What It's Like To Be... with Dan Heath

Afleveringen

1. A Choreographer

   1 november 2026 · 38 min

   Afspelen
   Sketching choreography in airport bathroom stalls, coaching Usher on exactly how to hold a strawberry, and fighting for fair pay for dancers and choreographers with Galen Hooks, a commercial dance choreographer in Los Angeles. Can you copyright a dance routine? And what does "body conscious" mean at an audition? Lees meer

   LINKS & REFERENCES

   Galen's website, Instagram, and YouTube channel

   Watch "River" here

   Usher's "Ruin" video, choreographed by Galen

   Galen was nominated for a VMA for choreography for Camila Cabello's "Havana" video.

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   WANT TO BE ON THE SHOW? Leave us a voicemail at (919) 213-0456. We’ll ask you to answer two questions:

   1. What’s a word or phrase that only someone from your profession would be likely to know and what does it mean?

   2. What’s a specific story you tell your friends that happened on the job? It could be funny, sad, anxiety-making, pride-inducing or otherwise.

   We can’t respond to every message, but we do listen to all of them! We’ll follow up if it's a good fit.

2. A Piano Tuner

   25 oktober 2026 · 36 min

   Afspelen
   Listening for harmonics inside a note, dealing with awkward situations in people's homes, and chasing down nearly imperceptible flaws for world-class pianists with Peter Stumpf, a piano tuner in Pittsburgh. Why does he bite his tuning fork like a cigar? And what does it mean to "stretch an octave"? Lees meer

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   WANT TO BE ON THE SHOW? Leave us a voicemail at (919) 213-0456. We’ll ask you to answer two questions:

   1. What’s a word or phrase that only someone from your profession would be likely to know and what does it mean?

   2. What’s a specific story you tell your friends that happened on the job? It could be funny, sad, anxiety-making, pride-inducing or otherwise.

   We can’t respond to every message, but we do listen to all of them! We’ll follow up if it's a good fit.

3. A Contortionist

   18 oktober 2026 · 41 min

   Afspelen
   Contorting inside a floating pool bubble, overriding her body’s false alarms while bending backward, and stretching and strengthening six days a week for a four-minute act with Lisbeth Mikoleit, a contortionist in Las Vegas. Why does she train with a mouth guard? And what’s a “triple fold”? Lees meer

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   GOT A COMMENT OR SUGGESTION? Email us at jobs@whatitslike.com

   FOR SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES: Email us at partnerships@whatitslike.com

   WANT TO BE ON THE SHOW? Leave us a voicemail at (919) 213-0456. We’ll ask you to answer two questions:

   1. What’s a word or phrase that only someone from your profession would be likely to know and what does it mean?

   2. What’s a specific story you tell your friends that happened on the job? It could be funny, sad, anxiety-making, pride-inducing or otherwise.

   We can’t respond to every message, but we do listen to all of them! We’ll follow up if it's a good fit.

4. A Big Announcement

   13 oktober 2026 · 2 min

   Afspelen
   GOT A COMMENT OR SUGGESTION? Email us at jobs@whatitslike.com Lees meer

   FOR SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES: Email us at partnerships@whatitslike.com

   WANT TO BE ON THE SHOW? Leave us a voicemail at (919) 213-0456. We’ll ask you to answer two questions:

   1. What’s a word or phrase that only someone from your profession would be likely to know and what does it mean?

   2. What’s a specific story you tell your friends that happened on the job? It could be funny, sad, anxiety-making, pride-inducing or otherwise.

   We can’t respond to every message, but we do listen to all of them! We’ll follow up if it's a good fit.

5. A Forensic Architect

   6 oktober 2026 · 32 min

   Afspelen
   Poking a finger through rotted structural columns, hunting down the water leaks behind construction defects, and keeping cool under hostile cross-examination with Jorge McCormack, a forensic architect in Florida. Why do forensic architects avoid saying the word "mold"? And what's a "Daubert motion"? Lees meer

   GOT A COMMENT OR SUGGESTION? Email us at jobs@whatitslike.com

   FOR SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES: Email us at partnerships@whatitslike.com

   WANT TO BE ON THE SHOW? Leave us a voicemail at (919) 213-0456. We’ll ask you to answer two questions:

   1. What’s a word or phrase that only someone from your profession would be likely to know and what does it mean?

   2. What’s a specific story you tell your friends that happened on the job? It could be funny, sad, anxiety-making, pride-inducing or otherwise.

   We can’t respond to every message, but we do listen to all of them! We’ll follow up if it's a good fit.

