What It's Like To Be...

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What It's Like To Be...

Dan Heath

49 episodes

14 hours ago

Scaling three-story rope ladders up the sides of ships, memorizing every rock and current in a harbor, and narrowly avoiding catastrophic collisions with Captain Grant Livingstone, a retired harbor pilot. What do you do when your engine and anchors fail in heavy fog? And how do you dock a ship the size of the Empire State Building? Grant and his twin brother Captain George Livingstone co-authored the recent book Shiphandling, The Beautiful Game. IF YOU LIKE THIS EPISODE: Check out what it's l...

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Society & Culture

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Scaling three-story rope ladders up the sides of ships, memorizing every rock and current in a harbor, and narrowly avoiding catastrophic collisions with Captain Grant Livingstone, a retired harbor pilot. What do you do when your engine and anchors fail in heavy fog? And how do you dock a ship the size of the Empire State Building? Grant and his twin brother Captain George Livingstone co-authored the recent book Shiphandling, The Beautiful Game. IF YOU LIKE THIS EPISODE: Check out what it's l...

Show more...

Society & Culture

Episodes (20/49)

What It's Like To Be...

A Hospice Nurse

Comforting patients as they prepare to transition, navigating end-of-life regrets and frayed relationships, and providing support and advice for fearful families with Heather Meyerend, a retired hospice nurse. How does she know when the end is imminent? And what has the work taught her about the different ways we deal with death? Heather is a contributing author to the book Resilient Faith: Dare To Believe. She was also profiled in The New Yorker in 2016: "A Tender Hand in the Presence of Dea...

1 week ago

38 minutes

What It's Like To Be...

Calming scared cats with pheromone sprays, advising families how to balance their pet's well-being with budget realities, and diagnosing mysterious animal maladies with Dr. Hindatu Mohammed, a veterinarian in Austin, TX. What breed of dog, when having its nails clipped, responds as though it's being murdered? And how did an injured ant shape her career choice? NEW BOOK ALERT! You may be aware that I’ve written or co-written five business books, including The Power of Moments and Made to Stick...

3 weeks ago

36 minutes

What It's Like To Be...

A Software Engineer

Tracing mysterious errors to their source, jousting with product managers, and rolling out new features (without breaking the old ones) with Taylor Hughes, a software engineer. How did one failed software fix ruin Christmas for kids around the country? And what is "spaghetti code"? Taylor is currently a co-founder and the CTO at Hypernatural.ai. NEW BOOK ALERT! You may be aware that I’ve written or co-written five business books, including The Power of Moments and Made to Stick. I’ve got a si...

1 month ago

30 minutes

What It's Like To Be...

Mediating pickleball noise disputes, shepherding communities through thorny decisions, and practicing radical pragmatism with Martha Bennett, city manager of Lake Oswego, Oregon. What is it that makes public hearings so noxious? And what's the difference between "Big P" and "Little P" politics? NEW BOOK ALERT! You may be aware that I’ve written or co-written five business books, including The Power of Moments and Made to Stick. I’ve got a sixth book out now called RESET: How to Change W...

1 month ago

35 minutes

What It's Like To Be...

Pouring pints for thirsty tourists, defusing situations with drunk patrons, and finding flow in the Friday night rush with Brian Wynne, a barman in Dublin. What caused one customer to throw a dog at Brian? And what is "craic"? If you'd like to reach-out to Brian, we'll pass along your note. Just email dan@whatitslike.com NEW BOOK ALERT! You may be aware that I’ve written or co-written five business books, including The Power of Moments and Made to Stick. I’ve got a sixth book out now called R...

2 months ago

35 minutes

What It's Like To Be...

A Brain Surgeon

Zapping parts of the brain to know where to cut, operating a mouth-controlled microscope that's worth more than a house, and carrying the weight of life-or-death decisions with Dr. Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa, a brain surgeon at the Mayo Clinic. How do you preserve a mathematician's expertise when removing tumors? And how did he go from picking tomatoes to performing brain surgery? Dr. Q wrote about his remarkable journey to the operating room in the book, Becoming Dr. Q: My Journey from Migran...

2 months ago

40 minutes

What It's Like To Be...

An Aircraft Carrier Commander

Commanding a floating city of 5,000 sailors, intercepting Houthi missiles in the Red Sea, and stripping rank from sailors who cross the line with Captain Chris "Chowdah" Hill, commanding officer of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier. How do you stop a fighter jet in 2-seconds? And what are “midrats”? NEW BOOK ALERT! You may be aware that I’ve written or co-written five business books, including The Power of Moments and Made to Stick. I’ve got a sixth book out now called RESET: How ...

3 months ago

35 minutes

What It's Like To Be...

A Daycare Owner

Singing cleanup songs, tiring out kids before naptime, and battling the "babysitter" stereotype with Brenda Hawkins, a daycare owner in Maryland. How has childcare changed over the years? And what is a "dope and drop"? NEW BOOK ALERT! You may be aware that I’ve written or co-written five business books, including The Power of Moments and Made to Stick. I’ve got a sixth book out now called RESET: How to Change What’s Not Working. It’s a book intended to help you and your team get unstuck, to o...

3 months ago

28 minutes

What It's Like To Be...

An Audiobook Narrator

Fine-tuning the perfect accent for a character, recording for hours in a sound-insulated booth, and tracking down obscure pronunciations with Sean Pratt, an audiobook narrator. What is "punch and roll"? And what kind of voice do you need to be a great narrator? EXTRA We spoke with Sean about his work narrating the David Foster Wallace literary behemoth Infinite Jest. That part of the interview didn’t fit into this episode, but you can listen to it here! NEW BOOK ALERT! You may be aware that ...

