Masters at Work

Choosing a profession begins with imagining yourself in a career. Now New York Times best-selling author Virginia Morell dives into the adventures of a marine biologist team, allowing a much needed, in-depth look into the field. Becoming a Marine Biologist explores how successful marine biologists curated their careers and what they suggest to young people today who feel called to protect our oceans by studying the sea and its inhabitants. 

What Tom Chiarella discovers is that great real estate agents devote themselves to the job with a sense of craftsmanship. Showcasing the individual tools used to develop a successful real estate career, Becoming a Real Estate Agent profiles individuals who live a life of thrilling improvisation, action, and instinct - a life in which excellence is sometimes gauged by the ability to walk away from a commission when circumstance demands it.  

Joshua Bederson is the chief of neurosurgery at the esteemed Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York City. New Yorker writer John Colapinto brings to vivid life what Dr. Bederson’s professional life is like to show all the varied facets of his work, from extensive study and research to brain operations, one-on-one consultations with patients, and even staff meetings with fellow surgeons and students. Since Mt. Sinai is a teaching hospital, we learn alongside the residents and interns how Bederson trains neurosurgeons, passing along the knowledge and skills he honed over decades. 

Journalist and author Boris Kachka sets out on a journey, determined to discover how to turn a childhood dream into a real career. Becoming a Veterinarian is a behind-the-scenes, honest, and inspiring look at the day-to-day life of a veterinarian through the eyes of four people who have made this career their life’s work.

Gwenn LeMoine sees the world through the lens of hair. The daughter of two hairstylists, she has taken her natural talent to an entrepreneurial level and is now the owner of Parlor, a wildly popular, two-location hair salon in the East Village and Brooklyn. In Becoming a Hair Stylist, Atlantic columnist and New York Times notable author Kate Bolick provides a compelling profile of a career in hair styling through the life of LeMoine and offers us a glance at a day in the life at Parlor. 

Investigative reporter Gary Rivlin gives an armchair tour of the world of venture capitalism, while providing vivid case studies illustrating how to get started in the field. He shows how once-small companies such as Facebook, Instagram, and Amazon used venture capitalism to transform into the icons they are today, and the VCs that made a fortune in the process. Listeners will learn what series funding is, the difference between an angel and super angel investor, and how to go about identifying ideas worthy of funding.  

Everyone knows that opening a restaurant is a risky business, a venture with an astounding rate of failure. Patric Kuh’s Becoming a Restaurateur takes listeners behind the scenes of one of America’s trendiest new restaurants, revealing how Lien Ta and chef Jonathan Whitener of LA’s Here’s Looking at You managed to beat the odds. With valuable information about what daily life for a professional is like, this is an entertaining, practical guide to what makes a master restaurateur, from writing the business plan to opening night and beyond.  

An acclaimed investigative journalist explores ethical hacking and presents a listener-friendly, informative guide to everything there is to know about entering the field of cybersecurity. 

Becoming a Private Investigator puts a seemingly out-of-reach profession within the your grasp. Weaving practical how-to advice with inspiring case studies, Kahn provides actionable steps anyone can take to pursue a career as a P.I. as he shadows two experienced American P.I.s, Sheila Wysocki and Mark Gillespie, both of whom are investigating a series of deaths about which many questions remain. What skills must they master to find out the truth? What risks must they take to succeed?

An illuminating guide to a career as a sommelier written by acclaimed journalist Rosie Schapp and based on the real-life experiences of experts in the field - essential listening for someone considering a path to this profession. 

An illuminating guide to a career as a curator written by acclaimed journalist Holly Brubach and based on the real-life experiences of an expert in the field - essential listening for someone considering a path to this challenging yet rewarding profession.

An illuminating guide to a career as a fashion designer written by editor in chief of Teen Vogue Lindsay Peoples Wagner, based on the real-life experiences of three emerging designers - essential listening for someone considering a path to this competitive profession.  

Go behind the scenes and be mentored by the best to find out what it’s really like, and what it really takes, to become a baker. Esteemed journalist Glynnis MacNicol takes listeners to the front counters of bakeries and cafes to offer a candid portrait of modern baking. MacNicol shadows Mary Louise Clemens, the owner and head baker of Ladybird Bakery in Brooklyn, to reveal how bakers work and how they stand out in a neighborhood, community, and city.