Work is Weird Now

E58: How Do We Redesign Early Careers When the Ladder is Broken?

In this episode of Work Is Weird Now, Dan and Alice sit down with Suze Cook to unpack what happens when the traditional career ladder no longer works for early career talent. From hidden internships and broken graduate pathways to project-based work, AI-native skills and social mobility, Suze shares why the future of early careers may look very different — and why businesses need to rethink how they spot and support talent.

E57: Can AI help lighten the mental load for women?

Here’s a tighter podcast bio option that keeps her credibility and personality, while tying directly into the episode themes: Alex Issakova is an AI strategist, educator and founder helping businesses navigate the messy reality of generative AI. After 15 years working across tech, systems thinking and machine learning for Silicon Valley companies, she left corporate life to build her own business focused on practical AI adoption, ethical implementation and real-world ROI. Before ChatGPT even launched, Alex’s MBA research explored how non-technical leaders could bring AI into their work responsibly — a conversation that now feels more urgent than ever. Through her consultancy, leadership training and newsletter, The Roadmap, she helps organisations cut through the hype and figure out what AI actually means for work, leadership and everyday life. In this episode, we explore the hidden gender dynamics shaping AI adoption, why women often feel they need permission to use these tools, and how AI could radically reduce the invisible mental load carried by so many working women. From household “chiefs of staff” to job disruption, workplace bias and the future of human value, this is a conversation about the opportunities and tensions emerging as AI becomes part of daily life.

E:56 Have traditional hierarchies made us too dependant?

This week on Work Is Weird Now, we’re joined by Lizzie Penny and Alex Hirst, co-founders of Hoxby and The Workstyle Revolution, to unpack how work needs to evolve beyond industrial-age thinking. From the legacy of the 9–5 to the rise of digital, distributed work, we explore why organisations are struggling to balance autonomy with structure and what happens when people are given freedom without the skills or frameworks to use it well. We get into: • Why traditional hierarchies create a parent–child dynamic at work • The shift from presence-based to trust-based collaboration • Why “freedom within a framework” is the real unlock • How autonomy is a skill, not a perk • What organisations get wrong when they try to go “flat” Along the way, Lizzie and Alex share the deeply personal experiences that shaped their thinking — from burnout to illness to building a business around a more human way of working. This isn’t about scrapping structure. It’s about redesigning it.

E55: She Shapes AI Global Awards & Conference Wrap Up

She Shapes AI: Who gets to build the future? Alice and Dan recap their experience at the She Shapes AI Global Awards and Conference at the London School of Economics an event that didn’t just celebrate innovation, but challenged who gets to shape it. The day opened with a bold Oxford-style debate asking whether AI will lead to an era of abundance and human flourishing. Arguing the opposition, Alice helped shift the room driven by one simple, cutting question: if abundance is inevitable, why aren’t we seeing it already? From there, the conversation turned refreshingly honest. Author Caroline De Cock cut through the hype, calling time on years of overpromising from the tech world—and questioning why the people building AI are still the ones defining its purpose. But the most powerful theme came from the founders themselves. Across the awards, women from around the world showcased AI solutions shaped by lived experience tackling everything from domestic abuse and healthcare inequality to environmental challenges and political conflict. Many had stepped away from traditional careers to build something better. Most had been told not to. The takeaway is clear: AI is changing who gets to participate. And for those with deep, personal understanding of a problem, that might be the most powerful advantage of all.

E54: Can AI education help level the playing field? With Anna Cejudo

Can AI education help level the playing field? This week on Work Is Weird Now, we’re joined by Anna Cejudo, co-CEO and co-founder of Founderz, to explore one of the most important questions in the age of AI: who actually gets to benefit? Anna unpacks why traditional education models are struggling to keep up — caught between exclusivity at one end and passive, disconnected online learning at the other — and how Founderz is trying to build something different. We dive into what it means to learn with AI, not just about it. From always-on AI mentors to personalised, real-time learning experiences, this is a model that shifts education from consumption to interaction. But access to tools is not the same as capability. Anna shares why so many organisations are getting AI adoption wrong, and why mindset, confidence, and practical application matter far more than simply rolling out licences. We also explore what this means for the next generation, how AI could reshape learning in schools, and the risk of a new divide emerging — not just between those who have access to technology, but those who know how to use it well. At its core, this is a conversation about opportunity. Because if education creates opportunity, then in the age of AI, the real question is: who gets to learn?