6. A Special Ed Teacher

   22 september 2026 · 35 min

   Afspelen
   Sprawling on the floor like a starfish beside an overwhelmed teen, staging Friday prank calls to fellow teachers, and orchestrating the chaos of a self-contained classroom with Sierra Patrick, a special ed teacher in South Carolina. What does she wish people understood about nonverbal students? And what's the most valuable piece of technology in her classroom? Lees meer

   GOT A COMMENT OR SUGGESTION? Email us at jobs@whatitslike.com

   FOR SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES: Email us at partnerships@whatitslike.com

   WANT TO BE ON THE SHOW? Leave us a voicemail at (919) 213-0456. We’ll ask you to answer two questions:

   1. What’s a word or phrase that only someone from your profession would be likely to know and what does it mean?

   2. What’s a specific story you tell your friends that happened on the job? It could be funny, sad, anxiety-making, pride-inducing or otherwise.

   We can’t respond to every message, but we do listen to all of them! We’ll follow up if it's a good fit.

7. An Auctioneer

   8 september 2026 · 36 min

   Afspelen
   Chanting bids to whip up a bidding war, shipping $750,000 of Magic: The Gathering cards by armored car, and knowing exactly when to bring the gavel down with Joe Bodnar, an auctioneer in New Jersey. How does he separate junk from treasure? And what does it mean to "break up the pool"? Lees meer

   GOT A COMMENT OR SUGGESTION? Email us at jobs@whatitslike.com

   FOR SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES: Email us at partnerships@whatitslike.com

   WANT TO BE ON THE SHOW? Leave us a voicemail at (919) 213-0456. We’ll ask you to answer two questions:

   1. What’s a word or phrase that only someone from your profession would be likely to know and what does it mean?

   2. What’s a specific story you tell your friends that happened on the job? It could be funny, sad, anxiety-making, pride-inducing or otherwise.

   We can’t respond to every message, but we do listen to all of them! We’ll follow up if it's a good fit.

8. An Infectious Disease Doctor

   25 augustus 2026 · 36 min

   Afspelen
   Sleuthing through patient histories for the clue everyone else missed, asking patients about caves, scorpions, and shaman retreats, and sounding the alarm on a potential Ebola case with Dr. Boghuma Titanji, an infectious disease doctor. What annoys ID doctors about the TV show House? And which infections can she diagnose by smell? Lees meer

   LINKS & REFERENCES

   Psittacosis is a rare bacterial infection spread from birds, explained on the CDC's psittacosis page

   A 2026 hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship killed three passengers, per this CDC health advisory.

   APOPO trains rats to sniff out tuberculosis in sputum samples. See how it works.

   Listen to Death, Sex, and Money

   GOT A COMMENT OR SUGGESTION? Email us at jobs@whatitslike.com

   FOR SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES: Email us at partnerships@whatitslike.com

   WANT TO BE ON THE SHOW? Leave us a voicemail at (919) 213-0456. We’ll ask you to answer two questions:

   1. What’s a word or phrase that only someone from your profession would be likely to know and what does it mean?

   2. What’s a specific story you tell your friends that happened on the job? It could be funny, sad, anxiety-making, pride-inducing or otherwise.

   We can’t respond to every message, but we do listen to all of them! We’ll follow up if it's a good fit.

9. A Mail Carrier

   11 augustus 2026 · 30 min

   Afspelen
   Loading the mail truck before the day begins, dealing with aggressive dogs and bad weather, and keeping a neighborhood connected by showing up every day with John Ayala, a retired mail carrier in Los Angeles. How did a golf club help him deliver packages? And what does a mail carrier learn about us from our mail? Lees meer

   Thanks to Mike, one of our listeners, who reached out to suggest we talk with John after reading a profile of him in the LA Times.

   GOT A COMMENT OR SUGGESTION? Email us at jobs@whatitslike.com

   FOR SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES: Email us at partnerships@whatitslike.com

   WANT TO BE ON THE SHOW? Leave us a voicemail at (919) 213-0456. We’ll ask you to answer two questions:

   1. What’s a word or phrase that only someone from your profession would be likely to know and what does it mean?

   2. What’s a specific story you tell your friends that happened on the job? It could be funny, sad, anxiety-making, pride-inducing or otherwise.

   We can’t respond to every message, but we do listen to all of them! We’ll follow up if it's a good fit.

10. A Hotshot

    28 juli 2026 · 35 min

    Afspelen
    Digging line to redirect the country's fiercest wildland fires, sleeping in the dirt after a 16-hour day, and turning physical endurance into a public service with Ben Strahan, a hotshot crew superintendent in California. What does a wildfire sound like up close? And where does a crew go when the fire threatens to overrun them? Lees meer

    GOT A COMMENT OR SUGGESTION? Email us at jobs@whatitslike.com

    FOR SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES: Email us at partnerships@whatitslike.com

    WANT TO BE ON THE SHOW? Leave us a voicemail at (919) 213-0456. We’ll ask you to answer two questions:

    1. What’s a word or phrase that only someone from your profession would be likely to know and what does it mean?

    2. What’s a specific story you tell your friends that happened on the job? It could be funny, sad, anxiety-making, pride-inducing or otherwise.

    We can’t respond to every message, but we do listen to all of them! We’ll follow up if it's a good fit.

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