The How This Works show

Decoding excellence through 100 professional conversations

About the show

Join us for a variety of conversations around expertise and craft. Our second season focuses in on product strategy, design, facilitation, leadership coaching, and adjacent areas, exploring how a variety of practitioners have developed mastery in these fields. Through discussions with over 30 guests so far, we've uncovered thought-provoking narratives and actionable strategies. Subscribe, follow us, and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts — spread the word!

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Episodes

  • Aaron Young

    3 January 2025  |  Season 2  |  59 mins 36 secs
    business intelligence, business strategy, contextual research, customer behavior, customer experience, customer insights, customer journey, customer research, decision making, jobs to be done, market research, product development, product strategy, qualitative research, switch interviews

    In this episode, Skipper talks with Aaron Young about "switch interviews," one component part of the jobs to be done framework

  • Andy Polaine

    14 November 2024  |  Season 2  |  1 hr 5 mins
    ai and design, assembly line design, coaching in design, crosscultural design, design challenges, design education, design identity, design journey, design leadership, digital coaching, empathy in leadership, imposter phenomenon, imposter syndrome, leadership coach, leadership dip, reading the room, service design, storytelling in design, team dynamics, value of design

    In this episode, Skipper chats with Andy Polaine about how he got started in the world of service design and his work as a design leadership coach

  • Joanne Weaver

    18 October 2024  |  Season 2  |  1 hr 15 mins
    cabaret, career advice, design, entrepreneurship, human connection, jazz, job search, music, networking, overcoming fear, personal growth, podcast, recruitment, sci-fi, trip-hop, ux

    In this episode, Skipper chats with Joanne Weaver about her background about a UX recruiter, her take on the design job market, and what it means to be looking for a job today, along with some general advice

  • Carl Cleanthes

    8 October 2024  |  Season 2  |  1 hr 30 mins
    art entrepreneurship, art nfts, barefoot, blockchain, creative agency founder, creative journey, digital content creation, father's legacy, live art streaming, nfts, non-fungible tokens explainer, pandemic business pivot, visual communication expert, web3

    In this episode, Skipper chats with Carl Cleanthes about making art, creativity, what NFTs are and how he works with them, and running a creative agency

  • Jen Dary

    11 December 2023  |  Season 2  |  1 hr 2 mins
    beplucky, client, french lit, in-person, leadership coach, manager, my own thing, oldest kid, plucky, small companies, so now you're a manager, virtual

    In this episode, Skipper talks with Jen Dary about her work as a leadership coach and trainer of managers among other topics

  • Karen Faith

    3 November 2023  |  Season 2  |  1 hr 7 mins
    empathy, empathy for assholes, ethnography, karen faith, others unlimited

    In this episode, Skipper chats with Karen Faith about her work as a researcher and ethnographer in the practice of empathy

  • Zolt Levay

    30 May 2023  |  Season 2  |  53 mins 18 secs
    astronomer, astronomy, cameras, carina nebula, color, data, images, light, nature, objects, photography, photos, pillars of creation, professional telescopes, wave lengths

    In this episode, Skipper chats with Zolt Levay about his work as a nature photographer, both out in space and on our terrestrial world here on Earth

  • Dr. Peter Chin-Hong

    19 May 2022  |  Season 2  |  51 mins 32 secs
    coronavirus, covid, first booster, second booster, ucsf, vaccine

    In this episode, Skipper chats again with Dr. Peter Chin-Hong from University of California, San Francisco about the coronavirus/COVID and more

  • Skipper Chong Warson

    15 June 2021  |  Season 1  |  1 hr 8 mins
    5 whys, color, design, five whys, home, listening, making how this works, new york city, podcast, san francisco, storytelling, success, work, writing

    In this episode, the script is flipped and Laura puts the questions to Skipper - topics include storytelling, making How This Works, life at home, and a variety of other topics

  • Call for questions

    7 June 2021  |  Season 1  |  45 secs

    Skipper asks for listener questions for the last episode of the first season

  • Sarah Sudhoff

    1 June 2021  |  Season 1  |  1 hr 23 mins
    art, houston, performance artist, photograph, photographer, photography, sarah sudhoff

    In this episode, Skipper chats with Sarah Sudhoff about her work as an artist and her background as a photographer

  • Piper Payne

    20 April 2021  |  Season 1  |  1 hr 14 mins
    audio mastering engineer, cryptocurrency, mastering engineer, music, nashville, nfts, non-fungible tokens, piper payne, quality control, sound, vinyl

    In this episode, Skipper chats with Piper Payne about her work as an audio mastering engineer

  • Kait Scalisi

    6 April 2021  |  Season 1  |  1 hr 58 secs
    consent culture, kait scalisi, passionbykait, pleasure, sexual health, sexual pleasure, shame

    In this episode, Skipper chats with Kait Scalisi about sexual pleasure, sexual health, and consent culture

  • Sally McRae

    30 March 2021  |  Season 1  |  50 mins 1 sec
    coach, nike, nordictrack, pro, professional, race, run, runner, running, soccer, ultrarunner, ultrarunning

    In this episode, Skipper chats with Sally McRae about being a runner and specifically an ultrarunner as well as a coach for others

  • Kat Hantas and Nicole Emanuel

    23 March 2021  |  Season 1  |  1 hr 7 mins
    #girlscalltheshots, 21seeds, infused tequila, kat hantas, nicole emanuel, sarika singh, spirits, tequila

    In this episode, Skipper chats with Kat Hantas and Nicole Emanuel about tequila, infusing tequila, and building a tequila empire in 21Seeds

  • Dr. Laura Sicola

    16 March 2021  |  Season 1  |  58 mins 58 secs
    authenticity, language, listen, listening, respond, speak, speaking, speaking to influence, vocal impact productions, voice

    In this episode, Skipper chats with Laura Sicola about how to use your voice to its best effect