Looking for audio material about finding a meaningful career

June 8, 2022 7:06 AM

As the college search begins, I would like Junior Proust to hear some inspiring stories about people who have found meaningful niches in their work life. Whatever skills you develop can be applied in service to The Faceless Machine or in service to making the world a better place in some way small or large. I'm looking for stories of people who found a path to doing the latter.

Format could be podcasts or audiobooks. Better to have a larger number of smaller stories, rather than one or two big biographies. (The sort of thing I'm thinking of would be people who wouldn't warrant a biography, though they would warrant a podcast or even a television interview.)

Thanks in advance.

posted by Winnie the Proust to Society & Culture (5 answers total)

The Entry Level podcast might be of interest. They interview people about the shit jobs they had as young adults and how they got to where they are now. Largely, but not exclusively, entertainers, musicians, film people and such. You might want to preview it first if Junior is young. I am often annoyed by the host, but the guests are great. The 184 Gareth Reynolds ep isn't a bad start.

The Studs Turkel Project is rich with such stories. (As is the audio book version of Working.)
posted by eotvos at 7:30 AM on June 8, 2022 [2 favorites]

80,000 Hours is all about finding impactful work. They have a few podcasts.
posted by Boxenmacher at 8:00 AM on June 8, 2022 [1 favorite]

The BBC's The Life Scientific has Jim Al-Khalili asking scientists how they came to where they are; 30 minute each; a couple of hundred episodes. Might start on a compendium.
Corporate Unplugged has similar approach to business [broadly defined] shakers.
posted by BobTheScientist at 8:38 AM on June 8, 2022 [1 favorite]

The Johns Hopkins University's When U Grow Up podcast connects current undergraduate students with young alumni who have an overlapping interest with them. Tidy, friendly conversations that I think Junior Proust might find approachable.
posted by knile at 11:37 AM on June 8, 2022

Work in Progress is a great podcast, although it is not still releasing episodes. Not all episodes are about do-gooders, but some are.

How I Built This is about entrepreneurs. Again, not all episodes are about do-gooders, but some are.
posted by catquas at 11:51 AM on June 8, 2022