Shows
Building Great Experiences w/ Drew BurdickFuture of CX: Beyond Product, Into Ecosystems - Interview w/ Skipper Chong WarsonOverview:
Welcome to the Building Great Experiences podcast, with your host Drew Burdick a 15-year veteran in Customer Experience and Managing Partner at StealthX. This is a show dedicated to sharing how brands are bringing insanely great human-centered experiences to life with strategy, design & technology.
Episode Details:
In this episode, Drew interviews Skipper Chong Warson, Founder at How This Works Co. They discuss the future of customer experience, emphasizing the importance of understanding customer journeys, the role of AI, and the need for businesses to collaborate across departments. They explore how companies ca...2025-01-2932 min
How This WorksUntitled EpisodeSome text will go here, when it gets written about the show in greater detail than just the summary. Keywords and tags will get added. Show art and banner art will also be attached to the show. And the transcript too.
If someone hasn't done it already, you'll need to attach the photo to their stub on the guest page. Their bio and any links should also be added there.
Links to things that we talked about on the show will go just down there.2021-06-151h 08
How This WorksCall for questionsTomorrow, 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 (mailto:howthisworksshow@gmail.com).
Thanks so much!2021-06-0700 min
How This WorksSarah SudhoffSkipper 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...2021-06-011h 23
How This WorksChris Landon (replay)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...2021-05-2748 min
How This WorksCarl Welty (replay)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 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...2021-05-1958 min
How This WorksNova Stanley (replay)This episode originally played 26 Jan 2021. We'll be back in next week with a new episode followed by the final episode of the 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...2021-05-121h 07
How This WorksKacie Lett GordonThis episode originally played 5 Jan 2021. We'll be back next week 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 he...2021-05-041h 14
How This WorksSelena Rosanbalm (replay)This episode originally played 5 Jan 2021. The question around, 'What is mastering?' comes up 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...2021-04-2753 min
How This WorksPiper PayneThis week, Skipper chats with Piper Payne, an audio mastering engineer.
Currently based in Nashville, Tennessee, Piper starts off the episode with her professional introduction and then tells us "who she actually" is, including her being originally a Midwesterner, having three dogs, being an Aries, and her love of cheeseburgers.
We talk about how if she wasn't a mastering engineer, she might be in some form of construction or maybe a carpenter. We get into how she's a drummer, starting when she was a "shrimpy kid", her technical music studies at the University of Michigan and then her graduate work...2021-04-201h 14
How This WorksDelay of showOur planned episode with Piper Payne (https://www.howthisworks.show/guests/piper-payne) will be delayed this week, that's the bad news; the good news is that it'll be available next week. Plus, Skipper talks about how it came about that we're talking to Piper — a mastering engineer (hint: Selena Rosanbalm (https://www.howthisworks.show/guests/selena-rosanbalm)) — and previews the last two episodes of the season. The next next one will have Sarah Sudhoff and the last one with Skipper Chong Warson in the hot seat.
Thanks for understanding, be safe, have a good week, and stayed tuned.2021-04-1204 min
How This WorksKait ScalisiThis episode of How This Works addresses adult subject matters and contains adult language.
This week, Skipper chats with Kait Scalisi, a certified sex educator who founded Passion by Kait. They engage in a wide-ranging conversation that explores so many areas — including shame, communication, and how pleasure is really powerful as a healing force.
And there's so much under the surface as well, like how some people carry their disabilities in plain sight, the concept of accessible design, how she started doing this work, how with sex there's no such thing as "normal", a lightweight formula around how to talk ab...2021-04-061h 00
How This WorksSally McRaeThis week, Skipper chats with Sally McRae, a pro runner for Nike and NordicTrack among others.
