Not everyone is created the same, and that is a great thing. We live in a world with boundless diversity that is truly beautiful. However, with some diversity there comes challenges. Those with special needs and disabilities can have a tough road in life as society often doesn’t cater to their needs. Luckily we have wonderful people, like today’s guest, that dedicate their lives to helping those who are created differently, but are absolutely equal to the rest of us.
Internet / Cable Technician (with Frank Bartlett)
There are some technologies that are indispensible once discovered. Like a combination of a weed and a redwood, these technologies grow their roots so fast and so deep, that in just a short time removing them would undo the entire foundation of civilization. For me the big three would be farming, electricity, and the Internet. One allowed civilizations to exist, one allowed them to thrive, and the last allowed the whole world to connect into one big civilization…and perhaps more importantly it allowed you to read this sentence and listen to this podcast. Time to figure out what allows us to have the internet and enjoy life as we know it today.
Experimental Test Pilot (with Shawn Disarufino)
There’s so much that goes on behinds the scenes in the world. So many people that make it so we can just live our day to day lives without much interruption. One such major role is that of product tester. Nothing makes it into our world without somebody messing around with it out first. Did you put some oatmeal in the microwave this morning? Best believe that microwave was tested…and probably the oatmeal too. Some product testers take on much more bold jobs than oatmeal, and today’s guest is one of them. Shawn is an experimental test pilot. Planes and helicopters need testing just like anything else, and Shawn is the man to do it.
Book Editor (with Wendy McClure)
Most of us like to think that we’re pretty self sufficient, but the reality is that we need a lot of help from people around us to enable our success. Support roles are invaluable at keeping the world spinning round and keeping quality products at our fingertips. Perhaps no one knows this more than a book editor. For one, they help writers sound good. They make sure there is balance and consistency throughout a novel, and give it an overall sense of polish it would not otherwise have. The more unknown side of book editing though is to read through countless potential books and decide which are going to make the cut, which are worth our time and money. Today’s guest tells us all about the rewards, challenges and pressures of deciding what we get to read, and how we get to read it.
National Park Employee (with Ben Johnson)
Medicolegal Death Investigator (with Dannine Lorenzo)
Two words. Murder. Mystery. Who doesn’t love a good one? We have a seemingly endless number of television shows based on them, some really popular movies, and an entire genre of books dedicated to finding out whodunnit and how. AND one of the bestselling boardgames of all time. AND the most popular podcast of all time that helped put podcasting on the map. Basically, we all collectively love to try and solve the case. The thing is, there are real people out there who actually have to help solve those cases for a living. Today’s guest is one of them.
Half Hour Intern (with Blake Fletcher)
Well, here we are. 100 episodes in. I debated for a long time on what topic to tackle for the 100th episode. Then I remembered, the most common question I get is why/how I started the show. So here it is. An interview with me as the subject, questions written in by listeners, hosted by my lovely wife, Asta. Thank you all for your support. It means everything to me.
Art Gallery Owner (with Ann Hazels)
Art is everywhere, and according to most definitions, can be pretty much anything. Yet somehow when art is put indoors, into a formal setting, it somehow can become pretty intimidating. Like somehow just putting it in a frame and on a wall makes us second guess if we really ‘get’ it, or if we’re even capable of getting it. Our overly self conscious hang-ups aside, today’s guest argues that we can all appreciate art. Ann Hazel’s is a wonderful, down to earth gallery owner that just wants you to have a great experience with art.
Parent Defense Attorney (with Diana Rugh Johnson)
The American justice system is quite a paradox. It’s a beacon of hope and justice for anyone accused of crime in America. On the other hand, it can be a big and complex world that swallows the accused up without much thought to reformation and rehabilitation. No one knows more about this dichotomy than defense attorneys, and perhaps no defense attorney knows this more than a parent defense attorney. Parent attorneys are charged with the difficult task of defending parents accused of abuse and neglect, and helping them get their children back. As you might imagine, many people find these parents to be indefensible, guilty before proven innocent. Today’s guest Diana explains why they do indeed deserve defense, and how the justice system is reforming to put families first.
Pet Detective (with Sarah Sypniewski)
For many of us, our animals are like our children. We dote on them, share pictures with anyone willing to look, and tell stories about how great they are. Thinking about my life without my dog is…unthinkable. Yet if our animals manage to run away from home, or get lost, whom are we supposed to call? Today’s guest, that’s who! Sarah is a lost pet specialist/pet detective, and when animals in Los Angeles lose their way Sarah knows all the tricks to help track them down.
Grief Counselor (with Pascale Vermont)
Most of us live in a world where we, above all other things, value happiness. Some people, like Buddhists, live in a world of non-attachment to good or bad. Today’s guest, Pascale Vermont, has devoted her life to the opposite of all of this, getting up close and personal with the whole range of human emotions that fuel grief. Sadness, anger, guilt, and anxiety are just some of the things that are a part of her daily life. She’ll tell us why grief doesn’t have to have be something we avoid, and how we can navigate its treacherous waters.
