Tell Me What It's Like

Susan Polgar’s father believed geniuses weren’t born, they were made. So when his three-year-old daughter found an old chess set in their Budapest apartment, he saw an opportunity to prove it. Susan quickly learned the game, but soon realized the real challenge: convincing the world that girls could play just as well as boys - which she did by becoming the first woman to earn the Grandmaster title under the same standards as men. I...

After decades of chasing success as a tech entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and even a candidate for Utah governor, Jeff Burningham found himself questioning what it all meant.

When the governor’s race ended in 2020, Jeff finally had space to pause—and that pause changed everything. It led him to write The Last Book Written by a Human, a deeply personal reflection on consciousness, connection, and wisdom in an age increasingly defi...

Journalist Charlie Wells is a Millennial — and by now, something of an expert on the Millennial generation, too. In his debut book, What Happened to Millennials: In Defense of a Generation, he shares the stories of five people whose lives reveal what it’s really been like to grow up Millennial — through the early optimism, the crises that shaped us, and all the change we’ve weathered along the way.

"We're adults and we'v...

Cori Burns had always loved running, but eventually pregnancy pushed her to walking for exercise. She found she loved it, but quickly realized there weren't any shoes made for women who walked for fitness. So, she set out to create them herself.

In 2023 she launched Raesyn, a technical shoe company making shoes “for women who walk to sweat.” Cori shares how she spotted a gap in the shoe industry, what went into designing a shoe for ...

When Linda Strader joined a US Forest Service fire crew in the 1970s, she didn’t know how rare it was for women to do that kind of work - she just wanted an interesting job. But she quickly realized she was stepping into a world that didn’t necessarily welcome her. In this episode, Linda shares what it was like to be one of the first women on a fire crew, the discrimination she faced, and why she loved the work enough to keep comin...

When Jennifer Daniel landed her first job after college, she quickly realized she didn’t quite know how to navigate the world of business meetings with confidence. That led her to the Protocol School of Washington and, eventually, to founding her own etiquette business, Polished Peyton Etiquette Essentials. For nearly 25 years, she’s been teaching children, young professionals, and executives the skills they need to succeed - with ...

Valerie Russell spent a decade in criminal justice. She worked as a corrections officer, a narcotics investigator, even on the 9/11 Human Recovery Project. But one day, she realized she wanted something entirely different. She sold everything, moved to Guatemala with just a backpack, and built a thriving travel agency from scratch.

"I got rid of everything that I owned, basically sold it all on a weekend, my pajamas thro...

Matt Farley has created over 26,000 songs ... many of them about poop. But behind the absurd humor is a thoughtful approach to creativity, productivity, and making things without fear.

In this episode of Tell Me What It’s Like, Matt shares how he embraced the ridiculous, built an empire of searchable songs, and let go of perfectionism — all while homeschooling, making movies, and continuing to make music.

"We as creative ...

More than 3,000 years ago, a Native American community in what is now Northeast Louisiana built monumental earthworks - such as mounds, ridges, and a vast plaza - at Poverty Point, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. For nearly two decades, Dr. Diana Greenlee, station archaeologist at Poverty Point, has worked to uncover what life was like for the people who lived there so many years ago.

"Every time I do some work there I...

In Part 1, Bill Gerhart shared his son Connor’s story and discussed the dangers of fentanyl. In Part 2, Bill shares more about the fentanyl crisis, why he feels prosecuting those who sell it is necessary, and what he’s doing to raise awareness. He also reflects on his belief that there’s opportunity in every event, and how he moves forward with that perspective.

"I'm a big believer that there's opportunity in every nega...

In 2023, nearly 80,000 Americans died from opioid overdoses. Bill Gerhart's son Connor was one of those people. In this first part of a two-part conversation, Bill shares who Connor was, from his childhood and football days to his career as a civil engineer, and how a series of surgeries and pain prescriptions led to an opioid addiction that few around him knew about. He also reflects on when he realized what was happening with Con...

Dr. Mary Hayden recently traveled to Colombia to answer a question about mosquitoes that was actually about us humans. Specifically, she wanted to know how human behavior shapes the risk of mosquito-borne diseases like dengue, Zika, and yellow fever. From unregulated areas with limited water access to neighborhoods in the U.S., she’s found that our daily habits, infrastructure, and even trust in information can either reduce or inc...

At 14, Brandon Phillips was a healthy kid with a passion for sports. Then one day he noticed his leg was swollen. Within 24 hours, he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and the outlook wasn't positive. In this episode, Brandon shares what it was like to face a life-threatening diagnosis, fight through months of brutal chemotherapy, and go on to become a professional polo player, as well as a devoted advocate for families ba...

Carol Hoenig published her first novel in 2005. Years later, while driving home from work, one of her characters suddenly returned, insisting to Carol that her story wasn’t finished. That unexpected moment sparked a new novel about the character's story. In this episode, Carol reflects on her creative process, the career pivots that shaped her path, and the moments when fictional characters come to life.

 I was leaving w...

Insurance agent Rich Salgado has spent decades building a reputation as the guy who knows how to help – whether you're an NFL player, a TV producer, or just someone he met at a business event. Known to nearly everyone as “Big Daddy,” Rich shares how he's built a powerful network rooted in generosity, trust, and simply showing up for people.

"You never know someone you meet might be the one that takes you outta diggi...

Bill Horan has spent nearly four decades interviewing people about one elusive idea: success. On his radio show Secrets of Success, he’s spoken with thousands of guests, from authors and business owners to everyday people, about the idea of success. In this episode, Bill shares some of the most memorable stories, the themes that have stuck with him, and how hosting this show has shaped his own understanding of what success really m...

Alexis Broz didn’t grow up thinking she’d become a wildlife rehabilitator. But when a baby squirrel slid across a restaurant patio toward a petrified customer, Alexis scooped it up and didn’t look back. That moment set her on a path of rescuing, raising, and returning animals to the wild. From squirrels and pigeons to otters and beavers, Alexis has rehabilitated and released hundreds of animals in New York. In this episode, she sha...

While in graduate school in the early 1980s, Dr. Morton Barlaz was offered a project studying how municipal waste decomposes. He wasn’t sure it was what he wanted to do, but it sounded interesting so he said yes. Forty-two years later, he’s a leading expert on how landfills work and why their management matters. In this episode, he explains what happens to the things we throw away, what biodeg...

When Becca Pizzi got dozens of messages from friends about an extreme endurance race – seven marathons on seven continents in seven days – she knew she had to run it. In 2016, she became the first American woman to complete the World Marathon Challenge, winning with a total time of 27 hours, 26 minutes, and an average marathon time of just under four hours. Then in 2018, she did it again. Hear what it took to win it and what the mi...