Maintaining a work/life balance is wildly difficult, in no small part due to contemporary expectations of “the workplace,” as  well as largely-held societal ideals about how, when, & how often work happens. In the pandemic, the expectations and definitions of labor have become even more fraught. In this episode, we out ourselves as cultural Marxists (lol) and take a deep dive into the ethical rights and legal protections workers (including freelancers) are entitled to. We also remind ourselves why we shouldn’t take these rights for granted (see: “Ya gotta be alive in order to make work!”).

Later, we get to speak with two incredibly insightful illustrators — Jamiel Law (jamiellaw.com / @jamiellaw_art) and Xia Gordon (xiagordon.com / @carefulblackgirl) — about maintaining the balance between working a full-time design job at the same time as freelancing for major publications and publishing companies.