Author: Victoria Meschiatti

TRACK 1: “You’re listening to the second episode of What We Do To… and by now you should know what this podcast is about. If you didn’t get the hint, I’ll explain. It’s about what we do to survive, how the struggles in life push us to accept certain jobs, or why we look for gigs for the fun of it. We want to hear stories that are about crazy experiences at the work place and how these experiences shape us a people and how we view society.

In today’s episode, I’m talking to Christian. A 39-year-old who was born in Bakersfield, California. A small town located in the north part of Los Angeles. Cristian has been working as a cook for years, bartending, server, bus boy, manager, he has done it all in the service industry. And as Cristian describes himself, he has been having fun most of his life. At the age of 20 he moved to LA, and for the past 20 years he has been finding himself in big cities, moving back and forth between LA and NY.

Cristian has crazy experiences regarding the Hollywood life, and he has some crazy characters that he came across to.”

TRACK 2: “So, have you ever done any weird gigs?”

CHRIS: “Yes, as a matter of fact I have. I had a friend who owned a strip company, like, called Crazy Like Fucks, and one time he asked me if I would do a Bachelorette party for him. I was 18 at the time, I go “yeah, of course, why not?” who wouldn’t? I was a skinny little tiny white boy, you know what I mean? You know what I mean? Being polled legs, and no rhythm and the house I went to, it was in a rather undesirable neighborhood, but it was a little bit more fun I guess. I took a couple shots of whiskey, smoked a little rocky tabaqui and next thing you know I’m dancing for a bunch of old housewives. Well, the place, where the dancing was in a town called Oildale, California, which is the armpit of the world. It’s white trash guetto, and the ladies there were a little bit more mainly than me, but still interested in men. The amount of teeth between them, probably didn’t equate the ones I had in my own head, so it was a little bit more, you know, upscale if you will. Danced with them all that night, I met two ladies that were friends, met two friends that were moms at the party, I ended up exchanging phone number with them and for the next couple months enjoyed a very fun time with two friends at the party. It was very wonderful.

TRACK 3: “So what else have you done that you’d call peculiar.”

CHRIS: “Peculiar? Well, I transported…”

VIC: “Oh my god, I don’t think I wanna hear anything illegal.”

CHIRS: “A product from Los Angeles to Bakersfield quite a few times, nothing, nothing dangerous, but you know, it was just one or two times, you know what I mean, we were young, young, fun, doing things that were interesting, you know?! We changed jobs quite a few times, so, everything’s been fun. It’s been enjoyable, life’s experiences.”

VIC: “Tell me a little bit about the party you met Big, maybe that’s something we should talk about! Something interesting”

CHRIS: “So, yeah, I was running a café in Los Angeles, with, at the time, I was the baker chef and front of the house man which I ran the whole thing, the owner was a good friend of mine, I’ve been working there about three years by this point. And Mr. Big, who lived right up the street from us, cause he was in Sherman Oaks, California, which all the actors were at the Universal Studios, and all that fun stuff is, his wife came in all the time, and he came in, he was doing, his 50^thbirthday party, and he asked us to cater it, so we went up there and catered his party. Really nice little house, awesome swimming pool, outdoor barbecue, we were there, you know, before the party, starting, you know, meeting his wife, we had a good time, everyone just laughing, joking, really good time, you know, he’s a really nice guy, interesting, wife had just had a baby, so she was, you know what I mean, in that great mother glow, it was a fun time. Met a lot of fun people in my life. And here I met, in New York, I met Uma Thurman, Jennifer Aniston, LA, a couple years back, I was working on the same café, Ben Stiller came in and it was right before the Oscars, I believe it was the Oscars, when Avatar came out, and he was sitting there, I made him lunch, we sat down, and we befriended each other a couple times, you know what I mean, because we’ve known each other for a couple years, him coming in and out, and he was telling me that, I was asking him if he was ready for the night, you know, Oscar night, he’s like “yeah, you now, they’re making me…” he goes, and he’s sitting there eating a salad, we’re talking, no one’s in the café, and he goes “they’re making me dress up like a god damn Avatar tonight. And you know what I mean, he goes, but he’s Ben Stiller, and the next thing you know, later that night, I’m watching it, there he comes out on the stage dressed up like an Avatar, smiling and stuff like that, so it’s kinda funny, but yeah, it’s been an interesting time. You know, now I’m working in, like a said, I was working in this little bar in Harrison now, and just enjoying my life.

