Presenting: The Craft of Being with Guest Alek Lev
Welcome again to another bonus episode of How We Made Your Mother!
It’s our final bonus episode before we launch Season 2 towards the end of October. In this upcoming season we’ve already got a bunch of special guests lined up and a VERY special announcement about our podcast which we’re just not quite allowed to announce right now. So stay tuned.
This week we bring you an interview that Alek did on the new podcast The Craft of Being, hosted by Anna Schumacher.
The Craft of Being is a podcast via a series on conversations where we dig into what the heck even is CREATIVITY? Undefined, yet definitive. Each week we will talk to a different human about their experience of their own creativity, and how it shows up –both planned and unexpectedly– across art, work, life, and the pursuit of… well, everything.
Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Follow the show @thecraftofbeing on Instagram, or email the show at [email protected].
Music by Colin O’brien-Lux: https://bandcamp.com/cobrienlux
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
--------
43:47
--------
43:47
Presenting: Hyperfocus with Guest Craig Thomas
Hello Major Fans of How We Made Your Mother, and welcome to another bonus episode. We are hard at work on Season Two (which will launch soon), and we want to use this space to share some appearances of the team on other great podcasts.
This week, we bring you Craig Thomas’s appearance on Hyperfocus. Hyperfocus is a show that zeroes in on what fascinates us about ADHD, mental health, and learning. From hacking your dopamine to busting TikTok myths, it blends personal stories, sharp questions, and expert insight. The show is produced by Understood.org, a nonprofit dedicated to helping people with learning and thinking differences thrive.
You can check out Hyperfocus anywhere you get your podcasts.Listen here: lnk.to/hyperfocus
Original Show Notes: Craig Thomas is best known for his work on TV. He co-created the sitcom How I Met Your Motherand has written for American Dad and more. He’s penned songs for Sesame Street and essays for The New Yorker. He’s less known for being a dad. For now, at least. He has a daughter, Celia, and a son, Elliot, who was born with Jacobsen syndrome, a genetic condition causing physical and developmental disabilities.
When Elliot was born, Craig’s career was taking off with How I Met Your Mother. “I was living an hour drama show at home and then driving to work and doing a sitcom,” Craig says. His upcoming novel, That’s Not How It Happened, is based in part on his family’s experience. If you heard our series on the resurgence of the R-word, you’ll recognize Craig’s voice. The conversation with him was so good that we’re sharing more!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
--------
54:38
--------
54:38
Presenting: Life in Seven Songs with Guest Josh Radnor
Hello Major Fans of How We Made Your Mother and welcome to another bonus episode!
We are hard at work on Season Two (which will launch soon), and we want to use this space to share some appearances of the team on other great podcasts. This week, we bring you Josh Radnor’s appearance on Life in Seven Songs.
What songs tell your life story? On Life in Seven Songs, we ask this question of some of the world’s most fascinating people. Through seven songs, guests reveal the milestones—and the music—that have shaped their lives.
This week, we Willkommen actor and musician Josh Radnor! Josh is best known for playing Ted Mosby on the hit sitcom How I Met Your Mother for nearly a decade. But that success came at an unexpected cost: an identity crisis that left him feeling trapped in a character he didn’t create. In this episode, Josh talks about his formative role as the MC in his high school’s production of Cabaret, his first “almost kiss” (soundtracked by Aretha Franklin), how psychedelics helped him stay centered amidst the whirlwind of fame, and the chance encounter that launched his second career as a musician in his 40s. Here are his songs.
Rocky Mountain High – John Denver
Respect – Aretha Franklin
Willkommen – Cabaret (Joel Grey, original cast recording) “Cabaret”
All I Want – Joni Mitchell
Delicate – Damien Rice
Tara – Dechen Shak-Dagsay
Cmon – Fred Again/Brian Eno
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
--------
34:11
--------
34:11
How We Made it Rain | S1E22 "Come On"
Josh and Craig close out season one revisiting “Come On,” celebrating the show’s early confidence, playful narrator tricks, and willingness to dip into magical realism—culminating in Ted’s euphoric rain dance to keep Robin from camping with Sandy Rivers as Marshall and Lily’s relationship hits a seismic crisis over her San Francisco art fellowship. They talk about cramming emotion into 22 minutes, the power of the Block Party needle‑drop “This Modern Love,” and why grand gestures (roses!) often fail while messy, heartfelt acts can work.
