The How This Works show

Today's episode features time with Cassandra Carlopio, a meditation/sleep consultant currently collaborating with The Breathe Institute and trained as a clinical psychologist on the Gold Coast of Australia. We talk about the importance of sleep, address some of the falacies associated with meditation, and she graciously leads us through a short guided meditation. We also talk about how she loves the mountains and beach equally, her newfound love of kite boarding, about the role of the nervous system and sleep, about how there's very little communication "between the field of sleep medicine and the field of psychology and the field of meditation", in the role that meditation can play in helping people sleep at night, traffic in Los Angeles, the notion of using virtual reality to help with sleep issues, and how gifting someone with sleep issues "Why We Sleep" by Matthew Walker may not be the right kind of present. Stay tuned after the outro music to hear Skipper stumble through the pronunciation of Cassandra's name, something that he does with every guest on the show.Special Guest: Cassandra Carlopio.Links:Surfer Today answers the question, What is kiteboarding?"Why We Sleep" by Matthew WalkerHow many thoughts do we have per minute?The Breathe Institute"Atomic Habits" by James ClearJames Clear breaks down how to make small habits, using meditation as an exampleIntro and outro song: "Zombie Nation" by Jose Travieso

Ben Falk chats with Skipper on this episode of How This Works from his farm/home/homstead in Vermont about permaculture and sustainability. We start with Ben in utero at the base of El Capitan in California, visiting national parks with his family (instead of going to Disneyland), rock climbing, and then doing backcountry trips which formed his foundational relationship with his work now. We also talk about the difference between design being focused on sustainability and regeneration, how important context is to solving design problems, about the importance of a designer living with or inside their work, the fact that people move 11.7 times in their life (as written in his book "The Resilient Farm and Homestead"), and how Ben's able to grow rice on terraced flats in the Northwestern U.S. We chat about the wood stove that provides heat for Ben and his family versus a thermostat-driven heat system or even a voice user interface like Alexa and how manual a process it is. Stay tuned after the outro music for a clip and flubbed first take of the show's intro. This episode was edited and mastered by Troy Lococo.Special Guest: Ben Falk.Links:Todd Ecological - Dr. John Todd from University of VermontWhole Systems DesignAn example of a client's passive house project — From Whole System Designs site: We've master-planned the Landau's site for the past two years and consulted on this passive house project, advising on ways for the home to not only be a mechanically high-performance shell but a functional house integrated within a permaculture working landscape. This includes root cellar design and other house-interior microclimate considerations for drying the harvest, keeping it cool, and for extended season use via a greenhouse addition on the main passive house which we have designed. We've also planted a small orchard for the Landaus in this developing post-peak oil homestead including peach, pear, apple, plum, cherry, hazelnut, walnuts, oaks, edible hickory, and other species including many berries. Bill MollisonDavid HolmgrenRock formations in Yosemite Valley, including El Capitan"The Resilient Farm and Homestead" by Ben FalkWendell BerryRobin Wall KimmererWhole Systems Design YouTube channelBen Falk's TEDx talk on homestead resiliency and food systems regenerationIntro and outro song: "Zombie Nation" by Jose Travieso

In today's show, Kacie Lett Gordon deconstructs the notion of having it all in our current times — she's working through that for herself with a number of other women on her podcast Fuck it All. We start out by talking about being a bit nervous about being on a podcast as a guest and a podcast as a host, external and internal roles, the difference between honesty and authenticity, and how different people get their energy in different ways (she gets hers with alone time while her husband gets it from being around people). We reach into many topics during this show, including how Kacie's mom was and is a role model for her, being a mother herself, how while she felt like she theoretically had it all she felt miserable (probably as a result