I’ve Got Questions with Mike Simpson

Hey everybody! It's our show's finale and we're talking about a job that Mike wishes he knew about earlier: master builder at LEGOLAND. Do you ever wonder how they build those cityscapes or dinosaurs? Or what kind of test you have to take to get such a fun gig? They go through millions of bricks and we're taking a tour of the workshop! Thanks for listening over all these weeks!

It's a museum day for us! We're headed to the Getty Center to talk to a team that tries to protect some of the priceless art from earthquake damage. Did you know that piece from antiquity in front of you might actually be on rollers? And some of them have ankle problems. We'll also dust off some really old books and talk about how the Middle Ages get a pretty bad rap.

Have you ever seen a surfing dog? Hanging ten with their paws? One of the top dogs out there is named Carson and we're going to meet up with him and Jill Nakano -- a surf dog instructor. We'll learn how all this started for these two champs, about how to get a pup on a board and about surf dog competitions. Get your Instagram pictures!

Join us for a trip to an LA original this week: the Original Los Angeles Flower Market downtown. If you can grow it -- and if it smells good -- this is where you'll find it. Florists come from all over town and go through millions of stems a year. Did you know flowers are like fashion? What do you think is "trendy" right now? We'll meet the man in charge and a second-generation vendor.

Our little show is back for a final five episodes and today we're heading out to The Teaching Zoo at Moorpark College. It's where students go to get degrees in animal care by getting hands on experience with all sorts of things with hooves, claws and feathers. We'll meet a pretty chatty bird -- he can introduce himself -- and get up close with some big cats!  For more info about the school, head here: https://www.moorparkcollege.edu/current-students/teaching-zoo/home

We're headed to a ranch today to meet up with Dr. Katie Nenn. She's a large animal veterinarian and runs NENN Equine. This started as an episode on animal dentistry (horse mouthwash is a thing that exists) but Dr. Nenn tells us about all sorts of animals that you wouldn't expect to find in Southern California. Look for the team from NENN on TV soon, they're working on a new show.

Dress like a flower! We're taking a trip to the Natural History Museum of LA County today so we can check out the "Butterfly Pavilion." It's something that happens over a few months and it's a chance to learn about all sorts of butterflies. Why do we need them? Are they really that delicate? And how does a caterpillar turn into a butterfly? We're back with a previous guest from the old "I've Got Questions" podcast -- spread your wings and enjoy!

Have you ever been to a party or a wedding that had an ice sculpture? Was it some sort of dolphin? Maybe a swan? What about a giraffe or an astronaut? On this episode, we're headed to LA Ice Art to meet Rex Covington. He's been carving ice since the 1980's and he's one of the best around. We'll hear about some of the biggest pieces he's done and about how he forms that ice from a 300lb block into a work of art. For more on Rex and his sculptures: https://laiceart.com/

Get ready to get weird! We're headed to the "Oddities and Curiosities Expo" this week to take a walk on the darker side. We'll see booths with taxidermy, boxes full of creepy dolls, paintings of clowns, quack medical devices, soap named after serial killers, and funeral... collectibles? The expo is a traveling show that goes across the US and Australia. It started small but now draws more than 15,000 people each weekend. Take a look: odditiesandcuriositiesexpo.com

Time to head to LAX ... but not to catch a flight. We're paying a visit to LSG Sky Chefs, one of the largest companies that provides catering to airlines. It's a huge operation that runs 24/7 and cooks up 15,000 meals each day. How is all that food prepared? How fresh is it? What are they eating up there in First Class? We'll take a look at how menus have changed over time and do a full tour from the kitchen right out to the tarmac.

Come shopping with us at the Santa Monica Farmer's Market so we can get some plants at Logan's Gardens! Logan Williams and his father have one of the only black-owned nurseries in Los Angeles and they sell things you probably haven't heard of before. We'll do some tomato talk, explore leafy greens that have a kick and take you through their mint varieties -- berries and cream, anyone? Apple? They have 80 of them! You can find Logan's Gardens Wednesdays and Saturdays in Santa Monica and at the Hollywood Farmer's Market on Sundays.

Put on your costume and grab a turkey leg because it's time for the Ren Faire! We're headed out to Irwindale for the Original Renaissance Pleasure Faire. We'll watch some jousting, check out the shops, learn about glass blowing and fencing -- and maybe have a cup or two of mead.  If you're catching this episode when it posts, find tickets for the final two weekends here: https://renfair.com/socal/

You break it, you buy it? On this episode, Mike visits Fine Art Restoration to put some things back together. The owner,  Henri Laborde, works with everyone from moving companies to museums and some of the pieces he repairs are worth thousands of dollars. Others are just sentimental. This is our last episode for this round, so send us ideas: doyouworkhere@knxnews.com. Thanks!

