How To!

Solving life’s problems, one question at a time.

About the Show

What if Dear Abby were an investigative reporter? Each week, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Charles Duhigg (The Power of Habit) takes on listeners’ toughest problems and, with the help of experts, finds the answers to questions you’ve always wanted to ask but couldn’t. Until now.

Do you have a problem that needs solving? Have you found the advice on our podcast helpful? Send us a note at howto@slate.com or leave us a voicemail at 646-495-4001 and we might play it on the air.

How To Write the Perfect Breakup Song with Ben Folds

The master songwriter helps a listener express his feelings.

How To Convince People to Give You Money

What con artists can teach us about fundraising.

How To Protect Yourself Against the Coronavirus

What to do if the situation escalates to a real-life Contagion.

How To Put Your Wife’s Career First

Pursuing a dream job ought to be exciting — for both of you.

How To Kick a Meth Habit

A recovering addict in a small town tries to get past his past.

How To Propose (to a Man)

Gender roles are shifting, so why aren’t more women proposing to their boyfriends?

How to Make Your New Year’s Resolutions Stick

Previous guests of How To! tell us how they created lasting change.

How To Remember Everything

Can one simple memory trick help you live a more memorable life?

How To Sleep

The trick is how you spend your mornings.

How To Get Your Kid to Finally Grow Up

The kids will be alright—if you stop badgering them about the future.

How To Win At Online Dating

It’s complicated. Especially when race and gender come into play.

How To Perform Under Pressure

Tips for success when you’re on the brink of getting your dream job.

How To Not Be Scared

Tips for surviving Halloween when even the kiddie haunted house terrifies you.

How To Fire Your Daughter

Can a small-business owner sell his family company without sabotaging his relationship with his daughter?

How To Put Down Your Phone

Tips from Jia Tolentino, New Yorker writer, and Cal Newport, author of Digital Minimalism, about how to break your phone addiction.

How To Decide Whether to Have a Baby

Cheryl Strayed, author of Wild, on the biggest decision of your life.

How To Go on a Family Adventure

Tips on traveling the world with your kids (without killing each other).

How To Look Like a Superhero

Tips from the trainer who got Ryan Reynolds ready to play Deadpool.

How To Stress Your Kid the Right Way

How do you raise resilient children? When should you help out, and when should you chill out?

How To Survive a Pandemic

When killer germs come for us, what should we do?