The How This Works show

Zolt Levay is a photographer who has produced astronomical images from the Hubble Space Telescope and has spent a career describing the process of producing engaging color images from Hubble data. Now, he has his sights set on matters closer to home, working on more terrestial matters.

During this conversation, Skipper and Zolt talk about how images are produced from the Hubble Space Telescope, the importance of being curious, how professional telescopes don't "see" in color, the size of 24 million soda straws, Ansel Adams, the notion of time travel, and his more recent hobby of astrophotography.

Stay tuned until the end for a clip on how to pronounce Zolt's first and last name the Hungarian way.

Special Guest: Zolt Levay.

Links:

• Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)

The last time we talked with Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, it was Dec 2020. Now, it's May 2022 — 17 months later. A lot has changed and in some ways it feels like nothing has changed. This time around, we get into current details around coronavirus/COVID, what's happening now/the current state, and what the future looks like.

We recorded this episode over two sessions and along the way we get into many topics, including the notion of reinfections (more and more common with Omicron), how the testing numbers may not reflect actual cases with more and more home testing (and some people not testing at all), how an at-home test is different than a PCR test, and the current slate of variants — BA.1, BA.2, BA2.12.1, BA.4, BA.5, XE, etc. We also touch on COVID therapies including Paxlovid, an oral antiviral treatment, and Evusheld, monoclonal antibodies. As well, we talked about some of what Dr. Chin-Hong is concerned about in the future — including avian flu and influenza along with the idea that diseases like valley fever (coccidioidomycosis) have been creeping up over the last few years because we as humans are settling into areas (more rural, for instance) that large groups of us haven't been before. And then, we end the show by talking about his work as a professor of medicine and educator at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) — what teaching medicine has looked like the last few years with students (and teachers) as little blobs on a screen.

Stay tuned until the end of the episode for a longer bit about the flu that didn't really have a place anywhere else.

Special Guest: Dr. Peter Chin-Hong.

Links:

• SF Chronicle: How California’s COVID numbers compare to the last time its mask mandate was lifted

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.

Laura and Skipper also reference the following previous episodes, in order of being published, including:

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

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 to reply directly to the story or email us at [email protected].

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, her most recent El Recuerdo project which started as a response to Deborah Brown’s paintings but then evolved to be a tribute to her grandmother and Sarah's biracial heritage, The Reading Brain, 60 Pounds of Pressure, Will You Hug me Forever, and her upcoming work Labor Pains.

Video from El Recuerdo: Rope by Sarah Sudhoff

Video from El Recuerdo: Water by Sarah Sudhoff

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

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
• Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" (1960) — With Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh.
• "I Spit on Your Grave" (1978)
• "Halloween" (1978) — 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) — 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) — 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) — 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 — 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 — 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
• "Another Day in Paradise" (1998) — 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"
• "Disturbia" (2007) — 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) — 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 — 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) — 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) — 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) — 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) — 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) — 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) — 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) — 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)
• "Mother's Day" (1980) — Directed by Charles Kaufman.
• "Don’t Go in the Woods" (1981) — Directed by James Bryan.
• "Theatre of Blood" (1973) — Directed by Douglas Hickox. One of Vincent Price's first films.
• "Madman" or "Madman Mars" (1981) — Directed by Joe Giannone.
• "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
• "My Best Friend's Exorcism" by Grady Hendrix
• "Stand by Me" (1986) — 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
• Intro and outro song: "Zombie Nation" by Jose Travieso

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.

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
• Ken Haggard
• Zero Net Energy
• Formosan subterranean termite
• Filippo Brunelleschi
• Albrecht Dürer
• Man Drawing a Lute (The Draughtsman of the Lute) from Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
• Banning Ranch - About Us
• January 4-5, 2017 Oral Argument Cases in Banning Ranch case
• Acjachemen or Juaneño
• Waterwise Community Center
• Machines as the Measure of Men: Science, Technology, and Ideologies of Western Dominance to Collections by Michael Adas
• The Measure of Reality: Quantification in Western Europe, 1250-1600 by Alfred W. Crosby
• Carl Welty Architects
• Intro and outro song: "Zombie Nation" by Jose Travieso

This episode originally played 26 Jan 2021. We'll be back in a few weeks with the last two episodes of our first season.

Nova Stanley is 17 — and we talk about his work as an artist, about his attending one of the top fine arts high schools in NYC during a pandemic, and his experience as a transgender male.

