Logo for ZigZag

ZigZag

TED and Stable Genius Productions

ZigZag, the business show about being human, returns as a member of the TED family of podcasts. Join this zig-zagging quest with Manoush Zomorodi (Host of NPR’s TED Radio Hour; Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People in Business) to discover new ways we can align our ambitions with systemic change that’s good for our fellow human beings. www.zigzagpod.comOn Season 5, Manoush profiles six unusual dynamos reinventing business, their industries, and even capitalism in the name of humanity. It will change the way you see your work and your self . Find @ZigZagPod on Twitter and Instagram.Tell Manoush YOUR story by emailing a voice memo to ZigZag@StableG.com.

511470

ZigZag, the business show about being human, returns as a member of the TED family of podcasts. Join this zig-zagging quest with Manoush Zomorodi (Host of NPR’s TED Radio Hour; Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People in Business) to discover new ways we can align our ambitions with systemic change that’s good for our fellow human beings. www.zigzagpod.comOn Season 5, Manoush profiles six unusual dynamos reinventing business, their industries, and even capitalism in the name of humanity. It will change the way you see your work and your self . Find @ZigZagPod on Twitter and Instagram.Tell Manoush YOUR story by emailing a voice memo to ZigZag@StableG.com.

511470
39hr 33min
Thumbnail for "The zigs and zags just keep coming. Welcome to Season 5.".
Listen to what Manoush has cooked up for her first solo season of the business podcast about being human.
July 16, 20202min 58sec
Thumbnail for "End of A Partnership".
Financial and parenting pressures in the age of COVID-19 force Manoush and Jen to make a tough decision.
May 7, 202035min 53sec
Thumbnail for "Bonus: “The Surveillance Economy” from IRL".
This week, we’re featuring an episode from the IRL podcast called “The Surveillance Economy.”
October 28, 201926min 25sec
Thumbnail for "Bonus: Manoush Guest Hosts the TED Radio Hour!".
We have a bonus for you this week!
September 20, 201917min 21sec
Thumbnail for "Bonus: Our Old Podcast is Back! Here's a Taste.".
Note to Self, the show Jen and Manoush used to make at New York Public Radio is back. Here's the first episode. Enjoy.
April 25, 201935min 59sec
Thumbnail for "Chapter 1: Meet the Stable Geniuses".
Jen and Manoush leave their public radio jobs to chart a new course.
June 14, 201821min 12sec
Thumbnail for "Chapter 2: Blockchain. Blockwhat?!".
Jen and Manoush learn that blockchain technology could do a lot more than just making Bitcoin speculators stupid rich.
June 14, 201825min 26sec
Thumbnail for "Chapter 3: Higher Than We Knew ".
The stakes for the upcoming cryptocurrency launch become clear to Manoush and Jen.
June 21, 201827min 14sec
Thumbnail for "Chapter 4: Hedging Your Bets".
Roman Mars and a well-known venture capitalist school Manoush and Jen.
June 28, 201834min 52sec
Thumbnail for "Chapter 5: Men, Women and Vulnerability".
Ahead of the Civil token launch, Manoush and Jen go for one last gut check with the cofounders of Gimlet Media.
July 5, 201826min 6sec
Thumbnail for "Chapter 7: A New Frontier for Journalism?".
Civil officially announces its token sale and the rules governing the platform.
July 19, 201838min 47sec
Thumbnail for "Chapter 8: Putting Crypto Pioneers to the Test".
Mapping the future of journalism is hard. And some people like it that way.
July 26, 201829min 56sec
Thumbnail for "Chapter 9: Letter from Startup-Blockchain-Women-Entrepreneurland".
Civil delays its token sale and listeners share changes they’ve made in their lives since #MeToo.
August 2, 201819min 59sec
Thumbnail for "Chapter 10: Listening to Anthony Bourdain".
Civil journalist Maria Bustillos shares a recording of her epic interview with America’s unofficial ambassador.
August 9, 201832min 3sec
Thumbnail for "Chapter 11: Ten Things You Should Know About Crypto".
Translating the head-scratching lingo, odd habits, and important basics of digital currencies with Coindesk's Joon Ian Wong.
August 16, 201829min 38sec
Thumbnail for "Chapter 12: Enter the Mesh".
The future of corporations, crypto, and this podcast with billionaire blockchain founder, Joe Lubin.
August 23, 201840min 47sec
Thumbnail for "Update: It’s Hard Going Back to School, Work, and Saving Journalism".
We took a week off. Jen went to a secret surfing. Manoush went to Iceland. Now it's back to work.
September 6, 201823min 58sec
Thumbnail for "The Civil Token Sale is Live".
Manoush and Jen go behind-the-scenes of the Civil token sale. And they get #meta about being journalists, who cover weird journalism experiments, and then get press about it.
September 20, 201823min 51sec
Thumbnail for "Chapter 6: What's a CVL Token?".
Nerdball incoming! Manoush and Jen go deeper on blockchain technology with the basics behind cryptoeconomics and token curated registries.
July 12, 201820min 46sec
Thumbnail for "Introducing ZigZag!".
A new podcast about women and tech. And the blockchain. And anxiety.
May 29, 20182min 50sec
Thumbnail for "S2 EP1: How Misinformation Spreads".
Season Two of ZigZag tackles Trust and Information on multiple levels: from co-founders, to new technology, and beyond.
October 11, 201836min 42sec
Thumbnail for "S2 EP2: Why Civil's Token Sale Failed".
