HTDE: The Friendliest Sound in the World, with Olympic medalist Molly Seidel

Summary

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! Episode Summary: "HTDE: The Friendliest Sound in the World, with Olympic Medalist Molly Seidel" Release Date: November 27, 2024

NPR's Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! is renowned for its witty take on current events and engaging discussions with notable personalities. In the episode titled "HTDE: The Friendliest Sound in the World," hosted by NPR and featuring Olympic bronze medalist marathoner Molly Seidel, the team tackles an unusual yet relatable dilemma faced by avid runners: how to pass others on the trail without causing alarm.

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Introduction to the Episode

The episode opens with Bill Curtis, the show's judge and scorekeeper, introducing the theme of helping a listener navigate the awkwardness of passing others while running. [00:16]

Listener's Dilemma: Sam's Running Experience

Sam's Concern: Sam, a long-time runner, reaches out with a common yet challenging issue:

"I've been a runner since my teenage years, and regardless of where I run, I run into this similar issue of if I'm coming behind someone who's either walking or running more slowly than I am. I get a little bit nervous about passing them without scaring them." [00:57]

She shares her attempts to mitigate this by making noises, such as loud footsteps or throat clearing, which often go unnoticed. However, when she finally overtakes someone, their startled reactions leave Sam feeling uncomfortable and undesired.

Memorable Incident: Sam recalls a particularly startling moment on a trail:

"There was a time that I was running on a trail... I did a lot of throat clearing... they kind of jumped and then acted as if they were very, very scared." [01:38]

This incident highlighted the unintended fear her passing was causing, prompting her to seek a more friendly way to announce her presence.

Expert Insights: Olympic Medalist Molly Seidel

To shed light on this issue, the producers invite Molly Seidel, an accomplished Olympic marathoner, to share her experiences.

Molly's Similar Challenges:

"I've had a couple of times where I've really freaked people out and then I feel terrible because they literally will like jump and scream as if I've tried to attack them." [03:20]

She discusses the unique challenges faced by elite runners, especially in low-light conditions where their speed makes them less noticeable until they suddenly appear.

Humorous Observations: Molly humorously notes the dynamics between female marathoners and certain male runners:

"The species of man who hates being overtaken by a jogging stroller equally hates being overtaken by a woman." [04:58]

She shares amusing encounters where overzealous runners attempt to outpace her, leading to comical collapses far ahead of the finishing line.

Proposed Solutions: Molly suggests practical methods to signal presence:

"Generally, I will try to call out. Just calling out in some sort of way, I feel like is the very polite thing to do." [06:13]

She also entertains the idea of leveraging her Olympic status humorously:

"Trust me, I like anything that plays on my own narcissism. So I feel like I could use that like a cowbell coming up behind people." [04:26]

Creating the Friendliest Sound: Collaboration with Composer Mike Post

To address Sam's concern, the team collaborates with Mike Post, a distinguished composer known for creating iconic themes like Law & Order.

Mike Post's Creative Process: Mike shares the intricate process behind crafting a unique sound:

"I've got a bunch of samples... a jail door slamming in, a guy hitting an anvil with a ball beam hammer, and a bunch of men in Japan stomping on a wood floor." [08:12]

He humorously recounts how these disparate sounds coalesced into the famous Law & Order "dun dun" effect:

"Ching, ching, dun, dun, dun, dun, ding, ding." [09:28]

Designing a Friendly Signal: Applying his expertise, Mike suggests creating a non-threatening auditory signal for runners:

"One of the sweetest things to me, in my mind you could do is birds chirping. Right. Or the sound of a little kid's bell on his tricycle chinking." [12:56]

He emphasizes simplicity and positivity to ensure the sound is perceived as friendly rather than alarming.

Notable Quote:

"You have to come up with like a surefire way to indicate your presence that is not threatening, that it's almost... it's excited. You're like happy to hear that noise." – Molly Seidel [04:31]

Implementing the Friendly Sound

The team, along with Mike Post, experiments with combining suggested sounds to create an ideal signal. After several iterations, they present a composed sound that harmonizes bird chirps, tricycle bells, and gentle laughter to ensure it’s both noticeable and pleasant.

