Jobsolete

You might want to write this episode down. Helen and Matt look at one of the most important occupations in human history, the Scribe, and we only know about this job because they were so helpful as to write down what they did.

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From the local small-town stage to New York’s Palace Theater, vaudeville was an essential part of every community. In this episode, Helen and Matt learn about the Vaudevillians, the ones who kept Americans entertained when there wasn’t much to do for fun. 

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During the heyday of live jazz music, the charismatic and ambitious one who kept it all together was the Big Band Orchestra Leader. Helen and Matt explore how the occupation gave rise to the birth of the modern pop singer.

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Before computers, women helped Walt Disney bring his hand drawn animations to life as Animated Cel Inkers, a little known profession that would have a ripple effect over the style of animations for generations to come. Helen and Matt explore this underrated, innovative and inventive profession.

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Some people used to believe that the surest way to get to heaven after you died was to have someone eat your sins. Ya know, so they were no longer on your soul? All you needed was some bread, some wine, and a Sin Eater. Helen and Matt talk about sins and the strange practice of sin eating.

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Season 2 of Jobsolete premieres November 11. Tune in to learn more about history's most fascinating jobs.

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Railroad workers who laid the tracks that first crossed America were often called gandy dancers. Find out what it was like to work on the rails in those frontier days!

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Let's return to the Age of Sail with our guest K.C. Crowell, who tells us what it was like to be a sailor on a tall ship.

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In 1981, the world was introduced to Music Television, and the job of video jockey, or VJ, was born.

In this second part of a two-episode special, our expert guests are Martha Quinn, original MTV VJ, and Bob Pittman, who led the team that created MTV.

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In 1981, the world was introduced to Music Television, and the job of video jockey, or VJ, was born.

In this first part of a two-episode special, our expert guests are Martha Quinn, original MTV VJ, and Bob Pittman, who led the team that created MTV.

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Our own Amelia Palka helps sort

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Writer John Van Wyhe takes Helen and Matt around the world to catch a glimpse of the now obsolete Victorian Specimen collector, He also shares the story of his favorite collector of all, Ida Pfeiffer.

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Eleanor Herman, author of The Royal Art of Poison, shares her tales of food tasters though history with Matt and Helen. She also dispels some myths about what was actually killing royalty if it wasn't poison.

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Author Marc Hartzman tells Matt and Helen about the odd profession of Stone Eaters and they find out that there is another job hiding behind this one.

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Professional Royal Mistress? Professional? Yup. Eleanor Herman, author of Sex With Kings, 500 Years of Adultery, Power, Rivalry, and Revenge, joins the show to help Matt and Helen shed a little light on this often overlooked and misunderstood profession.

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Kyota Ko, mastermind behind the website Metro Classic Japanese, Joins Helen and Matt to discuss the long and fascinating history behind Samurai.

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