Stickers, New Episodes of Canned, and a Reading List
Last week I got this from the guest in S2E3:
“Several colleagues have told me that listening to [my story] helped them process their own feelings .
Thank you for giving me a space to use my voice in that way, and for steering the conversation so well.”
It’s funny, when we started CANNED, I was just kinda working through some shit. Now it’s a whole thing. This project means a lot to us. So I love that it also matters to the folks that agree to share what they’ve been through.
The first two sessions are live. One goes deep into navigating the struggles of holding a job while also dealing with mental health issues — oh, and there’s the notion of a solild moral compass too, which reminded me a bit of when we had Morgan on [S1E17] and they said, “If you got fired, I bet it’s because you were doing the right thing.”
The other is a wild ride through the Department of Government Evisceration (DOGE) — that guy is the source of the email I quoted from above.
Both episodes are heavy situations and I’m again stunned that total strangers will get deep into it with me on this tough ground. It’s a real testament, I suspect, to how much folks are dying to put these stories out there.
SUMMER PLEDGE DRIVE UPDATE!
We got stickers! They’re great! Want one? Throw a couple of bucks in the production fund and send me your mailing address. Anything over two dollars (if you’re in the US, five if you’re not) gets you a super cute CANNED sticker and our gratitude for your help in keeping us online.
(Already thrown in? Send me your address, wouldja?)
I’m reading two different books about work and getting canned. One’s an anthology of CANNED-esque stories called Fired! and it’s freakin’ great, so funny, I wish I’d gathered this collection. It doesn’t hurt that a lot of the stories are from professional actors and comedians who know how to spin a yarn.
The other is Work Won’t Love You Back. It’s absolutely infuriating and I’m barely through the third chapter. It’s a compelling and well researched read, but it will make you mad as hell. If it feels like the things that are whacked about your work are by design, welp, that’s because they are. The Man is indeed trying to hold you down, you’re not crazy.
I guess CANNED sits between these two. If you’re curious about the “It’s not you, it’s work,” genre, I recommend both of these.
I got it in my head that I’d like to do a Moth style storytelling thing and with that in mind, I registered myself for a workshop. It was tiny and as such, completely undermined my plan to sit in the back of the (virtual) room and observe. I talked about CANNED, because of course I did. I’m going to pursue this thread and see where it leads me — attending a live event to watch how it goes down is next.
In the meantime I’m chewing on this opening line.
“After I got fired from my job, I did what any red blooded American worker does in this situation: I started a podcast.”
Needs work.
Your completely optional to do list:
Forward this email to someone who might like CANNED.
Venmo the CANNED fund a few dollars and get a sticker. Don’t forget to email me your physical address. You can reply to this email to do so.
Review CANNED where you get your podcasts; I hear that helps.
Lemme know what you’re up to. Really. I love hearing from you.
You’re all so much more than that time you got fired.
//Pam