The WorkNotWork Show

I Can't Believe I Get Paid for Doing This

About the show

Have you ever met someone who seemed to have the dream job? Ever wonder how they managed to get it? Has it turned out the way they had planned? The WorkNotWork Show tracks down people with interesting jobs which in many cases started with a lifelong passion for the subject which they have managed to make into their career. Each episode, we talk to one person who is 'living the dream'.

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Episodes

  • Glenn Street: Top Dog

    June 30th, 2019  |  1 hr 5 mins
    entrepreneurship, mascots, sports, sports marketing

    An in-depth conversation with the premier purveyor of sports and corporate mascots.

  • Don Tse: Beer Writer

    January 31st, 2019  |  1 hr 1 min
    beer, career, entrepreneurship, writing

    Even as he practiced law at a prestigious firm in Calgary, Alberta Don Tse knew that he didn’t have the control over his life for which he yearned. He also realized he was doing something which, for him, no longer had the lustre it once did. He then did something unthinkable and began the second act of his life: Don Tse walked away from the law so he could pursue his passion for beer which, at last count, he had tasted 20,812 different kinds. He can seemingly recite the characteristics of each of them from memory. But there’s so much more to Don’s story than his encyclopedic knowledge of beer and the stories he tells about it.

  • Emily Hicks: President and Co-Founder, FREDsense

    December 4th, 2018  |  44 mins
    biotech, genetic engineering, life science, water quality, water testing

    Emily Hicks is President and Co-Founder of FREDsense, a Calgary, Canada based biotechnology startup focused on the measurement of water quality. Emily Hicks is a passionate scientist and entrepreneur. In our wide ranging interview, she not only eloquently explains the FREDsense technology in terms we can all understand but also the pleasures and pitfalls of the entrepreneurial life. It's a candid discussion for which the answer to at least some of the questions will come as a surprise to our listeners.

  • Carol Pilon: Wingwalker

    March 31st, 2018  |  58 mins 17 secs
    adventure, aviation, careers, dream job, interview, wingwalking

    Imagine climbing up and out of the cockpit of a Stearman biplane into the hurricane propwash. You then climb up and onto the top wing, secured only by a small metal frame. Then imagine that once you're there, the experience is so transformative you decide then and there that's what you want to do for the rest of your life. Unlikely? Well, it's just the beginning of the story of Carol Pilon's life.

  • Dr. Eve Crane: Pathologist

    December 14th, 2017  |  1 hr 2 mins
    careers, pathology

    When Dr. Eve Crane was just five years old, her father became gravely ill with what was eventually diagnosed as an aggressive form of multiple sclerosis. It eventually rendered him a quadriplegic and tragically led to his early passing. It was during this period Eve made up her mind that she was going to grow up and dedicate her life to finding a cure for her father’s illness. Hear her tell her amazing story.

  • Sean Loutitt: Aviator

    August 30th, 2017  |  1 hr 4 mins
    adventure, amundsen-scott, antarctic, arctic, aviation, borek, exploration, south pole

    Sean Loutitt was the chief pilot of the first and second rescue flights to the South Pole in the middle of the Antarctic winter. It was a feat which had never been accomplished previously and was urgently required to save the lives of desperately ill members of the Amundsen-Scott South Pole staff. Sean tells this and other stories of a life flying at high latitudes and low temperatures on episode 013 of The WorkNotWork Show.

  • Sebastian Sztabzyb: Co-Founder, Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters

    August 16th, 2017  |  1 hr 19 mins
    cafe, coffee, coffee roasting, dream job, entrepreneur, espresso

    Love coffee? Love hanging out in your local coffee joint? Ever thought of starting your own? Or just interested in a great story? In any of these cases you will not want to miss this ride through the life of our guest, Sebastian Sztabzyb on episode 12 of The WorkNotWork Show.

