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Join KCRA TV morning news anchor Deirdre Fitzpatrick for a podcast that asks her favorite question: how did you do that? Her guests wrote the book, launched the product, won the race, influenced social media or figured out a must-try life hack. Master your mindset while learning how to live bigger and better.
Episodes
Friday Nov 08, 2019
Friday Nov 08, 2019
What happens when TV cameras go away? What happens when something like a massive wildfire is put out and a community's recovery begins? That's what KCRA reporter Vicki Gonzalez set out to discover when she followed four families for an entire year who'd lost everything in the Camp Fire.
The Camp Fire is the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history. It broke out on Nov. 8, 2018, virtually wiping out the town of Paradise. 85 people died. 19,000 homes and businesses were destroyed. Survivors told stories that sounded like they were straight out of an action movie. But, there were also remarkable stories of everyday people who found themselves doing extraordinary things to save themselves and others.
On this Dying to Ask: I sit down with two of my colleagues whose work led our Camp Fire coverage.
First, Brian Hickey and I relive where we were when the first scanner traffic about the fire started. I will never forget Brian's face as he comprehended the magnitude of what first responders were reporting.
And then, Vicki Gonzalez tells us the backstory of her one-hour documentary "Return to Paradise." Find out how she chose the four families she followed for a solid year and the affect this project has had on her personally. It's an exceptional look at the devastation and inspiration you'll find in Paradise.
Friday Nov 01, 2019
Friday Nov 01, 2019
"You don't understand my generation."
Every kid has told their parents that. The thing is it's actually true for today's kids. Katherine Reynolds Lewis is a parenting expert and the author of "The Good News about Bad Behavior."
She graduated from Harvard with a physics degree which may prove that parenting is indeed rocket science!
On this Dying to Ask, Katherine explains why American kids suffer from an inability to self-regulate. She'll sell you (with scientific evidence) on why we all need to understand the unique challenges they face that make them a generation unlike any other. And, she'll lay out a parenting strategy to lessen yelling, nagging and arguing in the family.
Thursday Oct 17, 2019
Thursday Oct 17, 2019
Looking for a new TV show to binge? Ask Jessica Mathies.
She likely watches more TV than anyone you know. But as an executive producer, it's her job to figure out what people are watching and, more importantly, WHY they're watching it.
Uncovering what drives us to keep up with Kardashians or revel in not-so-real housewives is as maddening as it is entertaining.
Jessica's work in non-scripted or reality TV is extensive. She held the title of human canvas producer on "Ink Master" and was responsible for convincing people to tattoo their eyelids. She worked on HGTV's "Sleep on It," where homebuyers spent the night in a prospective home before making an offer.
Her latest creation is Hearst Television's "Word of Mouth," a show that asks local people for recommendations on everything from food to culture.
On this Dying to Ask: we find out how reality TV is really made. (Heads up: It's a little like finding out how sausage is made.) Jessica explains why we can't get enough Chip and Joanna Gaines on "Fixer Upper," and tells some epic stories from her time as a human canvas producer.
And, we find out what happened when she took "Word of Mouth" to the streets of Sacramento.
Friday Oct 11, 2019
Friday Oct 11, 2019
"I've been thinking about starting a podcast." I get a lot of DMs, emails and calls that start with that sentence. My response is usually "are you sure about that? Let me tell you a few things."
We'll start with the positive. Apple recently revealed its 2019 podcast stats. Apple podcasts feature more than 700,000 active podcasts and 29 million podcasts! Compare that to 2018 when there were 550,000 shows and 18.5 million episodes. That's some major growth and there's a lot of money to be made. It's no wonder so many people want to start a show. But, here's what you don't know about podcasting. The talking part is easy and fun. The rest of it is work!
On this Dying to Ask, Geoff and I are going to do our best to talk you out of starting a podcast. It's not that we fear the competition. We just want to spare you the pain! We'll teach you how to come up with a concept for a show, how to figure out if you should have a co-host, and even what it takes to record audio. Find out the one thing about podcasting that both Geoff and I hate. And then, Producer Geoff will drop a bombshell. Seriously, never saw it coming.
Friday Oct 04, 2019
Friday Oct 04, 2019
This episode is straight out of the "why didn't I think of that" file. 5 years ago, Mitch Gardner was a college kid staring at his phone too much. Now, he's a tech entrepreneur whose app to get people off their phones has millions of users. How did he do it? Two words: free stuff. The Pocket Points app rewards users with discounts on everything from pizza to Vans shoes for staying off their phone. And, it's becoming a big deal on high school campuses where teachers are crediting the app for longer attention spans and increased learning. On this Dying to Ask, how two college guys came up with the next big thing at, wait for it, a bar. The extremely well known app their biggest investor passed on before sinking serious cash into Pocket Points. And, think you have the next thing big thing? How to make an app a reality.
WHERE TO FOLLOW:
Instagram: @pocketpoints
@mitchgardner5
Friday Sep 27, 2019
Friday Sep 27, 2019
(REPLAY)
In this week's replay, we're catching up on our guest from episode 22 -- Tim Collom.
