What It's Like To...

Send us Fan Mail Sue Humphrey says she was a "not very good" athlete growing up--but she loved sports, and she found her niche early: as a teenager she started helping other athletes.  She excelled at coaching track and field, and worked her way up to college coaching (experiencing the beginning of Title IX), and eventually the international stage--although the field wasn't always w...

Send us Fan Mail Whether you feel intimidated by art--or visit every museum you can--you will appreciate Nina Katchadourian.  Nina approaches the world with wonder and curiosity.  She is a world-renowned contemporary artist (her work has been shown all over the world, including at the Met and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Venice Biennale, and the Palais de Tokyo, among many other local...

Send us Fan Mail In July 1990, Joyce Mikal-Flynn died after finishing a swimming race and sinking to the bottom of the pool.  After 22 minutes of CPR, she was revived--but her recovery took much longer than that.  One of her doctors later said, "You are the luckiest person I've ever met."  In this episode, Dr. Mikal-Flynn describes her death-defying--and life-altering--experience, h...

Send us Fan Mail Gregory Nottage was a successful businessman when, at age 26, he was wrongfully convicted of first degree murder. He spent 19 years in prison before being exonerated after the killer confessed to the crime. He says he lost everything--except hope. Gregory was released from prison in 2014  with just $200 of "gate money."   What Gregory has done since his release is extrao...

Send us Fan Mail Picture this: you lay down on a comfortable surface, close your eyes, and for up to an hour your body and mind are lulled into a state of prime restoration and relaxation by listening to the soothing sounds of crystal bowls being played by a master.  Laura Penn Gallerstein, a master sound healer, uses a variety of modalities, including crystal bowls and a harmonium, in her session...

Send us Fan Mail There are more than 4000 colleges in the United States--many of them hundreds of years old.  Adam Braus decided to create a new one.  In this episode he shares why he took this bold step, as well as the many hoops he had to jump through to gain accreditation (and the "corruption" he claims he encountered along the way). Elton College is built on Braus's background i...

Send us Fan Mail Last year, Cal Currier decided to try to sail across the Atlantic Ocean from Massachusetts to Portugal, alone.  But he was only 16--and he didn't know how to sail! With a lot of dedication and determination, and a refusal to take "no" for an answer, Cal overcame every obstacle (including convincing his initially-reluctant mother); and in late June 2022, he set out s...

Send us Fan Mail Can you imagine living on a beach, in a bigger house, with more disposable income and more free time, doing work you enjoy?  Julia Vitality, the guest on this week's episode, says stop dreaming--make this your reality.  Julia and others like her are using a strategy called geoarbitrage: lowering their cost of living, usually by moving to a different town or country, to make t...

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Send us Fan Mail When I was 28 years old, I packed up my things and moved to Billings, Montana to become a television news anchor and reporter.  I knew I was getting out of my comfort zone, but I had no idea how far.  The person who helped me through it--my colleague, Jonathan Marcus--is my guest on this episode.  We reminisce about our experiences working in local news; living in Montana; and rea...

Send us Fan Mail Anthony Febo--AKA "Febo"--brings poetry to life as a spoken word artist. He describes spoken word poetry as "poetry written with the intention to perform"--and his performances are deeply personal, emotional, and rich, with touches of signature humor. (He performs two amazing pieces in this episode.) Febo is not only an artist; he is also a teacher--so listener...

Send us Fan Mail Like lots of other starry-eyed young actors, Barret Swatek moved to Los Angeles right out of college with dreams of making it in Hollywood.  Unlike most of them, she succeeded.  In this truly behind the "scenes" conversation, Barret shares her journey--from skanky agents, acting classes and sneaking onto studio lots, to finally landing her breakthrough role on "Seve...

