The Unemployable Man (TRAILER)

The Unemployable Man (An Introduction) —  What happens when you've spent a lifetime working, worrying, succeeding, failing, raising a family, collecting stories — and suddenly realize you still have unfinished business?

The Unemployable Man is a weekly spoken essay by longtime broadcaster Ray Whitaker. Part storytelling, part observation, part philosophy — each episode explores work, identity, memory, creativity, growing older, and the strange ways the past continues to shape who we become.

If you've ever wondered where the years went — or where you're headed next—you may have found your next favorite listening experience.

Listen to the trailer, then join me for the journey.

The Unemployable Man is a spoken-word series by Ray Whitaker featuring original essays about work, identity, memory, mental health, creativity, culture, and the ongoing business of becoming—and laughing at—yourself.

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If these stories resonate with you, I'd be grateful if you'd share them with someone who might need to hear 'em.

Transcript

Speaker 0:10

If you're one who has lived past the half-century mark, let's say, I would imagine you've sometimes wondered where you exactly fit into a world where social media presence and influencing are held in such high regard. You may also think to yourself at the same time, you know what? I honestly do not give a crap about any of that stuff. And being a pretty analog guy myself, I'm right in there with you. Because you and I, we witnessed some serious change during our formative years, and I'm talking the latter half of the 20th century. Even on the most basic level, we went from vinyl to atrax, to cassettes, to CDs, and we were wicked impressed. But you know what? At least we had time to get used to the changes. The twenty first century, it doesn't afford that kind of luxury. These days, it's like we're standing at the plate, and there's a pitching machine right over there set at a hundred, and we're getting completely wailed upon because there's barely enough time to reset for the next swing. There's just way too much coming at us all at once. And being a pretty slow thinker, deliberate, but slow, I can admit that, I tend to retreat into the safety of my twentieth century happy places, those being classic rock, rotating George Carlin observations, reminiscing about the good old days when there were pictures of Italian mob hits on the cover of New York City Daily Newspapers. That was amazing. And of course, constant reevaluation. The Unemployable Man is a long form monologue podcast about those kinds of memories. And culture, then and now, the concept of masculinity, and don't worry. You will never hear the word toxic next to it. Not here, not ever. And work, anxiety, failure, regret, reinvention, finding your footing, and the comfortable feeling that the past isn't really gone at all. Some episodes make their way back into the music and the radio and the movies that we came up with. Our childhood norms, you know, the ones that would not fly today. As fun as they were. Our family dynamics, that's always a good time. And the strange and turbulent world we were raised in. While others wrestle with what you and I are dealing with right now, that is growing older, especially in this country. And the increasingly surreal experience of trying to remain fully aware, creative, comedic, and genuinely and unapologetically human during the time we have left, you know, breathing oxygen. Having spent more than half my life behind microphones and commercial and public radio from the Jersey Shore to New England, I've witnessed, winced at, and told many stories about the cultural change that we have all borne witness to. And as much as change is necessary, I will never forget, as you probably won't, how we came up, all that we were exposed to, for better or worse, and all that we learned from it. But don't take this program as just mere nostalgia or the lauding of one generation over another, because honestly, that's typical and weak, respectively. It's about appreciation for what was what and who we are now, and what we still could be, regardless of how close we are to , you know, going room temperature. And if we're anything alike, we have unfinished business. The good kind, the creative kind, the satisfying kind. This is the unemployable man. I'm Ray Whitaker.