Final Sound Presentation:

"Hello, Mark, Arthur." [15:16]

This designed sound aims to offer runners like Sam a friendly way to announce their presence without startling others.

Language Segment: Embracing Inclusive Terms

In addition to addressing Sam's running dilemma, the episode delves into the broader topic of language inclusivity, specifically moving away from the term "you guys."

Listener Feedback and Solutions: Various listeners share their strategies for avoiding "you guys," opting for alternatives such as "singers," "team," and "folks." Molly Seidel contributes her preference:

"I might say team, to be like, 'Oh, like, hey, team, how's it going?'" [22:13]

Notable Quote:

"We need to solve real problems instead. Basically this is why are we doing this, which, fair point." – Listener Lon [19:28]

This segment highlights the collective effort to adopt more inclusive language, showcasing practical examples and personal adaptations.

Conclusion and Takeaways

The episode successfully intertwines humor, expert advice, and creative problem-solving to address Sam's concerns and advocate for linguistic inclusivity.

Key Learnings:

• Practical Solutions for Runners: Utilizing friendly sounds like bird chirps or tricycle bells can help runners announce their presence without causing alarm.
• Creative Collaboration: Involving professionals like Mike Post can lead to innovative solutions tailored to specific challenges.
• Language Inclusivity: Small changes in everyday language, such as replacing "you guys" with more inclusive terms, contribute to a more respectful and considerate communication environment.

Final Thoughts: The episode concludes with the hosts encouraging listeners to implement the friendly sounds in their runs and continue embracing inclusive language in their daily interactions.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• "When I'm coming up behind, I'm like, excuse me, Olympic bronze medalist coming up behind." – Molly Seidel [03:50]
• "I have an 18-month-old child who says moo in a very cute way." – Sam [02:38]
• "Hello, party people." – Mark Arthur [22:00]

Conclusion: This episode of Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! seamlessly blends practical advice with engaging storytelling, all while maintaining its signature humor and wit. Whether you're a runner seeking to enhance your trail etiquette or someone passionate about inclusive language, the episode offers valuable insights and entertaining moments.

Transcript

[Capella University]

This message comes from Capella University. With Capella's flexpath learning format, you can set your own deadlines and learn on your schedule. A different future is closer than you think with Capella University. Learn [e-mail].

[Bill Curtis]

Hey, wait. Wait, listeners, it's your judge and scorekeeper, Bill Curtis. We have another episode of how to Do Everything, hosted by Wait. Wait producers Mike Danforth and and Ian Shillag. This week, Mike and Ian help a listener who wants to stop scaring people while she's going on runs. So they call an Olympian runner. She'll know what to do. If you like what you hear, they won't live in this feed forever, so be sure to follow them at their own feed and enjoy the latest episode of how to Do Everything.

[Mike Danforth]

Hey, Sam, what can we help you with?

[Sam]

So I'm calling about a question that I've been plagued with for many years now. I've been a runner since my teenage years, and regardless of where I run, I run into this similar issue of if I'm coming behind someone who's either walking or running more slowly than I am. I get a little bit nervous about passing them without scaring them. And sometimes I'll stop my feet really loudly or try to clear my throat a little bit to see if they can hear me, but I would say at least half the time, they don't. And then when I pass them, they act a little bit upset, as if it were my fault. I don't like that.

[Ian Shillag]

Is there a time you remember startling somebody that stands out in your memory?

[Sam]

There was a time that I was running on a trail, which I feel like on a trail, you should be especially aware of your surroundings. And I did a lot of throat clearing and trying to make some noise and ended up going around this person and just. They kind of jumped and then acted as if they were very, very scared. And then I thought maybe there was a bear or something, because the shock that they exhibited was much higher than I would have expected for just seeing another human being.

[Mike Danforth]

Yeah. Have you ever had it, Sam, where you're running and someone passes you and they indicate they're coming in a clever way?

[Sam]

Oh, never.

[Mike Danforth]

Never.

[Sam]

No, because people don't pass me.

[Mike Danforth]

You're pretty fast. We get it.

[Sam]

Kidding. Kidding.

