What It's Like To Be...

What It's Like To Be...

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.

Episodes

April 22, 2025 30 mins

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 b...

Mark as Played

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 M...

Mark as Played
March 25, 2025 35 mins

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, incl...

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March 11, 2025 40 mins

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...

Mark as Played
February 25, 2025 35 mins

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 ...

Mark as Played
February 11, 2025 28 mins

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...

Mark as Played
January 28, 2025 38 mins

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...

Mark as Played
January 21, 2025 27 mins

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 p...

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January 14, 2025 33 mins

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 g...

Mark as Played
December 31, 2024 30 mins

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?<...

Mark as Played
December 17, 2024 38 mins

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 g...

Mark as Played
December 3, 2024 31 mins

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...

Mark as Played
November 19, 2024 32 mins

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 cal...

Mark as Played
November 5, 2024 30 mins

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 RE...

Mark as Played
October 22, 2024 24 mins

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 t...

Mark as Played
October 8, 2024 28 mins

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 ...

Mark as Played
September 24, 2024 31 mins

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...

Mark as Played
September 10, 2024 30 mins

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: Ho...

Mark as Played
August 27, 2024 32 mins

Hauling 32,000 lbs of dead rats, strategically planning every turn and pit stop, and soaking up the highway sunrises and sunsets with Kathy and Gene Lednicky, team truck drivers. What's the chatter like on the CB radio? And what's a "lumper”?

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...

Mark as Played
August 13, 2024 32 mins

Conjuring a world where kids can reinvent themselves, running a small town in the woods, and witnessing camp counselors falling in love with Eric Sasson, a summer camp director. What happens on the last night of camp? And why does the question "Do you have a minute?" spark anxiety?

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’v...

Mark as Played

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