A brand new podcast about
the meaning and identity
we find in work.

A reporter does her first remote live radio broadcast from inside a block of ice, a celebrity impersonator’s first international trip teaches her what it really means to be “Big in Japan,” and a Japanese translator leaves her family for the first time only to get shipwrecked on a movie set in the Antarctic. For our final episode of the season, we hear the origin stories behind of some of the strangest, and yet most formative, work experiences people have had in their lives. We go back to where it all starts: the beginning.

The owner of a vintage retail store recalls how she made a career out of the eclectic clothing in her closet, and a doctor grapples with his community’s vehement protests against his plans to open a medical cannabis dispensary. In this episode, two stories of peace, love, drugs and counterculture in ‘60s San Francisco.

An environmentalist burns the midnight oil volunteering to preserve decades of climate change data amid a major government clampdown, and a Syrian medical student learns how his family’s chocolate-making business can equally be a cure for heartbreak. This week, stories about survival and the lengths people go to preserve a life’s work.

An enterprising retiree becomes a bustling cafés’ new favorite server, and a former Wall Street banker finds renewed inspiration after accepting a summer internship with a group of college students. This week, stories of people who have proved that it’s never too late to find professional, and personal, fulfillment.

Meet the three New York Times machinists who’ve printed every single issue of the paper for the last 30 years, and an investigative reporter who waged war on mayoral misconduct from the front page of the Toronto Star. This week, stories of people whose lives (and careers) have been indelibly marked by the business of getting the story right.

A freshwater ecologist tasked with making his research more accessible discovers an unlikely muse in Bruce Springsteen. A medical ethnobotanist seeks new cures for super bugs in the natural world after her own near-death brush with a bacterial infection. This week, stories about the noble pursuit of knowledge—and how that often leads to some surprising discoveries about ourselves.

Dive into the daily hustle, juggle, and struggle of the freelance life in this special episode. Meet a freelance farmer with a novel approach to traditional work; a writer, mother and animal keeper bitten by the travel bug; a sweet-talking freelance collections agent whose business is to get freelancers paid; and a private forensic pathologist who finds the untold stories of the dearly departed.

A jetpack inventor rejects his position as an ivory-towered executive to stay grounded as an entrepreneur. A Jamaican-American chess player becomes the first black international grandmaster in history. This week, stories of childhood dreams and the realities of rising through the ranks.

A college student’s sweepstakes win paves the way for her lifelong dream to reform U.S. immigration policy. An academic lands a rare dream job as the ‘Wikimedian in Residence’ for one of the oldest libraries at the University of Oxford. This week, stories of modern day jobs with a historical twist.

The head of purchasing and IT at America’s largest fortune cookie supplier takes on a new role as head fortune cookie writer. A baker with Down syndrome has to break the law to lead an independent life and career. This week, two stories of remarkable people in who fight the odds to pursue their passions.

Explore the hidden world of seemingly unremarkable jobs in this special episode with double the stories, including: a video store clerk who gets knocked out of his monotonous comfort zone by a suspicious visitor, a call center agent who finds renewed purpose in how she serves customers, a supermarket chain manager who comes down with a bad case of "bore-out", and a man whose job literally involves watching grass grow. And he loves it.

An instagram star bullied for the color of her skin turns the teasing into the fuel behind her fashion modeling career; a professional British rugby player confronts “jock” stereotypes when he comes out to friends, family, and fans as gay.

We meet a chef who can’t wait to walk away from her prestigious Michelin star rating and a web developer who singlehandedly orchestrated one of the biggest fast food comebacks his hometown has ever seen.

We meet a woman teaching doctors good bedside manners by acting sick when she’s feeling perfectly fine; and a neuroscientist at odds with her own brain after she’s diagnosed with schizophrenia.

An outspoken corporate downsizer learns a harsh lesson after being surprised with her own exit package, and a loyal cop that has to choose between fighting the war on drugs and his criminal brother. Sometimes practicing tough love at work and at home isn’t always the best policy.