[Ian Shillag]

It raises the question, what is the friendliest sound? Like, if you were gonna choose a sound.

[Mike Danforth]

Okay.

[Ian Shillag]

What would be the friendliest sound you could possibly make to a stranger? You were approaching from behind.

[Mike Danforth]

Mm. I've got candy. Would that work?

[Ian Shillag]

I don't. I don't Think that's it.

[Sam]

I have an 18 month old child who says moo in a very cute way. I think if I just had a recording of him saying moo.

[Mike Danforth]

Moo like a cow.

[Sam]

Mm. Yeah.

[Ian Shillag]

It is the first part of move aside too.

[Sam]

Move over.

[Ian Shillag]

Yeah.

[Mike Danforth]

Don't you feel like that's the solution though? We should come up with like a surefire way to indicate your presence that is not threatening, that it's almost. It's excited. You're like happy to hear that noise.

[Ian Shillag]

All right, we're going to try and help out Sam in a couple ways here.

[Mike Danforth]

Someone who passes a lot of people while running is Olympic bronze medalist marathoner Molly Seidel. Molly, is this something you've dealt with?

[Molly Seidel]

Well, this is the problem too is because I've had a couple times where I've like really freaked people out and then I feel terrible because they literally will like jump and scream as if I've like tried to attack them as I'm like a barely above 5 foot tall woman coming up behind.

[Ian Shillag]

I think also tell me if this is true. Whenever I've watched the New York Marathon, when the elite runners go by, they're so much quieter than. Than normal people.

[Molly Seidel]

Yeah, definitely a little bit less clomping and maybe not breathing quite as heavy. So, yeah, it's. Especially at night, it gets pretty easy to like unintentionally sneak up on people. I typically like to announce myself wherever I go. So when I'm coming up behind, I'm like, excuse me, Olympic bronze medalist coming up behind.

[Mike Danforth]

Yeah, it does feel like maybe that's a use for your Olympic medal, is that you could clang it as you run by people.

[Molly Seidel]

Trust me, I like anything that plays on my own narcissism. So I feel like I could use that like a cowbell coming up behind people of just like clink it a little bit.

[Mike Danforth]

Yeah.

[Molly Seidel]

And be like, oh my gosh, I'm so sorry my medal is so loud.

[Ian Shillag]

So I run a little bit and I have a baby that I push in a jog stroller. And something I've encountered recently is there is a species of running male that cannot handle being passed by someone pushing a baby in a jog stroller. I imagine being an elite female marathoner, you are constantly passing men who have a hard time with this.

[Molly Seidel]

You are completely right. The species of man who hates being overtaken by a jogging stroller equally hates being overtaken by a woman. And so I've had many times, specifically on the river path in Boston, of passing these alpha Males. And then you start a subtle yo yo effect where they then start sprinting in order to pass you again until they inevitably collapse in a heap. So, yeah, I would definitely say it can be annoying sometimes, but it's also fun.

[Mike Danforth]

Do they ever say anything to you at the very end, like, you got me?

[Molly Seidel]

No, they'll sometimes. I am not even joking with this one. I had a guy who said out loud, I'm done with my run here. Like, obviously not because we were at least two miles from any like, realistic stopping or starting point, but just that he felt the need to have to say of like, oh, yeah, I'm actually was planning on stopping here rather than just like throwing up because I've been going so hard.

[Ian Shillag]

Back to Sam's question for a second. Is there anything really that you do, though? Like, sometimes if I have my keys in my hand, I'll try and make a little noise. Is there. Is there any, like actual techniques that you try and keep from.

[Molly Seidel]

Generally I will try to call out. Just calling out in some sort of way, I feel like is the very polite thing to do.

[Mike Danforth]

They make running shoes with taps on them, like tap shoes, so that you can. You're always.

[Molly Seidel]

Yeah.

[Mike Danforth]

You're like a noisy presence all the time.

[Molly Seidel]

I feel like I would love a shoe. Like, do you remember, like the light up shoes?

[Mike Danforth]

Oh, yeah.

[Molly Seidel]

You may have had as kids? I feel like something like that. But adding in a feature where it actually like says a recording or does some sort of beat noise whenever you're going, I feel like there could be a real market for that.

