How To! with Charles Duhigg

Jennifer is about to send her oldest child off to college in the fall—and her kid isn't the only one who's anxious about the transition. On this episode of How To!, host Carvell Wallace and Jennifer talk with Christine Self, director of parent and family relations at Texas Tech University, about navigating a huge change, making the most of campus visits, talking about alcohol, and how much access you actually need to your kid's life.

Resources mentioned:

You're On Your Own (But I'm Here If You Need Me) by Marjorie Savage

College Ready

Grown and Flown

If you liked this episode check out: How To Take a Gap Year and How To Pick a College (and Actually Afford It).

Do you have a problem that needs solving? Send us a note at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail at 646-495-4001 and we might have you on the show. Subscribe for free on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen.

The show is produced by Rosemary Belson, with Kevin Bendis. Our technical director is Merritt Jacob and our supervising producer is Joel Meyer.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Think of all the broken stuff you're storing in your home. A blender that won't blend? A bike without brakes? A buttonless blouse? Resist the urge to buy new stuff—and listen to this How To! episode instead! Courtney Martin brings together Phoebe Schenker, executive director of Reuse Alliance and founder of The Mending Library, and Sue-Jean, a reuse enthusiast, to talk about breathing new life into old items.

Links Mentioned:

Reuse Alliance

iFixIt

WikiHow

Tool Lending Libraries

If you liked this episode check out: How To Find the Gems in All Your Junk and How To Let Go of Kid Clutter

Do you have a problem that needs solving? Send us a note at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail at 646-495-4001 and we might have you on the show. Subscribe for free on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen.

The show is produced by Rosemary Belson, with Kevin Bendis. Our technical director is Merritt Jacob and our supervising producer is Joel Meyer.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Lily wants to have satisfying sex that plays to her core desires, but lately it's been hard to describe to potential partners exactly what she wants. On this episode of How To!, Carvell Wallace brings on Dr. Danielle Harel and Celeste Hirschman—sexologists, authors, and the founders of the Somatica Institute. They coach Lily (and all of us) on how to define the individual experiences we're seeking—and communicate them to others.

If you liked this episode check out:

How To Have the Best Sex of Your Life

How To Make Sexual Consent Sexy

How To Orgasm

How To Lose Your 'Virginity' at 43

How To Have an Open Relationship

Also: Death, Sex & Money's Sex Parties and Shakespeare With Carvell Wallace

Do you have a problem that needs solving? Send us a note at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail at 646-495-4001 and we might have you on the show. Subscribe for free on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen.

The show is produced by Rosemary Belson, with Kevin Bendis. Our technical director is Merritt Jacob and our supervising producer is Joel Meyer.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Can advice from a podcast actually make your life better? How To! producer Rosie Belson is putting previous advice to the test. This month: How to make cleaning a breeze—or a little less awful, at least.

Featured How To! episodes:

How To Do Housework (and Not Hate It)

How To Be a Lazy Genius

How To Tame a Chaotic Household

How To Get Your Dog to Stop Eating Your Daughters' Underwear With Jenny Slate

Tell us about a piece of How To! advice that stuck with you. ? Send us a note at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail at 646-495-4001—and Rosie might just try out that advice for herself.. Subscribe for free on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen.

The show is produced by Rosemary Belson, with Kevin Bendis. How To's supervising producer is Joel Meyer.

This episode is member-exclusive. Listen to it now by subscribing to Slate Plus. By joining, not only will you unlock this episode—you'll also access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Visit slate.com/howtoplus to get access wherever you listen.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Are you stuck in a hair rut? On this episode of How To!, Courtney Martin brings on Alana Lucia Balestrino, hairstylist, barber, and founder of the Brooklyn-based studio Baddies. Alana explains how to work with a stylist or barber to get a haircut you love.

If you liked this episode check out: How To Dress with Confidence. Also: Decoder Ring's Mystery of the Mullet.

Do you have a problem that needs solving? Send us a note at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail at 646-495-4001 and we might have you on the show. Subscribe for free on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen.

The show is produced by Rosemary Belson, with Kevin Bendis. Our technical director is Merritt Jacob and our supervising producer is Joel Meyer.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

At least 10 percent of parents in the U.S. are disabled, but Andrea can't seem to find parenting advice on disability and accessibility. On this episode of How To!, Carvell Wallace brings on Jessica Slice, author of the new book Unfit Parent: A Disabled Mother Challenges an Inaccessible World, to help Andrea reimagine parenthood.

If you liked this episode check out: How To Date With a Disability and How To Become a Parent Overnight.