of late-onset postpartum depression), the double standard of calling a woman bossy versus praising a man for the same behavior, good coffee in contrast to easy coffee, the importance of the mug, the power of curiosity, and, in her words, where part of the narrative of being a woman is "if you don't dislike yourself a little bit, then you're not humble." There's a ton of books that we talk about — non-fiction and fiction. You can find those in the show notes. We also talk about a mutual friend Jen Dary and her So Now You're a Manager program from Plucky. Stay tuned after the outro music to hear Kacie wonder, Who am I? This episode was edited and mastered by Troy Lococo.Special Guest: Kacie Lett Gordon.Links:Fuck It AllWTF is FIA, an episode of Fuck It All"Dare to Lead" by Brené Brown"Everything Is Figureoutable" by Marie Forleo"Lean in" by Sheryl Sandberg"What Do People Do All Day?" by Richard Scarry"NurtureShock" by Po Bronson and Ashley MerrymanList of values from Brené Brown's "Dare to Lead"Values exercise from Brené Brown's "Dare to Lead"A "good" Asian woman with Juinn Tan."The Crown" on Netflix"Company of One" by Paul Jarvis"The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck" by Mark MansonOprah recites Dr. Maya Angelou's poem "Phenomenal Woman""How to Think Like a Monk" by Jay Shetty"Group" by Christie Tate"The Leavers" by Lisa Ko"Pachinko" by Min Jin Lee"Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste NgKacie Lett GordonIntro and outro song: "Zombie Nation" by Jose Travieso

This episode's subtitle should be, So many movies, so little time. We start in Chris' childhood where he describes sneaking into his parents' room to watch Hitchcock's "Psycho" around the age of five, making short films in high school with his friends including a zombie sequel to "Xanadu" (which became a cult college favorite), feeling underwater after "Another Day in Paradise", leaving Los Angeles (and writing) before beginning to approach his work "like a job", "Disturbia" as a mix of Hitchcock's "Rear Window" and a John Hughes movie, "Happy Death Day" and "Happy Death Day 2U" as mash-ups of "Groundhog Day" with horror tropes, writing his most recent movie "Freaky" with Michael Kennedy, working on the adaptation of "My Best Friend's Exorcism" by Grady Hendrix, and signing up to help reboot the "Paranormal Activity" franchise. But it's not just movies — though there are a ton of movies that we talk about — it's also about how all horror films aren't all about slash, blood, and gore. Chris talked about one of his aims to use the "genre as a Trojan horse" and how he's going to "smuggle much weightier themes inside of a movie that just looks cute and fun and scary", citing "Get Out". We also get into how 'best of' lists or a list of favorites can be problematic, how there are so many films to choose from. Chris also talks about how he discovered his authentic voice, not taking criticism personally, and focusing on being a better listener which has improved his life as a husband, a father, and made him infinitely happier with his solo and collaborative work. Stay tuned after the outro music to hear Skipper say, "I see" — which kicks off Siri and reaks some frustration. This is a good reminder that voice user interfaces (voice UI) are always listening. And we're talking about you — Siri, Alexa, Cortana, etc. This episode was edited and mastered by Troy Lococo.Special Guest: Chris Landon.Links:The Science Behind How We TasteAlfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" (1960) — With Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh."I Spit on Your Grave" (1978)"Halloween" (1978) — Directed by John Carpenter. Fifteen years after murdering his sister on Halloween night 1963, Michael Myers escapes from a mental hospital and returns to the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois to kill again."The Exorcist" (1973) — Directed by William Friedkin and produced and written for the screen by William Peter Blatty, based on the 1971 novel of the same name by Blatty. With Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Lee J. Cobb, Kitty Winn, Jack MacGowran, Jason Miller and Linda Blair. When a 12-year-old girl is possessed by a mysterious entity, her mother seeks the help of two priests to save her."The Shining" (1980) — The movie follows a writer (Jack Nicholson) and his family who agree to watch over a hotel while it is closed for the winter."Xanadu" (1980) — With Olivia Newton-John, Gene Kelly, Michael Beck, James Sloyan. A struggling artist living in Los Angeles meets