor, Dr. Herron now works in a private practice, as well as operates an in-home euthanasia service. Dr. Herron talks about the roller coaster of a vet's day-to-day; mitigating guilt and the pervasive issues of burnout and compassion fatigue; the slow industry-wide change towards fear free handling, and facing the challenge of work-life balance head-on.

Producer: Robin Landy

Mastering: Matthew Solberg

Follow @90000hrspod on Instagram

Email: ninetythousandhourspod@gmail.com

Intro: "Crossing The Line" - Eric Andrew Kuhn

Underscore: "Direction," "Trouble Theme" - Eric Andrew Kuhn

https://www.ericandrewkuhn.com

Support the show at https://www.patreon.com/90000hourspod

Patrick Brice is a writer and film director living and working in Los Angeles, CA. Patrick shares his journey from an only-childhood spent in small town Northern California, to valet parking manager in San Francisco, to film school and then Hollywood; eventually writing and/or directing films such as the found footage horror movies Creep and Creep 2, The Overnight, and the upcoming "There's Someone Inside Your House." Patrick talks about grappling with themes of anxiety around human connection; politics of diversity in filmmaking; the personal significance of collaboration and accountability, and staying grounded in an industry built on playing pretend.

Producer: Robin Landy

Mastering: Matthew Solberg

Follow @90000hrspod on Instagram

Email: ninetythousandhourspod@gmail.com

Intro: "Crossing The Line" - Eric Andrew Kuhn

Underscore: "Hope Theme (Medium)," "Into, " "Hope Theme (Piano)" - Eric Andrew Kuhn

https://www.ericandrewkuhn.com

Support the show at https://www.patreon.com/90000hourspod

Madison Jane is a stylist living and working in Asheville, NC. After finishing high school at the age of 16, Madison spent the next 15 years in the industry as a master stylist and texture specialist. Madison talks about her feelings on hair stylists as de facto therapists, the systemic dismissal of textured hair care and education, the physical and energetic toll of styling, as well as the rewards of helping others feel beautiful.

Producer: Robin Landy

Mastering: Matthew Solberg

Follow @90000hrspod on Instagram

Email: ninetythousandhourspod@gmail.com

Intro: "Crossing The Line" - Eric Andrew Kuhn

Underscore: "Interlude," "Reverie, " "Clouds" - Eric Andrew Kuhn

https://www.ericandrewkuhn.com

Support the show at https://www.patreon.com/90000hourspod

Ray Mann is a Paleontology Field Crew Leader living in Asheville, NC. After retiring from a career in software engineering, a trip to Marmath Research Foundation with his daughter reignited a forgotten childhood fascination with dinosaurs and paleontology. Ray fell into volunteer position leading field crews and became unexpectedly indispensable at Marmath, as well as the Gray Fossil Site in TN. Ray talks about the risks, as well as the meditative delicacy involved in digging for fossils; the dogma in tradition that holds the field back from progress, and the philosophy of service to the greater scientific community that inspires him to go forward.

Producer: Robin Landy

Mastering: Matthew Solberg

Follow @90000hrspod on Instagram

Email: ninetythousandhourspod@gmail.com

Intro: "Crossing The Line" - Eric Andrew Kuhn

Underscore: "Fall," "Dire, " "Moonrise" - Eric Andrew Kuhn

https://www.ericandrewkuhn.com

Support the show at https://www.patreon.com/90000hourspod

Megan Lynn Kott is a watercolor artist and illustrator, primarily of cats and other critters, living and working in Milwaukee, WI. Her published works include Cat Tarot, "Unfamiliar Familiars," "Cats are the Worst, and "Pawmistry: Unlocking the Secrets of the Universe with Cats." Megan talks about accepting her strengths as an artist who doesn't fit neatly into the prescribed art worlds, combating a competitive culture with a desire to support and advocate for other artists, and of course, cats.

You can see her work at meganlynnkott.com and on IG @meganlynnkott.