  • Gary Burns: Storyteller | Filmmaker | Educator

    July 6th, 2017  |  50 mins 40 secs
    dream job, educator, filmmaker, storyteller

    Our guest on this, our eleventh episode, is Calgary, Canada-based storyteller, filmmaker and educator Gary Burns. We talk with Gary about his films in the context of his strong opinions about urban planning, the built environment and modern society.

  • Paul Brodie: Fabricator | Artist | Educator

    June 6th, 2017  |  59 mins 40 secs
    artist, brodie bikes, educator, fabricator, mountain bike, paul brodie

    Our next guest on our tenth episode is the legendary Paul Brodie of Brodie Bikes and more recently Flashback Fabrications. We sat down with Paul an extended discussion at his shop in Langley, British Columbia.

  • Rob 'Scratch' Mitchell: Aviator | Actor | Producer/Director

    April 11th, 2017  |  58 mins 36 secs
    airforce, aviation, interview, pilot, rcaf, snowbirds

    Rob 'Scratch' Mitchell was born into a flying family, and would go on to become a third generation fighter pilot. He would also go on to become a CF-18 demonstrator pilot and did two tours with the Canadian Snowbirds precision aerobatic team. But that wasn't all: after 20 years in the Royal Canadian Airforce, Scratch Mitchell gave it up for a career in acting, producing and directing for television and movies.

  • Tamir Moscovici: Filmmaker

    March 8th, 2017  |  1 hr 1 min
    dream job, filmmaker, interview, podcast, worknotwork

    Tamir Moscovici is one of the premier filmmakers working today. He has a signature, highly sought-after visual style that is instantly identifiable in his work. Starting in 1995, he has worked his way through virtually every aspect of his art which includes music videos, commercials, longer form branded content and documentary films.

  • Dr. Sean Morrison: Stem Cell Researcher

    February 3rd, 2017  |  54 mins 20 secs
    interview, medicine, research, science, stem cells

    Dr. Sean Morrison is the Director of the Children's Medical Research Institute of Dallas, Texas. In this role, he is on the leading edge of the fight against cancer using stem cells. The Institute looks for breakthroughs that change scientific fields and yield new strategies for treating disease and is also a leader in tightly integrating scientific research with clinical work with patients.

  • Wayne Thomas Yorke: Actor

    January 19th, 2017  |  1 hr 17 mins
    actor, dream job, interview, podcast, worknotwork

    You may know him as Ned, The Orkin Man, but that’s just the beginning and only a small part of the story. Wayne Thomas Yorke is a veteran of movies and the stage, a star of hit television series and has appeared in over 150 TV commercials. Most of all, Wayne's story is a story of following his dreams to Hollywood and making it.

  • Philip Raby: Automotive Writer

    December 29th, 2016  |  1 hr 4 mins
    automotive, magazine, porsche, writing

    Philip Raby lives a life every Porsche enthusiast will envy. He is currently proprietor of Philip Raby Porsche, a boutique pre-owned Porsche dealership in Chichester, England. He is also a columnist for GT Porsche magazine, former co-founder of Total 911 magazine and author of newly-released book ‘Save Your Life’ which provides his formula for work/leisure balance.

  • Dr. Robert Thirsk: Astronaut | Engineer | Physician | University Chancellor

    November 29th, 2016  |  1 hr 49 mins
    astronauts, environment, nasa, science, space

    Dr. Robert Thirsk is a veteran of two epic spaceflights: Space Shuttle STS-78 in 1996 and as a member of Expedition 20/21 to the International Space Station in 2009. Dr. Thirsk is also an engineer, a doctor and now Chancellor of the University of Calgary. He has already lived a life many of us can only imagine.

  • Dave Thomas, Publisher Emeritus, The Pragmatic Bookshelf (Part 3)

    September 30th, 2016  |  36 mins 32 secs
    agile software development with rails, andy hunt, c#, dallas texas, dave thomas, elixir, imperial college, interview, java, pragmatic bookshelf, programming ruby, southern methodist university, unit testing, us citizenship, version control

    A software icon reflects on his career to date and what's next. Part three of a three part, in-depth interview.