Normal Job: Recent Episodes
Dana Osterling
Normal Job is a podcast about labor, value, and identity in the modern world. Each episode, interviews feature guests who have a "normal" job, but who also have expertise in an unrelated domain. By challenging the tendency to grant credibility only to those who have lucked into fame or who have had the privilege of pursuing academic accolades, we at Normal Job hope to expand the consciousness around how we perceive "experts," and to democratize the intellectual landscape by promoting curiosity and inspiration outside the limitations of capitalism.
Martin Hawk joins the podcast to discuss his career shift from full-time musician to filmmaker, having spent the last year documenting the fight for human rights in Rochester, NY. His first short documentary "A Litany for Survival" premiered at the Portland Film Festival and was picked up by NBC Universal for streaming on their Xfinity on Demand platform. Hawk's feature length documentary, "Pressure Gradient," is currently in production, and explores the shades between love, rage, and rebellion as a black person surviving in Rochester, NY. We cover this and other topics related to work, identity, and art as they manifest internally and as they impact our communities.
Emily Bourque is on the pod to talk about being a phlebotomist, a local Radio DJ, an artist, a naturalist, a service industry pro, and a nun-spoon-feeder. She shares her thoughts on quitting, questioning our current collective work/life balance (or lack thereof), and the importance of connecting with the natural world.
Dana is joined by Tony Obert, 47-year-old father, husband, and self-improvement enthusiast from Weymouth, MA.
0:00-6:15: Intro and getting to know Tony
6:16-8:35: We talk CARS
8:36-15:35: Entering the career, teaching + learning, union musings
15:36-20:07: Subcultures & Diversity in work and life
20:08-24:57: Alan Watts, We Get Philosophical
24:58-30:33: Creativity, Tony's photography (@concretelust)
30:34-37:42: Spirituality, religion, and insight
37:43-48:00: The afterlife, dream interpretation, gurus
48:01-end: We work on our 5 year plans