Were the greens at your grocery store grown by a robot? If it says "Plenty" on the packaging, then yes! We take a visit to an indoor vertical farm in Compton. We'll be surrounded by big mechanical arms, grow lights, and towers full of spinach, kale, arugula and lettuce. These plants never touch human hands ... just robo-fingers.

Safety first, but we're going to blow some stuff up! For this week's episode, we're with the operators of a professional fireworks show in Manhattan Beach. We'll learn that most designers start with the soundtrack or finale first and then work backwards. And we'll hear about how most fireworks are named after flowers. No radio reporters were harmed in the taping of this podcast.

Reduce, reuse, recycle - even when it comes to water! We're learning about water treatment today with LA Sanitation, by taking millions of gallons of dirty water and making it clean. How good are the filters they use? How do they actually get all that gross stuff out? And what do they do with the water after? Hold your nose and let's get a closer look!

Have you ever been to the Last Bookstore? Even if you haven't, you might have seen it in someone's Instagram pictures. We're headed to a downtown LA landmark today to learn about what it takes to run California's largest new and used bookstore. Let's go treasure hunting through the shelves and then head up the stairs -- meet you in the book tunnel!

You scream, I scream, we all scream for ice cream! It's time to learn about Mike's favorite ice cream brand with a trip to the Thrifty factory! It's been sold for decades and has become a favorite - especially around Southern California. We'll talk about what goes into making those classic flavors and about the unique shape to the Thrifty scoop. Do you want a single? Or a double?

It's time to go to a basketball game! Actually, two basketball games. We're at Crypto.com Arena for a double header. Ignacio Guerra takes us through all the work that goes into switching courts, baskets, chairs, and banners -- in just a couple hours. And the ice for hockey? Look under the mat.

Put on your gloves and grab some clams because we're taking a trip to the The Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach to prepare food for the sea otters! They get restaurant quality meals each day and there's a whole team of people helping out. Cuteness overload? Yep! But otters can also be pretty feisty. Also, did you know they have pockets?

We're back for another round of jobs and for our first episode, we're hitting the hot dog highways with two drivers of the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile! What's it like to drive a giant hot dog? How do you even get a job like this? We'll ask Angus Ann and Allie Dog -- it's an opportunity to relish!

We've got more new episodes coming in a few weeks, but for the holidays, Mike is stopping by the big USPS processing center in Los Angeles for a look at how many gifts we're sending to our friends and family this time of year. We'll meet Daniel Hirai, George Banks and Mark Robinson to take a tour of a building that's the size of twenty-nine football fields.

We're going to space! Well, actually, we're going to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena to check in with the Voyager team. It's been forty-six years since Voyager 1 and 2 launched and we're still in contact! We'll talk with Linda Spilker and Suzanne Dodd, who can take us from the 70's and 80's right up to today. What have the Voyager probes seen? What have they heard? These two spacecraft are the most distant human-made objects from Earth. This episode is our season finale, but let Mike know what you want him to get a closer look at next season: doyouworkhere@knxnews.com

We're busy as bees this week! Well, we're as busy as beekeepers... because we're going to do some "urban beekeeping" with a company called Best Bees. We'll put on our gloves and a bee suit for protection and get up close with some hives... in a place you wouldn't expect. Carrie Diaz is our beekeeper. More about Best Bees at BestBees.com.

Time to go to the car shop! But we're not here for an oil change. This week, we're talking car restorations and EV conversions. Have you ever seen an old Mercedes with a new engine and heated seats? What about an electric Porsche or Volkswagen Beetle? Ralph Biase is the CEO of Titan Car Restoration, he also hosts Geared Up on Motor Trend and can pretty much do whatever you can dream up! We'll also check out a very rare truck...with a secret compartment for your fishing poles.

It's bath time! But not that kind of bath. We're taking a sound bath.  This week, Mike joins Yogis on the Move, a company that brings classes into workplaces and apartment communities. We'll meditate and hear about the benefits of getting washed with sound waves and vibrations. Bring your mat, and hang out on the floor!Suze Q is our instructor. You can find her on Instagram at @Suzeqrocks. We'll also learn a little about Yoga for first-timers with Jessica Kang, the founder of Yogis on the Move.

This week we're digging up some fossils! But we don't have to go far, because one of the most active dig sites out there is actually right in the middle of Los Angeles! We're talking about the La Brea Tar Pits, where a surprising amount of specimens from the Ice Age have been discovered over the last hundred years. We're joined by Laura Tewksbury, Sean Campbell and Stevie Morley, who all work at the Tar Pits, part of the Natural History Museums of LA County. No bones about it, this is a fun one!

Have you ever watched those big container ships come in? They squeeze under a bridge and then line up perfectly with the dock...with just feet to spare! How do they do that?!   Captain John Mayer, a harbor pilot with the Los Angeles Pilot Service, takes Mike for a ride to show him how it's done.