Along the way, we get into so many topics — how Nova only snaps with his thumb and little/pinky finger (on both hands), how he comes from a family of artists and creators, getting inspiration from nature and his sisters (versus media and friends), how he's missing Brooklyn after his family temporarily relocated up-state, Soul (the Pixar movie), how he started working in digital media on his dad's computer, what remote school looks and feels like in one of the top fine arts schools in NYC, making a portfolio to apply to colleges, the impact of social media — even Instagram — on him, his exit from social media (mostly), his experience as a trans male, binge watching all 15 seasons of Criminal Minds, and his love of My Brother, My Brother and Me, a podcast by the McElroy Brothers.

Since recording this episode, Nova has exited Instagram and Tumblr. Here are three views of the work pinned to the wall above Nova's desk, something he mentions during the show:

Nova cites a statistic around how one out of every 200 people identify as trasngender. But upon digging into the actual article from the American Journal of Public Health (cited in the show notes), it turns out that they discovered in 2016 that the ratio was 390/100,000. And as a fraction, that works out to 0.0039. 1/200 is 0.005, fairly close. The article also posits that the fraction of the transgender population is going to rise as more people come out and transgender identities are normalized.

Throughout the episode, we hear Nova's life as one full of interuptions and household goingson, including the family pets. Stay tuned for one of those bits after the outro music.

This episode was edited and mastered by Troy Lococo.

Special Guest: Nova Stanley.

This episode originally played 23 Feb 2021. We'll be back in a few weeks with a new episode.

In today's show, Kacie Lett Gordon deconstructs the notion of having it all in our current times — she's working through that for herself with a number of other women on her podcast Fuck it All.

We start out by talking about being a bit nervous about being on a podcast as a guest and a podcast as a host, external and internal roles, the difference between honesty and authenticity, and how different people get their energy in different ways (she gets hers with alone time while her husband gets it from being around people).

We reach into many topics during this show, including how Kacie's mom was and is a role model for her, being a mother herself, how while she felt like she theoretically had it all she felt miserable (probably as a result of late-onset postpartum depression), the double standard of calling a woman bossy versus praising a man for the same behavior, good coffee in contrast to easy coffee, the importance of the mug, the power of curiosity, and, in her words, where part of the narrative of being a woman is "if you don't dislike yourself a little bit, then you're not humble."

There's a ton of books that we talk about — non-fiction and fiction. You can find those in the show notes. We also talk about a mutual friend Jen Dary and Manager Training from Plucky.

Stay tuned after the outro music to hear Kacie wonder, Who am I?

This episode was edited and mastered by Troy Lococo.

Special Guest: Kacie Lett Gordon.

This episode originally played 5 Jan 2021. If you're wondering where we talk about mastering in the context of Piper Payne's episode, you can find the question around, 'What is mastering?' around 27 minutes into the episode

Having grown up with the idea that she wanted to perform and make music, Selena Rosanbalm talks with Skipper about being a musician and the work she’s done to write, record, release, and promote an independent album in 2020 with everything that's going on.

The conversation has a wide swing, starting with her love of yacht rock (think Michael McDonald or Hall & Oates or the Doobie Bros), her fear of things underwater, her early thrill with performing "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" from The Lion King, the number system for calling the chords of the songs to everyone on-stage, how some musicians are still producing new cassette tapes, how being an independent musician is more work than it may seem (because not everyone's Bono), Black Sabbath's debut album done in one take (allegedly), how the name Rosie and the Ramblers came about, and how the cover art for Selena Rosanbalm started with a piece of photo equipment.

Stay tuned after the outro music for a piece of tape where Skipper asks if Selena and the members of her backing band wear masks when performing.

This episode was edited and mastered by Troy Lococo.

Special Guest: Selena Rosanbalm.

Links:

• What is Yacht Rock?
• Bobby Caldwell
• Submechanophobia
• The Lion King - "I Just Can't Wait To Be King"
• Oklahoma City's City Walk Closed in 2014
• Nashville Number System
• Rosie and the Ramblers on Bandcamp
• Selena
• Fyre Festival: Inside the world's biggest festival flop
• Daniel Cavazos
• Foo Fighters' "Everlong"
• Foo Fighters' "Monkey Wrench"
• According to Black Sabbath's guitarist and founder member Tony Iommi, the group's debut album was recorded in a single day on 16 October 1969
• Selena Rosanbalm
• Selena Rosanbalm on Bandcamp
• Intro and outro song: "Zombie Nation" by Jose Travieso