Podcast
Hello Monday with Jessi Hempel
Hosted by LinkedIn · EN
Ever wish you had a pal who could break down the biggest ideas of the new world of work and distill them into actionable insights you could apply to your own life, right away? Meet LinkedIn's Hello Monday with Jessi Hempel! Each week, Jessi explores the changing nature of work and how that work is changing us. Jessi welcomes big thinkers to share their best ideas: everyone from game-changing entrepreneurs like Aurora James, to research-based experts like Daniel Pink, to notable figures like Megan Rapinoe and Bozoma Saint John. Start your week by joining us every Monday for a dose of fresh ideas, then join us in community and conversation on LinkedIn.
New episodes weekly.
47episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Jenny Hagel on How to Build a Creative Career When the Odds Are Against You
5d ago00:28:46Tap to summarizeComedy writer Jenny Hagel has six Emmy nominations. The other week, she wrote 20 jokes. One made it to television. She doesn’t see this as failure, though. It’s the nature of the job. And it might offer the most useful career lesson you'll hear all year. Jenny is a writer on Late Night with Seth Meyers, where she also regularly appears on camera in the popular segment Jokes Seth Can’t Tell. She is also the author of a new book of essays called Advice No One Asked For. In this episode, Jessi Hempel sits down with Jenny to talk about the arc of her non-traditional career, and what it actually takes to keep going in the face of failure. In this episode, Jessi and Jenny discuss: The live advice show Jenny built during the writer's strike, and how a room full of strangers asking earnest questions accidentally became the most community-building thing she's ever done How humor acts as a spoonful of sugar that lets us endure the heavy stuff a little longer The 411 call that landed Jenny a grad school internship Why the find-yourself period matters, and what gets lost when young people skip it The writing advice Jenny gives everyone: the part where you create and the part where you judge have to be two completely separate steps How growing up queer in the '80s and '90s inadvertently became a blueprint for every out-the-box decision she's made since Why a creative career isn't all-or-nothing, and what the middle actually looks like Find Advice No One Asked For wherever books are sold, and follow Jessi Hempel on LinkedIn.
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Bonus: Lesbian Bars and the Secret Formula for Belonging
1w ago00:15:15Tap to summarizeLesbian bars aren’t just nightlife, they’re evolving spaces of community and chosen family, and they have a special place in Jessi Hempel’s heart. On this bonus episode, Jessi sits down with one of Hello Monday’s own producers, Rachel Karp, to talk about her new book The Lesbian Bar Chronicles: The Living History and Hopeful Future of America's Dyke Dives and Sapphic Spaces. Rachel’s journey started as a passion project: a documentary podcast in which the Cruising podcast team went on a road trip to visit every lesbian bar in the US. Their goal was to tell the history of lesbian bars and stories of the people who go to them. Now, those stories– and the lessons we can learn from them about how to create real-life community spaces–are in a book. In this episode: Why Rachel and the Cruising podcast team went on their road trip Why lesbian bars have endured, even as culture, technology, and rights have shifted What makes physical spaces of belonging different from digital communities The role of leadership in shaping inclusive, values-driven spaces What “chosen family” looks like in practice, and why it matters What anyone (queer or not) can learn from lesbian bars Follow Jessi Hempel and Rachel Karp on LinkedIn.
Transcribe →How to Build a Career You Actually Believe In
2w ago00:29:52Tap to summarizeWe're trained to climb ladders and chase titles, but what if the real metric of career success was the positive impact you have on the world? In this episode from the Hello Monday archives, host Jessi Hempel sits down with Rutger Bregman to explore moral ambition—a framework for building a career based on what positive impact you can have on the world. Rutger's groundbreaking book, Moral Ambition: How to Stop Wasting Your Talent and Start Making a Difference, is a wake-up call for anyone who's felt something was missing from their work. Whether you're early in your career, questioning your path, or rebuilding after a layoff, this conversation offers a practical roadmap for pivoting toward meaningful work. In this episode, Jessi and Rutger explore: What moral ambition is, and why it's the antidote to burnout Why "follow your passion" is the wrong advice for building a sustainable career How to shift from success-driven to service-driven work Which industries funnel talented people into unfulfilling roles, and how to break free Real-world examples of people solving humanity's biggest problems How to build coalitions and find collaborators aligned with your values The hidden cost of prestige, and how to redefine what winning looks like This episode is a call to action for anyone who wants to do good—and do it well. Follow Rutger Bregman and Jessi Hempel on LinkedIn
Transcribe →We're Lonelier Than Ever. Ritual Is the Answer.
