Weekend America Series
The Weekend Shift
Stories about the people working on the weekends -- those who make the weekend possible, those volunteering, profiles of interesting people doing interesting work on the weekend.
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Rudy's Barbershop
As part of our Weekend Shift series about people who work weekends, we take a look at a maverick barber in Los Angeles named Michael Anthony who is so popular that people come to the shop on weekends just to hear him talk. And maybe get a hair cut while they're there. Weekend America's Charlie Schroeder recently got his hair cut by Anthony at Rudy's Barbershop in Los Angeles.
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The Weekend Shift: Police Officer
Mark Lundquist laughs at the snow and subzero temperatures of St. Paul, Minn. If that was all he had to worry about, he could do his job blindfolded. Lundquist is a police officer. So putting up with a little snow, or even a lot of snow, is nothing compared to trying catch a crook. Weekend America Producer Marc Sanchez has our story.
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The Weekend Shift: Cleaning Houses
The last thing most people want to do on a weekend is housework. But a group of immigrant women in New York are proud to spend their weekends dusting and mopping. "We Can Do It" is a Brooklyn business run by cleaning ladies, many of them without working papers or education beyond elementary school.
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Human Disco Ball
Jessie Sorrentos shimmies into two reflective scraps of fabric: a pair of itty-bitty sparkly briefs and a reflective tube top that looks like it was made for a Cabbage Patch Kid. And while she is smearing silver paint and glitter across her abdomen and up her arms, she explains how she got here. To be more specific, how it came to be that for a living, she is a Human Disco Ball.
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What Your Mailman Knows About You
For most people, checking the mailbox is an anonymous interaction. But your postage worker might actually feel quite connected to you. Because although you may have no idea what he or she looks like, they've probably got a picture of you in their head based on what's going in your mailbox. And as Kate Hinds found out in conversation with her mailman, the picture might be surprisingly accurate.
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Lost At Sea
This weekend, seven cruise ships are leaving from U.S. ports. Megan Kellie is on one of them. She's a comedy writer and performer in Los Angeles. Earlier this year, she spent three months entertaining people on a cruise ship from L.A. to Mexico as part of an improv comedy troupe. We asked Megan to give us a sense of what it's like to live and work in a place where it's always the weekend.
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Part-Time Baker
While his peers may be returning from some Friday-night hijinks, Bryce Wiebe prepares for an early morning volunteer shift baking bread. Every Saturday, he heads down a brick alley downtown and works the glow of a hand-made, wood-fired brick oven.
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The Intimate Times of Life
Many people work weekend jobs. Even more people work jobs they carry with them on their days off. Debra Nicholls' weekend job not only stays with her all week, but changes how she experiences her life.
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The Squirrelman's Rolling Home
David Csaky is unemployed and homeless. He works odd jobs, sometimes during the week, sometimes on the weekend... whenever he can get it. This weekend, David is caring for rescued animals at a ranch in Washington state. Jenny Asarnow brings us his story.
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Hacking NYC's Not-So-Mean Streets
For a lot of New York City cab drivers, weekends mean long hours behind the wheel, shuttling creatures of the night from one party spot to another. Cab driver Melissa Plaut takes us behind the wheel as she shuttles people across the five boroughs.
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Being the Assistant is the Real Trick
As part of our Weekend Shift series, we meet a worker who spends her Saturday nights being sawed in half. What you and I call a magician's assistant, magicians actually call a box jumper. And as Weekend America reporter Nate Dimeo tells us, the world of the box jumper is changing.
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A Silicon Valley Manufacturing Mystery
The tragic death of a young man at a circuit board manufacturer puts a new focus on small factories where mostly Latino workers toil to create critical parts for our electronic devices. Once Silicon Valley was home to hundreds of such factories, but now most have moved overseas, mainly to China.