We had Tim on to talk about what it takes to market a product by marketing yourself. He's the ultimate right brain, left brain guy.
Tim is as successful a real estate agent as he is an artist. When we first talked with him, he'd just wrapped a viral online art project that raised 150-thousand dollars for fire victims.
Flash forward and he's just crossed something else off his bucket list: he's produced an art coffee table book and it's gorgeous.
On this Dying to Ask: learn the art of the hussle from a guy creating (and marketing) his projects by marketing himself.
Check out Tim's book:
Follow Tim Collom:
https://www.timcollomgallery.com
Instagram:
@TimCollom
@TimCollomGallery
facebook:
@tim.collom
Friday Sep 20, 2019
Friday Sep 20, 2019
Lawyer. Filmmaker. Funeral home owner.
Chris Meyer is many things. Boring, is not one of them.
His new book "Life in 20 Lessons: What a Funeral Guy Discovered about Life from Death" is like "This is my Life" meets "Tuesdays with Morrie." Meyer spent 14 years in the funeral business assisting grieving families and in one case, the soon to be departed, in planning funerals. It was a life chapter he never intended to write but he feels grateful for given the impact the career detour had on him personally.
On this Dying to Ask, how a guy working as a Hollywood screenwriter ended up running a funeral home, what he's learned about life from being around death for 14 years, and what he learned about failure that time he told Mel Gibson he hated his script. Get ready for some epic stories and a lot of laughing about a topic that's usually not very funny.
Buy Chris Meyer's book:
Follow Chris Meyer:
https://www.chrismeyerauthor.com/
Instagram: @chrismeyerauthor
Friday Sep 13, 2019
Friday Sep 13, 2019
Former NBC news anchor Tamron Hall is back on TV and she's calling life the way she sees it and especially how she lived it. Tamron abruptly left NBC news after NBC brought over Megyn Kelly from Fox News to host her own hour of the Today Show at what was rumored to be a 15 to 20 million dollar a year salary.
REINVENTION. At some point you're probably going to have to do it. Whether it's in your professional career or your personal life. The thing is most of us don't have to reinvent on a public stage. We can figure it out in private.
Flash forward two years and "Megyn Kelly Today" is yesterday's news. And Tamron Hall's reinvention is hitting daytime TV with a new talk show .
She's also a first time mom at 48, newly married and reflecting on the fact that the whole "Megyn vs Kelly" thing really turned out well for her.
In this Dying to Ask: a super frank conversation about how the worst thing in your life can turn out to be the best blessing ever and why everything you need to know about life can be learned from the movie "Rocky."
WHERE TO FOLLOW:
Instagram: @tamronhall
@tamronhallshow
Friday Sep 06, 2019
Friday Sep 06, 2019
I cannot tell a lie. The actor playing George Washington in San Francisco's production of "Hamilton" may be my favorite podcast yet. Darnell Abraham grew up in Bakersfield knowing he loved entertaining people. He found his voice, quite literally, in college. And, what a voice. He made a HUGE impression on a guy he met at choir camp. That guy? PRODUCER GEOFF!!! You couldn't make this one up. Now Darnell is starring as George Washington in "Hamilton" at the Orpheum Theater in San Francisco after appearing with Hamilton's creator, Lin Manuel Miranda, in "Hamilton" in Puerto Rico.
On this Dying To Ask:
-How Darnell Abraham made it to the biggest stage show of our time, only 5 years after his first audition.
-How he sets new goals and raise his personal bar after achieving a dream as big as starring in Hamilton
-What he does and doesn't do in his downtime to remain successful in his career
-What happened "this one time at choir camp" when Darnell met Producer Geoff
Where to follow:
https://www.darnellabraham.com/
Instagram: @dabenyc
To learn more about "Hamilton" in San Francisco:
Friday Aug 30, 2019
Friday Aug 30, 2019
How did you get Dr Pimple Popper as a podcast guest? It's one of the most frequent questions I get about the Dying to Ask podcast. The show is about how people come up with an idea and then actually pull it off. I call it "the art of the follow-through."
When we decided to start a new podcast, we knew we needed a huge name with a big social media following to promote the show. I was approached about interviewing Dr Sandra Lee, AKA Dr Pimple Popper. The problem was that the podcast didn't have a name, a following, or a well thought out concept at that point.
But, I figured out a way to book her anyways and I'm telling the backstory of how I pulled that off and launched our show with a guest who, one year later, is still the one I'm asked the most about.
I'll also tell you some stuff that happened behind the scenes in our interview that made her one of our most surprising guests too.
Then, listen to our launch show with Dr Sandra Lee. She's likely the best known dermatologist on the planet thanks to a YouTube channel that exploded literally and figuratively featuring Dr Lee squeezing pimples. Dr Pimple Pimple's videos have been watched more than 2.5 billion times. That YouTube channel now has more than 5 million subscribers and self-described "popaholics" can't get enough.
In this Dying to Ask, Deirdre and Geoff find out the moment Dr Lee realized she was an online star, how she decided to go all-in on being Dr Pimple Popper and why her dad will never have to wait in line at the Apple Store ever again!