Under NDA

This week on Under NDA, we’re stepping away from corporate chaos and into one of the most mysterious, disciplined industries in the world: ballet.

Former professional dancer Sarah joins us to pull back the curtain on the hidden culture of ballet,  from obedience and perfectionism to the power dynamics, pressure, and quiet resilience behind the stage lights.

It’s a world built on beauty and precision, but also control and fear. Sarah ...

In this episode of UnderNDA, we dive into a deep conversation about a major cultural shift sweeping Silicon Valley. Our guest, Jules,  a seasoned revenue leader who has taken companies from IPO to bankruptcy and back again,  joins us to unpack the rise of “hard-tech hustle culture.”

Fueled by AI’s gold-rush energy, a new expectation has emerged: no booze, no sleep, no fun. Just relentless grind. We explore why founders are embracing...

Season 2 kicks off with a bang, and a new workplace trend to dissect: job hugging. It’s that move where someone becomes the single gatekeeper for… well, everything. Access. Approvals. Vendors. Progress itself. All in the name of staying “indispensable.”

In Episode 1, we walk through a real story of a friendly-but-friction-creating bottleneck, and what happened when he finally took a vacation. (Spoiler: the world kept turning… and fa...

If you thought your awkward Zoom moment was bad… buckle up.

In this episode of Under NDA, hosts Dorian and Woody are joined by guest Linda, a longtime employee benefits consultant, to share two unforgettable stories from the remote work era.

First up: a marketing team member dials into a Zoom call from what sounded suspiciously like a waterpark. When asked about it? Denial. Next: a senior account manager joins an all-hands meeting sh...

In this episode of Under NDA, guest Nicole joins us to unpack two classic corporate trainwrecks:

Story 1: “Bonuses for Who?”
A consulting firm calls an all-hands to celebrate record-breaking performance—then tells employees there won’t be any bonuses. The message? Leadership is thriving… you’re just lucky to have a job.

Story 2: “Failing Upward”
Meet Brad: a manager with zero EQ, vague feedback, and a knack for taking credi...

Workplace comedy meets corporate horror—again. In Part 2, Under NDA serves up two more head shaking tales of control obsessed leadership and morale in free fall. Former tech exec turned Code TV (https://codetv.dev) creator Jason joins the mic to discuss workplace control run amok.

Stories in this episode:

1. “Why I Left the Startup” –  A product manager promised “zero red tape” arrives in a Notion jungle of templates, mandatory rewr...

Workplace comedy meets corporate horror. In “Control Issues Everywhere, Part 1,” Under NDA dishes up two jaw dropping tales of bad boss behavior, toxic management fails, and HR nightmares.

Stories in this episode:

1. “Consistently Unreasonable” – Meet the manager who decided that 5:30 a.m. (!) was the perfect time for a mandatory, cameras on weekly meeting…for a totally local team with zero emergencies. (Spoiler: the whole thing goe...

What if the developer everyone praises for flawless code has never actually touched the codebase?

What if the “always online” analyst shows up in every system log, yet never lifts a finger?

And what if a harmless looking expense line hides the boldest reimbursement request your finance team has ever seen?

Veteran marketing leader Kat Stratford joins us to dissect three workplace stories where perks overshadow the work itself.

Together ...

A wise woman once said- “no career has ever been made at a corporate event, but many a career has been lost…”

So what happens when a brand-new hire dazzles and then detonates before Day 1 even arrives? And how do you handle an HR crusade that suddenly outlaws every hug, even though it’s part of company culture?

This week, game-industry insider Andrew K. joins us  to discuss these “too much, too soon” scenarios. We tease out where the...