Civil founder and CEO Matthew Iles acknowledges the mistakes there. Manoush and Jen continue to examine the sources of misinformation that are slowly flowing into our society and affecting our democracy, via Twitter.
October 18, 201843min 47sec
Thumbnail for "S2 EP3: Trusting Yourself in Startup-Entrepreneurland".
Because failure can focus you.
October 25, 201834min 13sec
Thumbnail for "S2 EP4: What IS Fact-Checking?".
Manoush goes whole hog on role of the fact-checker in journalism today and what fact checking will look like in the future.
November 1, 201827min 49sec
Thumbnail for "S2 EP5: Meat World Matters".
The urban dictionary defines 'meat world' as the real world, outside the internet. Jen and Manoush explore one specific aspect of meat world and why it matters, especially nowadays.
November 8, 201830min 11sec
Thumbnail for "S2 EP6: A Secret #MeToo Weapon".
What happened when the MeToo movement met Blockchain in China
November 15, 201828min 57sec
Thumbnail for "S2 EP7: Forget Inbox Zero".
In this season of giving thanks, we are grateful for the technology that keeps on giving: email. And we thank all the ZigZag listeners who've sent voice memos, encouragement, love and constructive criticism via email.
November 22, 201821min 35sec
Thumbnail for "S2 EP8: The Women Who Make CRIMINAL".
The Stable Geniuses (Manoush and Jen) talk with the women behind the hit Radiotopia podcast Criminal. Hear a frank conversation about podcasting, business ownership and creative partnerships.
November 28, 201837min 27sec
Thumbnail for "S2 BONUS: The Story of ZigZag Through Voice Memos".
Jen made a weird mini episode to thank all of the people who support Radiotopia and ZigZag. So thanks!
December 6, 201813min
Thumbnail for "S2 EP9: Julia Angwin's Investigations Haunt Facebook".
Manoush talks with Julia Angwin, the cofounder of The MarkUp, the investigative non-profit news organization that's just received $20 million in funding from Craig Newmark
December 6, 201838min 16sec
Thumbnail for "S2 EP10: An App for Information Overload?".
Is it possible to start over and make a healthy news and information app that would be BENEFICIAL for us?
December 13, 201833min 37sec
Thumbnail for "S2 EP11: If Capitalism and Socialism Had a Baby".
Manoush goes BIG THINK with economist Rufus Pollock on how he'd radically change the way global economies work. Hint: by breaking up the Big Tech monopolies and making information open.
December 20, 201826min 26sec
Thumbnail for "S2 EP12: Lessons Learned from a Risky Crypto Experiment".
Manoush and Jen wrap up season 2 of Zigzag by admitting their highs and lows, their zigs and their zags.
December 20, 201841min 55sec
Thumbnail for "Announcing Season Two of ZigZag".
October 4, 20182min 53sec
Thumbnail for "S3 EP1: The Lifecycle of an Idea".
Season 3 of ZigZag is about riding the Hype Cycle.
January 17, 201933min 2sec
Thumbnail for "S3 EP2: What Triggers Innovation".
Manoush continues her exploration of the different phases of the hype cycle, with the first phase: the innovation trigger. And Thalia takes a trip to North Country to investigate how Messina is faring with a new blockchain operation in town.
January 31, 201922min 58sec
Thumbnail for "S3 EP3: The Peak of Expectations".
Cultivating an innovative idea requires having a lush (some might say delusional) vision.
February 14, 201936min 4sec
Thumbnail for "S3 EP4: The Trough of Disillusionment".
When the world looks bleak and all the good ideas seem taken.
February 28, 201930min 49sec
Thumbnail for "S3 EP5: The Slope of Enlightenment ".
Wait! Your crazy idea is working after all.
March 14, 201930min 7sec
Thumbnail for "S3 EP06: The Plateau of Productivity ".
Sexy it's not, but the last phase of the Hype Cycle means you're LEGIT.
March 28, 201925min 23sec
Thumbnail for "S4 EP01: Manoush and Jen Became Entrepreneurs One Year Ago".
Here's what they wish they'd known. And where they're going next.
April 11, 201943min 14sec
Thumbnail for "S4 EP02: An Alternative To Silicon Valley's "Unicorn" Bullsh*t".
Zebra's Unite is a new brand of entrepreneurialism--one symbolized by a hooved creature who actually roams the earth.
April 25, 201944min 43sec
Thumbnail for "S4 EP03: Adam Grant Says Your Next Boss Might Want You to "Self Manage"".
The organizational psychologist guides us through (and rates) the latest trends in how we work, from "Holacracy" to "Radical Candor."
May 2, 201941min 1sec
Thumbnail for "S4 EP04: When Your Gut Tells You It's Time to END Your Company".
Grace Bonney is shutting down her influential site Design*Sponge. And it's making some people uncomfortable.
May 16, 201947min 7sec
Thumbnail for "S4 EP05: The Venture Capitalist Asking Existential Questions".
Venture Capitalist Caterina Fake is putting money into companies that don't mess with our heads.
May 30, 201940min 58sec
Thumbnail for "S4 EP06: Why Craiglist's Founder Just Wrote Consumer Reports a $6m Check".
The Craigslist Founder wants a new way to rate products and set the nerds free.
June 6, 201941min 33sec
Thumbnail for "S4 EP07: 46, Female, and Ambitious. Is that so wrong?".
When Mallory Kasdan's work as a successful voice-over artist dried up, she discovered she wanted to sound like HERSELF.
June 20, 201942min 22sec
Thumbnail for "S4 EP08: The Weird Kids At The Big Tech Party".