There are shoutouts to Alexis Denisof, Amy Acker, script supervisor Janet Kagan, and the crew; a candid story about CBS urging them to be “less serialized” after season-one ratings wobbles (which they ignored and doubled down on in season two); Jordana’s tender reflection on watching Josh-as-Ted; and a fan‑letter medley about how HIMYM taught English, offered comfort, and now truly “belongs to the fans.” They tease a cool opportunity making season two “bigger and better,” thank listeners for riding along, and promise they won’t be gone long.
CRAIG’S BOOK IS AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER!
Head over to CRAIG’S WEBSITE to pre-order your copy of That’s Not How It Happened today.
CONNECT WITH THE SHOW:
Official Website (Send us your audio and written messages)
Substack (Join the mailing list, get announcements, and read more from Josh and Craig)
Instagram
HOW YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Donate to our ongoing campaign to support congenital heart disease research
AND MORE:
Josh’s “Museletters” on Substack
Josh’s Official Website
Josh on Spotify
Craig’s Official Website (with links to his published writing)
Alek’s “Dead Fathers Society” on Substack
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS:
Mint Mobile: If you like your money, Mint Mobile is for you. Shop plans at mintmobile.com/yourmother
PrettyLitter: Save 20% on your first order and get a free cat toy at prettylitter.com/HWMYMRaycon: Go to buyraycon.com/YOURMOTHER to get 15% off Raycon's best-selling Everyday Earbuds!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
--------
1:34:29
--------
1:34:29
Presenting: Arts Educators Save the World with Guest Craig Thomas
Welcome back to your How We Made Your Mother feed. Today, we are presenting an appearance by our own Craig Thomas on a podcast called Arts Educators Save the World, where successful artist sit in conversation with their mentors to talk about the importance of art, arts education, and mentorship. I produced this podcast with my lifelong friend, Erica. Last week we brought your our episode with Josh Randor and his teacher from NYU. This week, we’ve got Craig and Rob Greenberg, an experienced writer and show runner who helped Craig and Carter in the early years of HIMYM, and beyond.
If you enjoy these episodes, please check out Arts Educators Save World, where guests include Lin-Manuel Miranda, Annaleigh Ashford, Cecily Strong, Bradley Whitford, Jonathan Groff, Billy Eichner, and many, many others. Enjoy!
You can find more Arts Educators Save the World episodes HERE on Apple Podcasts.
CRAIG’S BOOK IS AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER!
Head over to CRAIG’S WEBSITE to pre-order your copy of That’s Not How It Happened today.
And if you’re a business with big orders to fulfill, Amplifier is there to help growing consumer brands and influencers create a unique experience for their customers during the fulfillment process. Visit AMPLIFIER to learn more, and name-drop How We Made Your Mother for special pricing for your emerging brand's program.
CONNECT WITH THE SHOW:
Official Website (Send us your audio and written messages)
Substack (Join the mailing list, get announcements, and read more from Josh and Craig)
Instagram
HOW YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Donate to our ongoing campaign to support congenital heart disease researchAND MORE:
Josh’s “Museletters” on Substack
Josh’s Official Website
Josh on Spotify
Craig’s Official Website (with links to his published writing)
Alek’s “Dead Fathers Society” on Substack
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER, a groundbreaking sitcom that ran for 208 episodes on CBS from 2005-2014, unfolds entirely as a flashback, using a time-bending narrative structure that spotlights the lives of five friends navigating love, friendship, dating, careers, failure, and success in New York City. The show has remained vibrantly alive in our collective pop culture memory, with fans around the world still sharing stories of how HIMYM is not just a hilarious comedy but also medicine for the soul in hard times. Now, JOSH RADNOR (who played “Ted Mosby”) has teamed up with series co-creator CRAIG THOMAS to explore, episode-by-episode, the mystery at the heart of what has made this show so durable and beloved. It’s time – much like the older, wiser narrator Ted does in the show – to look back on this adventure that occupied a pivotal decade of their lives: how the show changed them, how it changed its fans, and how it changed the culture. With plenty of special guests joining us along the way, this podcast will use HIMYM’s trenchant themes as jumping-off points for larger discussions about life, loss, and love. This is HOW WE MADE YOUR MOTHER: A flashback podcast for a flashback show.
USA