Children's Author (with Sarah Lynn Scheerger)
Fictional storytelling is such a gift. It allows our minds to run wild and transports us away to another world where absolutely anything could be possible. It also helps us digest complex topics in a more palatable and easy to comprehend way. Perhaps for this reason, while the number of adults that reads falls, the number of adults reading to their children, and children reading in general, holds steady. While we may feel too busy to read, we know how valuable it is for a small child to have a fun conduit to learn, grow, and explore. Today’s guest is mother, and a writer of children’s books and teen fiction. We’ll discuss why writing a children’s book isn’t as easy as it looks, and what writing with a teen voice is like.
Experiential Psychologist (with Michelle Wang)
I don’t know about you, but I sure am good at over-thinking things. I think it’s a trait that humans developed when we realized we were capable of abstract thought. We just started abstract thinking the hell out of everything! Then, as part of a solution to our over thinking and various other struggles, we came up with psychotherapy. Using the mind to help heal the mind, what a natural fit. Today’s guest is a psychotherapist, but believes in stepping outside of the usual psychology role, and incorporating your body and other experiences into the therapeutic sphere. I say anything that gets me thinking a bit less sounds good to me.
Metalworker (with Andrew Crawford)
The world of art is about as deep as any there is. There are so many different mediums, so many different styles, and so many different makers and admirers that an endless number of creations can be made. Today’s guest thought he wanted to go one direction in the world of art, but was then introduced to metal. This introduction completely shaped the rest of his life, and the way he thought about art. He still uses metal to make traditional fine art, but he’ll also make you a fence for your back yard. Who’s to say what can and can’t be art anyways?
Flight Attendant (with Carin Ryan)
Oh sweet irony. Here I sit, on a plate, writing this sentence. I’m on my way to Japan for my honeymoon, and so far my flight attendants have been the most important part of my journey. They brought me these amazing rice cracker snacks that I wish every flight had, they gave me water to take my melatonin with, and they brought me coffee 4 hour later, seemingly just in time to bring me out of my melatonin induced coma. Yep, things are going pretty well for me up here thanks to my flight attendant crew. But is it as cool as them as it is for me? According to today’s guest, in fact, it is.
Wine Maker (with Sterling Kragten)
Any fan of Half Hour Intern knows we love our adult drinks around here. Social lubricating, tension easing, great tasting drinks; what’s not to love? I’m typically a beer and wine man myself, and as such I’ve already done a couple of interviews with people that get to drink wine for a living (I still can’t believe jobs like that exist!), but today we finally speak to one of the wonderful people behind the juice. Get ready for a lesson in the delicate balance of art and chemistry.
Prosthetist (with Kevin Carroll)
There are very few things that can happen to you that will forever change your life; very few events that change the way that you think about and interact with the world. I think that it’s safe to say that losing a limb would fall into this category. Up until modern times losing a limb would’ve very likely also meant death. Thanks to people like today’s amazing guest, losing a limb is no longer a death sentence, and they are working hard to make it less and less of a life changing event. Whether you are veteran that lost a leg, a dolphin that lost it’s tail, or a turtle that lost a fin, today’s guest is here to help.
Influencer Marketing (with Kristy Sammis)
We humans are a fickle breed. There’s part of us that loves to be told what to do, what to wear, and what to spend our money on. Yet there seems to be an even bigger part of us that hates all of those things. I think a big part of it is that while we’re being told what to do, we don’t want it to seem like we’re being told what to do. What a predicament we’ve put the world of marketing in. Tell us what we should like, but don’t tell us directly lest we feel like we’re being given some corporate line. Enter the world of influencer marketing. No more direct company messaging, no more fickle consumers.
Paranormal Psychic (with Adrian Lee)
Ghosts and ghouls and goblins, oh my! Do you believe in ghosts? Like religion, your belief in the paranormal can really be swayed by the culture you belong to. For some reason in America we don’t really embrace the idea of ghosts, and yet over 80 percent of our population believes in the afterlife. Today’s guest explains that if an afterlife exists, those that are a part of it would likely want to come back from time to time to check in on us. I say the more the merrier and stop hiding from me already! Let the haunting begin.
Street Artist (with Cameron Moberg)
Forms of art can be like fuel for the soul. Music, paining, sculpture, photography, and countless other art forms have a way of cutting to our core. Forget your prefrontal cortex, that music is gonna get that toe tappin and that painting is gonna head straight for your pleasure center. As a city dweller, one of my favorite forms of art is kick as street art. Big, bold, bright murals that enhance an otherwise bland, and sometimes even run down, building. Not only is it great in sheer aesthetics, but the way you happen upon it is just the best. No tickets to a museum. No art gallery needed. No planning at all. You’re just walking down the street and BAM, awesome thing in your face! It’d be like going for a walk and all of the sudden this amazing band was just playing on the street corner. The combination of beauty and surprise is one that I have absolutely no problem with. Today’s guest is one of the best at making these awesome surprises a reality as he takes the otherwise mundane and turns it into art.