[Ian Shillag]

I mean, we used to. I had a cat growing up and we would put a collar with a bell on it so he wouldn't catch the birds. I think a collar with a bell for any runner.

[Mike Danforth]

Yeah.

[Ian Shillag]

Might be the way to go.

[Molly Seidel]

That would be adorable.

[Mike Danforth]

We're back then. We're just back to the Olympic medal.

[Molly Seidel]

Yeah, exactly. But maybe something like fancier, like a cute charm with a bell on it. But then imagine if people like you get a lot of those people together and then it would just be a deafening noise. You could never talk to your running partners.

[Mike Post]

Yeah.

[Mike Danforth]

For some people that'd probably be a benefit. It'd be great. Be appreciated.

[Molly Seidel]

Yeah. Oh, my gosh, I'm so sorry. I can't hear you over this bell.

[Mike Danforth]

Yeah. But please go on.

[Molly Seidel]

Please keep telling me about on again, off again boyfriend that you keep breaking up with.

[Ian Shillag]

You know, this, this question. What. What is the friendliest sound? What is the sound that you could play that would Be least likely to freak somebody out. We should see if we can give Sam and Molly, for that matter, a friendly sound they could play.

[Mike Danforth]

Composer Mike Post seems like the perfect guy to help. Mike has a new album out. It's called Message from the Mountains and Echoes of the Delta. But relevant to Sam's question, Mike composed this sound.

[Mike Post]

Hello?

[Mike Danforth]

Hey, is this Mike?

[Mike Post]

Yep.

[Mike Danforth]

Hey, it's Mike and Ian from npr. Colin, how are you?

[Mike Post]

I'm doing great. How are you guys?

[Mike Danforth]

We're. We're terrific. Where are you? Where. Where are you on your journey?

[Mike Post]

I'm in Southern California. I'm actually just trying not to get. Get killed here on A 101. Driving north to Santa Barbara to have lunch with Dick Wolf.

[Mike Danforth]

I guess if we were to imagine what Mike Post would be doing, that's what we would imagine he'd be doing.

[Ian Shillag]

Well, yeah, well, so we come to you because you wrote the theme to Law and Order, one of the great iconic themes, and then, as we understand, Dick Wolf then comes back to you and wants something to mark. Transitions between scenes. Do I have that right?

[Mike Post]

That's precisely correct. At the 11th hour, just before the dub is finished, I've already completed all my work. Everybody's real happy with what I did. And he calls me up and says, hey, I'm gonna date stance scene changes, and I need a sound to mark that. And I said, great. Call sound effects, because I'm your composer, I don't do sounds. I do music, you know, and, you know, he and I are dear friends. So he goes, hey, come on, I need a favor. God, why do you.

[Tamara Keith]

Come on.

[Mike Post]

I said, all right, all right, all right. So I got a bunch of samples of a jail door slamming in, a guy hitting an anvil with a ball beam hammer, and a bunch of men in Japan stomping on a wood floor. And, you know, all these weird sounds. And, you know, it took us about five, six hours to come up with that. Ching, ching, dun, dun, dun, dun, ding, ding. Whatever the hell you want to call it. Damn thing. And so I sent it over to the dub stage, and Dick goes, man, this is perfect. I've never heard anything like this. Exactly, right? And about a year later, he sends me a note. He goes, you know, isn't it funny? All the great music you've written and on your tombstone will be dun dun or ding ding? And he goes, you know, and you didn't even want to do it, you stupid idiot. You know? And I went, yeah, he's right about that, you know, so, yeah, that's how the sound came about. And, you know, I don't know if anybody cares or anything, but I'm. I was a runner for a long time, for 30 years. And, you know, I guess you could carry. You could carry a little device on your phone. You could play back dun dun, ching ching, whatever you call that thing, you know, I guess you could do that, except I think that because of law and Order and the darkness of the subject matter, I mean, I don't know if that would calm.

[Mike Danforth]

It has the opposite effect.

