What It's Like To Be...

Dan Heath

Curious what it would be like to walk in someone else’s (work) shoes? Join New York Times bestselling author Dan Heath as he explores the world of work, one profession at a time, and interviews people who love what they do. What does a couples therapist think when a friend asks for relationship advice? What happens if a welder fails to wear safety glasses? What can get a stadium beer vendor fired? If you’ve ever met someone whose work you were curious about, and you had 100 nosy questions but were too polite to ask ... well, this is the show for you.

#2 in the Top 100 human interest All time chart

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Top 10 What It's Like To Be... Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best What It's Like To Be... episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to What It's Like To Be... for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite What It's Like To Be... episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

A Mystery Novelist

What It's Like To Be...

11/28/23 • 30 min

Scouting body disposal sites, investigating obscure poisons, and computing royalty payments with Donna Andrews, the mystery novelist behind the Meg Langslow series. How do you make a living as a mystery novelist? And could Tylenol be a murder weapon?
Know someone who is a great storyteller that we should talk to about their job? Email us at [email protected]

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 coming out in January called RESET: How to Change What’s Not Working. It’s a book intended to help you and your team get unstuck, to overcome the gravity of the way things have always worked. Learn more about the book or preorder it here.
Got a comment or suggestion for us? You can reach us via email at [email protected]
Want to be on the show? Leave a message on our voice mailbox at (919) 213-0456. We’ll ask you to answer two questions:

What do people think your job is like and what is it actually like?
What’s a word or phrase that only someone from your profession would be likely to know and what does it mean?

1 Listener

A Stand-Up Comedian

What It's Like To Be...

02/13/24 • 30 min

Crafting jokes that kill, hustling to find gigs, and improvising based on the audience's reaction with Chris Grace, a stand-up comedian. What's the worst he's ever bombed? And what is a "bringer" show?

What do people think your job is like and what is it actually like?
What’s a word or phrase that only someone from your profession would be likely to know and what does it mean?

1 Listener

A Turnaround Consultant

What It's Like To Be...

03/12/24 • 30 min

Diagnosing what ails struggling companies, choosing the "least crappy option", and managing constant stress with Jeff Vogelsang, a turnaround consultant. What kind of personality do you need to lead turnarounds? And what does it mean to make someone "available to industry”?

What do people think your job is like and what is it actually like?
What’s a word or phrase that only someone from your profession would be likely to know and what does it mean?

1 Listener

Coming Soon: What It's Like To Be...

What It's Like To Be...

09/18/23 • 1 min

What do people think your job is like and what is it actually like?
What’s a word or phrase that only someone from your profession would be likely to know and what does it mean?

A Secret Service Agent

What It's Like To Be...

07/02/24 • 27 min

Scanning crowds for suspicious behavior, learning how to leap from moving vehicles, and investigating every threat to the president with Cindy Marble, a retired Secret Service agent. What's it like to witness history up close? And what is "left of boom"?

What do people think your job is like and what is it actually like?
What’s a word or phrase that only someone from your profession would be likely to know and what does it mean?

An Ocean Lifeguard

What It's Like To Be...

07/16/24 • 34 min

Learning to read the ocean, performing CPR on a dolphin, and leading daring (and sometimes foolish) rescues with Ed Vodrazka, an ocean lifeguard in California. What are the signs that someone is in trouble in the water? And how do you stay vigilant after many hours in the tower?
Ed is the author of a couple of books about ocean lifeguards, including Stories from Sea Level: The Heroic and Humorous Adventures of California’s Ocean Lifeguards.

What do people think your job is like and what is it actually like?
What’s a word or phrase that only someone from your profession would be likely to know and what does it mean?

A Hair Stylist

What It's Like To Be...

01/30/24 • 28 min

Cutting to accentuate the client's eyes and ears, plotting to tame Einstein's hair, and riding the ups and downs of entrepreneurship with Ona Diaz-Santin, a hair stylist and owner of 5 Salon & Spa in New Jersey. What's the most irritating way a client can respond to a haircut? And why was she christened "The Hair Saint"?
Our show takes a lot of inspiration from Studs Terkel's classic book Working. It features interviews Terkel did with more than 100 different people from different jobs: police officers, waitresses, gravediggers, private investigators. His guiding question? "What do they do all day?" Radio Diaries actually got their hands on the audio that Terkel recorded of his interviews and collected them into an episode that you can listen to here.

What do people think your job is like and what is it actually like?
What’s a word or phrase that only someone from your profession would be likely to know and what does it mean?

A Professional Santa Claus

What It's Like To Be...

12/20/23 • 30 min

Refurbishing old sleighs, reviewing advance dossiers on kids, and going to “Santa School" with Larry Jefferson, a professional Santa Claus based in Dallas. How does he handle situations when kids ask for something Santa could never grant? And what would a kid have to do to get coal?
Music credit:
"Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

What do people think your job is like and what is it actually like?
What’s a word or phrase that only someone from your profession would be likely to know and what does it mean?

An Ice Cream Truck Driver

What It's Like To Be...

07/30/24 • 28 min

Transforming school buses into ice cream trucks, watching kids grow up (one popsicle at a time), and struggling to keep the freezers running with Erin Bailey, an ice cream truck driver in New Jersey. What’s her best selling treat? And does she ever get sick of the ice cream truck song?
Music credit:
"The Entertainer" by Scott Joplin
Courtesy of Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

What do people think your job is like and what is it actually like?
What’s a word or phrase that only someone from your profession would be likely to know and what does it mean?

A Christmas Tree Farmer

What It's Like To Be...

12/03/24 • 31 min

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?

What do people think your job is like and what is it actually like?
What’s a word or phrase that only someone from your profession would be likely to know and what does it mean?

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FAQ

How many episodes does What It's Like To Be... have?

What It's Like To Be... currently has 37 episodes available.

What topics does What It's Like To Be... cover?

The podcast is about Society & Culture, Curiosity, Human Interest, Storytelling, Podcasts, Jobs, Business and Careers.

What is the most popular episode on What It's Like To Be...?

The episode title 'A Mystery Novelist' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on What It's Like To Be...?

The average episode length on What It's Like To Be... is 30 minutes.

How often are episodes of What It's Like To Be... released?

Episodes of What It's Like To Be... are typically released every 14 days.

When was the first episode of What It's Like To Be...?

The first episode of What It's Like To Be... was released on Sep 18, 2023.

Show more FAQ

What It's Like To Be...

Dan Heath

Top 10 What It's Like To Be... Episodes

FAQ

How many episodes does What It's Like To Be... have?

What topics does What It's Like To Be... cover?

What is the most popular episode on What It's Like To Be...?

What is the average episode length on What It's Like To Be...?

How often are episodes of What It's Like To Be... released?

When was the first episode of What It's Like To Be...?

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