Based in Bend, Oregon, Sally starts off by talking about how she often gets mistaken for a bodybuilder, a cross fitter, and even a cage fighter. She also gets into many more details of her life, including growing up in a family of seven, playing soccer and starting to run because "she knew she had the speed" and then as a way to stay in shape and cross-train, running her first marathon, discovering ultrarunning, running Western States 100 in 2014 (as captured in the short film "...2021-03-3050 min
How This WorksKat Hantas and Nicole EmanuelToday's episode features a conversation with two sisters — Kat Hantas and Nicole Emanuel — about 21Seeds, their company that makes all-natural, infused tequila.
They talk about what they did before starting the company — film work and corporate finance, respectively — when Kat's doctor instructed her to stop drinking fermented spirits like wine, beer, and sake to drink distilled spirits like blanco tequila instead.
And after eight years of infusing tequila in her kitchen, Kat enlisted her sister Nicole and their friend, Sarika Singh, to start 21Seeds — the name comes from two friends + one girlfriend with things that are all-natural, that grow from a seed — w...2021-03-231h 07
How This WorksDr. Laura SicolaThis week, Skipper chats with Laura Sicola, a leadership communication and influence expert, speaker, author of "Speaking to Influence: Mastering Your Leadership Voice" (bookshop link (https://bookshop.org/a/9976/9781948787307)), a coach, and host of the podcast, "Speaking to Influence: Communication Secrets of the C-Suite" (https://speakingtoinfluence.com/podcast/). But this conversation isn't just for managers or people in the C-suite, it's for anyone who wants to hear yes a bit more in their lives. As Laura says, this subject matter is every bit as "relevant with your coworkers, boss, employee, colleague, client, vendor, or otherwise, as it is with people...2021-03-1658 min
How This WorksCassandra CarlopioToday's episode features time with Cassandra Carlopio, a meditation/sleep consultant currently collaborating with The Breathe Institute and trained as a clinical psychologist on the Gold Coast of Australia. We talk about the importance of sleep, address some of the falacies associated with meditation, and she graciously leads us through a short guided meditation.
We also talk about how she loves the mountains and beach equally, her newfound love of kite boarding, about the role of the nervous system and sleep, about how there's very little communication "between the field of sleep medicine and the field of psychology and the...2021-03-0956 min
How This WorksBen FalkBen Falk chats with Skipper on this episode of How This Works from his farm/home/homstead in Vermont about permaculture and sustainability. We start with Ben in utero at the base of El Capitan in California, visiting national parks with his family (instead of going to Disneyland), rock climbing, and then doing backcountry trips which formed his foundational relationship with his work now.
We also talk about the difference between design being focused on sustainability and regeneration, how important context is to solving design problems, about the importance of a designer living with or inside their work, the fact...2021-03-021h 02
How This WorksKacie Lett GordonIn 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 th...2021-02-231h 13
How This WorksChris LandonThis 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...2021-02-1648 min
How This WorksCarl WeltyIn 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 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...2021-02-0958 min
How This WorksThejus ChakravarthyThis show with Thejus Chakravarthy ranges over a wide variety of topics but along the way we find out about his professional and life experiences in making change in the world.
We start with his origins crowning in a cab in Mumbai, India, the ease in which his right shoulder dislocates after a show once upon a time with his hardcore band Lovers and Killers, the joy of Royal Farm (RoFo) fried chicken, and the brilliance of a 'hot now' Krispy Kreme donut. Skipper and Thejus also get into his two books, Brushfire (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rb4...2021-02-021h 12
How This WorksNova StanleyIf you can believe it, Nova Stanley is just 17. 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 st...2021-01-261h 07
How This WorksStephanie KrivitzkyStephanie Krivitzky, currently in New York City, talks to Skipper about how she gets things done, starting with family discussions around the dinner table and then into her current role as creative director at Misen, a cookware company.
