Podcasts by How To!
You’ve got questions. Together, we get answers.
We all need advice, but sometimes it’s hard to know where to turn. Each week, Courtney Martin and Carvell Wallace bring a listener on to the show to solve their toughest problems with the help of world-class experts. It’s free therapy, and you’re invited.
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Sponsored: How Can We Use Our Success to Empower Our Communities? from 2022-11-11T10:30
Season 3 of The Relentless is all about moving fearlessly. We’re kicking things off with two guests who not only embody that mindset, they’re growing businesses in ways that also empower their comm...
ListenHow To Be the Next Erin Brockovich from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Mike is an average guy on a mission to change the state of Florida—specifically, to convince the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to stop overspraying the rivers and lakes with herbicides....
ListenHow To End a Sibling Rivalry With Kate & Oliver Hudson from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Sam and his sister used to be close, but lately their relationship feels strained. Years of favoritism toward Sam by their parents has taken its toll and now, after one disastrous family celebratio...
ListenHow To Be a Badass On and Off the Court from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Juliet knows she’s one of the best tennis players in her community league, but whenever she gets on the court, she’s paralyzed by self-consciousness. Did the crowd notice how bad that shot was? Wit...
ListenHow To Get Things Done in a Divided Nation with Samantha Power from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Samantha Power knows what it’s like to arrive in Washington, D.C. and feel a little lost—literally. She once couldn't find the oval office. But more than that, as a Pulitzer Prize-winning human rig...
ListenOur Favorite Advice of 2020 from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Here at How To! headquarters, we give and receive a lot of good advice. This year we learned how to talk politics without wrecking relationships, lose weight and keep it off, confront a crazy neigh...
ListenHow To Stress-Bake with Claire Saffitz from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Are you sick of sourdough? Stress-baking the same chocolate chip cookies every week? Our listener Daniel understands—he’s been baking like crazy during this pandemic, but is feeling tired and unins...
ListenHow To Get Your Dog to Stop Eating Your Daughters’ Underwear With Jenny Slate from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Erin thinks her dog Chief has the most embarrassing habit—he keeps eating her daughters’ underwear. This has happened several times, resulting in multiple costly surgeries. If she can't put a stop ...
ListenHow To Face Your Fear of Dying from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Katie is terrified of dying. As the youngest in a big family, she can’t stop thinking about the fact that all her loved ones may die before she does. Katie is a comedy writer who knows how to get l...
ListenHow To Save Your Marriage from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Lauren and Carlos are afraid their marriage is at a breaking point. With Carlos out of work, an active toddler to care for, and another child on the way, Lauren and Carlos are feeling pressures fam...
ListenHow To Rescue Someone From a Conspiracy Theory from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Matt’s dad believes some crazy conspiracy theories—that the moon landing was faked, that JFK’s assassination was an inside job, and that QAnon is real. Matt can’t stand talking about politics—or re...
ListenBonus Ep - How To Get People to Vote from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Isabelle decided to spend her gap year as a political volunteer campaigning on behalf of Joe Biden. She’s been writing postcards, making phone calls, and even posting on social media. But she worri...
ListenBonus Episode - How To Get People to Vote from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Isabelle decided to spend her gap year as a political volunteer campaigning on behalf of Joe Biden. She’s been writing postcards, making phone calls, and even posting on social media. But she worri...
ListenHow To Survive a Public Shaming With Katie Hill from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Back in 2018, newly elected U.S. Representative Katie Hill was a rising star in the Democratic Party. Then unauthorized nude photos of her were leaked to a right-wing blog by her estranged husband,...
ListenHow To Talk Politics Without Wrecking Relationships from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
On a recent phone call Shannon’s mom didn’t mince words: The only way she’d vote for Joe Biden is if Jesus himself comes down and tells her to. Growing up in a conservative household, Shannon under...
ListenHow To Lose Weight and Keep It Off from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
John needs to shed 15-20 pounds. At age 72, on the cusp of retirement, he wants to reduce his blood pressure medication and have more energy to travel. John knows how to lose weight—at an earlier p...
ListenHow To Get Away With Murder from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
One day in 1987, a young girl in a small town in upstate New York disappeared and then turned up dead. For seven years her murder went unsolved, until police finally caught the killer, a local man ...
ListenHow To Win Arguments Like a Hostage Negotiator from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Shayne defuses bombs for the military, but in his personal life he’s terrified of confrontation. Take, for example, the time his kids’ babysitter cleaned out a week’s worth of groceries from his fr...
