So much work happens backstage. Credit: marc cornelis / Flickr Creative Commons

You might write code, lay power lines, or sing on the stage... work comes in many, many different forms. Luckily, whatever sort of labor you’re doing - or trying not to do - Innovation Hub has a work-related story for you.

First up, there’s deep work, and there’s shallow work. Deep work involves the dedicated, methodical solving of long-term problems. Shallow work is all about catching up on email and attending meetings. And it turns out, in today’s office, it’s really difficult to do deep work. Cal Newport, author of Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World, walks us through why deep work is important, and how we can actually get it done.

After that, your marriage affects pretty much every aspect of your life: your happiness, your health, whether you can spend ten hours a day playing the new Zelda game, and - not surprisingly - your work. Brittany Solomon, an assistant research professor at the University of Notre Dame, says that your partner can have a seriously positive impact on your career… especially if they have one specific trait.

Then, the story of how a man bounced back from a major economic depression… and laid the foundation for our modern communications system.

And finally, we go behind-the-scenes for the story of someone who’s appeared on Broadway stages and silver screens for a half-century: Barbra Streisand. Neal Gabler, author of Barbra Streisand: Redefining Beauty, Femininity, and Power, explains how Streisand completely transformed Hollywood, testing their standards of beauty, as well as their patience for powerful female actors, producers, and directors.