Every summer for the past seven decades, 50 high school seniors—one from every state—descend on Mobile, Alabama to take part in one of the country’s most lucrative scholarship competitions for teen girls.

The Competition takes you behind the scenes of the Distinguished Young Women (DYW) program, and follows seven girls as they experience the highs and lows of competing for two weeks, away from home and under the most high-stress circumstances. Some girls enter for the money, some for prestige. All of them are used to being the best and the brightest. But only one will walk away with the top prize.

Host Shima Oliaee (Dolly Parton’s America, Pink Card) was Nevada’s contestant in 2001. More than 20 years later, she returns to Alabama as a judge. What can two weeks with 50 of the country’s most ambitious teens tell us about girlhood in America?

Listen to The Competition on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge all episodes early and ad-free right now on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App or on Apple Podcasts. Start your free trial by visiting Wondery.fm/The_Competition now.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Failure is often seen as something negative, but it’s not always a bad thing. When one door closes, another opens. Or, if you’re like television and film producer Nina Jacobson, you make your own door, so to speak. Jacobson’s credits include The Hunger Games and Crazy Rich Asians. But she was also fired as a Walt Disney Company studio exec more than a decade ago. In this episode, Jacobson will talk about what she learned from her own failures to become the success she is today.

Then, Liz and Rico give will give some advice to listener Nicole, who’s trying to juggle her new role as a “middle manager.” In other words, she’s managing others while working under her own boss. We’ll also hear from listener Dustin, who feels out of place among his more privileged colleagues.

And in this week’s Mind the Gap segment, Liz and Rico will tackle hypothetical workplace situations, like whether you should stick your hand in that communal candy bowl on your colleague’s desk.

As always, if you've got a burning workplace question and need some advice, don't hesitate to send us an email (that email, unsurprisingly, is also Safe@Wondery.com). You can also find us on Twitter, we’re @SafeFor Work. Don't forget to follow our sage hosts on Twitter, too; they're @SSLiz and @RicoGagliano. And if you want to check out Liz’s other show, Satellite Sisters, you can find it on Apple Podcasts or Art19.

To hear more episodes, listen exclusively with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for this and more exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App. https://wondery.app.link/mT4GXWxqdab

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The perpetual battle between time spent at work vs. home can be heart-wrenching. But if your kid is asking for an appointment to get a hug, Coach Larry joins us with some thoughts on how to change that. In this episode, Larry will parse the challenges men and women face to find time for family, the importance of your phone’s “Do Not Disturb” function and how to carve out a personal life (or even [gasp] a vacation!) without feeling like you’ve left your colleagues hanging.

Then, Liz and Rico help returning listener Gilbert, who’s been given a bait-and-switch after accepting a new position. And listener Gabriel calls in about whether to put BDSM event planning and training gigs on his otherwise orthodox resume.

And in today’s Bad Advice segment, we give our take on whether sending emails at night should be off-limits.

As always, if you've got a burning workplace question and need some advice, don't hesitate to send us an email (that email, unsurprisingly, is also Safe@Wondery.com). You can also find us on Twitter, we’re @SafeFor Work, and don't forget to follow our sage hosts on Twitter, too; they're @SSLiz and @RicoGagliano. And if you want to check out Liz’s other show, Satellite Sisters, you can find it on Apple Podcasts or Art19.

To hear more episodes, listen exclusively with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for this and more exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App. https://wondery.app.link/mT4GXWxqdab

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.