Mozilla's Mark Surman is leading the fight to win customers without tracking the bejeezus out of them.
June 27, 201944min 25sec
Thumbnail for "S4 EP09: Is Your Career Veering Off Course...Or Just Doing a Zigzag?".
Key moments that changed the professional lives of Pinterest's ex-President, an Obama advisor, and a data scientist turned CEO.
July 11, 201932min 5sec
Thumbnail for "S4 EP10: This is What a Male Identity Crisis Sounds Like".
Wall Street guy Khe Hy gave up financial security to find himself. His story is less clichéd than you think.
July 18, 201950min 1sec
Thumbnail for "S4 EP11: Pacing Yourself After Burnout".
After a near-death experience, podcaster Helen Zaltzman felt sublime. At first.
July 25, 201943min 10sec
Thumbnail for "S4 EP12: We're Rethinking What Success Looks Like".
Economic growth at all costs is unsustainable--here's how our listeners are changing up their financial and personal goals.
September 12, 201936min 41sec
Thumbnail for "S4 EP 13: The CEO Who Paid Everyone the $ame $alary. Including Himself.".
Dan Price tried all kinds of strategies to keep his company going. This one actually worked.
September 19, 201950min 32sec
Thumbnail for "S4 EP14: When Women Don't Support Other Women at Work".
Katharine Zaleski didn't know she was a sexist boss...until she became a mother herself.
September 26, 201937min 34sec
Thumbnail for "S4 EP15: The Secret Ex-Rock Star at The Ford Foundation".
Before Jenny Toomey became one of the most influential people working behind the scenes on all the big tech issues, she was a rock star. Quite literally.
October 10, 201925min 9sec
Thumbnail for "EP16: Ari Weinzweig is Prototyping a New Kind of Delicious Capitalism".
How the co-founder of Zingerman's Deli built a gourmet collective that's idolized by foodies and entrepreneurs alike.
October 24, 201937min
Thumbnail for "S4 EP17: Helping Your Relationship Survive Your Job".
ResearcherJennifer Petriglieri says dual-career couples can thrive in love and work. But they must pass through three difficult phases.
October 31, 201942min 7sec
Thumbnail for "S4 EP18: Don't Tie a Pink Ribbon for Kate Pickert".
A journalism professor's investigation into her own diagnosis will change what you think you know about living and working with breast cancer.
November 7, 201927min 38sec
Thumbnail for "S4 EP19: The Guy Who Quit Planes for Good".
Scientist Peter Kalmus quit planes for the benefit of the planet. Here's how that choice affected his career and family vacations.
November 14, 201933min 24sec
Thumbnail for "S4 EP20: How Valerie Jarrett Turned Her Misery Into Motivation".
President Obama's longest serving advisor blossomed when she stopped listening to authority figures...and started loving the 'swerves' in life.
November 28, 201947min 59sec
Thumbnail for "S4 EP21: Being Ethnically Ambiguous At Work".
Code Switch's Shereen Marisol Meraji and Manoush have a frank conversation about where they fit into today’s movement for diversity and inclusion.
December 5, 201944min 45sec
Thumbnail for "S4 EP22: Mailchimp’s CEO On Building a Multi-Billion Dollar Business Without Being an A$$hole".
Ben Chestnut explains why his company never took VC money and how small businesses can survive Amazon.
December 12, 201949min 28sec
Thumbnail for "S5 EP1: Eric Ries' Radical Stock Market Experiment".
He wrote Silicon Valley’s bible. Now he wants to launch a stock market for social justice...and regulators approve.
July 23, 202038min 54sec
Thumbnail for "S5 EP2: Why Arlan Hamilton Still Believes Capitalism is the Great Equalizer".
And how the Black, gay, and female venture capitalist deals with white male founders who call her racist.
July 30, 202042min 17sec
Thumbnail for "S5 EP3: Can Big Tech Be Healed?".
Chaplain Greg Epstein is guiding technologists to find their moral compass.
August 6, 202034min 23sec
Thumbnail for "S5 EP4: Carrie Goldberg is the Troll Slayer".
How a stalker inspired this attorney to start a pioneering law firm that's changing how people view female sexuality.
August 13, 202034min 8sec
Thumbnail for "S5 EP5: Changing Our Relationship to STUFF".
Trash junkie Adam Minter explains why we keep buying crap, where it goes when we get rid of it, and how the economy would survive if we stopped.
August 20, 202037min 18sec
Thumbnail for "S5 EP6: The Case of the Lost American Dream".
Why NPR's Aarti Shahani thrived in the U.S...while her father barely survived.
August 27, 202051min 12sec
Thumbnail for "S6 EP1 STEP 1: THE PULSE".
Join this season's special experiment: The ZigZag Project is six steps (and episodes) to map out a path that aligns your personal values with your professional ambitions.
March 25, 202120min 46sec
Thumbnail for "S6 EP2 STEP 2: THE VISION".
This season's special project continues with an exercise in imagining your future work life.
April 8, 202116min 46sec
Thumbnail for "S6 EP3 STEP 3: THE WEIRD IDEAS".
We jumpstart your creative thinking about what you'll do next with step three of The ZigZag Project.
April 22, 202116min 55sec
Thumbnail for "S6 EP4 STEP 4: THE MATCH".
Time to start asking the hard questions.
May 6, 202116min 35sec
Thumbnail for "S6 EP5 STEP 5: THE PATHS".
How to deal with the stress that comes with big change.
May 20, 202122min 39sec
Thumbnail for "S6 EP6 STEP 6: THE TIMELINE".
Stacey Abrams joins us for the final step of The ZigZag Project.
June 3, 202126min 57sec

