Episodes

  • "Study Break" is back again

    "Study Break" is back again
    Feb 12 2025
    Welcome (back) to How To Do Everything's "study break". This Friday at 12 PM CT, we will drop a Zoom link in this Google document. We use the same Google doc, so bookmark it if you would like. The first 10 (or 11?) people in the waiting room will be welcomed in, and we'll all hang out.

    You can bring "how to" questions, you can bring fun facts about yourself, you can bring spirited debates. But if you try to argue that the cheese curd is a superior form of the mozzarella stick, Heena may blacklist you.

    See you soon!

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    2 mins
  • Introducing "Study Break"

    Introducing "Study Break"
    Jan 29 2025
    Welcome to How To Do Everything's "study break". This Friday at 12 PM CT, we will drop a Zoom link in this Google document. The first ten people in the waiting room will be welcomed in, and we'll hang out. Come with your questions for the How To Do Everything team, or come with nothing at all. Just don't make it weird.

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    2 mins
  • Heckling, Yawning, and Imitating, with James Austin Johnson and Patton Oswalt

    Heckling, Yawning, and Imitating, with James Austin Johnson and Patton Oswalt
    Jan 15 2025
    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 email your burning questions to howto@npr.org. And not to fear, we will be returning for season two. Follow @waitwaitnpr on Instagram for updates on how to stay in touch in the meantime.

    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 exclusive games, behind-the-scenes content, and more. Sign up and support NPR at plus.npr.org.

    How To Do Everything is hosted by Mike Danforth and Ian Chillag. It is produced by Heena Srivastava. Technical direction from Lorna White.

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    27 mins
  • Pee-Rex

    Pee-Rex
    Jan 8 2025
    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 Me+, who also get bonus episodes of Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! featuring exclusive games, behind-the-scenes content, and more. Sign up and support NPR at plus.npr.org.

    How To Do Everything is hosted by Mike Danforth and Ian Chillag. It is produced by Heena Srivastava. Technical direction from Lorna White.

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    15 mins
  • Don't Get in the Fridge, with Jesse Eisenberg

    Don't Get in the Fridge, with Jesse Eisenberg
    Jan 1 2025
    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@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 exclusive games, behind-the-scenes content, and more. Sign up and support NPR at plus.npr.org.

    How To Do Everything is hosted by Mike Danforth and Ian Chillag. It is produced by Heena Srivastava. Technical direction from Lorna White.

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    25 mins
  • Moo-ey Christmas!

    Moo-ey Christmas!
    Dec 25 2024
    From the archives: When cows need help, Ian and Mike create a Christmas miracle, with the help of some adorable reinforcements.

    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 exclusive games, behind-the-scenes content, and more. Sign up and support NPR at plus.npr.org.

    How To Do Everything is hosted by Mike Danforth and Ian Chillag. It is produced by Heena Srivastava. Technical direction from Lorna White.

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    10 mins
  • A Holiday Special with the NFL's Gerald McCoy and the NPR's Peter Sagal

    A Holiday Special with the NFL's Gerald McCoy and the NPR's Peter Sagal
    Dec 18 2024
    On this week's archive episode, Mike and Ian learn about a unique Catalonian Christmas tradition that celebrates nature's calling. And when a listener calls into question her boyfriend's family traditions, Peter Sagal steps in to give a final ruling. Plus, NFL defensive tackle Gerald McCoy on how to show someone that you care.

    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 exclusive games, behind-the-scenes content, and more. Sign up and support NPR at plus.npr.org.

    How To Do Everything is hosted by Mike Danforth and Ian Chillag. It is produced by Heena Srivastava. Technical direction from Lorna White.

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

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    18 mins
  • The Perfect Christmas Present with James Patterson and Gillian Flynn

    The Perfect Christmas Present with James Patterson and Gillian Flynn
    Dec 11 2024
    On today's episode, Charlie needs help writing a children's book for his wife. So, Mike and Ian call up some of the greatest minds in modern literature, Gillian Flynn and James Patterson. Plus, a slippery way to stay warm on your run and a cool trick to avoid saying "you guys".

    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 exclusive games, behind-the-scenes content, and more. Sign up and support NPR at plus.npr.org.

    How To Do Everything is hosted by Mike Danforth and Ian Chillag. It is produced by Heena Srivastava. Technical direction from Lorna White.

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

    NPR Privacy Policy
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    21 mins