Producer: Robin Landy

Mastering: Matthew Solberg

Follow @90000hrspod on Instagram

Email: ninetythousandhourspod@gmail.com

Intro: "Crossing The Line" - Eric Andrew Kuhn

Underscore: "Opening" "Friends Driving, " "Above and Below" - Eric Andrew Kuhn

https://www.ericandrewkuhn.com

Support the show at https://www.patreon.com/90000hourspod

Mike Sparks is a copywriter and project manager at Roland Instruments, living and working in Seattle WA. As a working musician with 16 years in the grocery industry, Mike talks about the disorienting transition to the corporate office environment; how relinquishing ego writing ad copy impacted his own creativity, differentiating between passion and ambition, and trading a day job for the ability to pursue art on your own terms.

Producer: Robin Landy

Mastering: Matthew Solberg

Follow @90000hrspod on Instagram

Email: ninetythousandhourspod@gmail.com

Intro: "Crossing The Line" - Eric Andrew Kuhn

Underscore: "Looking Back," "Scatter, " "Signs" - Eric Andrew Kuhn

https://www.ericandrewkuhn.com

Support the show at https://www.patreon.com/90000hourspod

Melissa McDonald is a middle school teacher living and working in Oakland, CA. Melissa talks about her experience of becoming a teacher, first teaching at a charter school in Watts, CA before moving to Oakland. She shares why she enjoys teaching kids during the pivotal middle school years; the problematic nature of "grab bag" knowledge in the US educational system; children's right to privacy and building trust; the reality of bringing work home and everyday pressure to beat the clock.

Producer: Robin Landy

Mastering: Matthew Solberg

Follow @90000hrspod on Instagram

Email: ninetythousandhourspod@gmail.com

Intro: "Crossing The Line" - Eric Andrew Kuhn

Underscore: "Guard," "Limbo, " "Drifting," "Arc" - Eric Andrew Kuhn

https://www.ericandrewkuhn.com

Support the show at https://www.patreon.com/90000hourspod

Andrew is a QIDP working in group homes and residential facilities in Asheville, NC. Andrew talks about America's disturbing history of its treatment of individuals with intellectual disabilities; the job stress of facing harsh, bureaucratic systems; the myth of the "dream job," and the day to day reality of caring for the most vulnerable within a fiercely individualistic society.

CW: rape, sexual abuse

Producer: Robin Landy

Follow @90000hrspod on Instagram

Email: ninetythousandhourspod@gmail.com

Intro: "Crossing The Line" - Eric Andrew Kuhn

Underscore: "Ocean Island Town," "Noise," "Looking Back" - Eric Andrew Kuhn

"Fit or a Fever" - Silian Rail

https://www.ericandrewkuhn.com

https://silianrail.bandcamp.com

Support the show at https://www.patreon.com/90000hourspod

Nicole Sparks is an aerialist living and working in Charlotte, NC. After falling in love with aerial arts, Nicole left behind her jobs in healthcare to join Charlotte based circus troupe Nouveau Sud. Nicole talks about how, as someone with an ADHD diagnosis, the intense physicality of circus performance suits her energy; the battles with rejection and imposter syndrome faced by many artists, financial strain and knowing how to value your worth, and her experience of being part of the growing community of circus performers of color in the United States.

You can learn more about Nicole at @owlart88 and www.nouveausud.org

Producer: Robin Landy

Follow @90000hrspod on Instagram

Email: ninetythousandhourspod@gmail.com

Intro: "Crossing The Line" - Eric Andrew Kuhn

Underscore: "Emergency," "Rolling" - Eric Andrew Kuhn

"Kareh, Asal" - Identical Homes

https://www.ericandrewkuhn.com

https://identicalhomes.bandcamp.com

Support the show at https://www.patreon.com/90000hourspod

Our anonymous guest this episode talks about her transition from social work to sex work (and the overlapping caregiving aspects between the two), the isolation of a stigmatized career, the joy of meeting the basic need of human connection, and challenging stereotypes, misconceptions and laws that harm more than protect.

