What Works - EP 444: World-Building a More Sustainable Work Environment with Morgan Harper Nichols

EP 444: World-Building a More Sustainable Work Environment with Morgan Harper Nichols

09/21/23 • 28 min

1 Listener

What Works

This is the second episode in my new series, "Strange New Work."

Artist and writer Morgan Harper Nichols is a world-builder. She says, "Worldbuilding, for me, [is] a form of expansive hope—a necessary imagination for being alive." What is world-building? It's the process of creating secondary, fictional worlds. There's world-building in all sorts of fiction—but especially science fiction, speculative fiction, and fantasy.

And world-building as a practice—a necessary imagination—can be a tool for mapping a better work environment, too.

Footnotes:

Find out more about Morgan Harper Nichols on Substack, her website, and Instagram.
Read the piece that inspired this conversation.
The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson
N.K. Jemisin on world-building on Wired and LitHub
To Write Love On Her Arms
"What is capitalist realism?" by Tara McMullin, featuring Iggy Perillo

Every episode of What Works is also shared as an essay at whatworks.fyi—become a free subscriber to get weekly posts delivered to your inbox or upgrade to a premium subscription for access to bonus content and quarterly workshops for just $7 per month!

All of the books I mention in this series are in the Strange New Work Bookshop list.

★ Support this podcast ★

This is the second episode in my new series, "Strange New Work."

And world-building as a practice—a necessary imagination—can be a tool for mapping a better work environment, too.

Footnotes:

Find out more about Morgan Harper Nichols on Substack, her website, and Instagram.
Read the piece that inspired this conversation.
The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson
N.K. Jemisin on world-building on Wired and LitHub
To Write Love On Her Arms
"What is capitalist realism?" by Tara McMullin, featuring Iggy Perillo

All of the books I mention in this series are in the Strange New Work Bookshop list.

★ Support this podcast ★

Previous Episode

EP 443: Imagining a Radically Different World of Work

1 Recommendations

The future of work doesn't have to be an extension of today's reality.

This is the first installment in Strange New Work, a new series from What Works about imagining radically different ways of working and doing business.

In this episode, I take a closer look at speculative fiction and its role in the collective imaginary. Is science fiction all space operas and apocalyptic battles? Not hardly. Science fiction isn't really about the future. It's a commentary on and reimagining of the present.

Footnotes:

All of the books I mention in this series can be found here.
- No Time to Spare by Ursula K. Le Guin
- The Immortal King Rao by Vauhini Vara
- The Jewel-Hinged Jaw by Samuel Delaney
"The Epistemic Value of Speculative Fiction" by Johan de Smedt and Helen de Cruz
"Sci-Fi Idea Bank" by Packy McCormick
Ursula K. Le Guin in conversation with The Nation on YouTube
Vauhini Vara on Amanpour and Company on YouTube
"The Measure of a Man" Star Trek: The Next Generation (Season 2, Episode 9)

Each installment in Strange New Work is published in essay form at WhatWorks.FYI

Love What Works ? Support the show and my work by becoming a premium subscriber for just $7 per month. Learn more!

★ Support this podcast ★

Next Episode

This Is Not Advice: Quid Pro No Thank You

This is the 11th edition of This is Not Advice, a "not advice" column for premium subscribers of What Works.

In this episode and essay, I tackle the assumed quid pro quo that's at the heart of content marketing. It's that quid pro quo that causes us to see the ideas, information, and stories we share online as a favor that demands something in return—follows, subscriptions, and sales. When we say, "I'm tired of sharing all this stuff for free and not seeing sales in return," we're hinting at the quid pro quo beneath the surface.

Enjoy this excerpt from the larger piece or, to hear the whole thing, go to whatworks.fyi and upgrade your subscription for just $7 per month!

View the original post here.

★ Support this podcast ★