[Mike Post]

Yeah, I'm not sure that would calm anybody. I will tell you this about the third or fourth year of Law and Order, the original. I got the sweetest, kindest note from a principal from a high school in Cleveland, Ohio. And she writes me this note and she says, I'm writing this note to thank you from the bottom of my heart. I work in an urban environment. It's a pretty tough school. And she goes, there's a lot of discipline problems. And she goes, when I have to call Johnny or Sarah to the principal's office, she goes, it was always over the intercom, johnny Jones, please come to the principal's office. And you know, she goes, since law and order, I preface all those calls to the principal's office with dun dun. She goes, my discipline problems have gotten exponentially better because it strikes fear into their hearts, you know?

[Mike Danforth]

Yes. Right.

[Mike Post]

I just. I cracked up. I thought it was.

[Mike Danforth]

I thought that was one of the.

[Mike Post]

Nicest notes I've ever received.

[Ian Shillag]

That's amazing. So you mentioned that the dun dun sound is, I think you said, like a prison door slamming.

[Mike Post]

It's a bunch of different things put together. Yeah.

[Ian Shillag]

And I think you said a bunch of men jumping up and down in Japan.

[Mike Post]

No. Stomping on a hardwood floor in a gymnasium and a guy hitting an anvil with a hammer.

[Ian Shillag]

Okay, so if we were to take a similar approach to composing a new sound for Sam, where we're going to get some samples of different sounds and we want it to be as friendly as possible. What. What are some sounds you might suggest to come up with a little sonic theme for Sam?

[Mike Post]

You know, one of the sweetest things to me, in my mind you could do is birds chirping. Right. Or the sound of a little kid's bell on his tricycle chinking. That sound.

[Mike Danforth]

Yeah.

[Mike Post]

Right. Or simply. Simply hello.

[Mike Danforth]

Okay. Yeah. A soft greeting.

[Mike Post]

Yes, a soft greeting. You know.

[Mike Danforth]

Okay.

[Mike Post]

Laughter.

[Mike Danforth]

Okay.

[Ian Shillag]

A little laughter. That's good.

[Mike Post]

Yeah. But on the other. On the other hand, that's not so friendly. When you're passing somebody.

[Ian Shillag]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Mike Danforth]

Let me ask you this question. My understanding is that is a song that sound effect or sound, that little five second bit is actually a song, Is that right?

[Mike Post]

Well, it's not a song, but it is a piece of music. And if you're asking, do I get paid a royalty every time any piece of music plays?

[Mike Danforth]

Yeah, yeah, every time.

[Mike Post]

Every time any piece of my music is played, even one second of it, there's a small little royalty that's, that's paid through a performing rights organization. I happen to be a BMI writer, so. Yes.

[Mike Danforth]

Fantastic. So does it.

[Mike Post]

There is a royalty? Yes.

[Mike Danforth]

So Mike, does that then that five minute piece, does it have a name on the. That's registered at bmi?

[Mike Post]

Yes. We call it a card stick.

[Mike Danforth]

Oh, that's kind of boring. It doesn't have like a cool name.

[Mike Post]

No, it has a cool name on a T shirt. It has a cool name when people, you know, talk to me about it or changing because I'm making a little money on it. But.

[Ian Shillag]

Well, Mike, thank you so much for talking to us about this. This has been so much fun.

[Mike Post]

I'm glad to do it. You know, I'm a big fan of what you guys do radio wise, that's for darn sure.

[Ian Shillag]

All right, here we go. We're going to take these sounds. We have birds chirping, you say tricycle bell.

[Mike Danforth]

Some kind of laughter.

[Ian Shillag]

So Sam, or anybody out there who's running and wants to warn somebody you're passing in a friendly way that won't freak them out, we give you this.

[Mike Post]

Hello, Mark, Arthur.

[Mike Danforth]

And then here again, just because we want to see what it sounds like, here it is again, but this time with 100 men in Japan stomping on a wooden floor.

[Mike Post]

Hello.

[Mike Danforth]

If you have a question you'd like us to answer, you can email [e-mail].

[Ian Shillag]

And at this point also, we've probably solved questions. You have, you just haven't heard the episode. So we, we would encourage you to go backwards through our catalog. Maybe you have a song in your head, you can't get it out. We have, we've addressed that.

