How To!
269 episodes - English - Latest episode: 10 days ago - ★★★★ - 1.6K ratingsYou’ve got questions. Together, we get answers.
We all need advice, but sometimes it’s hard to know where to turn. Each week, Courtney Martin and Carvell Wallace bring a listener on to the show to solve their toughest problems with the help of world-class experts. It’s free therapy, and you’re invited.
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Episodes
How To Perform Under Pressure
November 12, 2019 10:00 - 33 minutesMike’s dream job of playing bass in a Chicago orchestra is within reach — if only he can conquer his nerves and master the audition. In this episode of How To!, we bring in Dr. Don Greene, a peak performance psychologist who’s worked with Wall Street traders and Olympic athletes, to see if he can help Mike perform his best under the spotlight. The secret? Jumping jacks, extra sleep, and watching reruns of The Office. Do you have a problem that needs solving? Have you found the advice on our p...
How To Not Be Scared
October 29, 2019 09:00 - 30 minutesBecca is 6-feet tall, bold and strong-willed. She’s also easily startled and paralyzed by fear — even a children’s haunted house can reduce her to tears. In this episode of How To!, we bring in sociologist Margee Kerr, author of Scream: Chilling Adventures in the Science of Fear, to give us the lowdown on surviving scary situations. Can making fear more fun help Becca overcome her startle reflex in time for Halloween? Do you have a problem that needs solving? Have you found the advice on our ...
How To Fire Your Daughter
October 22, 2019 09:00 - 31 minutesKyle wants to sell his 50-year old family insurance business so he can finally retire. But a troublesome employee is holding him back: his daughter. In this episode of How To!, Harvard Business School professor Christina Wing tries to help Kyle figure out how to sell his company without sabotaging their relationship. But if you have to fire your daughter, is it ever strictly business? Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choice...
How To Put Down Your Phone
October 15, 2019 09:00 - 27 minutesHow many times have you looked at your phone so far today? Do you feel like you’re choosing to look, or automatically craving it when you ought to be enjoying life? In this episode of How To! we get advice from Jia Tolentino, New Yorker writer and author of Trick Mirror, who spends hours on the phone every day for her job. And Cal Newport, author of Digital Minimalism, whose 30-day ‘digital declutter’ helps us think more deeply, be more present, and control our devices so they don’t control u...
How To Decide Whether To Have a Baby
October 01, 2019 13:12 - 32 minutesLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
How To Go On a Family Adventure
September 24, 2019 09:00 - 31 minutesCan a family travel around the world for a year without killing each other? Dan Kois spent a year in New Zealand, The Netherlands, Costa Rica and Kansas with his wife Alia and their two young daughters, learning how other cultures parent. The result is How to Be A Family: The Year I Dragged My Kids Around the World. In this episode of How To! we learn the secret to traveling together for that long. And what do you do when everyone is tired and whiny and wants to go home? Slate Plus members g...
How To Look Like a Superhero
September 17, 2019 10:40 - 30 minutesHow did Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman get so buff to play Deadpool and Wolverine? An up-and-coming Hollywood actor wants to know so he can land his own superhero role. In this episode of How To! we turn to Reynolds’ and Jackman’s trainer, Don Saladino, who says the key to six-pack abs and bulging biceps is not what you think. In fact, it’s something we can all do. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.f...
How To Stress Your Kid the Right Way
September 10, 2019 09:00 - 29 minutesIs there a right way to let kids struggle and fail? How do you raise resilient children? And most important, when should you help out, and when should you chill out? In this episode of How To! we ask Dr. Wendy Mogel, author of The Blessing of a Skinned Knee to advise a Portland, Oregon couple who worry about their son getting wet in a squirt gun fight. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
How To Survive a Pandemic
September 03, 2019 09:00 - 30 minutesHave you ever wondered how you would fare in the apocalypse? Perhaps you have envisioned yourself, shotgun loaded, prepared to mete out kindhearted justice and tough-love defense in equal measure. It turns out, though, that when the next pandemic comes, it might not be exactly like the movies. In this episode of How To! we get tips from a public health expert at Johns Hopkins — and a member of the Zombie Squad. Their advice isn’t quite the same. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-f...