The conversation hits so many points, starting with her frustration with baths, how the notion of logistics eventually fed into the concept of getting things done, how hustling and freelancing built her discipline, using your own motivations and demotiavtions as an aligning principle, how getting things done for other people is different than when you're working for yourself, thinking about the Eisenhower...2021-01-1959 min
How This WorksNicolai LipscombStarting under mentorship with James Beard winner Barbara Lynch, Nicolai Lipscomb has chefed at some of the best restuarants in the world, full stop — Arzak, El Celler Can Roca, at Fundacion Alicia with scientists and nutritionists under the direction of Ferran Adria and Pere Castells, the list goes on and on. And so this conversation with Skipper Chong Warson ranges the globe, starting in Half Moon Bay, Calif. to bungee jumping outside Vancouver Island, British Columbia to working in high pressure kitchens in Boston, Mass.; San Sebastián, Spain; Girona, Spain; and back to northern Calif. again among other locations.
The...2021-01-1251 min
How This WorksSelena RosanbalmHaving 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...2021-01-0552 min
How This WorksBrad BogusThis episode of How This Works addresses adult subject matters and contains adult language.
As a marketing veteran, Brad breaks down the world of cannabis in this conversation with Skipper. There are stops along the way to talk about Shakespeare, punk rock, William Randolph Hurst, how the illegality of marijuana affects the prison/jail system in this country, the history of reefer madness, how President-elect Biden and speaker Pelosi are closer in age to the assasination of Lincoln than to the present day, H.R.3884 - MORE Act, and the tobacco industry among other subjects.
Learn about happens to the...2020-12-2958 min
How This WorksJackie Velasquez-RossRecorded at the end of October 2020, Jackie and Skipper talked about some number of topics, including how being parents helped them both do better work, how Jackie thinks about recruiting as an art and a science, how fit is both important for the job seeker as well as for the company, how you should never settle for a job (unless you're a contractor), how all designers should have a portfolio, and how important it is to do your research before you apply for a job.
Our show starts with a flub but we quickly recover. We talk about what it...2020-12-2250 min
How This WorksDr. Peter Chin-HongWe talk with Dr. Peter Chin-Hong from University of California, San Francisco about his expertise as an infectious disease clinician on the novel coronavirus and COVID-19. We'll talk about the current state of the pandemic in California, around the country, and in the world at-large. We also get into what's happening with the vaccines (including the FDA approved Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine that uses mRNA to rewire a genetic trigger to the viral proteins) as well as other therapeutics, pandemic fatigue, and how holiday travel might work as other get togethers.
But we didn't just talk about the biology or healthcare. We...2020-12-1532 min
How This WorksAmy Kim WaschkeWe recorded this episode when the west coast fires were raging all up and down California, Oregon, and Washington state in Sep 2020. We talked about Amy's journey to becoming a stage actor as well as what her world looks like today as a company member for Oregon Shakespeare Festival (https://www.osfashland.org) (OSF) during COVID-19.
One thing we talked about during this episode is how much the arts bring into the U.S. economy every year — on average, $877B is added to the economy, it employs 5.1M people, and is 4.5% of the GDP.
Stay tuned until the end of th...2020-12-0847 min
How This WorksJake KahanaWe recorded this episode in Sep 2020 and we talked about Jake's work as a designer and creative director, the notion of focused work, why he started You're Better Than Brunch, and cofounding Caveday with Jeremy Redleaf and Molly Sonsteng.
Like so many of us working from home these days, you'll hear Jake's daughter waking up just after the introduction questions before we get into main discussion about focused work and distraction. We also talk about the 2017 University of Chicago study where they look at the effect of brain drain with smartphones — even when your phone is upside down on a ta...2020-12-0141 min
How This WorksSeries trailerOn How This Works, we will talk to people about some topic that they know incredibly well.