3w ago00:28:53Tap to summarizeRituals work. They help us make meaning, process transition, and connect with each other. That’s why we’ve been doing them for more than 300,000 years. So why, in this century, have we largely abandoned them? This week, bestselling author, repeat Hello Monday guest, and longtime friend Bruce Feiler joins us in the studio to talk about his new book, A Time to Gather: How Ritual Created the World and How It Can Save Us. Bruce traveled to 16 countries on six continents to explore why ritual matters and identify how we can bring it back into our everyday lives. In this episode: Why ritual is the original human algorithm and why we've abandoned it The difference between self-care and group care, and why the latter matters so much The rise of new rituals: cancer-versaries, sober-versaries, infertility ceremonies, and divorce parties Why funerals are disappearing, and what we're losing when they do A live ritual design class: Bruce walks Jessi through building one for her daughter's preschool graduation The three things every ritual needs: a beginning, a middle, and an end From "rites of passage" to "bites of passage": why small, frequent moments of connection matter as much as the big ones Virtual vs. ritual: why 2026 feels like the year we're choosing to come back together in person Follow Jessi Hempel and Bruce Feiler on LinkedIn. And let us know how you’re incorporating ritual into your own life.
Transcribe →Feed Drop: WorkLife with Molly Graham
3w ago00:40:05Tap to summarizeYou might think the biggest, most prestigious job is always the right career move. Patty Stonesifer — founding CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and an early Amazon board member — says that’s exactly the wrong way to decide what to do next. So what should guide your career? In this special episode from WorkLife with Molly Graham, Patty shares the nine-word personal mission statement she’s used for decades to filter opportunities, turn down what doesn’t fit, and speak up for what matters. Patty shares how you can write your own, and even coaches Molly through creating hers in real time.WorkLife is a podcast from TED where host and company builder Molly Graham and her expert guests talk through the messy feelings we all experience at work. Ambition and failure, joy and burnout, confidence and self-doubt — this show digs into it all to help you build a career without losing yourself. Listen now: https://link.mgln.ai/7r9KAe
Transcribe →23,000 People Tried Moving Every 30 Minutes. Here's What Happened.
4w ago00:29:49Tap to summarizeWe talk a lot about what technology is doing to our minds. But what about everything below the neck? This week, Jessi is joined by Manoush Zomorodi, host of NPR's TED Radio Hour and author of Body Electric: The Hidden Health Costs of the Digital Age, and New Science to Reclaim Your Wellbeing. Unfortunately, a killer workout or a standing desk won’t save us from the long-term health consequences of a sedentary lifestyle. But five minutes of gentle movement every half hour could. In fact, Manoush helped run a clinical trial with 23,000 people to prove it. Jessi and Manoush discuss: Why sitting all day drains your energy even when you haven't done anything The Columbia study that got 23,000 people moving, and what it proved Why standing desks aren't actually the fix we thought they were The "garden hose" model of what happens to your arteries when you sit or stand too long How people can restructure their workdays (and their calendars) to make movement stick What "information athletes" can learn from dancers, musicians, and pilots The shift from screen-shaming to something kinder and more practical This one might make you want to stand up and take a lap while listening. That's kind of the point. Follow Manoush Zomorodi and Jessi Hempel on LinkedIn.
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Feeling Powerless at Work? Here’s Where Your Agency Still Lives
May 400:28:55Tap to summarizeWork has always been demanding, but lately, it feels like the ground is constantly shifting. Business is moving faster, projects disappear overnight, expectations change without warning. Under pressure, teams see more tension and uncomfortable moments. So how do you stay steady through these times and even use workplace tensions to grow and improve? This week on Hello Monday, Jessi Hempel talks with Aiko Bethea, leadership coach and author of Anchored, Aligned, Accountable: A Framework for Transcending Bullsh*t and Transforming Our Lives. Aiko’s book comes with a forward from Brené Brown, and offers a road-tested framework for navigating modern work with more clarity and intention. Instead of looking outward for stability, she argues that the real work starts within: understanding your values, recognizing your impact, and reclaiming your sense of agency. In this conversation, Jessi and Aiko discuss: Why work feels more chaotic than ever What it really means to be “anchored” in your values—and why most of us get this wrong How to align your decisions and behavior with what actually matters to you A more generous, effective way to think about accountability (hint: it’s not about blame) The many forms of power operating inside organizations Why curiosity is the key to better leadership and stronger relationships How to stop waiting for external conditions to improve and start creating your own stability This episode is for anyone looking for a way to regain clarity, ownership, and direction in the middle of constant change. Follow Aiko Bethea and Jessi Hempel on LinkedIn.
