Recode Decode: "The Job" author Ellen Shell

Decoder with Nilay Patel

Boston University professor Ellen Shell talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about her new book, The Job: Work and Its Future in a Time of Radical Change.

In this episode: Shell's background in science and culture journalism; her earlier books, "The Hungry Gene" and "Cheap"; how writing about 1800s department store sales in "Cheap" led to writing "The Job"; what jobs will be automated and how we should prepare; how this transition compares to the Industrial Revolution; the ripple effects of one job being automated; the recent government shutdown; what does it even mean to be employed in the gig economy?; the "skills gap" myth and the opportunities of growing up rich; what should young people in the workforce do now?; will robots ever take all the jobs?

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