What It's Like To...

Send us Fan Mail The multi-talented Ethan Herschenfeld is back! Earlier he was on the podcast to share what it's like to be a stand-up comedian.  In this episode, we get an inside look at being an actor and professional opera singer. Ethan explains the audition process--and how he's turned the experience around from seeming tortuous to fun, creative and collaborative.   He also goes into...

Send us Fan Mail Does being in the military really mean being awakened by bugles at 5:00am, eating stingy rations, and training in tough conditions for hours on end? U.S. Marine Corps veteran Eric Davids shares his experiences in the Naval Academy and on deployment; explains the intelligence behind "intelligence"; describes the physical and mental stresses of the job; talks about gaining...

Send us Fan Mail A voice actor can be a silly animated bear one day, the voice on a luxury car commercial the next day, and ALL the characters in an audio book the following day.  On this episode, John Malone--an award-winning professional voice talent--shares what it takes to do his job... and do it well: from what a home recording studio should include, to how he finds the voices for his wide-ra...

Send us Fan Mail If you usually watch sports couch potato-style, here's a chance to learn about the work that goes into each television broadcast.  In this episode, CBS Sports Producer Ken Mack takes us into his production truck and walks us through a typical week:  planning graphics and storylines for the broadcast, travelling from stadium to stadium, meeting with coaches and players ... and...

Send us Fan Mail We continue the conversation with award-winning lyricist Glenn Slater.  Love the animated movie "Tangled" or the TV show "Galavant"?  Glenn reveals some making-of stories that you need to hear.  He also shares the building blocks of creating a song; talks about the differences between writing for stage and screen; and shares how it feels to work on a song for w...

Send us Fan Mail Lyricist Glenn Slater takes us backstage to teach us how musicals are made.  Glenn has written the lyrics to the songs in some of the most popular Broadway musicals, animated movies and television shows of all time--including Disney’s Tangled; The Little Mermaid; Sister Act; School of Rock ; and many others.  He has won a Grammy, an Emmy, and been nominated for three Tony awards,...

Send us Fan Mail We're going to the Oscars! Amanda Docter takes us onto the red carpet, into the Dolby Theater, and to the swanky after-parties.  Amanda has been to the Academy Awards ceremony eight times; her husband, Pete Docter, is the head of Pixar and has had a hand in creating many of the biggest animated movies of all time... and he's won three Oscars (for Up , Inside Out , and So...

Send us Fan Mail Mike Pegg has been a "Googler" (meaning, he has worked at Google) for fifteen years.  He takes us through a typical day at Google headquarters in Mountain View,  California--from free made-to-order gourmet breakfasts to riding iconic colorful Google bikes around campus.   Mike explains how microkitchens and TGIF--the "crown jewel of Google culture"--date back t...

Send us Fan Mail Stand-up comedian Ethan Herschenfeld takes us backstage and shares how to turn ideas into comedy bits; what it's like to create and perform an hour-long comedy special; how to reframe nerves into positive energy; the importance of jump-starting our own engines; and practicing your set in front of your mom and her friends. Want to know more about Ethan? Watch his hour-long spe...