Weird Work

Brian Kelly has been known to the world as The Points Guy since launching his blog in 2011, but he started slinging credit card reward points long before then. And today, the man with 25 credit cards is the guru of all things travel. Brian talks about the credit card he can’t leave home without, dispels the worst myth about credit cards, and helps you find your way to first-class air travel in no time. Subscribe now to Skill Up podcast.

Chi-Tien Lui is known the world over as one of the last people who can repair and preserve TV art. Because the video art by the likes of Andy Warhol and Nam June Paik were made with now antiquated televisions. Inevitably, those break. And finding the right replacement parts is almost as difficult as finding someone who knows how to actually fix these things. But the only other alternative is letting those works of art be lost forever. And that can’t happen.

Summer camp usually brings to mind outdoor sports and campfire songs. But the idea of camp that so many people have come to know has evolved into something they might never have imagined. Alexander Rossi is the creator of YouTube STAR Camp, a summer program that helps kids learn the skills they need to become the next great YouTube stars. And while it might not sound like it at first, this camp has something every kid will want… and need. Sign up for Peerfit at: wellness.Peerfit.com/weirdwork

Colleen Wilson was a top private mortgage banker in New York City. She was also the youngest. No small feat. But after rescuing a deaf pooch named Charlie, it completely changed the way she saw the banking industry. So she left it all behind. Not long after, Colleen founded Pets on Q, an animal influencer agency. She talks about what makes an animal a true influencer and what it’s really like to manage famous pets. Sign up for Peerfit at: wellness.Peerfit.com/weirdwork

Jane Teresa Anderson knows how to get inside someone’s head. And her work as a dream analyst has helped countless people better understand their waking lives. That way, the subconscious becomes reality. She even reaches into Sam’s psyche to break down a dream he’s long struggled to understand. Sign up for Classhook with promo code: WeirdWork

David J. Peterson is a creator of languages -- otherwise known as a conlanger. And he’s behind some of the most iconic languages ever heard on television and films. Maybe his most well-known conlang is Dothraki and High Valyrian for a little show on HBO called Game of Thrones. David talks about what it takes to create a language, how he landed the coveted Game of Thrones conlang gig, and he spills the secret to speaking Dothraki like Jason Momoa. Sign up for Classhook with promo code: WeirdWork

Ma'ayan Plaut is the podcast librarian at RadioPublic. But she’s not like the typical master of the Dewey Decimal System you know from your local public library. And she just so happens to be the only podcast librarian on the planet. In her three years at the company, Ma’ayan’s role has evolved from recommending individual podcasts to solving the larger discoverability issues with podcasting. Sign up for Giftogram with the code: weirdwork

Ricochet is a champion surf dog, who’s ridden giants with the likes of Rob Machado, and starred in films like Superpower Dogs. But it’s her surf and therapy work that makes this pooch a real surf legend. Judy Fridono, Ricochet’s owner and certified dog trainer, tells Sam how this surf-ice dog helps those with PTSD and those on the Autism spectrum. Sign up for Giftogram with the code: weirdwork Additional research: National Autism Association

Brendan Paul grew up as a young punk living in LA. But after one fateful haircut and a handful of paying impersonation gigs around town, he found himself ditching the Sunset Strip for the Vegas Strip. Today, Brendan is Sin City’s premier Elvis impersonator and wedding official at Graceland Wedding Chapel. Sign up for Giftogram with the code: weirdwork

Anthony Falco is the reigning pizza czar of New York. And he’s taken his expertise around the world to help others realize their own dreams of opening up a pizza shop. We crawl the streets of New York in search of the best pizza and find out why pizza is so internationally beloved. Register for INBOUND 2019 with the code: weirdwork

Weird Work returns on July 31 with all new episodes every Wednesday. See you soon, you beautiful unicorn star children.

You’ve been listening all season long to how people turned their passions into professions. And want to make the jump, too. But what if you don’t know what your passion is? How do you pursue your dream if you don’t know what your dream is? Well, there’s a ramen shop in Boston called Yume Wo Katare, and it’s got just the bowl for you. We talk with owner Tsuyoshi Nishioka about the concept behind his restaurant, and how he made helping others find their dreams his personal mission.

Mark Morales has probably worked on all of your favorite comic book characters. But the job of comic book inker is not only one of the most ambiguous in the industry, it’s an increasingly rare position. Mark takes Sam through the comic book production process, and explains how even outside the traditional 9 to 5, the almighty deadline still wields its own kind of superpower.

Tommy Honton has a familiar story. Aspiring screenwriter who sets out to make it big in Hollywood. But eight years later, he found himself disillusioned and unhappy with his job. Rather than let the fear of complacency settle in, Tommy pursued another form of storytelling. This week, Sam talks with Tommy about designing immersive and experiential spaces like The Museum of Selfies and an unconventional escape room. Plus, he offers some advice for how to break out of the 9 to 5.

Melissa Arleth always loved rats. But she was also fond of her feline pets, too. So she took them both onstage with her and created Cirque Du Sewer, the world’s only cat and rat circus. Sam talks with this acrobat about working with acro-rats… and one confused cat. And he finds out that nature’s mortal enemies can not only get along, but put on a damn good show.