How To Do Everything

How To Do Everything

Half advice show. Half survival guide. Half absurdity-fest. (Wait, how does this work again? We're not numbers people.) Each episode, we answer all your burning questions, from how to survive a public bathroom to how to get close to a panda. When we don't know the answer, which is roughly 92% of the time (again, not numbers people), we bring in overqualified experts to help out. So you'll eventually walk away knowing how to do everything. That's what happens when you're one & a half shows. From the team at Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

Episodes

December 10, 2025 26 mins

Ian and Mike help a listener lighten the mood with her clients, help another listener mess with an opponent’s free throw shot, and Peter Sagal shares his secret for falling asleep on an airplane.

You can email your burning questions to howto@npr.org.

How To Do Everything is available without sponsor messages for supporters of Wait Wait…Don't Tell Me+, who also get bonus episodes of Wait Wait Don...

Mark as Played

This week from the archives: how to make s’mores with a volcano. Plus a barn animal sanctuary worker wants to know how to live harmoniously with roosters.


You can email your burning questions to howto@npr.org

How To Do Everything is available without sponsor messages for supporters of Wait Wait…Don't Tell Me+, who also get bonus episodes of Wait Wait Don't…Tell Me! featuring ...

Mark as Played
November 26, 2025 19 mins

Ian and Mike look to the skies to help a listener solve her problem with motion sickness. Plus, a survivor of the longest recorded traffic jam in history shares how she got through it.

You can email your burning questions to howto@npr.org.

How To Do Everything is available without sponsor messages for supporters of Wait Wait…Don't Tell Me+, who also get bonus episodes of Wait Wait Don't…...

Mark as Played
November 19, 2025 16 mins
This week from the archives: a fire captain puts out a fire with the help of an unexpected beverage, showrunner Vince Gilligan discloses when it’s appropriate to drop a spoiler, and what ever happened to the lost fourth Rice Krispie elf?

You can email your burning questions to howto@npr.org.


The first-ever NPR Pod Club Awards are coming up, and YOU get to crown the winner of the People’s Choice Award. Vote for...
Mark as Played
November 12, 2025 18 mins

This week: A Broadway star tells us how he finished the New York Marathon and then performed in two shows back to back, a wife seeks advice on how best to shave her hairy companion, plus, are the lyrics to Bye Bye Birdie what we think they are?

You can email your burning questions to howto@npr.org.

How To Do Everything is available without sponsor messages for supporters of Wait Wait…Don...

Mark as Played
November 5, 2025 19 mins
This week from the archives: how to stand out at a talent show, how to go to the bathroom during an important phone call, and an unlikely way to check the Wifi on a plane. Plus a “where is he now” 12 years later. 

You can email your burning questions to howto@npr.org.


How To Do Everything is available without sponsor messages for supporters of Wait Wait…Don't Tell Me+, who also get bonus episodes of Wait Wait ...
Mark as Played

This week: Filmmaker Alice Wu shares a clever trick to help you finally finish that thing you’ve been working on, why teenagers are taking over the comments sections of old podcast episodes, and the origins of the phrase “steal your thunder”. Plus we continue in our quest to be your out of office emergency contact.

You can email your burning questions to howto@npr.org.

How To Do Everything i...

Mark as Played

This week from the archives:  Mike and Ian search for signs of winter, and Peter test-smells a mystery scent from a professional flavor chemist. Plus a Goodyear blimp pilot reveals more than you’d ever think to ask about blimps including where they go to sleep at night.

You can email your burning questions to howto@npr.org.

How To Do Everything is available without sponsor messages for s...

Mark as Played

On today’s episode: a bold new way to help out when an earthquake hits, and Mike and Ian help out a listener with the help of a friendly dentist and a dog named Stella. Plus, our continuing commitment to be your Out of Office emergency contact turns into a surprise birthday celebration.

You can email your burning questions to howto@npr.org.

How To Do Everything is available without spons...

Mark as Played
October 8, 2025 20 mins
This week from the archives, Mike and Ian help a high school student nail his performance in the school play. Plus, a listener asks how to compose a catchy jingle, so Barry Manilow joins the show to help out. And a quick tip on how to open your pesky bag of chips.


You can email your burning questions to howto@npr.org.