[Mike Danforth]

Or maybe you're zippers down or you're. You see somebody who's zippers down and you want to know how to tell them that we can help you with that.

[Ian Shillag]

So step one, listen to everything we've ever done. And if you still have the problem you have, send us your question@how topr.org.

[Capella University]

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[Tamara Keith]

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[Lorna White]

This message comes from BetterHelp. It's important to take time to show gratitude towards others, but it's equally important to thank yourself. Life throws a lot of curveballs, and being grateful isn't always easy. Therapy can help remind you of all that you're worthy of and all that you do have. Let the gratitude flow with BetterHelp. [e-mail] NPRtoday to get 10% off your first month.

[Capella University]

This message comes from our sponsor, Grainger. This is the story of the one As a maintenance engineer, he hears things differently. To the untrained ear, everything on his shop floor might sound fine, but he can hear gears grinding or a belt slipping. So he steps in to fix the problem at hand before it gets out of hand. And he knows Granger's got the right product. He needs to get the job done, which is music to his ears. Call click granger.com or just stop by Granger for the ones who get it done.

[Molly Seidel]

Hey there, it's Tamara Keith from the NPR Politics Podcast and I will keep this quick Giving Tuesday is almost here, the perfect time to support the independent news source you rely on to stay informed. Please give [e-mail] and thank you.

[Ian Shillag]

Well, we want to check in on the you guys fast. That is a thing we just started where we are trying to excise you guys and hey guys from our vocabularies.

[Mike Danforth]

We invited you all to do this with us and we've heard from a ton of people who are joining us who've already started doing it and even have some tips. Hello? Hello, Carol. Yes, we're just calling to check in on you on the you guys fast. How are you doing with that?

[Sam]

Well, I've actually been trying to avoid it for years. It still pops out because my my family uses it, but for the most part I try not to.

[Mike Danforth]

Yeah. So what solutions have you come up with?

[Sam]

I generally say friends, I am a choir director by profession, so I often say singers instead.

[Mike Danforth]

Oh, sure.

[Ian Shillag]

Oh, that's nice. I would try that. Just, I mean, I'm, I have no involvement with any choir, but just approaching a group of people and saying, hey, singers, that feels good.

[Sam]

Yeah, Everybody sings, everybody has a voice.

[Mike Post]

Yeah.

[Ian Shillag]

I will say we heard from a couple of you, Lon, for instance, said we need to solve real problems instead. Basically this is why are we doing this, which, fair point. There are bigger problems in the world. We are incapable of solving them.

[Mike Post]

Hello.

[Ian Shillag]

So Joe, you wrote in about your journey with you guys. Can you tell us about it?

[Mike Post]

Yeah. So when I was in the army with email communications, I noticed that people are using all con, which stood for all concerned. And I really like that.

[Ian Shillag]

So I adopted that to it all con.

[Mike Post]

Yes, we're all concerned.

[Ian Shillag]

Okay, that's really cool.

[Mike Danforth]

I'm just trying to think if we could use that in our work emails, how much effort it would take to get everybody on board.

[Ian Shillag]

I'm going to try it. All right, Lynch. Lynn wrote in. She said, I have not said you guys in the years since my son's friend from high school transitioned. She pointed it out to me after I addressed the group of friends as guys. Since that I've chosen to use folks. I like the casual and friendly sound of it.

[Mike Danforth]

Oh, thank you, Lynn.

[Mark Arthur]

Hi, this is Steve.

[Mike Danforth]

Hey, Steve, how are you?

[Mark Arthur]

Good.

[Mike Danforth]

We're calling to check in on you and your. You guys fast.

[Mark Arthur]

Well, that's great.

[Mike Danforth]

Have you, Steve, had any incidents where you've slipped and it's bitten you?

[Mark Arthur]

Yes. Yeah, I've been called out really a few times mainly by my family, you know, and they say, hey, I thought you weren't going to say that anymore.

[Ian Shillag]

Yeah, I mean, once you. We're finding this too. Once you kind of declare that you're doing this, you really have a spotlight on you.