Send us Fan Mail Pull up a seat at the table for a day-before-Thanksgiving chat between Elizabeth and her mom, as they discuss why this day is one of their favorites of the year.  Support the show

Send us Fan Mail Not many people's resumes include "pediatrician, medical philanthropy consultant, and cartoon writer"... but Dr. Cliff Harris clearly is a man of many talents.  In this episode, he shares how he got started in cartooning (including a very special childhood story involving "Peanuts" creator Charles M. Schulz); how he got connected with "Bizarro" c...

Send us Fan Mail Justin Spring went from tumbling around his neighborhood to later winning NCAA gymnastics titles and eventually earning a place on the 2008 Olympic team.  The road getting there had its share of twists and turns (pun intended), including a slew of injuries leading up to the Olympics.  Justin shares behind-the-scenes stories of his journey, from the lowest moment in his gymnastics...

Send us Fan Mail We're getting really meta for this episode--Elizabeth usually asks other people what it's like to be in their shoes; now she's chatting with her special guest (who has been her secret weapon behind the scenes of the podcast since Day 1) about what it's like to work on this podcast!  There have been a lot of tweaks and changes recently, so we're doing our o...

Send us Fan Mail Brett Anderson never planned on being a rock star.  She was in middle school when she and three girlfriends decided to form a band.  Just a few years later--while still in high school--they were touring Japan, and soon after that they signed a major record deal and became known worldwide.  The Donnas were a hit. In this episode, we learn what it was really like to be "Donna A...

Send us Fan Mail Nancy Mueller went from baking petite quiches and other hors d'oeuvres in her home kitchen, to becoming known as the "Queen of Quiche."  Through hard work, determination, lots of eggs and flour, and refusing to take "no" for an answer, she built Nancy's Specialty Foods into a multi-million dollar business that eventually produced 1.5 million quiches p...

Send us Fan Mail Christine Meyer spent a lot of her life either trying diets that didn’t work, or feeling guilt and shame about her weight.  The pandemic made everything worse, with increased focus on comfort foods and wine any time, because… why not?  But then everything changed.  In the summer of 2020, Christine reached out to a health coach and began a program that transformed her life.  She lo...

Send us Fan Mail Jake Locker was a 3-sport star athlete in high school (he was drafted to play Major League Baseball, but turned down the offer because he preferred playing football).  He was hailed as a hero when he played quarterback for the University of Washington.  He was picked by the Tennessee Titans in the first round of the NFL draft.  Four years later, he chose to leave the league... and...

Send us Fan Mail Ready for a hit of inspiration?  Aishetu Fatima Dozie says she's insecure and full of fear, but she also calls herself courageous--and crazy.  Aisha (as "everyone" calls her) transitioned from two decades as an investment banker to starting Bossy Cosmetics.  Many people said it was a wacky idea; she persevered.  A global pandemic hit; she almost folded--but she didn...

Send us Fan Mail We're hard at work on the upcoming season.  Season 4 launches on September 28!  We'll release new episodes each Wednesday from then on.  Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss any!  Follow us on social media to find out all the latest about our upcoming guests:  Instagram Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Support the show

Send us Fan Mail Professional baseball playerJoe Biagini is back on The Experience Podcast to continue his revealing, honest, droll take on playing pro ball. Part 2 of our conversation is filled with quips, anecdotes and insights about the differences between playing in the major league and the minors; what it's like to be teammates with some "big names;" how it feels to be part of...

Send us Fan Mail Lots of kids dream of growing up to become pro athletes. Joe Biagini actually became one.  He has pitched in the major leagues for the Houston Astros, the Toronto Blue Jays, and the Chicago Cubs, and minor league teams as well.  He was even part of a pitching team that performed an historic no-hitter for the Astros.   In this raw, revealing, humorous interview (part 1 of 2) , Joe...

Send us Fan Mail Do you ever feel overwhelmed by your stuff?  A lot of us have gotten to the place of feeling pretty comfortable living with clutter--even if we don't like having a bunch of extra clothing, gadgets, books, toys and trinkets around, it's easier than getting rid of our things. In this episode, Deanna Yates shows us how to start.  She also explains that minimalism is a minds...