 

VIC: “And how would you say is the transition from doing these crazy events and working at the bar that you are now?”

 

CHRIS: “It’s crazy, it’s just on a different scale, still the same. Like the other night, we had a private party and they pulled out a bottle of Louis XIII, a 3-4 thousand-dollar bottle of Remy Martin, start giving out shots, you know what I mean, it’s like we have guys in here dressed in, well, you would consider, a mafia style outfit, but also guys that are dressed in, one dude had boxers and white socks on, like Robert DeNiro, in Casino, you know what I mean, so last year when I first started working here, it’s snowing outside, and there’s a girl in chaps, and her butt cheeks hanging out, telling me to hug her like a man. You know what I mean, I’m like “oh, okay” you know what I mean, so, it doesn’t change, you know what I mean, maybe the certain calibers, but in this industry which I’ve learned from serving in Bakersfield with Buck Owens, country singer, in Bakersfield that I grew up with serving him at his table to Los Angeles, Ben Stiller, Bobby Brown, I was right next to Doctor Dre’s record one studio, he’d come in, you know what I mean, and to NY, it’s all the same, it’s just where you are, the time, you meet, really meet people. It’s a fun industry, I love it cause it’s never changing, always changing.”

 

VIC: “What are your aspirations in life?”

 

CHRIS: “To enjoy myself, that’s about it. Hopefully, I have a couple friends, one’s gonna be here later tonight, two of them actually, they want to invest in the bar and I’ve done bartending or cooking, so either way, either being a chef in the city, or owning my own bar, hopefully one day.”

 

VIC: “See you next time!”

SHAN: “I don’t know what you would call that, it was interesting and after it, he asked me, he asked me if I would’ve wanted to ever walk him around on a leash, that he has just ordered his collar.”

TRACK 1: “I’ve been broke a few times. College life, you have to pay rent, eat, survive. You know the deal. I’ve looked into some alternatives to make money. I would help friends with their homework, pick up some extra shifts at my job, sell clothes or other things I haven’t touched in years that I could find in my closet, but somehow I could always make some money. And everybody experiences struggles like that. But the problem with society, or with my little bubble world, is that we know that there are so many interesting things out there, and we’re okay with that, you know? We’re pretty open minded. Until you realize that these interesting things are happening right in your circle. Then they go from interesting to “wow, tell me more about it”. We are looking for pleasure, what makes us be who we are, and our unique way is what makes us incredible individuals. However, we still don’t like to talk about what makes us happy because you know, many people would see that as something weird. And that was my reaction when my friend Shan told me about her world of hustling. This is the first episode of What we do To…, and Shan is gonna tell us the exotic gigs she’s been through.

 

TRACK 2:  “So, Shannon, you, being my source, you opened a portal for the unknown world of interesting, pecualiar, exotic gigs.”

 

SHAN: “I don’t think you even know these gigs existed until I started talking to you.”

 

TRACK 3: “Shan was right, I had no idea that gigs like that existed for what I judged to be a regular shift to get some extra money.  So, I wanted to know more about what led her to discover this unknown world.”