4 months ago

38 minutes

What It's Like To Be...

RESET: How To Change What's Not Working

We've got something a little different and special for you this week! The day this is dropping, January 21st, is the launch day for my new book, called RESET: How to Change What’s Not Working. We’re running an excerpt (a whole chapter!) from the audiobook on this podcast. You can buy the full audiobook, hardcover, or Kindle version here! We’ll be back next week with a new episode of the show, talking with a professional audiobook narrator! NEW BOOK ALERT! You may be aware that I’ve written ...

4 months ago

27 minutes

What It's Like To Be...

A Homicide Detective

Cracking decades-old murder cases, delivering unthinkable news to victims' families, and tracking suspects across borders with John Lamberti, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. Why are cold cases harder to solve these days? And what's a "415"? NEW BOOK ALERT! You may be aware that I’ve written or co-written five business books, including The Power of Moments and Made to Stick. I’ve got a sixth book out now called RESET: How to Change What’s Not Working. It’s a book i...

4 months ago

33 minutes

What It's Like To Be...

A Toy Distributor

Forecasting demand for 40,000 different products, arranging for model kits to traverse the globe from Chinese factories to mom-and-pop hobby shops, and enduring random customs inspections with Alan Bass, a hobby kit and toy distributor. Why can't shops place orders directly with factories and cut out distributors? And what is it like to discover your childhood toys were actually samples given out for market research purposes? The hobby kit and toy distributor business he runs is Stevens Inte...

5 months ago

30 minutes

What It's Like To Be...

An Olympic Bobsledder

Hurtling down an ice track at nearly 100mph, perfecting the practice of visualization, and shaving off hundredths of a second with Kaillie Humphries, an Olympic bobsledder. What's the most feared track in the world? And how do athletes practice when there's no ice in the summer? NEW BOOK ALERT! You may be aware that I’ve written or co-written five business books, including The Power of Moments and Made to Stick. I’ve got a sixth book out now called RESET: How to Change What’s Not Working. It’...

5 months ago

38 minutes

What It's Like To Be...

A Christmas Tree Farmer

Shearing Christmas trees into their classic shape, fighting back weeds and blackbirds, and planting 5,000 trees a year with Sheldon Corsi, a Christmas tree farmer near Cincinnati, Ohio. What does a tree baler sound like? And what makes Christmas tree farming distinctive within the world of agriculture? NEW BOOK ALERT! You may be aware that I’ve written or co-written five business books, including The Power of Moments and Made to Stick. I’ve got a sixth book out now called RESET: How to Change...

5 months ago

31 minutes

What It's Like To Be...

A Marine Biologist

Swimming with 20-foot manta rays, suffering through grant applications, and rushing to the whale freezer with Jessica Pate, a marine biologist based in Florida. How have drones changed her work? And what's wrong with being a "parachute scientist"? NEW BOOK ALERT! You may be aware that I’ve written or co-written five business books, including The Power of Moments and Made to Stick. I’ve got a sixth book out now called RESET: How to Change What’s Not Working. It’s a book intended to help you an...

6 months ago

32 minutes

What It's Like To Be...

An Interior Designer

Perfecting the soft finishes, dealing with divorcing couples, and cultivating the perfect network of artisans with Julie Anne Burch, an interior designer. Why did she need a crane to move a piano? And how can interior designers create a "moment"? NEW BOOK ALERT! You may be aware that I’ve written or co-written five business books, including The Power of Moments and Made to Stick. I’ve got a sixth book out now called RESET: How to Change What’s Not Working. It’s a book intended to help you and...

6 months ago

30 minutes

What It's Like To Be...

Ignoring 10,000 booing fans, collaborating with the replay center, and striving for perfection with Billy Kennedy, an NBA referee. What happens when you get a call wrong? And what's the difference between the trail, slot, and lead officials? NEW BOOK ALERT! You may be aware that I’ve written or co-written five business books, including The Power of Moments and Made to Stick. I’ve got a sixth book out now called RESET: How to Change What’s Not Working. It’s a book intended to help you and your...

7 months ago

24 minutes

What It's Like To Be...

A London Cabbie

Outsmarting drunks, competing with ride-share apps, and discovering that some of your passengers were Spice Girls with Jamie Owens, a London cabbie. How much does it cost to buy a cab? And what's "The Knowledge"? You can find Jamie on YouTube at his channel "Jamie The Cabby". NEW BOOK ALERT! You may be aware that I’ve written or co-written five business books, including The Power of Moments and Made to Stick. I’ve got a sixth book out now called RESET: How to Change What’s Not Working. It’s ...

7 months ago

28 minutes

What It's Like To Be...

A Life Insurance Salesman

Overcoming "soft objections," hustling to line up meetings, and navigating the line between business and friendship with David Johnson, a third-generation life insurance salesman. What is the mistake that "ruins careers" for salespeople? And what is a "feed list"? NEW BOOK ALERT! You may be aware that I’ve written or co-written five business books, including The Power of Moments and Made to Stick. I’ve got a sixth book out now called RESET: How to Change What’s Not Working. It’s a book intend...

8 months ago

31 minutes

What It's Like To Be...

A Camera Operator

Framing a scene to draw in the audience, dealing with screaming directors, and getting lost in an actor's performance with Pauline Edwards, a camera operator. What's it like filming a reality TV show? And what's a "swingle"? NEW BOOK ALERT! You may be aware that I’ve written or co-written five business books, including The Power of Moments and Made to Stick. I’ve got a sixth book out now called RESET: How to Change What’s Not Working. It’s a book intended to help you and your team get unstuck...

8 months ago

30 minutes