a girl who may hold the key to his happiness and converts a dilapidated auditorium into a lavish rollerskating club.Cary Woods — A film producer best known for producing worldwide blockbusters such as "Scream" and "Godzilla", the beloved independent films "Kids", "Cop Land", and "Gummo", and modern classics like "Rudy" and "Swingers".Larry Clark — An American film director, photographer, writer and film producer who is best known for his film "Kids" (1995) and his photography book "Tulsa" (1971). His work focuses primarily on youth who casually engage in illegal drug use, underage sex, and violence, and who are part of a specific subculture, such as surfing, punk rock, or skateboarding.Current and online version of L.A. 411"Another Day in Paradise" (1998) — With James Woods, Melanie Griffith, Vincent Kartheiser, Natasha Gregson Wagner. In the hope of a big score, two junkie couples team up to commit various drug robberies which go disastrously wrong leading to dissent, violence and murder.MTV's "Making the Video""Disturbia" (2007) — Directed by D. J. Caruso, written by Chris Landon and Carl Ellsworth. With Shia LaBeouf, David Morse, Sarah Roemer, Carrie-Anne Moss. A teen living under house arrest becomes convinced his neighbor is a serial killer."Rear Window" (1954) — Directed by Hitchcock. A wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his apartment window and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.John Hughes — A writer, producer, and sometimes director known for "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" (1987), "The Breakfast Club" (1985), "Sixteen Candles" (1984), "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" (1986), "Pretty in Pink" (1986), and "Weird Science" (1985) among other films."Freaky" (2020) — Directed by Chris Landon, written by Michael Kennedy and Chris Landon. With Vince Vaughn, Kathryn Newton, Celeste O'Connor. A mystical, ancient dagger causes a notorious serial killer to magically switch bodies with a 17-year-old girl."Happy Death Day" (2017) — Directed by Chris Landon. With Jessica Rothe, Israel Broussard, Ruby Modine, Charles Aitken. Caught in a bizarre and terrifying time warp, college student Tree finds herself repeatedly reliving the day of her murder, ultimately realizing that she must identify the killer and the reason for her death before her chances of survival run out."Happy Death Day 2U" (2019) — Directed by Chris Landon. With Jessica Rothe, Israel Broussard, Phil Vu. College student Tree Gelbman wakes up in horror to learn that she’s stuck in a parallel universe. Her boyfriend Carter is now with someone else, and her friends and fellow students seem to be completely different versions of themselves. When Tree discovers that Carter’s roommate has been altering time, she finds herself once again the target of a masked killer. When the psychopath starts to go after her inner circle, Tree soon realizes that she must die over and over again to save everyone."Groundhog Day" (1993) — Directed by Harold Ramis. With Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell, Chris Elliott. A narcissistic T.V. weatherman, along with his attractive-but-distant producer and mawkish cameraman, is sent to report on Groundhog Day in the small town of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, where he finds himself repeating the same day over and over."The Thing" (1982) — Directed by John Carpenter. With Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley, Keith David. In remote Antarctica, a chain of events is set off when a group of American research scientists are disturbed at their base camp by a helicopter shooting at a sled dog."Rosemary’s Baby" (1968) — Directed by Roman Polanski. With Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon, Sidney Blackmer. A young couple moves into an infamous New York apartment building to start a family. Things become frightening as Rosemary begins to suspect her unborn baby isn’t safe around their strange neighbors."Terms of Endearment" (1983) — Directed by James L. Brooks. With Shirley MacLaine, Debra Winger, Jack Nicholson, Danny DeVito. Aurora, a finicky woman, is in search of true love while her daughter faces marital issues. Together, they help each other deal with problems and find reasons to live a joyful life."Game of Thrones" (HBO series)"Mother's Day" (1980) — Directed by Charles Kaufman."Don’t Go in the Woods" (1981) — Directed by James Bryan."Theatre of Blood" (1973) — Directed by Douglas Hickox. One of Vincent Price's first films."Madman" or "Madman