Producer: Robin Landy

Follow @90000hrspod on Instagram

Email: ninetythousandhourspod@gmail.com

Intro: "Crossing The Line" - Eric Andrew Kuhn

Underscore: "Soul Glo," "Wisdom Teeth," At the Sound of The Falling Tree" - Identical Homes

https://www.ericandrewkuhn.com

https://identicalhomes.bandcamp.com

Support the show at https://www.patreon.com/90000hourspod

Joe is a mail carrier living and working in Durham, NC. Both in life and in the process of creating 90,000 Hours, "mail carrier" is far and away what producer Robin Landy hears most often as the fantasy job for workers on their worst days. Joe responds to the often repeated notion of "I wish I could just quit my job and deliver the mail;" discussing time pressure, hills, falls, weather, constant overtime, dogs that truly do hate the mailman, and all the strange things he hears and sees from the public. Despite its many stressful aspects, we hear how Joe went from simply needing a job to falling in love with his job, the mail, and with being an integral part of the community.

Episode 15 is the last episode of Season 1! Thank you all so much for listening and for your support. We'll be taking a short break, and will be back with Season 2 in a few weeks. Stay tuned!

Producer: Robin Landy

Follow @90000hrspod on Instagram

Email: ninetythousandhourspod@gmail.com

Intro: "Crossing The Line" - Eric Andrew Kuhn

Underscore: "Resolve," "Late Sunday Night," Journey" - Eric Andrew Kuhn

https://www.ericandrewkuhn.com

Support the show at https://www.patreon.com/90000hourspod

River Allan is a winemaker living and working in the Hudson Valley of NY. River talks about the everyday reality of winemaking versus the romanticized perception; how his love of wine conflicts with the exclusivity of wine culture; the dark side of the industry's obsession with organic and biodynamic wine, and his experience of being a LGBT person in the relatively straight world of winemaking. Also, lots of bees and turkeys.

Producer: Robin Landy

Follow @90000hrspod on Instagram

Email: ninetythousandhourspod@gmail.com

Follow along @90000hrspod

Intro: "Crossing The Line" - Eric Andrew Kuhn

Underscore: "Work" - Eric Andrew Kuhn " CTSOF," "Nostaglia," "Can't Forget" - James and Evander

https://jamesandevander.bandcamp.com

Support the show at https://www.patreon.com/90000hourspod

Richard Marshall is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist living and working in Portland, OR. Out of college and no idea what to do with his life, Richard did everything from scooping ice cream, playing guitar in the NYC cult punk band Alice Donut, working a string of "comically atrocious" temp jobs, and finally 10 years as a paralegal. After an emotional reckoning in his 40's led him to seek out a new career path, Richard moved to Portland and attended grad school in pursuit of becoming a therapist. Richard talks about how addressing his own mental health challenges in therapy inspired him to want to help others; the various models and aspects of the therapeutic relationship that help clients get better; how his job differs from pop culture portrayals; and how being a therapist has helped him to better understand the true nature of the human condition.

Producer: Robin Landy

Follow @90000hrspod on Instagram

Email: ninetythousandhourspod@gmail.com

Follow along @90000hrspod

Intro: "Crossing The Line" - Eric Andrew Kuhn

Underscore: "Summer," "Today I'm Not Remembering Anything" - Eric Andrew Kuhn "Part and Particle" - Silian Rail

https://silianrail.bandcamp.com

Support the show at https://www.patreon.com/90000hourspod

Neomi is a popsicle cart owner living and working in Asheville, NC. During a seasonal hiatus in Florida, she enjoyed a popsicle that transported her back to childhood time spent in Puerto Rico, and ended changing the course of her life. Leaving behind her string of corporate jobs in NYC, Neomi decided to move to western NC and open a handmade popsicle business. Neomi talks about how suffering from OCD and seasonal depression played into her career change and the decision to "work to live, not live to work," the personal and political significance of entrepreneurship, and embracing a larger definition of what it means to "provide."

