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

Épisodes

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  A Hotshot 28.07.2026 34min

  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? 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 ...
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  An Airport CEO 14.07.2026 35min

  Pitching airline executives during route-planning speed dates, opening a $1.7 billion new terminal, and making space for emotional airport reunions with Christina Cassotis, CEO of Pittsburgh International Airport. Why does she have a beekeeper on contract? And what did a missing freight elevator teach her about leadership? 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 voi...
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  A Civil Aviation Engineer 07.07.2026 30min

  Designing runways for hot air and heavy planes, inspecting pavement cracks with measuring wheels, and protecting vicious little owls from construction crews with Eileen Vélez-Vega, a civil aviation engineer in Puerto Rico. What does the color of runway lights reveal to a pilot? And what's a "spall"? 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...
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  An Air Traffic Controller 30.06.2026 31min

  Sequencing departures like a moving puzzle, scrambling when a jet takes off without clearance, and catching what radar misses with a glance out the window with Michael Rejent, an air traffic controller. What does "tally ho" mean to a pilot? What phrase makes every controller in the cab look up? 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’...
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  A Flight Attendant 23.06.2026 29min

  Hugging a mother through an anxiety attack, bidding for the best routes, and absorbing strangers' confessions at 35,000 feet with Linda Beall, a flight attendant. What does it mean when the cabin bells ring three or four times? And what makes a trip a “dog”? 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...
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  An Airline Pilot 16.06.2026 38min

  Shooting cat-three landings in the fog, using the “voice of God” on unruly passengers, and declaring Mayday after an engine fire with Paul Drusch, a commercial airline pilot. Why does the pilot’s paycheck start with the parking brake? And what does “sterile cockpit” mean? (Spoiler: it doesn’t mean “clean.”) 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) ...
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  (Bonus) From StoryCorps: "Sideliners" 09.06.2026 17min

  Athletes get all the glory, but there are countless people around them making the games happen - from referees making judgments, to vendors in the stands hawking snacks and beer. In this episode from The StoryCorps Podcast, drawn from our archive of the largest single collection of human voices ever recorded, you’ll hear from the people on the sidelines. GOT A COMMENT OR SUGGESTION? Email us at jobs@whatitslike.com FOR SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES: Email us at partnerships@whatitslike.com WANT T...
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  A Clinical Ethicist 02.06.2026 40min

  Untangling who gets to speak for a dying patient, weighing a treatment's benefits against its burdens, and searching for clarity in the grayest corners of healthcare with Esther Berkowitz, a clinical ethicist. What is the "dignity of risk"? And how do you know which "version" of a person to trust? 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. ...
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  A Correctional Officer 19.05.2026 35min

  Grinding through 16-hour shifts, standing behind inmates (never in front), and trying to stay human in an inhuman environment with Bill Farrell, a correctional officer in Massachusetts. What happens when an officer gets "frozen"? And why does the sound of scuffling sneakers stop him in his tracks? LINKS & REFERENCES Bill was the co-creator of a short documentary about the physical and mental toll of being a correctional officer. It's called "Behind The Wall".GOT A COMMENT OR SUGGESTION? E...
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  A Custom Harvester 05.05.2026 35min

  Harvesting five million bushels of wheat and corn from Texas to Montana, outrunning hailstorms that decimate a year's income in 20 minutes, and running a multimillion-dollar convoy of equipment down the highway with Josh Beckley, a third-generation custom harvester from Kansas. Why do farmers outsource the harvesting of their own crops? And what happens when you drive a combine into a ditch? GOT A COMMENT OR SUGGESTION? Email us at jobs@whatitslike.com FOR SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES: Email us ...
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  A Funeral Director 21.04.2026 37min

  Guiding grieving families through arrangement meetings, orchestrating meaningful memorial services within days, and preparing bodies for viewing with Heather Hill, a funeral director in North Carolina. What's different about doing makeup on a dead person? And what is it like to field a death call? LINKS & REFERENCES Heather writes about her work on her website.She's a funeral director at Renaissance Funeral Home in Raleigh, North Carolina."The Future is Female" - American Funeral Dir...
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  An Aerospace Engineer 07.04.2026 37min