 

SHAN: “I don’t remember which came first, but it was when I was about 18 I started like really digging deep into the craigslist gigs section. And I always been like really open and everything. There was one I did, what is this rated? This podcast? So I did, I was 18, and just like curious, you know obviously not gonna do anything that I regret. So, it was this swinger party that they wanted hostess to make other people feel more comfortable, and of course someone who’s never been to a swinger party, I got hired! So I really just had to be there, we ended up being topless and I was just serving drinks and massaging people exploring their, their lifestyle, which I’m totally fine with anyone’s lifestyle. But that was definitely was a shocker into my world of weird.”

 

TRACK 4: “Shan was new to the swinger world. Apparently, the party was too. They were looking for comfortable girls, and Shan was always comfortable with her body. What excited her about this gig? She was curious about what a swinger party was, and glad she didn’t have to participate. She would only work and observe.”

 

SHAN: “I don’t know, it really opened up my world to what was out there and I’m not gonna lie, it was easy money. 3 hours, I love being naked, we got to drink, smoked a little of the funny grass. It was a very cool atmosphere and you know, I got paid for. So at that time, and even now, it was fun for me. And you know, extra money, but there was one after that, that it was weird and showed me into the true like “wow, people have some weird fetishes. So, the odd was girls who look good in leggings and I have a great ass, so I said “oh, I can do this job, it’s a 100 bucks for an hour” to film me snapping leggings on my skin like in totally clothes, but to just be filmed, no face or anything, just of the leggings, and I had to say certain, a scripted thing, but that was an odd thing that I realized “wow!”

 

TRACK 5: “Shan’s list of weird gigs is very interesting. From an early age, she has experienced some crazy gigs. So, I wondered, how wasn’t she afraid of what was out there?”

 

SHAN: “I was always very safe about it, you know, send addresses and names and number to my friends before I went anywhere, just make sure you’re in a safe environment, but I’ve always been, you know, pretty open to doing things is why I guess I just kinda went for it, but yeah it was funny because the swinger gig I’ve had also done kid’s parties where I dressed up, painted faces, did balloons and there was one night where I was like Ariel in a kid’s party and then had to run from there to catch a train to the city and to go do the swinger party. Just the total 1-80 of side hustles, so that was always a funny thing I remember.”

 

TRACK 6: “We then got to the point where with one gig, Shan was able to actually learn about herself.”

 

SHAN: “My most recent weird gig was this foot fetish party, which I’m like “awesome, I get to keep my clothes on,” you know, I actually ended up liking it. You know, I was always interested in what the whole thing with foot fetish was or the psychology and I’m very interested in just humans in general, that’s why I also like these strange gigs. You see an inside into these little worlds, but it was so empowering actually because guys that are into that are very submissive and it just, I felt like I had the power, even though, you know, and I was being paid for all of, whatever, nothing that really, I was subjected to having to do things I didn’t want to do. Just to be worshiped pretty much, so that was like a “wow, I could maybe do this again” type thing. Is that weird?”

 

TRACK 7: “This foot fetish party was for club’s members only, and according to Shan, many of the guys didn’t want people to know about this wild side. They had almost 35 girls working, all dressed up in sexy lingerie or costumes. Because of the nature of the party, Shan had to approach many of the guys. And the man with that had just ordered the collar, met Shan at this party.”

 

SHAN: “I love to be slapped or talked down to” like that is wild to me. And, you know, so the setting was couched, you know, everyone you see sit there, and obviously they like the conversation too, everyone likes that whole companionship to go with it, but you know, as I’m sitting and talking to one guy I would see a girl walking on other guy’s face. You know, it was such a “what a time to be alive.” No, it was interesting, open space though, nothing was what I would ever felt in danger or anything, but…”

 

TRACK 8: “Business talk now? In 5 hours Shan left with a little over a hundred dollars. She sat down with 3 guys only, but unlike previous gigs, she didn’t mind not making a crazy amount of money, she cared more about the experience. And how do you find these jobs? Do you think it’s safe enough, like do you do your own research before it?”

