The Internship Industrial Complex

Why are so many internships still unpaid in 2025? In this episode, Natasha explores how the modern internship system reinforces inequality—favoring wealth over talent. From free labor to prestige pipelines, we look at how internships became a gatekeeping tool and how we can rethink early-career work to be ethical, inclusive, and accessibleInternships were supposed to prepare us for the job market—but what if they’ve become part of the problem? In this episode, Natasha exposes how unpaid internships, prestige pathways, and corporate exploitation are creating a broken system. We talk labor laws, lived experience, and what real change could look like. Whether you’ve done 5 internships or none at all, this one hits close to home.