S4 EP21: Being Ethnically Ambiguous At Work

Thumbnail for "S4 EP21: Being Ethnically Ambiguous At Work".
December 5, 201944min 45sec

As co-host of NPR’s Code Switch, Shereen Marisol Meraji combines groundbreaking reporting on race and culture with her own personal experience as a half-Puerto Rican, half-Persian American. On this episode, she and Manoush discuss why the push for inclusion makes some people uncomfortable and how the diversity discussion can get even more delicate when people don’t clearly identify as white or black—like Manoush, who only recently realized her co-workers considered her a woman of color.

**Who You’ll Hear: **@manoushz (Manoush Zomorodi, host of ZigZag and cofounder of Stable Genius Productions), @jpoyant (Jen Poyant, cohost of ZigZag and cofounder of Stable Genius Productions), @RadioMirage (Shereen Marisol Meraji, cohost of NPR’s Code Switch Podcast).

ZigZag is the business show about being human.

Join a community of listeners riding the twists and turns of late-capitalism, searching for a kinder, more sustainable way. Manoush Zomorodi and Jen Poyant investigate how work and business impact our wellbeing and the planet we live on. On Seasons 4 and 5, hear from rebels and visionaries with radical ideas on how we can build stable lives, careers, and companies. 

If you’re also interested in Jen and Manoush’s personal story and their adventures in starting their own business with a little help from blockchain technology, listen to the first three seasons, starting with Season 1, Chapter 1.

Thank you for supporting us by using special offer codes from our sponsors, signing up for our free newsletter, and subscribing to the show on Apple Podcasts, GooglePodcasts, RadioPublic, Stitcher, Overcast, Spotify, or Breaker.