Brandon Scott Chien has lived in the woods for 45 days. He's drifted cars and shot arrows off a horse. But he's tried to get better at all of it in order to learn more about being useful for the people he cares about. You can watch Brandon's Vlog, "Happy Asian Males" here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLq2cjzTUZsXzxjtC4MMUbMAmcqlI5bvcx Music this week by Josh Woodward: http://www.joshwoodward.com

#16 - On being useful

The bettercast is a weekly conversation with a real person about how they got better at something. Through these conversations, we explore what it means to be a better friend, boss, parter, and citizen of the world.

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Danielle Frimer is the Head of Conversation Design at Xandra (and Kat's Boss). Like Kat, Danielle is an actor. In this conversation, we talk about how she found herself writing Alexa Skills, how it's like acting, and some of the differences between art and design.   Learn more about Xandra at https://www.xandra.com/ Music by Joel Slabach.

#29 - a new age-old trade

Sue and Bruce Wilcox make chatbots that frequently win the world's top prizes for artificial intelligence. And the way they've made better chatbots is by pairing backgrounds in psychology with great creative writing and coding skills. In this episode, we learn more about the way they approach designing conversations. Music by Hale Learn more about Bruce and Sue Wilcox at http://brilligunderstanding.com/

#28 - meaning matching

What's the difference between making stuff that impresses people and making stuff that's actually good? Janelle Hardy is a visual artist who sought find out by placing herself in situations that meant she had to stop skipping steps. We hear how that process introduced her to a new way of looking at her art, and a the joy of mastering the basics. Plus a huge announcement from Stevo! Music by Mystery Mammal

#27 - stop skipping steps

How far can you run... before you realize you haven't been getting anywhere? Aiden Cooper is a sommelier at a Michelin-starred restaurant in New York. And if that wasn't already competitive enough, a few years ago he was one of the most promising distance runners in the United States. We talk about both of these journeys and how easy it is to confuse pointlessly logging miles and deliberate practice, if you stop reflecting on why you want to get better at something. More on Dan John's "Compass": http://betterca.st/compass Music: "Gymnopédie No. 1" by Erik Satie, performed on electric guitar by Furkan KONCA "Gymnopédie No. 1" by Erik Satie, performed on vibraphone by August Pappas "Gymnopédie No. 2" by Erik Satie, performed on classical guitar by Tony Smith "Gymnopédie No. 3" by Erik Satie, performed on celtic harp by Vanessa Sheldon "Gymnopédie No. 3" by Erik Satie, orchestration by Claude Debussy, performed by Orchestre Symphonique et Lyrique de Nancy "Gymnopédie No. 3" by Erik Satie, performed on guitar and cello by Ten Strings "Gymnopédie No. 2" by Erik Satie, performed on piano by Olga Scheps "Gymnopédie No. 1" by Erik Satie, performed on Q119 and Q960 analog step sequencers by Clockgate

#26 - avoiding pointless practice

There's lots of stuff you know you shouldn't do, like text and drive. So why do you still do it? Julie Dirksen of Usable Learning joins us for a conversation about complexity and nuance of teaching everything from basic knowledge to advanced habits, and tells us some of the common mistakes that experts make when they seek to teach beginners what they know. Part 2 of 2 on "how to teach" More about Julie: http://usablelearning.com Julie's Book: http://betterca.st/25-book Intro: "Steppin'" by Wake Outro: "Tonight by the Moonlight" by James Pants

#16 - On being useful

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