Episode notes
Today from the archives, a chance to win a free t-shirt if you have a sharp ear for dinosaur moans. And we help a listener with a question about public bathrooms. Plus, why both "Nathaniel" and "Phyllis Isabel Gertrude" are statistically awful names for a child. You can email your burning questions to [email protected] . How To Do Everything is available without sponsor messages for supporters of Wait Wait Don't Tell Me+ , who also get bonus episodes of Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! featuring exclusive games, behind-the-scenes content, and more. Sign up and support NPR at plus.npr.org . How To Do…
Podcast
How To Do Everything
Half advice show. Half survival guide. Half absurdity-fest. (Wait, how does this work again? We're not numbers people.) Each episode, we answer all your burning questions, from how to survive a public bathroom to how to get close to a panda. When we don't know the answer, which is roughly 92% of the
More from How To Do Everything All episodes →
-
10 Sep 2025 · 14 min
Gum, Frogs and Fred Armisen
On today’s episode from the archives, Fred Armisen helps a grad student set up her wifi router. Tips on how to keep your milk fresh using nature’s little creatures, and how to tie your hair up stress-free . Plus, we finally answer the burning question: does gum really stay in your stomach for 7 years? You can email your burning questions to [email protected] . How To Do Everything is available without sponsor messages for supporters of Wait Wait Don't Tell Me+ , who also get bonus episodes of Wait Wait Don't Tell Me! featuring show outtakes, extended guest interviews, and a chance to play an…
-
3 Sep 2025 · 21 min
OOO Baby, with Andy Samberg, Kate McKinnon, and U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón
We are so back! How To Do Everything returns for a packed second season. This episode, one listener asks Mike and Ian how to write the perfect “out of office” message. So, they confer with the highest language authority in the land, U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón. Comedians Andy Samberg and Kate McKinnon join the show to answer your couple’s advice questions, some stranger than others. Plus, a fashion tip for your post-Labor Day needs. You can email your burning questions to [email protected] . How To Do Everything is available without sponsor messages for supporters of Wait Wait Don't Tell Me+ ,…
-
27 Aug 2025 · 2 min
"How To Do Everything" is so back
How To Do Everything is back for season two! With more taste tests, more life hacks and more help for our beloved listeners. This season, Rick Ross gives advice to The Pope, Arnold Schwarzenegger helps a listener work out, Andy Samberg and Kate McKinnon host couples therapy and poet laureate Ada Limón drafts the perfect “out of office” message. Seriously, this time around, we’re saving lives. First episode drops next week. You can email your burning questions to [email protected] . How To Do Everything is available without sponsor messages for supporters of Wait Wait Don't Tell Me+ , who also…
-
18 Jul 2025 · 2 min
Congress has voted to eliminate government funding for public media
Act now to ensure public media remains free and accessible to all. Your donation will help this essential American service survive and thrive. Visit donate.npr.org now. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy
-
15 Jan 2025 · 27 min
Heckling, Yawning, and Imitating, with James Austin Johnson and Patton Oswalt
On our season finale, when a young listener has a question on behalf of her fifth grade class, we call up an old friend/chimp butt expert to help her out. And Saturday Night Live's James Austin Johnson walks us through his hilarious Donald Trump impression to tend to a listener's curiosities. Plus, Mike and Ian are stressed about some (cryptic) hate mail, so they call Patton Oswalt for some words of encouragement. You can email your burning questions to [email protected] . And not to fear, we will be returning for season two. Follow @waitwaitnpr on Instagram for updates on how to stay in touch…
-
1 Jan 2025 · 25 min
Don't Get in the Fridge, with Jesse Eisenberg
Ringing in 2025: Mike and Ian knock out a New Year's resolution with the help of filmmaker Jesse Eisenberg, and a listener calls in to settle a high-stakes bet on the sturdiness of honeybees. Also, the world's northernmost towns are in the middle of months-long darkness. To learn how to survive it, we call an astrophysicist who spent six months in complete Antarctic darkness. You can email your burning questions to [email protected] . How To Do Everything is available without sponsor messages for supporters of Wait Wait Don't Tell Me+ , who also get bonus episodes of Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!…
-
25 Dec 2024 · 10 min
Moo-ey Christmas!
From the archives: When cows need help, Ian and Mike create a Christmas miracle, with the help of some adorable reinforcements. You can email your burning questions to [email protected] . How To Do Everything is available without sponsor messages for supporters of Wait Wait Don't Tell Me+ , who also get bonus episodes of Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! featuring exclusive games, behind-the-scenes content, and more. Sign up and support NPR at plus.npr.org . How To Do Everything is hosted by Mike Danforth and Ian Chillag. It is produced by Heena Srivastava. Technical direction from Lorna White. See…
Take it with you
The Melo app keeps playing with the screen off, works in the car and on your watch, wakes you to your station, and browses the whole catalogue offline. Free, no ads, no account.