ListenCheat Sheet: How To Survive High School & Whatever Comes Next from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
College application season is here and Aria, a 17 year-old senior, is stressing—even more than usual. At her high school in Chicago’s south suburbs, she gets good grades, is on the cheer team, in m...
ListenCheat Sheet: How To Talk to Your Son About Sex from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Thirteen-year-old Henry seems like a model son. He gets good grades, plays on the hockey team, and has a solid group of friends. But Henry’s been spending a lot more time on the Internet during the...
ListenCheat Sheet: How To Ace Zoom School from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Anna is sure the amount of time her two children spend on YouTube or Roblox cannot be good for them. With remote learning this fall, Anna is worried their addiction to screens is only going to wors...
ListenHow To Become Your Own Boss with Guy Raz from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Mitchell is a physical therapy student who dreams of revolutionizing the industry. What if physical therapists and their patients weren’t so constrained by insurance companies? His classmates and p...
ListenHow To! Presents: "Cheat Sheet" from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Expert tips for navigating a most unusual back-to-school season. A special three-part series coming September 1st! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
ListenHow To Confront a Crazy Neighbor with Tig Notaro from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The trouble began when Sarah put a fern in front of her new condo. Nice, right? The woman who lives in the unit above didn’t think so, and without warning sent Sarah a slew of passive-aggressive no...
ListenHow To Get That Promotion You Deserve from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Johnny is worried about being stuck in the same job forever. He’s been trying to climb the corporate ladder of his software company for years but has had little success. He knows he deserves a prom...
ListenHow To Survive a Shark Attack from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
David was in the ocean in Hawaii when the unthinkable happened—a shark attacked him and bit off his leg. “I don’t think you’re gonna make it,” a medic told the 25-year-old on the helicopter ride to...
ListenBonus Episode - 'Hello Monday' with Jessi Hempel from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
This bonus episode features Charles's recent appearance on the podcast Hello Monday, where host Jessi Hempel discusses the relationship between work and meaning. Charles tells the story of his expe...
ListenHow To Write a Bestseller from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Lauren already knows the plot of her bestselling novel—the problem is she hasn’t written a word. Paralyzed by self-criticism and an earlier rejection, this former English major has spent years jour...
ListenHow To Fight Racism in Your Town from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Chris has always considered himself “on the right side of things,” but as Black Lives Matter protests sweep across the country, he’s starting to realize he needs to do a lot more. As a white man li...
ListenHow To Stand Up for Your Kid When Society Won’t from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Karin always thought of herself as the mom of two boys—that is, until last year when her oldest child told her they were nonbinary, meaning they don’t identify as either male or female. Karin loves...
ListenHow To Walk Away from an Impossible Parent from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
When Sydney’s dad texted her, “Do me a favor and lose my number,” she was crushed. At 27, Sydney has always had a rocky relationship with her dad, but she held out hope he could still be a part of ...
ListenHow To Find a New Career Before it's Too Late from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Donny is ready to leave the restaurant industry once and for all. As a recovering alcoholic, he was already looking for a new career before COVID-19 upended his life. But at 38 years old, Donny has...
ListenHow To Get a Stubborn Parent to Listen from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Alan’s 86-year-old dad will not stop driving—even after an incident where he drove off the road and totaled his car. Feeling guilty and worried, Alan has tried to convince his dad to hand over the ...
ListenHow To Say the Right Thing at the Worst Time from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Ann’s sister just lost her husband and Ann doesn’t know how to console her. Ann lives in a different state and, having experienced loss herself, knows saying the wrong thing can only add to the hur...
ListenHow To Lose 155 Pounds Happily from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Ashley thought by now she’d be on top of the world. Once severely overweight, Ashley lost 155 pounds and recently ran her first half-marathon. But when she looks in the mirror all she sees are the ...
ListenHow To Talk to Strangers from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Every other Friday, Amy’s calendar reminds her to make the rounds of her office and say “hello” to her colleagues. As an introvert, Amy deeply struggles with small talk, but as a manager of 55 peop...
ListenHow To Actually Enjoy Working from Home from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Joanna really misses her office. Taking Zoom calls from the kitchen in her dimly lit Brooklyn apartment doesn’t compare to her bright, open office filled with friendly coworkers. In this episode of...
ListenHow To Save the Planet (And Still Use a Plastic Straw) from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Caleb tries to be good to the planet by recycling, biking to work and living a minimalist lifestyle in his small Ohio town. But he still feels guilty about using disposable diapers and buying a min...
