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Punk Rock HR
Bold, Insightful, Empowering
Welcome to the Punk Rock HR Podcast, hosted by the influential and unconventional Laurie Ruettimann. This podcast breaks away from the traditional constraints of the HR world to bring you candid and compelling conversations with some of the most disruptive and innovative minds in the business. Each episode, Laurie dives deep into critical topics surrounding the real world of work, exploring the modern workplace's nuances, and challenging the status quo of HR. Guests range from renowned thought leaders, authors, and entrepreneurs to HR professionals and individuals who have reshaped the way we approach work and organizational culture. Punk Rock HR is not your usual HR talk. It’s a blend of insight, wit, and irreverence, aiming to bring a fresh, unfiltered perspective to the challenges and opportunities facing today’s workforce. Whether you’re an HR professional looking to revamp your approach, a leader trying to understand the people side of the business better, or just someone interested in the dynamics of the modern workplace, this podcast is your ticket to engaging discussions and actionable insights. Expect energizing conversations, guests with big ideas, and a punk rock twist, with episodes released every Monday. Follow the Punk Rock HR Podcast to keep your finger on the pulse of work, leadership, and human resources. Your journey towards a more progressive and enlightened workspace starts here!
308: Leading Into the Unknown with Tameka Vasquez
Tameka Vasquez grew up in tech, where moving fast and breaking things was gospel. Then she started working with leaders outside that world and realized the gospel didn't travel. Most leaders, she found, are only equipped for change they've already seen. Everything else gets met with fear. That's the...
307: The Engineer Who Won't Use AI with Andrew Norcross
Andrew Norcross built NASA's website. He built the New York Times' website. He's been engineering the infrastructure of the internet for 20 years. Now he's building fences and painting houses in Florida, because AI ate his job and he refuses to be complicit in what replaced it. This is an episode ab...
306: Living Better to Lead Better with Scott Eblin
Most leadership advice skips the body entirely. Scott Eblin doesn't. The executive coach and author of Overworked and Overwhelmed has spent 25 years helping C-suite leaders perform better, and his starting point isn't strategy. It's neurobiology. The reason so many leaders feel reactive, depleted, a...
305: Global VA Agency for Stigmatized Industries with Amari Leigh
Amari Leigh didn't plan any of this. She volunteered at sex worker charities and women's health organizations, sent her CV to every reproductive justice charity she could find, and stumbled into freelance virtual assistant (VA) work. Now she runs a global agency that's worked with over 100 businesse...
304: Joyful Workplaces with Yolanda Fraction
Yolanda Fraction, organizational development consultant, doctoral student in IO psychology, and author of Joyful Workplaces, joins Punk Rock HR to make the case that joy at work is a strategy, not a perk. And for the leaders who bristle at the word "joy," she has a reframe: call it effectiveness. Th...
303: Healthy to 100 with Ken Stern
What actually helps people live longer, healthier lives? According to longevity expert Ken Stern, it’s not just diet, exercise, or the latest health trend. The biggest factor might surprise you: Your relationships. Ken Stern, author of Healthy to 100, joins Punk Rock HR to talk about what the longes...
302: Becoming Trustworthy: Race and Solidarity at Work with Karen Fleshman
Karen Fleshman joins Punk Rock HR to talk about race, power, and the uncomfortable yet necessary work white women must do to build trust across differences. As the founder of the Interracial Sisterhood Coalition, Karen works with white women who are past the beginner stage of anti-racism and ready t...
301: The Manager Method with Ashley Herd
Ashley Herd, founder and CEO of Manager Method and co-host of HR Besties, joins Punk Rock HR to talk about what it actually takes to lead people well. A lawyer turned HR executive, Ashley shares how mentorship, recognition, and practical judgment shape better managers — and why “common sense” leader...
300: The Reality of Work Tech in 2026 with Mary Ellen Slayter and Steve Smith
Mary Ellen Slayter and Steve Smith of Rep Cap join Punk Rock HR to talk about the state of the job market, the reality behind AI hype, and what’s actually changing in work tech and HR tech. Drawing on decades as journalists turned operators, they break down why this moment feels uniquely disorientin...
299: The Human Cost of AI in HR with Scott Stratten
Scott Stratten, speaker and author joins Punk Rock HR to talk about the hype, fear, and noise around AI in HR. Instead of focusing on tools, he asks why they exist in the first place and what they mean for the future of work. From AI bots in interviews to the risk of HR jobs disappearing in the next...