Earlier this year, the COVID-19 pandemic came upon us — shutting down workplaces, schools, and, basically, our lives came to a standstill. And with it came lots of questioning facts, opinions, and authority in general. And so, we wanted to find out more about how other people had come into their beliefs and how they've become an expert in their specific worlds. Maybe it's something they do for work, maybe it's a hobby, maybe it's something in between. All of that to say, we're go...2020-11-1702 min
Tentative78: Everyone Can Draw (Skipper Chong Warson)Skipper Chong Warson, Design Director of thoughtbot San Francisco, joins Kyle to discuss the psychology of podcast recording, overcoming awkwardness in communication & public speaking, and avoiding proxies when engaging with clients.“Steve would really like you to get 5 stars…”Full EpisodeJustice Sonia Sotomayor on Sesame StreetSkipper on TwitterSupport Tentative2019-10-2528 min
Fjord FikaFika with Celeste LeCompte and Skipper Chong Warson [rebroadcast]ProPublica is a digital-only media company focused entirely on investigative journalism. ProPublica digs deep into important issues, shining a light on abuses of power and betrayals of public trust, and follows those stories as long as it takes to hold power to account. And they do it as a non-profit.
It’s an interesting business model for a media company, but one that has been successful for ProPublica in its 10+-year history.ProPublica and its staff of journalists have received four Pulitzer Prizes, three Peabody Awards, two Emmy Awards and a National Magazine Award, among others, for their work. In th...2018-08-2931 min
Fjord FikaFika with Marc English and Skipper Chong WarsonMarc English is a designer, teacher and author based in Austin, Tx. In this Fika break, we talk to Marc about what made him want to be a designer, his work as a teacher, and his experience with the AIGA, which includes establishing the Austin chapter. We also explore the link between design, art and history, talk about his book “Designing Identity,” and discuss how month-long motorcycle trips help him learn how to do more with less.2018-07-1731 minFjord FikaFika with Celeste LeCompte and Skipper Chong WarsonProPublica is a digital-only media company focused entirely on investigative journalism. ProPublica digs deep into important issues, shining a light on abuses of power and betrayals of public trust, and follows those stories as long as it takes to hold power to account. And they do it as a non-profit.
It’s an interesting business model for a media company, but one that has been successful for ProPublica in its 10+-year history.ProPublica and its staff of journalists have received four Pulitzer Prizes, three Peabody Awards, two Emmy Awards and a National Magazine Award, among others, for their work. In th...2018-03-1331 min
Fjord FikaFika with Marina Lvova and Skipper Chong WarsonMarina Lvova is the Director of Client Engagement at Fast Forward Group, a leadership development company that ignites people to take ownership of their business, career and life. An avid traveler, Marina is an alumna of Remote Year, a program designed for digital nomads to travel the world while working remotely.
In this Fika break, we talk about leadership coaching, travel and the joy of working remotely.2017-11-2934 min
Fjord FikaFika with Ralph Vacca and Skipper Chong WarsonDesigning for someone is not the same as designing with someone – and this is particularly notable when dealing with marginalized groups. In this Fika break, we talk to Ralph Vacca, a researcher, designer and educator with a background in mental health, about how technology can empower us to be more self-aware, compassionate, actively participate in civic life and education technology.2017-06-0735 min
Fjord FikaFika with Uma Subramanian and Skipper Chong WarsonHow would you like to cut your commute time from hours to minutes? How would you like to say goodbye to traffic forever? What if we said this is possible today, but you’d have to swap your car (or train or bus) for a helicopter? And you’d be able to do it all for the cost of a car service. Sound too good to be true? Well, on-demand helicopter service (think the Uber of the skies) is now available in São Paulo, Brazil, and soon may be coming to your congested city, too.
In this Fika episode, we talk to...2017-05-2326 min
Fjord FikaFika with Kelly Baron and Skipper Chong WarsonHave you ever binge-watched Orange is the New Black or Friends or some other show on Netflix even though you were exhausted? Of course you have. We all have. While binge-watching is not the worst behavior in the world, the same path of least resistance that keeps you in front of the TV can be harnessed for good. It’s called nudge theory, which means using indirect technological suggestions to disrupt human nature.
We spoke to our very own Kelly Baron, a product strategist at Fjord Austin, about the utterly fascinating world of nudge theory in our Fika break and ahead...2017-03-1328 min