 

SHAN: “All of my friends ask me where the fuck I find these jobs. Craigslist. I’ve been a Craigslist hustler since I can’t remember, and you don’t go on the jobs of Craigslist, you go to the gigs, you go to the talent, you go to events, creative events, and you know, I’ve done modeling for live body painting even. I mean, and again, these I take because I am just comfortable with myself, but, you can kind of tell in the wording of certain gigs if you should totally not respond to that, but just to be safe I make sure, it’s you know, something public place at least to meet anybody if it’s a meeting before and send address, name, phone number to your friends, and again, I’m very comfortable person and carry pepper spray, but that would be my only advice in that regard.

 

TRACK 9: “What is the craziest thing you’ve seen in one of these jobs?”

 

SHAN: “You come across too many interesting people, but the craziest recently had, like was it put it at the top a little bit because I’ve never actually seen this. So, at these parties all the men are submissive and I was watching this one guy’s laying on the floor almost and the girl is just talking to him like he is dog shit, pretty much. “Idiot, stupid,” smacking him and just seeing the joy in his eyes, I’m like “this is some deep rooted issues” like, she might had even spit on him at one point.”

 

TRACK 10: “From these gigs, do you see society different now?”

 

SHAN: “That is a great question because it could be anyone, it could be anyone, you know, you have first these guys who at these fetish parties are telling you their personal lives and what they do, cause I kinda asked them, you know, you’re conversating with them so, what are we making conversation over, the whole reason we’re here, and one guy said yeah, he’s the, and he was a big guy too, you know, muscular you’ll be scared of him if you saw him walking down the street, and, he said “yeah, I’m the supervisor at my job and deal around bossing guys around all day” so the end of the day he likes to be bossed around and you know, kinda treated lessely, and so, that just, after even hearing that was like “wow, anyone, anywhere can have any type, you know, and it’s all very secretive too so you would never know. Sometimes I kinda look at people and try and guess, it’s a fun game I play with myself, but yeah, yeah, I guess you would look at the world very differently.”

 

TRACK 11: “What did you learn about yourself?”

 

SHAN: “What did I learn about myself? I’ve learned that depending how broke I am, my standards… no, I’ve learned that I love to be worshipped, maybe. I’m already a little narcissistic in real life, and I think doing certain parties where, you know, they’ll show such admiration towards you, and what not, it brings me this like rush and high almost and, you know, maybe that’s dangerous, but I don’t know, I like, I love control, I’ve kinda always known that, but this recent event that I did, it was like wow, this is almost like I could do this all the time.

 

TRACK 12: “So what’s coming next?”

 

SHAN: “Honestly, I was gonna deep dive into the old craigslist’s gigs after we end this, so maybe I’ll have an answer for you next time we meet.”

 

TRACK 13: “Thank you.”

 

Shan: “You’re welcome!”

 

 

 

HOST INTRO: On Sept. 24^th, the President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, was the eight Brazilian president to deliver the opening speech in the 74^thUnited Nations General Assembly. Since 1949, traditionally, the representative of Brazil is responsible for opening the general debate of the Assembly. Throughout his speech, Bolsonaro discussed how Brazil plans to change the government that according to the president is corrupted by the former representatives. Other issues such as sovereignty, the Amazon and the indigenous tribes, were also discussed. Our reporter Victoria Meschiatti has the story.

TRACK 1: Many Brazilians and the international media waited for the opening speech of the United Nations General Assembly. In face of the issues facing the Amazon and Bolsonaro’s response to international aid, it was the time for the Brazilian president to show how Brazil is dealing with these problems. Jussara Soares is a reporter who works in Brasilia, the country’s capital covering Bolsonaro’s government and she was present in the Assembly.