ListenHow To Stop Procrastinating from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Marie trains dogs for a living, but she’s struggling to teach herself a new trick—overcoming procrastination. For a year, she’s been ready to launch a new dog training app....just as soon as she ma...
ListenQuarantine Q&A: Masks from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Margit from Denver, Colorado writes in with a question about how to encourage people to wear masks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Charles offers advice on how to incentivize people to fo...
ListenHow To Tame a Chaotic Household from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Sarah feels like she’s drowning in the clutter of her tiny Brooklyn apartment where she lives with a messy husband and two-year-old daughter. Now that her family is under quarantine together, the c...
ListenHow To Not Go Crazy Under Quarantine from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
This week, we’re struggling with the same problem as our listeners: self-quarantine. As news of the coronavirus pandemic intensifies, how do we stay sane while staying home? How do we reduce stress...
ListenHow To Forgive the Unforgivable from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
For years Claire has been holding on to a terrible family secret: Her mom physically abused Claire’s brother when he was young. How could her mom have done that? Now, over a decade later, both Clai...
ListenHow To Find Your First Kiss at 38 from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Sharon is 38 and never been kissed. This, as she acknowledges, is “a bit weird.” As a nurse who loves ballroom dancing, Sharon is smart, funny, and attractive. At the same time, she’s deeply religi...
ListenHow To Get Your Mom to Accept You from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
When Hema first realized she was gay a few years ago after immigrating to the U.S., she knew she had to tell her mom. But the conversation didn’t go well. Hema’s mom lives in India and is convinced...
ListenHow To Vote for the Next President from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Anthony is that rarest of things in American politics—a swing voter who is up for grabs in 2020. Caught between his Republican voting history and his current dislike of President Trump, Anthony is ...
ListenHow To Write the Perfect Breakup Song with Ben Folds from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Lorenzo is a dental student with big dreams—of becoming a rock star. Lorenzo plays a mean guitar at open mic night, but there’s one thing holding him back: He doesn’t know how to write his own song...
ListenHow To Convince People to Give You Money from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Shannon runs a nonprofit in Aspen, Colorado — a place filled with wealthy donors, but also stiff competition. With nearly 500 nonprofits vying for money, how does Shannon help her organization stic...
ListenHow To Protect Yourself Against the Coronavirus from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The coronavirus outbreak in China is causing panic worldwide. The World Health Organization has declared it a global health emergency and all we hear about are doubling infection rates, massive qua...
ListenHow To Put Your Wife's Career First from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Andy would do anything for his girlfriend Cassie. Well, almost anything. As Cassie looks to move away for vet school, Andy has to decide if he’s going with her, leaving his job, family and friends,...
ListenHow To Kick a Meth Habit from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Jason has been addicted to meth for the past 15 years, which is not uncommon in his small Illinois town. Every time Jason stopped using he would relapse, until last year when the state took custody...
ListenHow To Rob a Bank from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Joe Loya robbed over 30 banks during an 18-month span before going to jail. In this episode of How To! Charles wants to rob one bank on a Saturday afternoon, and get away scot-free. Can Joe teach C...
ListenHow To Propose (to a Man) from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Once upon a time, Ashley met a man and fell in love. Now, she’s ready to get down on one knee and pop the question. But with so few women proposing to men, she’s not sure how to go about it. In thi...
ListenHow To Make Your New Year's Resolutions Stick from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
How To! gave dozens of people advice this year about solving their problems. Now, we track a few of them down to see how our experts’ suggestions transformed their lives. We follow up with an actor...
ListenHow To Give a REALLY Big Gift from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Mary’s mother needs a new kidney — as long as it doesn’t come from Mary. What’s a daughter to do? In this episode of How To!, Mary hears from Larissa MacFarquhar, author of a book on extreme altrui...
ListenHow To Remember Everything from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Jessica is only 26, but says her memory is ‘worse than my mother’s.’ She forgets friends’ birthdays, important details at work and worries that life is passing her by. In this episode of How To!, w...
ListenHow To Sleep from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Ben aka ‘Sleepless in San Francisco’ hasn’t been able to get a good night’s rest for over a decade. He’s tried noise machines, medication, vodka, even eating cheese -- but nothing has worked. It’s ...
ListenHow To Get Your Kid To Finally Grow Up from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Owen is about to graduate from high school and has no idea what he wants to do next. Owen doesn’t seem worried, but his mom, Lisa, is freaking out. In this episode of How To!, we get help from Juli...
