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

A Contortionist

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”? DID YOU SHOUT US OUT SOMEWHERE? Email a screenshot or link to shoutout@whatitslike.com 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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A Big Announcement

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.

A Forensic Architect

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"? 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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A Special Ed Teacher

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? 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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An Auctioneer

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"? 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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An Infectious Disease Doctor

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? 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.

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A Mail Carrier

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? 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.

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A Hotshot

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 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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An Airport CEO

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 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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A Civil Aviation Engineer

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. 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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An Air Traffic Controller

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’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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A Flight Attendant

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. 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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An Airline Pilot

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) 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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(Bonus) From StoryCorps: "Sideliners"

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 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.

A Clinical Ethicist

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. 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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A Correctional Officer

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? 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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A Custom Harvester

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 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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A Funeral Director

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 Director on the surge of women graduating from mortuary school 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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An Aerospace Engineer

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 bio More about the Perseverance rover Swati Mohan spoke with us in a personal capacity. The views expressed in this episode are her own and do not represent the views of NASA, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, or any other organization. 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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A Diplomat

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 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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