Mars" (1981) — Directed by Joe Giannone."Get Out" (2017) — Directed by Jordan Peele. With Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Bradley Whitford, Catherine Keener. Chris and his girlfriend Rose go upstate to visit her parents for the weekend. At first, Chris reads the family’s overly accommodating behavior as nervous attempts to deal with their daughter’s interracial relationship, but as the weekend progresses, a series of increasingly disturbing discoveries lead him to a truth that he never could have imagined.Watch Freaky on iTunes"My Best Friend's Exorcism" by Grady Hendrix"Stand by Me" (1986) — Directed by Rob Reiner. With Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman. It's the summer of 1959 in Castlerock, Maine and four 12 year-old boys - Gordie, Chris, Teddy and Vern - are fast friends. After learning of the general location of the body of a local boy who has been missing for several days, they set off into woods to see it."Paranormal Activity" Getting Reboot From Will Eubank, Christopher LandonIntro and outro song: "Zombie Nation" by Jose Travieso

In this episode, Carl talks to Skipper about his work as an architect, how the term sustainable design isn't good enough anymore, how linear perspective was developed in 1413, and his work on Banning Ranch Park and Preserve. Starting with being born in Roswell, New Mexico, living in Turkey, and then settling in California, their conversation gets into how sustainable design (the idea of using less) really needs to shift to the idea of regenerative design (works more like nature or generates energy), passive solar, how today's lumber is different than old-growth lumber, Formosan termites, building with cold form steel or light gauge steel, Filippo Brunelleschi, Albrecht Dürer, the Acjachemen in Orange County, and the history of the Banning Ranch site. Here are two examples from Carl's work — the top one's a concept from Banning Ranch and the bottom one's the Waterwise Community Center in Montclair, California. Stay tuned after the outro to hear Carl talk more about Chinese landscape painting. This episode was edited and mastered by Troy Lococo.Special Guest: Carl Welty.Links:How an Alien Autopsy Hoax Captured the World's Imagination for a DecadeKen HaggardZero Net EnergyFormosan subterranean termiteFilippo BrunelleschiAlbrecht DürerMan Drawing a Lute (The Draughtsman of the Lute) from Fine Arts Museums of San FranciscoBanning Ranch - About UsJanuary 4-5, 2017 Oral Argument Cases in Banning Ranch caseAcjachemen or JuaneñoWaterwise Community CenterMachines as the Measure of Men: Science, Technology, and Ideologies of Western Dominance to Collections by Michael AdasThe Measure of Reality: Quantification in Western Europe, 1250-1600 by Alfred W. CrosbyCarl Welty ArchitectsIntro and outro song: "Zombie Nation" by Jose Travieso

This show with Thejus Chakravarthy ranges over a wide variety of topics but along the way we find out about his professional and life experiences in making change in the world. We start with his origins crowning in a cab in Mumbai, India, the ease in which his right shoulder dislocates after a show once upon a time with his hardcore band Lovers and Killers, the joy of Royal Farm (RoFo) fried chicken, and the brilliance of a 'hot now' Krispy Kreme donut. Skipper and Thejus also get into his two books, Brushfire and The Flywheel and The Lever where they get into some of the foundational details, including Henry Ford's creation of the 40 hour workweek, the Stanford prison experiment done by Dr. Philip Zimbardo, Stanley Milgram's experiments on obedience to authority figures, the notion of 'it's always the system', the Ben Franklin effect, Thejus' experience creating an instructional system out of open source technologies, Donella Meadows' essay on leverage points, and Gamergate. See if you can pick out the Seth Godin namedrop. Interesting note about Thejus' previous band — Lovers and Killers, then Caestles, and now Queen Wolf as well as a second band called Infinite Pizza. While he formally left that band about five years ago, they're still making music and he helps with production and occasionally contributes. Here's an audio family tree/playlist: "An Hour Left of Forever" from Lovers & Killers' 2006 album Tropic of Cancer (YouTube or Spotify) "William Blake" from Caestles' 2010 album A Treatise of Human Combustion (YouTube or Spotify) Infinite Pizza at the Windup Space in Baltimore on July 13, 2014 (YouTube) Queen Wolf and Infinite Pizza are both on Bandcamp, if you want to indulge deeper. After