Transcribe →Jury Duty Creators on What Company Retreat Gets Right About Work
Apr 2700:27:30Tap to summarizeWork can feel a little surreal. Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat makes that feeling literal. In this episode of Hello Monday, Jessi Hempel sits down with Lee Eisenberg, writer and co-creator of the Jury Duty franchise, and Nick Hatton, executive producer, to talk about the hit series. The show’s premise is simple but radical: one real person dropped into a completely staged world, surrounded by actors. In Company Retreat, that world is the workplace. Specifically, a hot sauce company navigating a looming acquisition in the midst of their annual retreat. Beneath the comedy, the show lands because it feels real. Lee has built his career capturing the nuances of human behavior at work, spending 5 years in the writer’s room for The Office before co-creating Jury Duty. Nick, too, has built a career in comedy, with past producing credits such as Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat Subsequent Moviefilm and This Is America. In this conversation, they unpack how they recreate workplace dynamics so convincingly, why audiences connect so deeply with these stories, and what the show reveals about modern work culture. Jessi, Lee, and Nick discuss: The "David vs. Goliath" design behind Company Retreat and why Anthony was cast as the lowest rung on the corporate ladder How the show argues that ordinary people are capable of extraordinary decency when given the right environment The unexpected discovery that many of their casting candidates were gig workers, and what that says about the modern economy The ethics and mechanics of "laying breadcrumbs" for their hero without compromising his free will Their fears and cautious hopes about AI's impact on the entertainment industry and the future of meaningful work Follow Jessi Hempel on LinkedIn
Transcribe →Feeling Empty? Arthur Brooks Has a Formula for a Meaningful Life
Apr 2000:29:58Summary readyWhen was the last time you felt truly bored? And when was the last time your life felt genuinely meaningful? For Harvard social scientist Arthur Brooks, those two questions are more connected than you might think. This week on Hello Monday, Jessi Hempel sits down with Arthur Brooks — professor at Harvard Business School, bestselling author, and one of the most compelling thinkers on happiness and purpose — to dig into his new book, The Meaning of Your Life: Finding Purpose in an Age of Emptiness. In this episode, Jessi and Arthur discuss: Why so many high-achievers feel empty even when everything is going right How our devices are literally pushing us into the wrong hemisphere of the brain, and why eliminating boredom may have accidentally eliminated meaning The psychology of strivers: why so many driven, successful people are secretly running on a fear that idleness means they'll stop being loved The "arrival fallacy": why reaching your goals so often feels like a letdown, and what that tells you about whether you were chasing the right things The four types of career paths, and why "spiral" careers — built from a series of reinventions — may be the most fulfilling model for this moment How to retrofit a sense of calling into the job you already have Arthur's gut-check formula for evaluating any career opportunity: 80% excitement, 20% fear, 0% deadness Why suffering and meaning share the same part of the brain — and why trying to avoid all pain may be the very thing standing between you and a purposeful life This episode is for anyone who has achieved what they set out to achieve and still found themselves wondering, "Is this it?" — and for anyone still figuring out what they're actually working toward. This conversation was recorded live. If you’re a premium member, you can watch the extended version, featuring lots more audience questions, here. Follow Arthur Brooks and Jessi Hempel on LinkedIn.
SummaryHow to Start Your Career When the Old Rules Don’t Apply
Apr 1500:28:57Summary readyFinding your path to a meaningful career has never felt more complicated. The job market is entirely unpredictable, AI is reading your resume, and entire industries seem to be disappearing. It’s a particularly uncertain moment to be entering the workforce for the first time. This week on Hello Monday, Jessi Hempel talks with Jodi Kantor about navigating the early years of a career. Jodi is one of the Pulitzer Prize–winning journalists who broke the Harvey Weinstein story, igniting the Me Too movement. Last year, she delivered a commencement speech to Columbia’s class of 2025, offering practical and comforting advice for young people on the cusp of their professional lives. She’s expanded on that guidance in her new book, How to Start, which offers a roadmap to a meaningful career. In this episode, Jessi and Jodi discuss: Why the early stages of a career are inherently difficult, and how to embrace a “fruitful struggle” instead of giving up Jodi’s own winding path, from law school dropout to journalist How the job search itself has changed, including the rise of AI interviews and increasingly impersonal hiring processes Why the real measure of a career isn’t prestige or stability, but how connected you feel to the work in your day-to-day tasks The challenge of distinguishing your own voice and interests from expectations coming from parents, culture, or conventional career advice Why trying to game the job market or chase the “safe” profession rarely works How to hold onto the belief that work can be meaningful, satisfying, and sustainable, even in a difficult job market How cold calling doesn’t get easier, and why you should do it anyway This episode is for anyone starting out, starting over, or helping someone else navigate the messy early chapters of a career. Follow Jodi Kantor and Jessi Hempel on LinkedIn
Summary