Do you have a problem that needs solving? Send us a note at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail at 646-495-4001 and we might have you on the show. Subscribe for free on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen.

The show is produced by Rosemary Belson, with Kevin Bendis. Our technical director is Merritt Jacob and our supervising producer is Joel Meyer.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Our series Living at Odds concludes with a special episode of Slate's ⁠Death, Sex & Money⁠. Host Anna Sale returns to her native West Virginia to talk with the state's only full-time lobbyist for LGBTQ rights. Andrew Schneider of ⁠Fairness West Virginia⁠ has spent years cultivating working relationships with conservative allies in state and local government. Aided by those relationships, Andrew helped pass 20 local anti-discrimination ordinances across the conservative-leaning state. Now, those policy victories—and Andrew's alliances—are facing dire challenges in an increasingly hostile political landscape.

Plus: How To!'s Courtney Martin looks back at ⁠Living at Odds⁠, a series about what holds us together when so much threatens to break us apart.

If you enjoyed this series, check out: ⁠How To Get Things Done in a Divided Nation with Samantha Power⁠ or ⁠How To Harness Your Citizen Superpowers⁠.

Do you have a problem that needs solving? Send us a note at ⁠[email protected]⁠ or leave us a voicemail at 646-495-4001 and we might have you on the show. Subscribe for free on ⁠Apple⁠, ⁠Spotify⁠, or wherever you listen.

This episode was produced by Anna Sale, with the Death, Sex & Money team: Zoe Azulay, Cameron Drews, Andrew Dunn, and Daisy Rosario. This series was produced by Maura Currie and Rosie Belson. How To's technical director is Merritt Jacob and our supervising producer is Joel Meyer.

Special thanks to The Hearthland Foundation, which provided funding for Living at Odds.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this exclusive Living at Odds bonus episode: Kellie Farrish tells Courtney Martin about the research tools and techniques she uses while helping people uncover information about ancestors lost to history. Farrish, a restorative genealogist, brings together descendants of people who were involved in American chattel slavery for conversations about family pain, generational trauma, dignity, and belonging.

Do you have a problem that needs solving? Send us a note at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail at 646-495-4001 and we might have you on the show. Subscribe for free on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen.

This episode was produced by Rosie Belson and Maura Currie. Our technical director is Merritt Jacob, who composed original music for this series. Our supervising producer is Joel Meyer.

This episode is member-exclusive. Listen to it now by subscribing to Slate Plus. By joining, not only will you unlock this episode—you'll also access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Visit slate.com/howtoplus to get access wherever you listen.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In the third installment of our series Living at Odds, How To!'s Courtney Martin examines what it's like being in conflict with your family history. She talks with ancestors of the famous names in Plessy v. Ferguson, the Supreme Court decision that affirmed racial segregation in the U.S. as "separate but equal." Later, researcher Kellie Farrish explains how reparative genealogy can unlock family history that's been lost or erased—and bring together descendants of enslaved people and their enslavers into conversations about the past, present, and future.

If you're enjoying Living at Odds, check out this How To! episode: How To 'Do the Work' of Racial Justice.

Do you have a problem that needs solving? Send us a note at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail at 646-495-4001 and we might have you on the show. Subscribe for free on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen.

This episode was produced by Maura Currie and Rosie Belson. Our technical director is Merritt Jacob, who composed original music for this series. Our supervising producer is Joel Meyer. Thank you to Dahlia Lithwick of Amicus and Sophie Summergrad for their help with this episode.

Special thanks to The Hearthland Foundation, which provided funding for Living at Odds.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In the second installment of our series Living at Odds, former How To! host Amanda Ripley returns to talk with two public school officials in Tulsa, Oklahoma, who found themselves at loggerheads upon their very first meeting. Deborah and Stacey's difficult working relationship continued until COVID-19 sparked some solidarity—and the two began to learn more about each other. Later, Stacey would find herself defending the colleague she once wanted to oust.

If you're enjoying Living at Odds, check out these How To! episodes: How To Build Trust With Co-Workers and How To Help Teachers Thrive. Also check out Good Conflict for additional resources.

Do you have a problem that needs solving? Send us a note at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail at 646-495-4001 and we might have you on the show. Subscribe for free on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen.

This episode was produced by Rosie Belson and Maura Currie. Our technical director is Merritt Jacob, who composed original music for this series. Our supervising producer is Joel Meyer. Thank you to Sophie Summergrad for her help with this episode.

Special thanks to The Hearthland Foundation, which provided funding for Living at Odds.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.