Producer: Robin Landy

Follow @90000hrspod on Instagram

Email: ninetythousandhourspod@gmail.com

Follow along @90000hrspod

Intro: "Crossing The Line" - Eric Andrew Kuhn

Underscore: "NY Piano", "Things That Aren't There", "404 Piano Jam" - Adam Myatt

Support the show at https://www.patreon.com/90000hourspod

For more info on Neomi, check out @buggypopsavl

90,000 Hours shares the stories and experiences of everyday working people. After years of working in animal rescue and receiving countless comments about "how fun it must be to play with kittens and puppies all day," producer Robin Landy became fascinated with the idea that no job is what it seems to be; that all vocations come with their unique, unexpected set of challenges and stressors. The show considers the places where workers draw meaning from their jobs outside cultural definitions of "success," and on the flip side, the possibility that a meaningful and fulfilling job that exists for everyone is myth.

A beautifully edited and paced show told in the first person with underlying sonic textures, this "podcast about working" ends up being about much more, including common themes such as the ways personal histories inform our work lives, labor politics, imposter syndrome, the separation of work and self-worth, and so much more. 

Producer: Robin Landy

Theme Music: Eric Andrew Kuhn

Follow along @90000hrspod

ninetythousandhourspod@gmail.com

Support the show at https://www.patreon.com/90000hourspod

Adam Myatt, aka The Cat Man of West Oakland, is a cat rescuer and advocate living and working in Oakland, CA. When a lighthearted photography project of neighborhood cats exposed Adam to the reality of his city's cat homelessness and overpopulation problem, Adam pivoted from music to letting cats "take over his life;" eventually partnering with an area rescue to open America's first cat cafe. Adam talks about the impact of the cafe on overpopulation at the city shelter (lowering their euthanasia rate by over 70%); being part of the changing face of cat rescue, the necessity of levity within an emotionally heavy field, and his vision for his place in the community going forward. Also cat buttholes.

Producer: Robin Landy

Visit @90000hrspod on Instagram

Email: ninetythousandhourspod@gmail.com

Intro: "Crossing the Line" - Eric Andrew Kuhn

Underscore: "Perspective," "Don't Cry" "Bird Loves Bee 11", and "Spring and Summer" - Eric Andrew Kuhn

"Dank Nugz," "Sarah's Piano" - Adam Myatt

You can find out more about Adam at @catmanofwestoakland, @hoodcats and www.catmanofwestoakland.com.

Check out the Cat Town Cafe at @cattownoak and https://www.cattownoakland.org

https://www.ericandrewkuhn.com

Our anonymous guest this week is a Physician Assistant of Neurosurgery at Duke Hospital in Durham, NC. She talks about her winding path from body piercing to medicine; burnout and imposter syndrome, the privilege of unburdening patients from pain and disability, and separating self-worth from credentials.

Producer: Robin Landy

Visit @90000hrspod on Instagram

Email: ninetythousandhourspod@gmail.com

Intro: "Crossing the Line" - Eric Andrew Kuhn

Underscore: "Untitled" - Robin Landy "Decision," "Waiting" "Pause", and "Daydream" - Eric Andrew Kuhn

https://www.ericandrewkuhn.com

Paco Romane is a comedian, actor and voiceover actor living and working in San Francisco, CA. After being fired from countless jobs, a chance meeting with his comedy idol Robin Williams inspired Paco to dump the 9-5 and pursue comedy and acting full time. Paco talks the economic struggles of American artists and entertainers, why being the "funny man" feels so uncomfortable, and the trauma and vulnerability that most great comedians have in common.

You can learn more about Paco on Instagram @pacoromane

Producer: Robin Landy

Visit @90000hrspod on Instagram

Email: ninetythousandhourspod@gmail.com

Intro: "Crossing the Line" - Eric Andrew Kuhn

Underscore: "Afternoon," "Driving Away Fast," "Plucking" "Dizzy Swimming, and "Early Sunday Morning" - Eric Andrew Kuhn

https://www.ericandrewkuhn.com

Carter is a firefighter living and working in NC. She talks about why firefighting was the perfect antidote to her former desk job at IBM, the roller coaster of extremes between the banal and the heart-pumping, and the risks and rewards of saving lives for a living.