the outro music, you can hear Skipper spring on Thejus a request to read the opening bit from "Brushfire". This episode was edited and mastered by Troy Lococo. Special Guest: Thejus Chakravarthy.Links:Ford factory workers get 40-hour week on May 1, 1926Books by Sir Terry PratchettRoyal Farms best fried chickenSugata Mitra's TED talk on how kids can teach themselvesThejus' book "Brushfire"The official Stanford Prison Experiment websiteMilgram experimentHot Signage Now: Krispy Kreme in Times SquareThe Benjamin Franklin EffectLeverage Points: Places to Intervene in a System by Donella MeadowsSeth Godin's TED talk about the subject of his book, "Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us"Seth Godin's book, TribesThejus' book "The Flywheel and The Lever"Tim FerrissWhat Is Gamergate, and Why? An Explainer for Non-GeeksThejus' work site, hircinous.comIntro and outro song: "Zombie Nation" by Jose Travieso

On this episode, we talk to Nova Stanley — who's 17 — about his work as an artist, about his attending one of the top fine arts high schools in NYC during a pandemic, and his experience as a transgender male. Along the way, we get into so many topics — how Nova only snaps with his thumb and little/pinky finger (on both hands), how he comes from a family of artists and creators, getting inspiration from nature and his sisters (versus media and friends), how he's missing Brooklyn after his family temporarily relocated up-state, Soul (the Pixar movie), how he started working in digital media on his dad's computer, what remote school looks and feels like in one of the top fine arts schools in NYC, making a portfolio to apply to colleges, the impact of social media — even Instagram — on him, his exit from social media (mostly), his experience as a trans male, binge watching all 15 seasons of Criminal Minds, and his love of My Brother, My Brother and Me, a podcast by the McElroy Brothers. Here are three views of the work pinned to the wall above Nova's desk, something he mentions during the show: Nova cites a statistic around how one out of every 200 people identify as trasngender. But upon digging into the actual article from the American Journal of Public Health, it turns out that they discovered in 2016 that the ratio was 390/100,000. And as a fraction, that works out to 0.0039. 1/200 is 0.005, fairly close. The article also posits that the fraction of the transgender population is going to rise as more people come out and transgender identities are normalized. Throughout the episode, we hear Nova's life as one full of interuptions and household goingson, including the family pets. Stay tuned for one of those bits after the outro music. This episode was edited and mastered by Troy Lococo. Special Guest: Nova Stanley.Links:Pixar's SoulThe Art of Soul from PixarLegend of Zelda: Breath of the WildRhode Island School of Design (RISD)Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA)School of Visual Arts (SVA)Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD)Non-binary genderTrans manCisgender or cisnormativityTrans Key Stats from Stonewall.org.ukAt least 350 transgender people killed globally in 2020Transgender Population Size in the United StatesCriminal MindsThe McElroy podcast familyThe Magnus ArchivesOrla Gartlanddodieinstagram.com/noviartstinkoboy.tumblr.comnoviarts.tumblr.comIntro and outro song: "Zombie Nation" by Jose Travieso

Stephanie Krivitzky, currently in New York City, talks to Skipper about how she gets things done, starting with family discussions around the dinner table and then into her current role as creative director at Misen, a cookware company. The conversation hits so many points, starting with her frustration with baths, how the notion of logistics eventually fed into the concept of getting things done, how hustling and freelancing built her discipline, using your own motivations and demotiavtions as an aligning principle, how getting things done for other people is different than when you're working for yourself, thinking about the Eisenhower Matrix graph with its four quadrants of high/low impact and high/low effort to prioritize your work, what happens when you never do a thing you're supposed to (read: like Skipper's example of not being very good at flossing at night), to-do lists as part of the process of reflecting back on how something went, and how she thinks of her own to-do lists as little diaries. Towards the end of the episode, Skipper mentions a card-based productivity system of which he couldn't recall the name. It's called Analog. After the outro music, you can hear Stephanie talk about her friend of 14 years already wanting to listen to this episode. 😃🎉 This episode was edited and mastered by Troy Lococo. Special Guest: Stephanie Krivitzky.Links:Misen cookwareEisenhower graph of impact/effortThe Myth Of MultitaskingCave DayMondayBullet JournalAnalogObligatory puppy pictureStephanie KrivitzkyIntro and outro song: "Zombie Nation" by Jose Travieso