How To Do Everything is available without sponsor messages for supporters of Wait Wait…Do...
Mark as Played
On today’s episode, how to get rid of Google’s AI summaries, and we help a listener who wants to exercise in her car during a long commute–with an assist from a very overqualified exerciser and a very overqualified driver. Plus we talk about a possible connection between pizza and war with The Washington Post’s Tim Carman.

You can check out Tim’s piece here and Juan's training routine here. And you can email your burning q...
Mark as Played
September 24, 2025 15 mins

On today’s episode from the archives, Apple’s top-secret guide on how to be a human being. Plus, how (not) to scam the airlines, and a competition you might want to avoid.

You can email your burning questions to howto@npr.org.

How To Do Everything is available without sponsor messages for supporters of Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me+, who also get bonus episodes of Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! ...

Mark as Played
Today, Mike and Ian recruit the help of legendary Taste-Tester-Turned-Public-Radio-Host Peter Sagal to rate a new, unorthodox approach to making lasagna. Plus, a listener calls in claiming he’s physically incapable of burping, so the guys ask a medical professional to help him out.

You can email your burning questions to howto@npr.org.

How To Do Everything is available without sponsor messages for supporters of Wa...
Mark as Played
September 10, 2025 13 mins
On today’s episode from the archives, Fred Armisen helps a grad student set up her wifi router. Tips on how to keep your milk fresh using nature’s little creatures, and how to tie your hair up stress-free. Plus, we finally answer the burning question: does gum really stay in your stomach for 7 years?

You can email your burning questions to howto@npr.org.

How To Do Everything is available without sponsor messages f...
Mark as Played
We are so back! How To Do Everything returns for a packed second season. This episode, one listener asks Mike and Ian how to write the perfect “out of office” message. So, they confer with the highest language authority in the land, U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón.

Comedians Andy Samberg and Kate McKinnon join the show to answer your couple’s advice questions, some stranger than others. Plus, a fashion tip for your post-Labor...
Mark as Played
August 27, 2025 2 mins
How To Do Everything is back for season two! With more taste tests, more life hacks and more help for our beloved listeners. This season, Rick Ross gives advice to The Pope, Arnold Schwarzenegger helps a listener work out, Andy Samberg and Kate McKinnon host couples therapy and poet laureate Ada Limón drafts the perfect “out of office” message. Seriously, this time around, we’re saving lives.

First episode drops next week....
Mark as Played
Act now to ensure public media remains free and accessible to all. Your donation will help this essential American service survive and thrive. Visit donate.npr.org now.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy
Mark as Played
On our season finale, when a young listener has a question on behalf of her fifth grade class, we call up an old friend/chimp butt expert to help her out. And Saturday Night Live's James Austin Johnson walks us through his hilarious Donald Trump impression to tend to a listener's curiosities. Plus, Mike and Ian are stressed about some (cryptic) hate mail, so they call Patton Oswalt for some words of encouragement.

You can ...
Mark as Played
January 8, 2025 14 mins
Today from the archives, a chance to win a free t-shirt if you have a sharp ear for dinosaur moans. And we help a listener with a question about public bathrooms. Plus, why both "Nathaniel" and "Phyllis Isabel Gertrude" are statistically awful names for a child.

You can email your burning questions to howto@npr.org.

How To Do Everything is available without sponsor messages for supporters of Wait Wait Don't Tell M...
Mark as Played
Ringing in 2025: Mike and Ian knock out a New Year's resolution with the help of filmmaker Jesse Eisenberg, and a listener calls in to settle a high-stakes bet on the sturdiness of honeybees. Also, the world's northernmost towns are in the middle of months-long darkness. To learn how to survive it, we call an astrophysicist who spent six months in complete Antarctic darkness.

You can email your burning questions to howto@n...
Mark as Played

Popular Podcasts

    Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.

    Crime Junkie

    Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by Audiochuck Media Company.

    The Brothers Ortiz

    The Brothers Ortiz is the story of two brothers–both successful, but in very different ways. Gabe Ortiz becomes a third-highest ranking officer in all of Texas while his younger brother Larry climbs the ranks in Puro Tango Blast, a notorious Texas Prison gang. Gabe doesn’t know all the details of his brother’s nefarious dealings, and he’s made a point not to ask, to protect their relationship. But when Larry is murdered during a home invasion in a rented beach house, Gabe has no choice but to look into what happened that night. To solve Larry’s murder, Gabe, and the whole Ortiz family, must ask each other tough questions.

    Dateline NBC

    Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

    The Breakfast Club

    The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!

Advertise With Us
Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.