How To Make A How To Podcast

How To Make A How To Podcast

From How To! with Mike Pesca by Peach Fish Projects

March 10, 2026 · 40 min

About this episode

Mike Pesca explores the challenges of hosting an advice podcast with insights from veteran producers.

Mike Pesca has built a long career as a news analyst and podcaster, but taking over the How To! franchise presents a very different challenge: learning the ropes of the advice show genre. He knows how to dissect complex political events, but the leap to solving eccentric listener dilemmas while maximizing entertainment value feels new. On this episode: How To! 's Mike Pesca turns the microphone on himself and brings on Ian Chillag and Mike Danforth, the veteran co-hosts of NPR's How to Do Everything and producers for Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! Ian and Mike offer Mike guidance on bypassing straightforward answers to find weirdly perpendicular solutions, the importance of providing "nutritious" conversational facts—and why you should never, under any circumstances, climb inside a refrigerator with Jesse Eisenberg. Executive Producer Corey Wara Edited by Geoff Craig Booking by Lya Yanne Do you have a burning question or a problem you need help with? Email us at howto@mikepesca.com and we will consider your topic for the show. For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ To receive ad-free content, become a Pesca Plus subscriber at…

People in this episode

Host: Mike Pesca

Guests: Ian Chillag, Mike Danforth

Topics covered

  • podcasting
  • advice shows
  • entertainment
  • listener dilemmas
  • media production

Keywords

  • how to podcast
  • advice show
  • entertainment value
  • listener questions
  • podcast production

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: NPR, Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!, Peach Fish Projects

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