JUSSARA: “O primeiro discurso do presidente Jair Bolsonaro na Assembleia Geral da ONU, ele estava cercado de muita expectativa, primeiro porque era o momento do presidente Bolsonaro se mostrar ali para comunidade internacional…” [interview continues in the background]

TRACK 2: She states that there were a lot of expectations due to the fact that it was the moment for Bolsonaro to show himself internationally, especially because he was coming from a polemic wave of conflicts with international leaders regarding the Amazon rainforest wildfires. For the Brazilian press, the president affirmed that he would use the speech to show what according to him are the real facts.

JUSSARA:“…da ONU pra dar uma resposta e mostrar o que segundo ele é a realidade dos fatos.”

TRACK 3: When president Jair Bolsonaro was elected in 2018 and took office in the beginning of 2019, his government was responsible for weakening protection of the rainforest while favoring farmers to contribute with the process of deforestation. In his speech, the president stated that the dry weather and winds during this particular time of the year favor spontaneous wildfires. Moreover, he added that criminal activities of wildfires are perpetrated by the local indigenous people as part of their culture and surviving methods. On the other hand, he attributed the impact of concern by many people regarding the Amazon a consequence of fake news of international media platforms.

JUSSARA: “O discurso do presidente Jair Bolsonaro chamou atenção tanto internamente quanto no exterior por ter sido considerado um discurso muito duro…”

TRACK 4: Jussara mentions that Bolsonaro’s speech called the attention of the Brazilian and international media because it was considered very harsh. The president criticized Germany and France, especially after Bolsonaro’s disagreement with the French president Emmanuel Macron and chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel. Jussara continues by saying that there was an understanding within the government that the president could have adopted a more conciliating speech, which in fact did not happen.

JUSSARA: “…havia um entendimento ali dentro do governo que o presidente poderia adotar um discurso mais conciliador. Não foi o que aconteceu na prática.”

TRACK 5: According to Jussara, the president’s speech was important to project Bolsonaro’s image outside Brazil. As she states, even though the speech was received with so much criticism, personally, Jair Bolsonaro doesn’t consider his speech aggressive, according to him, it was necessary to reestablish the truth in his point of view. He showed the world how he is and how Brazil has been following his development since the beginning of his presidency.

TRACK 6: The president also showed his disagreement regarding other countries trying to help Brazil financially because according to him, these countries have colonial intentions and don’t respect the sovereignty of Brazil with the Amazon.

JUSSARA: “Pelo ao meu lado, da onde eu pude ver, da onde eu estava, a imprensa internacional…

TRACK 7: Jussara mentions that from her perspective, she could observe the international press, especially the French press due to the president’s statements throughout the speech and his tone. However, at the end of his speech, the President reinforced the idea that Brazil is open for visitors and he has adopted steps to facilitate the entrance of international people in Brazil, so they could see with their own eyes what Brazil looks like, an attempt to attack the fabrication of fake news that the president strongly believes affects the international view of Brazil. For Baruch College, this is Victoria Meschiatti.

Kenneth Sousie, a Baruch student, went to San Diego and Tijuana during the summer to work on a documentary. He was responsible for the camera work and he lived some amazing experiences while documenting the story of a man who teaches Son Jarocho music to people. What I aim to do is to interview Kenneth about his experience and his thoughts on the process of producing this documentary. 

I listen to a few podcasts and they are all different in content and format. However, one of my favorite podcasts is Criminal, hosted by Phoebe Judge. Criminal is the kind of podcast that makes me feel scared, curious, angry and extremely engaged because it tells many real crime stories that one might think that they belong to a fiction podcast. With the help of an amazing narration by Phoebe, the episodes usually explore some bizarre stories that some listeners want to share or that Phoebe herself investigates.
In terms of format, there is always one person that is involved in the story somehow being interviewed by Phoebe in an engaging and journalistic way. There are also many soundbites that are used to connect the pieces of the story together along with the mysterious sound in the background, which works really well with the idea of expectation and crime. The episodes are not very long, varying from 20-40 minutes each, and the stories are explained in a detailed way. That said, one of my favorite episodes from Criminal is A Bump in the Night (#71).