What If Merit Was Never the Metric? with Karen K. Ho

Past Due with Ana Marie Cox and Open Mike Eagle

Ana Marie Cox, Open Mike Eagle, and Andrew Steven

Society & Culture, Performing Arts, Business, Arts

4.6 • 6.4K Ratings

🗓️ 14 January 2026

⏱️ 77 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Journalist Karen K. Ho joins us to talk about what it really means to navigate the creative economy as an immigrant, a freelancer, and a former "success story." We talk about the myth of meritocracy, the emotional and financial toll of precarity after grad school, and the difference between community and networking when your visa—and your future—are on the line. Karen shares how ADHD, burnout, and the invisibility of care shaped her path, and why finding the right support system might matter more than any byline. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	AI is incredible. They can teach you how to fry an egg and even write a poem, pirate style.
0:07.0	But it knows nothing about your work. Slackbot is different. It doesn't just know the facts.
0:14.0	It knows your schedule. It can turn a brainstorm into a brief and it doesn't need to be taught.
0:20.0	Because Slackbot isn't just another AI.
0:23.3	It's AI that knows your work as well as you do.
0:26.4	Visit Slack.com forward slash meet Slackbot to learn more.
0:30.1	Right, time to get you pet insurance with pet jebity.
0:33.5	Roots. Pet Gevity.
0:35.2	You know like longevity but for your pets long and healthy life? They have no upper age limit for dogs or cats. Pet Jevity. You know, like longevity, but for your pets long and healthy life?
0:38.5	They have no upper age limit for dogs or cats.
0:41.2	Meow! They insure hundreds of thousands of pores and have 24-7 access to vet video calls.
0:47.9	Look for Pet Gevity wherever you shop online for insurance.
0:51.8	For vet video calls, if your pet is in need of urgent medical assistance, contact your local
0:56.0	vet immediately. Visit petjavity.co.uk for full details.
1:00.8	What happens when you do everything right?
1:03.2	Build the skills, go to the schools, network, grind, earn your spot, and still find yourself
1:08.7	starting over.
1:09.6	This week, we're talking with journalist Karen
1:11.4	Ho about the illusion of meritocracy, the precarity of creative work and why even expertise isn't
1:17.3	enough anymore. We talk about community versus network, how our social structures are failing
1:23.5	creatives and what it actually takes to build sustainable careers in a crumbling economy.
1:29.0	The creative economy is broken, but some people are still making it work. We're here to find out how.
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 27 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Ana Marie Cox, Open Mike Eagle, and Andrew Steven, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Ana Marie Cox, Open Mike Eagle, and Andrew Steven and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.