What it’s like to...

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"What It’s Like To" lets you vicariously experience intriguing things you may never get the chance to do.

Each week, an insightful, accomplished guest shares personal stories and witty anecdotes with host Elizabeth Pearson Garr.

Latest Episodes

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Episode 026

Inspirational guests share their stories of addiction, cult life, and mountaineering… with honesty, vulnerability and humor.

Episode 025

We hear from a Broadway lyricist, a TV director, an actor/stand-up comedian, a TikTok star, a voice actor, and an Oscars insider.

Episode 024

Jess Carpenter on the juggling act that is her life: writer, social media content creator, marketer, mom. It’s busy. And she wouldn’t want it any other way.

Episode 023

Behind the scenes of The Bachelor/ette, Family Feud, and Shark Tank with veteran director Ken Fuchs.

Episode 022

We flipped the script! Elizabeth Pearson Garr answers questions, instead of asking them, in this special Q&A episode.

Episode 021

Linda Fruits on vulnerability, honesty, and serving up truth bombs about motherhood to her hundreds of thousands of followers.

Episode 020

Elizabeth Pearson Garr gives a very personal account of the early days of TVFN: an exhilarating, exhausting stew of scripts, gala events, and cramped editing suites.

Episode 019

Jessica Galbraith takes her role as mom both seriously and playfully. She shares how she gets everything done (some kids may not have their shoes on… but that’s okay).

Episode 018

Rebecca Firth on baking, blogging, and boldly pursuing your passions (with spoonfuls of humor added to the mix).

Episode 017

Cliff and Joyce Penner demystify the ‘touchy’ subjects commonly seen in sex therapy with candor and good humor.

Episode 016

Yousuf Azhar’s personal, painful story of joining, living in, and leaving a Sufi religious group that he came to find out was a cult.

Episode 015

Dan Sturman on making films about ordinary and extraordinary people and stories.

Episode 014

Sarah Lavender Smith on running (and winning) “ultras” — 50k, 100 mile, 170 mile stage races, 24 hour timed events, and more.

Episode 013

Karen Petersen shows the power of vulnerability as she shares about addiction, treatment and recovery.

Episode 012

Jeff Cable on capturing Team USA’s motion and emotion during each exciting, exhausting Olympic Games.

Episode 011

Jeff Gottfurcht on what it takes to get to the top of the world… and he did it with rheumatoid arthritis.

Episode 010

Patricia Jimenez on the main ingredients needed to host this “feast of the heart”–the annual Raul Jimenez Dinner.

Episode 009

Ethan Herschenfeld returns to the podcast… this time to talk about auditioning, typecasting, singing opera, and asking, “Is this really ME?”

Episode 008

Marine Corps veteran Eric Davids on leadership and life-long friendships; the physical and mental aspects of the job; and wrestling with the morality of war.

Episode 007

John Malone on how he creates his variety of voices; pursuing a passion; and why it takes a lot more than just a “good voice” to do his job well.

Elizabeth's Experience

Elizabeth has spent a lot of her life asking questions. A daughter of a professor and a principal, as a kid she loved sitting at the “adult table” during their dinner parties so she could participate in the “real” conversations.

Elizabeth went on to graduate with honors from Harvard with a degree in History and Literature, and promptly attended professional cooking school to become a food writer. That led to various career opportunities, including becoming one of the first employees of the Television Food Network; writing/producing gigs at networks from PBS to E!; anchoring/reporting at the NBC affiliate in Billings, Montana; earning a graduate degree in Documentary Film & Video from Stanford University; and various and sundry other things. The through-line to all this has been curiosity. Elizabeth is a skilled interviewer who loves diving deep into research, finding connections, and telling good stories.

Elizabeth has a husband, two daughters, and a fluffy white dog who rarely leaves her side.