Starting under mentorship with James Beard winner Barbara Lynch, Nicolai Lipscomb has chefed at some of the best restuarants in the world, full stop — Arzak, El Celler Can Roca, at Fundacion Alicia with scientists and nutritionists under the direction of Ferran Adria and Pere Castells, the list goes on and on. And so this conversation with Skipper Chong Warson ranges the globe, starting in Half Moon Bay, Calif. to bungee jumping outside Vancouver Island, British Columbia to working in high pressure kitchens in Boston, Mass.; San Sebastián, Spain; Girona, Spain; and back to northern Calif. again among other locations. The topics range from talking about thrill seeking in motorcycle riding/bungee jumping, homemade Eggo waffles cooling on chopsticks, falling into and grinding through the ever challenging work of making and serving some of the most highly regarded food in the world while racing the clock and the swirling kitchen chaos, the requisite patience to not rush food, the secret to great paella, the importance of downtime in working as a chef, and the brain drain in running restuarants that's happening during COVID-19. One thing that we learned is that restaurants are the number one employer in Calif. And working backwards from the idea that the golden state has 1/8 of the United States population and by some estimates the various 2020 shutdown orders will end up closing 50% of restaurants that aren't backed by chains or corporations, that's a huge impact of which we weren't aware. While recording, Skipper mistakingly attributes Malcolm Gladwell's 10,000 hours of work equals mastery theory to "Blink" instead of "Outliers". (He corrected it with Nicolai offline as soon as he was able.) Stay tuned after the outro music for a bit of tape where Nicolai first mentions working on the line for the first time in six years. This episode was edited and mastered by Troy Lococo. Special Guest: Nicolai Lipscomb.Links:AdrenalineEggo wafflesBarbara LynchNo 9 ParkB&G OystersButcher ShopMalcolm Gladwell's "Outliers"Anne Sophie PicElena ArzakJuan Mari ArzakJoan RocaEl Celler de Can Roca2018 San Pelligrino list with Arzak and El Celler de Can RocaFundacion AliciaFerran AdriaPere CastellsRestaurant Industry at a glance in CaliforniaFerdinand's PaellaMustard Seed HospitalityNicolai Lipscomb on LinkedInNicolai on InstagramIntro and outro song: "Zombie Nation" by Jose Travieso

Having grown up with the idea that she wanted to perform and make music, Selena Rosanbalm talks with Skipper about being a musician and the work she’s done to write, record, release, and promote an independent album in 2020 with everything that's going on. The conversation has a wide swing, starting with her love of yacht rock (think Michael McDonald or Hall & Oates or the Doobie Bros), her fear of things underwater, her early thrill with performing "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" from The Lion King, the number system for calling the chords of the songs to everyone on-stage, how some musicians are still producing new cassette tapes, how being an independent musician is more work than it may seem (because not everyone's Bono), Black Sabbath's debut album done in one take (allegedly), how the name Rosie and the Ramblers came about, and how the cover art for Selena Rosanbalm started with a piece of photo equipment. Stay tuned after the outro music for a piece of tape where Skipper asks if Selena and the members of her backing band wear masks when performing. This episode was edited and mastered by Troy Lococo.Special Guest: Selena Rosanbalm.Links:What is Yacht Rock?Bobby CaldwellSubmechanophobiaThe Lion King - "I Just Can't Wait To Be King"Oklahoma City's City Walk Closed in 2014Nashville Number System Rosie and the Ramblers on BandcampSelenaFyre Festival: Inside the world's biggest festival flopDaniel CavazosFoo Fighters' "Everlong"Foo Fighters' "Monkey Wrench"According to Black Sabbath's guitarist and founder member Tony Iommi, the group's debut album was recorded in a single day on 16 October 1969Selena RosanbalmSelena Rosanbalm on BandcampIntro and outro song: "Zombie Nation" by Jose Travieso