  Landing the Perseverance rover on Mars, working in clean rooms to minimize the microbial bug count, and slogging through hundreds of engineering trade-offs with Swati Mohan, an aerospace engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. What are the "seven minutes of terror"? And is there evidence of past life on Mars? LINKS & REFERENCES: Watch Swati voice the landing of Perseverance in 2021.Swati's official NASA bioMore about the Perseverance roverSwati Mohan spoke with us in a personal capa...
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  A Diplomat 24.03.2026 34min

  Defusing a crisis after an ambassador hinted at a preemptive strike on Russia, delivering demarches in multiple languages, and surviving the frantic evacuation of the Kabul embassy with John Johnson, a retired diplomat who spent more than twenty years in the US Foreign Service. Do diplomats still send "cables" in the 21st century? And what does "not/not" mean? GOT A COMMENT OR SUGGESTION? Email us at jobs@whatitslike.com FOR SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES: Email us at partnerships@whatitslike.com ...
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  A Lineman 10.03.2026 30min

  Wiring a neighborhood back to life after a tornado, coveting the work of helicopter linemen in Faraday suits, and surviving the collapse of a rotten utility pole with Elden Rivas, a journeyman lineman in Houston, Texas. What is the one sound on the crew radio that stops every lineman cold? And why does a squirrel on a transformer mean easy 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 ...
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  A Health Inspector 24.02.2026 30min

  Suspending the licenses of unsafe restaurant operators, hunting down the origins of foodborne illness outbreaks, and eliciting truthful answers from anxious managers with Justin Dwyer, a health inspector in Peoria, Illinois. What happens when a restaurant locks the door on an inspector? And why should you never wash your Thanksgiving turkey? LINKS & REFERENCES Upstream: The Quest to Solve Problems Before They Happen by Dan Heath. You can find the audiobook at Audible, Spotify, and Apple B...
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  An Olympic Bobsledder (Replay) 17.02.2026 38min

  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? This episode originally aired on December 17th, 2024. 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...
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  A London Divorce Lawyer 10.02.2026 35min

  Negotiating cases in which neither spouse wants custody of the cat, setting clients' expectations about what's legally possible (versus what feels "right"), and finding hope in people's ability to bounce back from dark times with Lucy Stewart-Gould, a divorce lawyer in London. What simple question can break open a deadlocked settlement? And what's a "jurisdiction race"? IF YOU LIKE THIS EPISODE: Check out what it's like to be a criminal defense attorney, a forensic accountant, or a couples th...
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  A Baker 27.01.2026 35min

  Tinkering with the recipe for gingerbread cake until it's right, adjusting to the variability of local grains, and cherishing the quiet mornings when the sun fills the bakery windows with Sophie Williams, a baker in Bellingham, Washington. What happens when you bake all your sourdough starter by accident? And what's a "starch attack"? Links & References: Sophie owns and operates Raven Bakery in Bellingham, Washington.The Economics of Everyday ThingsBullshit Jobs by David GraeberGOT A...
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  A Dog Groomer 13.01.2026 33min

  Sculpting mullets on Havanese, enduring countless bites, and surviving level-five furnadoes with Aaron Williams, a dog groomer in Alabama. Why is the grooming table his most powerful psychological tool? And which part of the grooming process is most dreaded by dogs? You can see Aaron in action at his YouTube channel. Want more episodes featuring professions who work with animals? We've spoken with a veterinarian, a cattle rancher, and a dog trainer. GOT A COMMENT OR SUGGESTION? Email us at jo...
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  A Marine Corps JAG 30.12.2025 33min

  Judging the permissibility of real-time battle decisions, advising commanders how to handle soldier misconduct, and assessing "hostile acts" and "hostile intent" with Lieutenant Colonel Susan Upward, a Marine Corps JAG. What does "dispo" mean in military justice? And how do you tell a commander his idea is colossally stupid -- while keeping your job? GOT A COMMENT OR SUGGESTION? Email us at jobs@whatitslike.com FOR SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES: Email us at partnerships@whatitslike.com WANT TO BE...