[Mark Arthur]

Yeah, that's true. And you notice it so much more when other people do it now too. I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and we have missionaries in our area. We had a couple of young men, 20 year olds that were missionaries in our area and they said it so much and it was so obvious to me that I actually pulled them aside and gave them a little talk on, you know, why I don't use that and maybe they ought to think about using a different term also.

[Mike Danforth]

Yeah.

[Mark Arthur]

And it actually went over really well.

[Ian Shillag]

Wow, you are a missionary. For you guys or for anti.

[Mike Danforth]

You guys?

[Ian Shillag]

I guess.

[Mark Arthur]

I guess so. Yeah.

[Mike Danforth]

Steve, when you pulled those two aside, did you say to them, hey, you.

[Ian Shillag]

Guys, here's Eunice from Philly. Eunice has some ideas of what you might replace you guys with.

[Mike Post]

Hello, everybody.

[Mark Arthur]

Hello, party people.

[Mike Danforth]

Oh, there you go.

[Mike Post]

My wife teaches pottery, so she uses high potters. That's her approach.

[Ian Shillag]

I like that one.

[Mike Danforth]

And here's Ari. Ari has even more ideas.

[Molly Seidel]

So I like to approach a conversation with, like, people I'm casual with. I might say team, to be like, oh, like, hey, team, how's it going? Like, sort of that soccer coach vibe. I like to be overly formal on purpose sometimes. Like by saying, oh, compatriots, esteemed colleagues.

[Mike Danforth]

Yeah. Yeah. Well, thank you, Ari. Thanks for all these ideas. This is great.

[Molly Seidel]

Yeah, thanks for.

[Sam]

Thanks for the work you guys do, and thanks for making a great show.

[Ian Shillag]

We consider you a true compatriot.

[Molly Seidel]

Thank you.

[Ian Shillag]

So we're going to keep. We're going to keep trying. Let us know if you're doing this. Let us know when you fail. We'll let you know when we fail.

[Mike Danforth]

Hina, is your mic open? Hina, how have you done? I've done pretty bad. Really? Say, yeah, I've done a lot of. I go back to my texts and edit it, and then it would say edited underneath. And everyone knows that it used to be you guys, and. And I changed you all, and I think that I'm making my life a little harder.

[Ian Shillag]

It's possible in those edited texts, Hina called us something worse that she then edited to you all, and she's covering it up as if it was part of the you guys fast, when really it was something very offensive.

[Mike Danforth]

She's on a. Yeah. What is the opposite of a fast? Rampage. Yeah, she's on a you rampage.

[Ian Shillag]

Well, that does it for today's show. What we learned today, Mike?

[Mike Danforth]

Well, I learned that that sound, the dun dun sound from Law and Order, is actually a bunch of sounds smashed.

[Ian Shillag]

Together, one of which is 100 men in Japan stomping on a wooden floor.

[Mike Danforth]

Yeah. How is that an effect that is just, like, available for use.

[Ian Shillag]

And what are those men doing now? Was that the peak of those men's life? Is law and order a thing in Japan? Do those men know how woven they are into the fabric of our culture?

[Mike Danforth]

Do you think that those people are, like, with their friends or with their family and they're like, hold on, hold on. Listen, this is it. This is me. This is me right here.

[Ian Shillag]

Or a bug walks by they stomp it. Do people on the street recognize them? I know that stomp.

[Mike Danforth]

Wait a minute. Do that again. How to Do Everything is produced by Hina Srivastava. Technical direction from Lorna White.

[Ian Shillag]

Our intern is Mark Arthen. Mark, I can't say enough about the work you did this week.

[Mike Danforth]

Yeah, Mark, we really appreciate everything, everything you've done.

[Ian Shillag]

That's why some of you, when you heard the sound we made for Sam, you may have heard Mark Arthur's name underneath it and wondered, what was that? That was not mentioned. Well, we went back in because there is no happier sound than the name Mark Arthur.

[Mike Danforth]

You can send us your questions. Send them to us at how to pr.org we promise we read all our emails obsessively.

[Ian Shillag]

It's honestly, it's weird. I'm Ian.

[Mike Danforth]

And I'm Mike.

[Ian Shillag]

Thanks.

[Mike Post]

Thanks.

[Lorna White]

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