ListenHow To Cook One Perfect Meal from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Jonny is a 26 year-old bachelor whose cooking often leads to heartache (and for one ex-girlfriend, a stomach ache). Jonny admits he’s a klutz in the kitchen, so we hooked him up with Sam Sifton, co...
ListenHow To Win At Online Dating from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Traci is a single, professional woman looking for love. She builds furniture in her spare time, enjoys dancing and can’t believe she has to devote an hour each day to swiping through photos and sen...
ListenHow To Perform Under Pressure from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Mike’s dream job of playing bass in a Chicago orchestra is within reach — if only he can conquer his nerves and master the audition. In this episode of How To!, we bring in Dr. Don Greene, a peak p...
ListenHow To Withstand Pain from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Sophie Power once breastfed her newborn during an ultramarathon, but an upcoming 268-mile race across a remote stretch of Great Britain is freaking her out. In this episode of How To! we turn to Wi...
ListenHow To Not Be Scared from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Becca is 6-feet tall, bold and strong-willed. She’s also easily startled and paralyzed by fear — even a children’s haunted house can reduce her to tears. In this episode of How To!, we bring in soc...
ListenHow To Fire Your Daughter from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Kyle wants to sell his 50-year old family insurance business so he can finally retire. But a troublesome employee is holding him back: his daughter. In this episode of How To!, Harvard Business Sch...
ListenHow To Put Down Your Phone from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
How many times have you looked at your phone so far today? Do you feel like you’re choosing to look, or automatically craving it when you ought to be enjoying life? In this episode of How To! we ge...
ListenHow To Be Funny from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
How do you learn to tell the perfect joke? In this episode of How To! a pastor from Oklahoma wants to spice up his sermons. So we introduce him to Gary Gulman, a New York standup comedian who makes...
ListenHow To Decide Whether To Have a Baby from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
ListenHow To Go On a Family Adventure from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Can a family travel around the world for a year without killing each other? Dan Kois spent a year in New Zealand, The Netherlands, Costa Rica and Kansas with his wife Alia and their two young daugh...
ListenHow To Look Like a Superhero from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
How did Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman get so buff to play Deadpool and Wolverine? An up-and-coming Hollywood actor wants to know so he can land his own superhero role. In this episode of How To! w...
ListenHow To Stress Your Kid the Right Way from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Is there a right way to let kids struggle and fail? How do you raise resilient children? And most important, when should you help out, and when should you chill out? In this episode of How To! we a...
ListenHow To Survive a Pandemic from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Have you ever wondered how you would fare in the apocalypse? Perhaps you have envisioned yourself, shotgun loaded, prepared to mete out kindhearted justice and tough-love defense in equal measure. ...
ListenHow To Stop Being Anxious from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Matt has anxiety attacks. Every day. When he gets too many texts, when he starts worrying about his family, when the unexpected occurs: that’s when the sweat starts and his mind begins racing. He’s...
ListenHow To Uproot Your Life from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
A decade after Elizabeth’s family left the U.S. to live in Portugal, they’re wondering if it’s time to move back. In this episode of How To! we turn to professional poker player, Annie Duke, who tr...
ListenHow To Fire a Bad Employee from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Gabe wants to fire a bad employee, but still be a good boss. In this episode of How To! we turn to Stanford professor of management science, Bob Sutton (The No Asshole Rule and Good Boss, Bad Boss)...
ListenHow To Give Your Mom a Kidney from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Mary’s mother needs a new kidney — as long as it doesn’t come from Mary. What’s a good daughter to do? In this episode of How To! Mary hears from Larissa MacFarquhar, author of a book on extreme al...
ListenIntroducing How To! from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
What if Dear Abby was an investigative reporter? Each week, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Charles Duhigg (The Power of Habit) takes on listeners’ toughest problems and, with the help of experts...
ListenHow To Have an Open Relationship from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Abe’s girlfriend wants to try something different—sleeping with other people. In other words, she wants an open relationship. Abe could be on board, but he has some questions. How does that work ex...
ListenIntroducing How To! from 2019-06-21T21:58
What if Dear Abby was an investigative reporter? Each week, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Charles Duhigg (The Power of Habit) takes on listeners’ toughest problems and, with the help of experts...
ListenIntroducing How To! from 2019-06-21T21:58
What if Dear Abby was an investigative reporter? Each week, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Charles Duhigg (The Power of Habit) takes on listeners’ toughest problems and, with the help of experts...
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