Mike visits The Gentle Barn in Santa Clarita for some animal therapy. We hear from Ellie Laks who founded the organization in 1999 to rescue and rehabilitate animals...all kinds of them! Today, The Gentle Barn welcomes visitors to cuddle up with animals big (like, really big) and small.  

In our first episode, Mike takes a trip to LAX...and visits baggage and cargo with United Airlines. Do you know what else is under your plane seats besides your bags? And where your suitcase actually goes once you check it? We'll learn about some wild things that commercial airlines have shipped and track a bag as it moves underground. Lisa House-Odums works in cargo and Mike Del Nigro trains the new ramp services employees.

As promised...we've got something new next week! Mike is back after spending the last couple months at different jobs. Have you ever found a fossil? Do you know where your checked bag disappears to at the airport? We'll even put on a beekeeper suit!  Look for the first two episodes next Thursday.

For our finale episode Mike gets perspective from a guest who's been somewhere that most of us will never get to go: space!Commander Chris Hadfield is a retired astronaut who flew two Space Shuttle missions and also served as commander of the International Space Station. 

They're just like any other bill! Yet, they feel like a novelty. What makes them feel so special?  Mike learns more about the curious currency from John Bennardo, who made a documentary on the $2 bill, and Heather McCabe who completed a project called, "Two Buckaroo," where she documented the reaction to spending them.  You can check out John's film at 2dollarbillmovie.com

Remember Concorde? The supersonic passenger airliner from Air France and British Airways that flew twice the speed of sound? Its been retired nearly twenty years now, but there hasn't been anything like it since. Three former British Airways pilots, Andy Mills, Richard Westray, and Mike Bannister, tell us what it was like to fly the thing!

Why are there so many stories about creature, places, and things we can't prove are real? Colin Dickey, cultural historian and author of "The Unidentified: Mythical Monsters, Alien Encounters, and Our Obsession with the Unexplained," explains our fascination with the unexplainable. 

What is time? Why do we have it? How come we're so bad at comprehending how it passes? Does time fly? If you're bored, does it slow down? Sean Carroll at Johns Hopkins University, author of "The Biggest Ideas in the Universe: Space, Time, and Motion," spends some time answering Mikes big questions.  And what about boredom and downtime? James Danckert, author of "Out of My Skull: The Psychology of Boredom," and Dr. Sandi Mann, author of "The Upside of Downtime," explain the two.  Got questions? Email Mike at ivegotquestions@audacy.com

This week, we've got some listener questions! How are flyovers at big events timed so perfectly? Captain Kyle Cassady, a B-2 Pilot at Whiteman AFB, tells Mike how they pull it off. We heard elephants are afraid of mice... Is that true? Patrick Wolff at Oakland Zoo answers.And we talk with Hillary Clinton, Jennifer Coolidge and Cher! No. We talk to Rosemary Watson who is a singer, emcee and impressionist. How do people learn to do other people's voices? Got questions? Email Mike at ivegotquestions@audacy.com

Time to go back in time! You know that insult when we call someone "a Neanderthal" …does that really work? Were they actually dumb, or do they deserve some credit? Anthropology professor and Neanderthal expert, Fred Smith, tells us just how close of cousins we are to them. We're also going to travel into the future...with a company that's working on bringing a Wooly Mammoth (among other things) back from extinction. Ben Lamm, is co-founder and CEO of Colossal and, Dr. Andrew Pask, is a Professor in the School of BioSciences at the University of Melbourne, explain just how that could work. Got questions? Email Mike at ivegotquestions@audacy.com

Time to expand our minds a bit and tackle a big one. And it probably comes as no surprise that it's incredibly hard to describe "being you."  Sue Blackmore, writer, lecturer and Professor at the University of Plymouth and Anil Seth, Professor at the University of Sussex and author of "Being You: A New Science of Consciousness," explain what there is to know about consciousness.  Got questions? Email Mike at ivegotquestions@audacy.com

How can we get a feel for what colorblind people see? Marie Difolco with Colour Blind Awareness in the UK gives Mike an idea of the colorblind experience. And, how do you gauge a "chance of rain" in the weather report? Alex Tardy, Warning Coordination Meteorologist at the National Weather Service in San Diego, explains what's known as one of meteorology's most misunderstood terms.  Got questions? Email Mike at ivegotquestions@audacy.com

Lots of people collect stuff. Some people collect really rare and expensive stuff. Where do you put it? Behind a giant heavy door! And, what treasures are on the other side of it? This week Mike Cummings, the General Manager for the Collectors Vault, takes Mike inside their vault which is...somewhere in Delaware.  Got questions? Email Mike at ivegotquestions@audacy.com

So many flavors to choose from but how do we taste them exactly?  Mike finds out how our taste buds work from Dr. Zara Patel. Professor of Otolaryngology at Stanford Health. Got questions? Email Mike at ivegotquestions@audacy.com