
Also in the WORKING series
Shipbreaking Worker
(00:07:41)
From: Homelands Productions
Sandy Tolan profiles a 13-year-old laborer at one of Bangladesh's giant shipbreaking yards.
Runner
(00:07:58)
From: Homelands Productions
Jon Miller profiles the little-known Kenyan woman who won the 2009 Boston Marathon by less than one second.
Electronics Recycler
(00:06:35)
From: Homelands Productions
Ingrid Lobet profiles a woman who joined a group of unemployed middle-aged women to open an electronics recycling plant in northern Mexico.
Human Smuggler
(00:06:46)
From: Homelands Productions
Gregory Warner profiles a Pashtun man who smuggles Afghan refugees over the mountains into Iran.
Marriage Broker
(00:07:44)
From: Homelands Productions
Kelly McEvers profiles a Vietnamese woman who works for a marriage agency that matches Korean men with Vietnamese brides.
Circus Performer
(00:06:32)
From: Homelands Productions
Sean Cole profiles a Ukrainian dancer who performs with in a Russian circus that tours the UK.
Labor Inspector
(00:07:57)
From: Homelands Productions
Sandy Tolan profiles a member an anti-forced labor SWAT team whose job is to free slaves working in Brazil's iron, cattle and sugar cane industries.
Miner
(00:07:51)
From: Homelands Productions
Gregory Warner profiles a freelance miner in the lawless eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Pirate
(00:06:47)
From: Homelands Productions
Kelly McEvers profiles a small-time pirate who robs ships in Indonesia's Strait of Malacca.
Industrial Designer
(00:06:51)
From: Homelands Productions
Jon Miller profiles an Italian industrial designer who puts new twists on ordinary household objects.
Piece Description
Brandon Davies' life is all about risk. A guru of global financial markets, he's on the boards of two new banks. Until recently, he headed an international association of risk professionals. He runs a trading operation, using his own money, just for kicks. Risk, he says, is how we learn and grow as people. We should embrace it, not avoid it. At least that's what he said last summer, when producer Sean Cole spent a few days with him in London. Then the global financial system collapsed. Sean took a deep breath and called him back.
Intro and Outro
INTRO:Next we meet a member of one of the most reviled professions on earth: Banking. It didn't used to be that way. But the credit crunch and the financial crisis have shone a light on the seamier side of the business. In August, 2008, Sean Cole traveled to London to profile a banker for the WORKING series from Homelands Productions. The idea was to learn what it was like to spend your days dealing with millions of dollars of other people's money. But things didn't turn out exactly the way Sean had planned.
OUTRO:That was Sean Cole reporting. WORKING is produced by Homelands Productions in collaboration with Marketplace Radio. To see pictures and hear audio, go to working.homelands.org. While you're there, you can also tell the world what you think about YOUR job.
Additional Credits
WORKING is a collaboration between Homelands Productions and Marketplace Radio. Major funding comes from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.