A journalist discovers a scarf with her byline imprinted in its design and embarks on an investigative journey to track down its makers; a former futures trader stumbles into her calling as an internet hoax buster with a specialty for empathizing with the perpetrators. Following your curiosity can lead you to some pretty interesting work, or at least a very good story.

Meet a woman who’s made a career out of professional cuddling; and an engineer, lawyer and open-source advocate who grappled with her own values in order to save her life.

A Kung-Fu master honors his father’s legacy; a frustrated musician’s chance meeting with a mentor leads to a powerful lesson in self-acceptance. Sometimes, the best thing to happen to your career is finding your guiding light.

A woman starts a dating site for single farm workers, and an exiled army colonel launches a revolution from the aisles of a hardware store. What happens when your life’s work is deeply connected to where you’re from?

An entrepreneur learns the cost of putting his work ahead of his relationship; a young developer flees her war-torn homeland for a chance to pursue her dream career. What happens when your professional ambitions put your personal life at stake?

A woman discovers her cranium-tingling voice is the stuff of YouTube stardom; a visually impaired man happens upon his special sightseeing abilities at night. What happens when your senses become your super-powers at work?

A Wall Street trader’s climb to the top proves too gut-wrenching to continue; a classical pianist grapples with a career-ending injury. What happens when you’re suddenly physically incapable of doing your job?

A prison superintendent ordered to oversee two executions struggles with his beliefs that the punishment doesn’t fit the crime and a former Vegas drug dealer finally finds his place in the high life--sober. Sometimes the only way to find your true calling is to pull a complete 180. This episode also features Slack customer Bump Boxes - a subscription service for mom and baby that covers every stage of pregnancy to your little one’s first birthday.

To gain credibility in a case, a police officer reveals his identity as a practicing pagan. After 30 years of performing as a man, a veteran comic takes the stage for the first time...as a woman. This week, two enlightening stories of people who took big risks to bring their true selves to work.

Sometimes, the way to find out who we really are is to become someone else. Like the struggling author who’s already sold millions of books and the Vietnam war vet who carries out a do-or-die promise by becoming Santa Claus.

A nun chooses solitude over social work and a highfalutin Wall Street recruiter quits the corporate life to work with former felons.

A historian recounts the tale of an escaped slave who launched Toronto’s first taxi service and a loyal London Black Cab driver takes to the radio to unite his industry in revolt.

Sometimes the most profound things we say and do at work happen when we don’t say anything at all. This week: A librarianʼs shushing earns her superhero status and a young hospital chaplain learns that sitting in silence brings great comfort to ailing, ageing patients.

Every job has its freedoms and limitations, but sometimes all you need to endure the ups and downs is a noble purpose. This week: A man who saves airline passengers from errant wildlife and another whoʼs made it his lifeʼs work to build a country for the nationless.

Parents have high hopes for their children, many wish their progeny will follow in their footsteps. This week: A son trades in building new towns for building software and a college graduate contemplates her fateful career slinging smoked fish with her legendary family.

This week: career breakthrough moments. A 17-year-old female baseball player faces off against Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. An architect takes on the daunting task of rebuilding Sandy Hook Elementary after one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history.

From working in finance to servicing HVAC units, prosecuting despots for war crimes to pursuing life as a bootstrapping standup comedian...our careers can take some sharp left turns.

When it comes to envisioning what we want to do with our lives, we set our sights high. In episode 2 of Work in Progress, we hear two very different stories of a dream (job) coming true, whether by a random stroke of luck or through decades of perseverance.

Some people know exactly what they want to do when they grow up, while the rest of us take a different approach—flying by the seat of our pants, dipping in and out of jobs not giving too much thought to any master plan because frankly, it doesn’t exist. Going with the flow can change your life forever and take you to some pretty unexpected places—whether backstage with David Bowie or onto the set of one of TVs’ biggest sci-fi thrillers. Welcome to the debut episode of Work In Progress, Slack’s new podcast about the meaning and identity we find in work. Hosted by Dan Misener.