WLP380 Booknotes special: a conversation on Connection and Disconnection in Remote Teams
Release Date: 02/26/2026
WLP381 Black Box Thinking: Growth Mindset and the Secrets of High Performance
21st Century Work Life
Pilar shares her booknotes from: Black Box Thinking: Growth Mindset and the Secrets of High Performance by Matthew Syed Another episode from the season Booknotes, where Pilar shares the notes she made while reading a book, allowing new insights to emerge spontaneously behind the microphone. In today's episode: Part 1 Pilar shares her booknotes from: Black Box Thinking: Growth Mindset and the Secrets of High Performance by Matthew Syed “The paradox of success: it is built upon failure.” During the episode, Pilar shares: Zoe podcast episode from 16 March 2026 Tim Spector's 7...
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WLP380 Booknotes special: a conversation on Connection and Disconnection in Remote Teams
21st Century Work Life
A different kind of episode today! We’re back with two voices, and this time, instead of Pilar sharing notes from a book, she speaks to her co-author Bree Caggiati, about their latest book, "Connection and Disconnection in Remote Teams". They cover some of the book’s topics, how the research has moved on, and for Part 2, they’ve got some connection-related personal updates. In today's episode: Part 1 Check out , the book! 1. Book and Project Origins Bree and Pilar explain how their 2019 podcast project on connection and disconnection evolved into their recently published book. 2....
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WLP379 Booknotes: Code Dependent: How AI Is Changing Our Lives
21st Century Work Life
Another episode from the season Booknotes, where Pilar shares the notes she made while reading a book, allowing new insights to emerge spontaneously behind the microphone. In today's episode: Part 1 Pilar shares her booknotes from: Code Dependent: How AI Is Changing Our Lives by Madhumita Murgia “The problem that we have is not the algorithms, but the humans.” And don’t forget to check out , the book! Part 2: Personal Updates Pilar shares some of the ways in which she’s using generative AI to help with the writing of her book. If you’re interested in All the...
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WLP378 Booknotes: Make Time and Four Thousand Weeks
21st Century Work Life
Another episode from the season Booknotes, where Pilar shares the notes she made while reading a book, allowing new insights to emerge spontaneously behind the microphone. In today's episode: Part 1 Pilar shares her booknotes from: Make Time: How to focus on what happens every day by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky Four Thousand Weeks: Embrace your limits. Change your life. Make your four thousand weeks count by Oliver Burkman "The technologies we use to try to 'get on top of everything' always fail us, in the end, because they increase the size of the 'everything' of which we're trying...
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WLP377 Booknotes: The Unexpected Joy of the Ordinary
21st Century Work Life
Another episode from the season: Booknotes, where Pilar shares the notes she made while reading a book, allowing new insights to emerge spontaneously behind the microphone. In today's episode: Part 1 Pilar shares her booknotes from: The Unexpected Joy of the Ordinary by Catherine Gray Favourite highlight: “Happiness is not having what you want, but wanting what you have.” And don’t forget to check out , the book! Part 2: Personal Updates If you’re interested in the future book The A to Z of Spanish Refrains, sign up here: Pilar talks about her recent experience...
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WLP376 Booknotes: The Art of Possibility
21st Century Work Life
Another episode from the season: Booknotes, where Pilar shares the notes she made while reading a book, allowing new insights to emerge spontaneously behind the microphone. In today's episode: Part 1 Pilar shares her booknotes from: The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander Favourite highlight: I love my weeds as much as my unblossomed roses. (Which actually comes from a letter received by one of the author’s students.) Part 2 Recommendations for other reading: Mark Kilby’s newsletter by Guy Michaels And...
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WLP375 Booknotes: Futureproof by Kevin Roose
21st Century Work Life
Another episode from the season Booknotes, where Pilar shares the notes she made while reading a book, allowing new insights to emerge spontaneously behind the microphone. In today's episode: Part 1 Pilar shares her booknotes from: Futureproof: 9 Rules for Humans in the Age of Automation by Kevin Roose Favourite highlight: "It’s on us—the people who love technology but worry about its use—to explore this adjacent possible and push for the best version of it." Part 2 Updates from Pilar: A fiction recommendation: You Are Here by David Nicholls The struggles writing the...
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WLP374 Booknotes: Because Internet
21st Century Work Life
Another episode from the season: Booknotes, where Pilar shares the notes she made while reading a book, allowing new insights to emerge spontaneously behind the microphone. In today's episode: Part 1 Pilar shares her booknotes from: Because Internet: Understanding how language is changing by Gretchen McCulloch Listener Roberta recommends: It’s Not Magic. The Ordinary Skills of Exceptional Leaders by John Amaechi and the fiction book: No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister. Pilar in turn recommends Roberta Sawatzky’s memoir Between here and Where? Embracing life’s...
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WLP373 New season! Booknotes: How to Have a Good Day
21st Century Work Life
The 21st Century Work Life podcast is back - with a different kind of content and format. The Booknotes season starts and will last... for a while. In today's episode: Part 1 Pilar shares her booknotes from How To Have A Good Day: The Essential Toolkit for a Productive Day at Work and Beyond by Caroline Webb Chris Coladonato’s (the connection catalyst) colour book: Color Me Unplugged: Mindful Patterns Inspired By Nature Walks - A Coloring Book for Rest, Relaxation, and Creativity Teresa Douglas, author of Secrets of the Remote Workforce: By Employees, For Employees,...
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It's Time for a Pause after 10 Years...
21st Century Work Life
A very short episode where I (Pilar Orti) share the reasons why the 21st Century Work Life podcast is going on pause. Stay subscribed though, as you never know when new episodes might drop! Thank you very much for listening and all the best for 2025. Get in touch:
info_outlineA different kind of episode today!
We’re back with two voices, and this time, instead of Pilar sharing notes from a book, she speaks to her co-author Bree Caggiati, about their latest book, "Connection and Disconnection in Remote Teams". They cover some of the book’s topics, how the research has moved on, and for Part 2, they’ve got some connection-related personal updates.
In today's episode:
Part 1
Check out Connection and Disconnection in Remote Teams, the book!
1. Book and Project Origins
Bree and Pilar explain how their 2019 podcast project on connection and disconnection evolved into their recently published book.
2. Evolution from Remote to Hybrid Work
How remote work went from a "niche" concept in 2019 to the mainstream adoption of hybrid models post-pandemic, and the common mistake of forcing traditional office-based practices into remote environments and the benefits of establishing intentional remote-first frameworks.
3. Diversity and Inclusion in Connection:
Individuals experience belonging differently and how designing for specific needs can benefit an entire team.
4. Structure and Themes of the Book
An overview of the core topics addressed in the book.
5. New Research on Monthly Meetups
A new study by Nick Bloom suggesting that bringing fully remote teams together just once a month can significantly boost productivity and reduce quit rates.
6. The "3A Framework" of Connection & Shared Responsibility
A breakdown of three ways people connect at work., and the "overarching thesis" that connection is a shared duty between the organisation, the manager, and the individual, requiring deliberate design rather than just hoping it happens.
7. The Connection Quiz
A ten-question, quiz to test Bree’s memory of key concepts from the book, such as the health risks of chronic loneliness and the "remote-first" approach.
8. Generative AI and Rapport
How AI chatbots might replace small human interactions, potentially impacting the bonding and trust-building typically found in quick feedback loops.
Part 2: Personal Updates
Talking “Away from the Work", but still connected to today’s topic of connection!