Hey, listeners, we're sharing something special this week. It's an episode of the podcast,

What It's Like to Be, from New York Times bestselling business book author Dan Heath. In every

episode of what it's like to be, Dan interviews someone from a different profession, a cattle

rancher, an FBI special agent, a professional Santa Claus, and he asks what it's like to do what they do.

What does a couples therapist think when a friend asks for relationship advice?

Is a secret service agent supposed to pretend like they're not there when they're around the

president?

What does a hairstylist do when a client asks for a celebrity hairstyle that will never, ever

work for them?

Let me tell you, this is the perfect show to listen to with your kids because it's family safe, but it won't drive you nuts,

and it also gives kids a preview of different careers and the kinds of personalities that fit

with the work. In the preview you're about to hear, you'll meet a marine biologist who studies

manta rays. You'll learn

how drones have changed to work, what it's like to get to know individual rays, and why people

seem to have such a romantic image of being a marine biologist. Okay, here comes the preview,

and you can find more episodes of what it's like to be wherever you get your podcasts.

Years ago, Jessica Pate got a phone call from a shark scientist she knew. He'd found

something interesting. He was like, hey, we just had a dead Manta Ray washup, or someone towed it

to shore, actually. He was like, I thought you should know. We're about to, like, cut it up for

samples.

Jessica is a marine biologist.

She studies manta rays off the coast of Florida.

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