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The Last Lift Operator

The Last Lift Operator

Von: Sam Kirk
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My name is Sam Kirk. I'm in my early fifties. I've spent nearly thirty years in marketing — writing, strategy, client relationships, nonprofit fundraising. I've been good at it.

And then, the AI tools arrived. And now a significant portion of what I spent my career becoming good at has become commodified. Content that used to take days, an AI tool can approximate in minutes. Roles I was proud of having are now being restructured out of existence. And recently, I found myself unemployed — for the first time in a world that looks like this.

This channel is where I work that out. Out loud. In public.

The Last Lift Operator is a podcast about what happens to people who built careers on craft, expertise, and human relationship — when those things get disrupted in real time. It's part industry autopsy, part personal reckoning. I'm not here to tell you AI is bad or that we should slow it down. I use these tools every day. But I'm also trying to be honest about what they're doing to the people who built careers before they arrived.

Some of the things talked about are uncomfortable for me. Most of them are unresolved. That's the point.

If you're in your forties, fifties, or sixties and you're watching the thing you built your identity around shift underneath you — this might be for you.

I don't have the answers yet. But I think out loud. You're welcome to come along.

The Last Lift Operator website: samuelkirk.com

Follow Sam on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/samkirk

2026 Sam Kirk
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  • A Dollar a Word Ep. 2

    A Dollar a Word Ep. 2
    Apr 17 2026

    I went to theatre school. That's not something I lead with professionally — but it's where this episode starts.

    Because the thread from music to theatre to marketing to nonprofits is the same thread I'm pulling on right now, trying to figure out what comes next. And when I ran into two former colleagues recently — both copywriters, both recently laid off, both trying to build something new — I drove home with a thought I'm not proud of. And a fear I couldn't shake.

    This episode is about a dollar a word, thirty dollars a month, and what happened to the people in between. It's about my coach pushing back on me hard. And it's about what I'm slowly learning — that every regret I have traces back to fear. And every bold choice I've never regretted.

    The Last Lift Operator is hosted by Sam Kirk. New episodes every two weeks.

    Connect with Sam: linkedin.com/in/samkirk
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    17 Min.
  • The Doors Opened By Themselves Ep. 1

    The Doors Opened By Themselves Ep. 1
    Apr 8 2026

    The Last Lift Operator | EP 1: The Doors Opened By Themselves

    I spent 25 years in marketing. Writer. Designer. Strategist. Account director. I was good at it. Known for being good at it.

    And then AI arrived. And a significant portion of what I'd spent my career becoming good at got commodified almost overnight.

    This isn't a show about how AI is going to destroy everything. I use these tools every single day — including to build this podcast. But I recently found myself unemployed. In my early fifties. In an industry I've given everything to.

    And I keep coming back to one image: the lift operator. The only job economists can point to that automation truly, completely eliminated.

    Not restructured. Eliminated.

    I think about those people a lot lately. Because I think I'm one of them. Or I'm trying very hard not to be.

    This show is me figuring that out. Out loud. In public.

    You're welcome to come along. New episodes every two weeks.

    Connect with Sam: https://linkedin.com/in/samkirk
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    14 Min.
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