Producer: Robin Landy

Visit @90000hrspod on Instagram

Email: ninetythousandhourspod@gmail.com

Intro: "Crossing the Line" - Eric Andrew Kuhn

Underscore: "Stars" - Eric Andrew Kuhn

"Smoke Rainbow," "Holding the Night's Attention," "Language Lessons," - Identical Homes

https://www.ericandrewkuhn.com

https://identicalhomes.bandcamp.com

Steph is a trauma-informed massage therapist living and working in Chapel Hill, NC. She talks body autonomy, the common theme of childhood trauma that connects many bodyworkers, and why providing an opportunity for safe touch feels so personal.

Producer: Robin Landy

Visit @90000hrspod on Instagram

Email: ninetythousandhourspod@gmail.com

Intro: "Crossing the Line" - Eric Andrew Kuhn

Underscore: "Reaching", "Bowls Underwater" - Eric Andrew Kuhn

"Lacuna Quake," "Bone in the Riverbed" - Silian Rail

Edwin is a stay at home parent living and "dad-ing" in Nashville, TN. A father of 2 young children, Edwin talks his complex relationship to gender roles, the unspoken loneliness of stay at home parenthood, and the overwhelming nature of determining next steps.

Producer: Robin Landy

Visit @90000hrspod on Instagram

Email: ninetythousandhourspod@gmail.com

Intro: "Crossing the Line" - Eric Andrew Kuhn

Underscore: "Nomad Blues," "Deer Park Howling" - Identical Homes

https://identicalhomes.bandcamp.com

Meghan Gambling is a screenwriter, TV producer, and playwright living and working in Los Angeles, CA.

Producer: Robin Landy

Visit @90000hrspod on Instagram

Email: ninetythousandhourspod@gmail.com

Intro: "Crossing the Line" - Eric Andrew Kuhn

Underscore: "Reaching" & "Hope Theme" - Eric Andrew Kuhn

Zan is a bartender living and working in two locations in New York City - a high end restaurant in the Lower East Side, and a dive bar in Brooklyn.

Please excuse some background street noise you may hear in this episode...just consider it New York City ambiance.

Producer: Robin Landy

Visit @90000hrspod on Instagram

Email: ninetythousandhourspod@gmail.com

Intro: "Crossing the Line" - Eric Andrew Kuhn

Underscore: "Small Horizon," "Swell, " & "Trouble Theme" - Eric Andrew Kuhn

"Each/Other" - Silian Rail

Crystal is CPDT-Certified Dog Trainer living and working in Hendersonville, NC. She's worked with dogs for over 10 years in both the private and non-profit sectors, and her current job is working at an animal shelter in Western North Carolina.

Producer: Robin Landy

Visit @90000hrspod on Instagram

Email: ninetythousandhourspod@gmail.com

Intro: "Crossing the Line" - Eric Andrew Kuhn

Underscore: "End," "Frozen" and "Sunrise Part 2" - Eric Andrew Kuhn

Devon Riggsbee is a professional wrestler living and working in Chapel Hill, NC. In the ring, he's known as "Snooty Foxx", but at the end of the day, he's just Devon.

Producer: Robin Landy

Visit @90000hrspod on Instagram

Email: ninetythousandhourspod@gmail.com

Intro: "Crossing the Line" - Eric Andrew Kuhn

Underscore: "Room Before" & "Underwater" - Eric Andrew Kuhn

Eric Andrew Kuhn is multi-instrumentalist and film composer living and working in Ypsilanti, Michigan. His music has been included in dozens of projects for TV, advertising, and film, including the Michelle and Barack Obama produced "Crip Camp," Southeast Emmy winner "While I Breathe, I Hope." Eric has been "playing, writing, recording and touring since I was too young to drive myself to the places I was playing."

Eric composed our theme music, as well as other music included in our episodes.

Producer: Robin Landy

Visit @90000hrspod on Instagram

Email: ninetythousandhourspod@gmail.com

Intro: "Crossing the Line" - Eric Andrew Kuhn

Underscore: "Bird Loves Bee 4" & "Cotton Candy" - Eric Andrew Kuhn

https://www.ericandrewkuhn.com