How To Stop Being Anxious
August 27, 2019 09:00 - 29 minutesMatt has anxiety attacks. Every day. When he gets too many texts, when he starts worrying about his family, when the unexpected occurs: that’s when the sweat starts and his mind begins racing. He’s a strong guy — he was a cop — but he thinks today’s problem is connected to a tragic event in the past, and he doesn’t know what to do. In this episode of How To! we introduce him to Dr. Ben Michaelis, a clinical psychologist and habit expert, to help Matt figure out what’s triggering his anxiety a...
How To Uproot Your Life
August 20, 2019 09:48 - 28 minutesA decade after Elizabeth’s family left the U.S. to live in Portugal, they’re wondering if it’s time to move back. In this episode of How To! we turn to professional poker player, Annie Duke, who treats every decision like it’s a bet. She says think of each choice as a wager on your future self. But how do you go all in when you’re uncertain about the odds? Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
How To Cook One Perfect Meal
August 13, 2019 11:04 - 32 minutesJonny is a 26 year-old bachelor whose cooking often leads to heartache (and for one ex-girlfriend, a stomach ache). Jonny admits he’s a klutz in the kitchen, so we hooked him up with Sam Sifton, cookbook raconteur and head of the New York Times’s Cooking section. In this episode of How To! we see if we can teach our love-lorn Millennial to cook one perfect meal. Is romantic bliss just a well-browned chicken thigh away? (Recipe included!) Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podca...
How To Fire a Bad Employee
August 06, 2019 09:00 - 29 minutesGabe wants to fire a bad employee, but still be a good boss. In this episode of How To! we turn to Stanford professor of management science, Bob Sutton (The No Asshole Rule and Good Boss, Bad Boss) for help. First, Sutton says, Gabe has to act like a boss, not a friend. Then he should write a letter, focus on compassion and hide the box of tissues. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
How To Give Your Mom a Kidney
July 30, 2019 12:38 - 30 minutesMary’s mother needs a new kidney — as long as it doesn’t come from Mary. What’s a good daughter to do? In this episode of How To! Mary hears from Larissa MacFarquhar, author of a book on extreme altruism, to learn how to convince ourselves - and others - to do the most generous things. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
How To Withstand Pain
July 30, 2019 12:37 - 30 minutesSophie Power once breastfed her newborn during an ultramarathon, but an upcoming 268-mile race across a remote stretch of Great Britain is freaking her out. In this episode of How To! we turn to Wim Hof, aka “The Iceman,” for advice. Because when you are worried about pain, you should definitely consult a Dutch extreme athlete who sits in freezing water for fun. (Really!) Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit mega...
How To Rob a Bank
July 30, 2019 12:35 - 31 minutesJoe Loya robbed over 30 banks during an 18-month span before going to jail. In this episode of How To! Charles wants to rob one bank on a Saturday afternoon, and get away scot-free. Can Joe teach Charles the tricks of the trade? Or will he shatter his dreams, and a few stereotypes along the way? Also, is it a good idea to carry a microphone while attempting a robbery? Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphon...
How To Be Funny
July 30, 2019 09:05 - 27 minutesHow do you learn to tell the perfect joke? In this episode of How To! a pastor from Oklahoma wants to spice up his sermons. So we introduce him to Gary Gulman, a New York standup comedian who makes jokes about his clinical depression. The lesson? “Man plans, and God laughs.” But only if you nail the delivery. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
How To Be Funny
July 30, 2019 09:05 - 28 minutesHow do you learn to tell the perfect joke? In this episode of How To! a pastor from Oklahoma wants to spice up his sermons. So we introduce him to Gary Gulman, a New York standup comedian who makes jokes about his clinical depression. The lesson? “Man plans, and God laughs.” But only if you nail the delivery. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Introducing How To!
June 21, 2019 21:58 - 3 minutesWhat if Dear Abby was an investigative reporter? Each week, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Charles Duhigg (The Power of Habit) takes on listeners’ toughest problems and, with the help of experts, finds the answers to questions you’ve always wanted to ask, but couldn’t. Until now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices