Working

Self-described "tailoress" Cheryl Lofton makes new clothes fit better, brings new life to old clothes, and helps design customer's dream clothing on a budget. She spoke with Jacob Brogan about her family history in the industry and how she works with customers today.In a Slate Plus extra, Cheryl and her assistant Cindy talk about their relationship and measure Jacob for a pair of pants he needs hemmed. If you’re a member, enjoy bonus segments and interview transcripts from Working, plus other great podcast exclusives. Start your two-week free trial at slate.com/workingplus.Email: working@slate.comTwitter: @Jacob_Brogan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Working embarks on a new series with the people who make sure that we look good. This week, we start with foundation. Christin Michelle, a professional freelance makeup artist helps clients get ready for weddings, photo shoots, galas, and more. She tells us how she began doing makeup artistry, what she carries around in the super heavy kit that she brings to jobs, and how she professionally manages the heightened emotions of a wedding day.In a Slate Plus extra, Michelle tells us about how and where she shops for the makeup she keeps with her at all times. If you’re a member, enjoy bonus segments and interview transcripts from Working, plus other great podcast exclusives. Start your two-week free trial at slate.com/workingplus.Email: working@slate.comTwitter: @Jacob_Brogan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, the Smithsonian's National African American History and Culture Museum had its grand opening, so we're sharing a conversation we had earlier this year with one of its curators. Ever find yourself at a museum wondering about who chose the artifacts and wrote the captions? We spoke with Mary Elliott, a museum specialist at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture. Along with her colleague Nancy Bercaw, Elliott has worked years on a massive exhibit that explores the global history of slavery and the makings of America.And in a Slate Plus extra, Mary Elliott tells us more about the family history research that began her career. Start your two-week free trial at slate.com/workingplus.Email: working@slate.comTwitter: @Jacob_Brogan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jim Adams keeps every plant at the White House healthy and beautiful as the Supervisory Horticulturist for the National Park Service Special Liaison to the White House. In this last episode of our Working at the White House series, we spoke to Adams in the White House’s Kennedy Garden about the history of the White House as a National Park, about his year-round rotation of plants, and about his encounters with the President’s dogs and other wildlife on the White House grounds.And in a Slate Plus extra, Adams tells us about what goes into setting up the White House Easter Egg Roll and other special events. If you’re a member, enjoy bonus segments and interview transcripts from Working, plus other great podcast exclusives. Start your two-week free trial at slate.com/workingplus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Outside the gates of the White House, Lafayette Plaza is often full of tourists, Secret Service, Performers, and Protesters. We spoke to Philipos Melaku-Bello, an advocate for nuclear disarmament who has been supporting a peace vigil across from the White House for over 30 years. Melaku-Bello shares how he and a small group of volunteers have kept the vigil going through winter blizzards and blistering summer days, and how he interacts with passersby, human and animal  alike. In a Slate Plus Extra, Melaku-Bello shares some of the history of the vigil.  If you’re a member, enjoy bonus segments and interview transcripts from Working, plus other great podcast exclusives. Start your two-week free trial at slate.com/workingplus Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This season on Working, we’re going to the White House. For this week's episode, we spoke to someone who was a little less familiar with the institution. Chase Woods, a rising senior at the University of Chicago, served as an intern at the White House this past summer. He talked to us about how he found his way into that role, and what he did during his time there. We spoke to him about everything from his daily decisions about where to eat lunch, to the time he nerded out when he saw Merrick Garland in the hallway. If you've ever wondered about what it's like to be one of the least powerful people at one of the most powerful places on earth, this episode is for you. In a Slate Plus Extra, Woods chats with former Slate intern Ian Philbrick about what it's like to intern in an expensive city full of transitory people.  If you’re a member, enjoy bonus segments and interview transcripts from Working, plus other great podcast exclusives. Start your two-week free trial at slate.com/workingplus Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're taking a short vacation, so it's a great time to catch up on the rest of the series. Learn about who writes the President's speeches, who picks out his letters, and who manages his schedule. We'll be back in early September with the end of this season. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Meet the President's chief negotiator in Congress, Amy Rosenbaum.This season on Working, we’re going to the White House. For this episode, we visited the West Wing office of Amy Rosenbaum, President Obama's Director of Legislative Affairs. She shuffles between the White House and Capitol Hill striving to persuade members of Congress to get behind the President's legislative priorities. She discussed her handling of the Iran Deal and when she decides to bring the President himself to the negotiation table. In a Slate Plus Extra, Rosenbaum tells us how the time she spent working on Capitol Hill earlier in her life led to her work with the Obama administration today. If you’re a member, enjoy bonus segments and interview transcripts from Working, plus other great podcast exclusives. Start your two-week free trial at slate.com/workingplus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This season, we've been going to the White House trying to understand how the Presidential administration's employees operate and interact. To get a better sense of how the building itself operates, we spoke to Maju Varghese, Assistant to the President for Management and Administration. A former of member of the President's advance team, Varghese is now responsible for the literal management of the White House itself, looking after teams that handle everything from maintenance, to payroll, to the visitor's office. We chatted with him in his cavernous office on a day when President Obama was meeting with the Prime Minister of Singapore, an event that had the White House campus abuzz. Even as he helped manage that energy, Varghese was still working to ensure that everything else functioned smoothly. He told us about how he makes sure that everyone's talking to one another and discussed how the White House has changed in his time there. . In a Slate Plus Extra, Varghese describes how he ended up in his current role, going from working on the Gore campaign in 2000, to earning a law degree, to joining the President's advance team. If you’re a member, enjoy bonus segments and interview transcripts from Working, plus other great podcast exclusives. Start your two-week free trial at slate.com/workingplus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we took a step back from the administration itself to talk to the Washington Post's White House Bureau Chief, Juliet Eilperin. A former environmental reporter for the Post, Eilperin made the jump to her current beat back in 2013, and she's been covering the Obama administration ever since. She talked to us about everything from the challenges of covering a story in an environment where security is the rule, to the strangeness of having the President mispronounce your name when he calls on you during a press conference. We also chatted with her about what she tries to capture in her articles and about some of the stories she's proudest of.  In a Slate Plus Extra, Eilperin, who wrote an entire book about sharks, tells us some of her favorite details of those ancient predators of the deep. If you’re a member, enjoy bonus segments and interview transcripts from Working, plus other great podcast exclusives. Start your two-week free trial at slate.com/workingplus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices