How This Works

Recorded in their child's bedroom on a weekday, Laura and Skipper chat about his academic background in writing (English literature, playwriting) as well as his professional background as a product design director (think desktop and mobile apps among other mediums) and how that plays into storytelling, most recently resulting in the creation of How This Works, this podcast. They also talk about their life together — newsflash: they're married and living in the San Francisco Bay area, having moved from New York City a couple of years ago. Along the way, they get into some of the differences between life in SF and NYC. They also talk about their upcoming wedding anniversary after getting married next to Jane's Carousel in Brooklyn Bridge Park. Along with talk about his name change from Starr to Skipper (and not Optimus Prime) at the age of seven, they bring in a few questions posed from the listening audience including lessons learned from the first season of the show, calling people the name they want to be called, how crucial listening is in making a podcast, the ubiquity of imposter syndrome, using the five (5) whys to get to the root cause of a challenge as developed by Sakichi Toyoda at the Toyota Motor Corporation, team falling asleep during movies versus team staying awake during movies, and why Skipper color codes versus alphabetizing the books in his background — see photo below. workspace-color-coded-books [https://files.fireside.fm/file/fireside-uploads/images/c/cf372a7e-810f-4eab-8a55-34456ccc0d58/dT-H9VNM.jpg] View of the three shelves behind Skipper's standing desk Laura and Skipper also reference the following previous episodes, in order of being published, including: * Jack Kahana [https://www.howthisworks.show/001-jake-kahana], the first episode * Dr. Peter Chin-Hong [https://www.howthisworks.show/003-dr-peter-chin-hong], the third episode * Selena Rosanbalm [https://www.howthisworks.show/006-selena-rosanbalm], the sixth episode * Cassandra Carlopio [https://www.howthisworks.show/015-cassandra-carlopio], the 15th episode * Kat Hantas and Nicole Emanuel from 21Seeds [https://www.howthisworks.show/017-kat-hantas-nicole-emanuel], the 17th episode * Sally McRae [https://www.howthisworks.show/018-sally-mcrae], the 18th episode * Piper Payne [https://www.howthisworks.show/020-piper-payne], the 20th episode Stay tuned after the outro music for a bit of tape where Skipper pauses for a bit of background noise and how from where Laura's sitting, the microphone makes it looks like his nose is a black bit of foam. Special Guest: Skipper Chong Warson. Links: * American Museum of Natural History in New York City [https://www.amnh.org/] * How to move across the country with design thinking, pt. 1 of 2 [https://skipperchongwarson.medium.com/using-design-thinking-to-move-across-the-country-adf9f4138a09] * How to move across the country with design thinking, pt. 2 of 2 [https://skipperchongwarson.medium.com/using-design-thinking-to-move-across-the-country-ff0c66a503c0] * Making "Black Sabbath" and "Paranoid" [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Sabbath#1969%E2%80%931971:_Black_Sabbath_and_Paranoid] * Design Voices from Fjord [https://medium.com/design-voices/listen/home] * ‎Fjord Fika on Apple podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fjord-fika/id1188221550] * Imposter syndrome [https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/imposter-syndrome] * Starbar [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starbar] * "Outliers: The Story of Success" by Malcolm Gladwell [https://bookshop.org/books/outliers-the-story-of-success-9780316024976/9780316017930?aid=9976&listref=from-the-first-season-of-how-this-works] * Jane's Carousel [https://www.janescarousel.com/] * 1922 Ohio carousel in Brooklyn besieged by Sandy [http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/20993] * Determine The Root Cause: 5 Whys [https://www.isixsigma.com/tools-templates/cause-effect/determine-root-cause-5-whys/] * Why do many mistakenly think human blood is sometimes blue? [https://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2017/02/03/513003105/why-do-many-think-human-blood-is-sometimes-blue] * SNL season 46 finale cold open - What I Remember About this Year [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oo7SJGZ9WoA] * ‎John Wick (2014) [https://letterboxd.com/film/john-wick/] * ‎The Matrix (1999) [https://letterboxd.com/film/the-matrix/] * Keanu Reeves [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000206/] * The Mosquito Coast on Apple TV+ [https://tv.apple.com/us/show/the-mosquito-coast/umc.cmc.5nghmxp88xe0qxhtlhfiu5r2h] * ‎The Mosquito Coast (1986) [https://letterboxd.com/film/the-mosquito-coast/] * The Mosquito Coast by Paul Theroux [https://bookshop.org/books/the-mosquito-coast-9780618658961/9780618658961] * ‎The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) [https://letterboxd.com/film/the-lord-of-the-rings-the-fellowship-of-the-ring/] * ‎Wireframe with Adobe’s Khoi Vinh [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wireframe/id1437677219] * Invisibilia from NPR [https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510307/invisibilia] * 99% Invisible [https://99percentinvisible.org/] * Adrianne Lenker (from Big Thief) [https://adriannelenker.com/] * Prince [https://prince.com/] * Japanese Breakfast [http://www.japanesebreakfast.rocks/index] * Billie Eilish [https://www.billieeilish.com/] * BTS [https://bts.ibighit.com] * BTS performs 'Fix You' (Coldplay cover) from MTV Unplugged [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60g72d4Nqss] * BLACKPINK [http://blackpinkofficial.com/] * Custom lathe cut vinyl records from Vinylus [https://vinylus.com/] * "St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves" by Karen Russell [https://bookshop.org/books/st-lucy-s-home-for-girls-raised-by-wolves/9780307276674] * Intro and outro song: "Zombie Nation" by Jose Travieso [https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jose_Travieso/Free_Music_Sampler_-_FreeMixter]

Tomorrow, we're recording the last episode of the first season where we turn the tables and Skipper's wife Laura asks him the questions. Go to Instagram @howthisworksshow [https://www.instagram.com/howthisworksshow/] to reply directly to the story or email us at howthisworksshow@gmail.com [howthisworksshow@gmail.com]. Thanks so much!

Skipper talks to Sarah Sudhoff about how she works as an artist, her background as a photographer, arts administrator, and photo editor — and how all of that plays into her work today. Recorded late on a Sunday night, Skipper and Sarah talk about her identity as being half Cuban, how she got her first camera in the fifth grade, how being in a military family influenced her world and personality at a young age, being both the science nerd and the jock, and how she studied astronomy in college before she decided to pursue photography as her bachelor's degree — though she'd really like to work with NASA still. Following that, she worked for Citysearch before landing at Time magazine and received a M.F.A. in Photography from Parsons School of Design in New York. We get into how she wears many hats as an artist, how she multi-tasks as a single parent in her home life, how she collaborates in her work with others, and the necessary resilience of applying for as well as receiving/being rejected for exhibitions, grants, endowments, and fellowships. She and Skipper also talk about the notion of making daunting life decisions at 19 versus 29 or 39. We also talk about several of her works in particular: Point of Origin [https://www.sarahsudhoff.com/current-work], her most recent El Recuerdo [https://www.sarahsudhoff.com/el-recuerdo] project which started as a response to Deborah Brown’s paintings [http://nancylittlejohnfineart.com/exhibitions/deborah-brown/] but then evolved to be a tribute to her grandmother and Sarah's biracial heritage, The Reading Brain [https://www.sarahsudhoff.com/the-reading-brain], 60 Pounds of Pressure [https://www.sarahsudhoff.com/60poundsofpressure], Will You Hug me Forever [https://www.sarahsudhoff.com/will-you-hug-me-forever], and her upcoming work Labor Pains. Video from El Recuerdo: Rope [https://vimeo.com/554966494] by Sarah Sudhoff [https://www.sarahsudhoff.com/] Video from El Recuerdo: Water [https://vimeo.com/552231278] by Sarah Sudhoff [https://www.sarahsudhoff.com/] Sarah says that she's finally feeling worthy to apply for a Guggenheim and MoMA this year — to which we say, Break a leg! When pressed, she talks about how art is hard and her advice for her two children if they wanted to go into some kind of artistic profession. Stay tuned for a bit after the outro music where after Skipper rambles on for a bit and Sarah asks simply, What's the question? Special Guest: Sarah Sudhoff. Links: * WAVES [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WAVES] * Erika Blumenfeld [https://erikablumenfeld.com] * Rick Williams [https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/registerguard/obituary.aspx?pid=190354279] * The Daily Texan [https://thedailytexan.com/] * Rick Stengel [https://time.com/author/richard-stengel/] * Parsons [https://www.newschool.edu/parsons/] * Sorority Rush [https://www.sarahsudhoff.com/sr] * Annie Leibovitz [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annie_Leibovitz] * James Nachtwey [http://jamesnachtwey.com/] * Andrew Hetherington [https://www.ahetherington.com/] * Point of Origin [https://www.sarahsudhoff.com/current-work] * Dr. James "Red" Duke [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_%22Red%22_Duke] * Deborah Brown: Nomad Exquisite [http://nancylittlejohnfineart.com/exhibitions/deborah-brown/] * El Recuerdo [https://www.sarahsudhoff.com/el-recuerdo] * El Recuerdo: Rope [https://vimeo.com/554966494] * Will You Hug Me Forever [https://www.sarahsudhoff.com/will-you-hug-me-forever#5] * 60 Pounds of Pressure [https://www.sarahsudhoff.com/60poundsofpressure#3] * The Reading Brain [https://www.sarahsudhoff.com/the-reading-brain] * Nancy Littlejohn Fine Art [http://nancylittlejohnfineart.com/] * John Simon Guggenheim Foundation - How to Apply [https://www.gf.org/applicants/apply/] * "Contract with the Skin: Masochism, Performance Art, and the 1970s" by Kathy O'Dell [https://bookshop.org/books/contract-with-the-skin-masochism-performance-art-and-the-1970s/9780816628872] * Audiobook of "Becoming Supernatural" by Dr Joe Dispenza [https://drjoedispenza.com/collections/books/products/becoming-supernatural-by-dr-joe-dispenza-audiobook-download?variant=35490039955617] * Audiobook of "Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself" by Dr Joe Dispenza [https://drjoedispenza.com/collections/books/products/breaking-the-habit-of-being-yourself-by-dr-joe-dispenza-audiobook-download?variant=35490041757857] * Sarah Sudhoff [https://www.sarahsudhoff.com/] * Intro and outro song: "Zombie Nation" by Jose Travieso [https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jose_Travieso/Free_Music_Sampler_-_FreeMixter]

This episode originally played 16 Feb 2021. We'll be back in next week with a new episode with Sarah Sudhoff followed by the final episode of the season. 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 Taste [https://www.webmd.com/diet/features/science-how-we-taste#1] * Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" (1960) [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054215/] — With Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh. * "I Spit on Your Grave" (1978) [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077713/] * "Halloween" (1978) [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077651/] — 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) [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070047/] — 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) [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081505/] — 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) [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081777/] — 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 [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0940531/] — 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 [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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 [https://la411.com/los-angeles-directory] * "Another Day in Paradise" (1998) [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0127722/] — 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" [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Making_the_Video] * "Disturbia" (2007) [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0486822/] — 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) [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047396/] — 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 [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hughes_(filmmaker)] — 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) [https://letterboxd.com/film/freaky/] — 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) [https://letterboxd.com/film/happy-death-day/] — 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) [https://letterboxd.com/film/happy-death-day-2u/] — 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) [https://letterboxd.com/film/groundhog-day/] — 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) [https://letterboxd.com/film/the-thing/] — 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) [https://letterboxd.com/film/rosemarys-baby/] — 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) [https://letterboxd.com/film/terms-of-endearment/] — 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) [https://www.hbo.com/game-of-thrones] * "Mother's Day" (1980) [https://letterboxd.com/film/mothers-day/] — Directed by Charles Kaufman. * "Don’t Go in the Woods" (1981) [https://letterboxd.com/film/dont-go-in-the-woods/] — Directed by James Bryan. * "Theatre of Blood" (1973) [https://letterboxd.com/film/theatre-of-blood/] — Directed by Douglas Hickox. One of Vincent Price's first films. * "Madman" or "Madman Mars" (1981) [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082696/] — Directed by Joe Giannone. * "Get Out" (2017) [https://letterboxd.com/film/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 [https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/id1541428626] * "My Best Friend's Exorcism" by Grady Hendrix [https://bookshop.org/books/my-best-friend-s-exorcism/9781594749766] * "Stand by Me" (1986) [https://letterboxd.com/film/stand-by-me/] — 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 Landon [https://variety.com/2021/film/news/paranormal-activity-reboot-will-eubank-christopher-landon-1234907410/#!] * Intro and outro song: "Zombie Nation" by Jose Travieso [https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jose_Travieso/Free_Music_Sampler_-_FreeMixter]

This episode originally played 9 Feb 2021. We'll be back in a few weeks with the last two episodes of our first season. 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. Banning Ranch Acjachemen Vistor Center [https://files.fireside.fm/file/fireside-uploads/images/c/cf372a7e-810f-4eab-8a55-34456ccc0d58/15Aidc_D.jpg] Waterwise Community Center [https://files.fireside.fm/file/fireside-uploads/images/c/cf372a7e-810f-4eab-8a55-34456ccc0d58/fH_QPP99.jpg] 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 Decade [https://time.com/4376871/alien-autopsy-hoax-history/] * Ken Haggard [http://www.slosustainability.com/Personnel%20page/kenbio_ra.html] * Zero Net Energy [https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/ZNE/] * Formosan subterranean termite [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formosan_subterranean_termite] * Filippo Brunelleschi [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filippo_Brunelleschi] * Albrecht Dürer [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albrecht_D%C3%BCrer] * Man Drawing a Lute (The Draughtsman of the Lute) from Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco [https://art.famsf.org/albrecht-durer/man-drawing-lute-draughtsman-lute-19633037] * Banning Ranch - About Us [https://www.banningranchconservancy.org/about-us/] * January 4-5, 2017 Oral Argument Cases in Banning Ranch case [https://www.courts.ca.gov/35230.htm] * Acjachemen or Juaneño [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acjachemen] * Waterwise Community Center [https://www.cbwcd.org/] * Machines as the Measure of Men: Science, Technology, and Ideologies of Western Dominance to Collections by Michael Adas [https://bookshop.org/books/machines-as-the-measure-of-men-science-technology-and-ideologies-of-western-dominance/9780801479809] * The Measure of Reality: Quantification in Western Europe, 1250-1600 by Alfred W. Crosby [https://bookshop.org/books/the-measure-of-reality-quantification-in-western-europe-1250-1600/9780521639903] * Carl Welty Architects [https://carlweltyarchitects.com/] * Intro and outro song: "Zombie Nation" by Jose Travieso [https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jose_Travieso/Free_Music_Sampler_-_FreeMixter]