Being brave isn't superheroes, it's being scared of something and doing it anyway. -Kari Byron Podcast available on iTunes, Google Play and at OnlineCoffeeBreak.com

Chuck (host): Today I'd like to welcome to our show, my special guest, Kari Byron. Kari is best known as a host on discovery channel's Mythbusters but went on to host and produce other TV shows including The White Rabbit Project, Thrill Factor, and Positive Energy. She's about to release her new book called Crash Test Girl. I've invited Kari to join us today to discuss her book and how she transformed from a working artist to her not so typical dream job which includes wiring explosives, eating bugs, and dazzling audiences with spectacular demonstrations of science and engineering.

Chuck (host): Welcome to the program, Kari.

Kari Byron: Hi, thanks I'm happy to be here.

Chuck (host): Oh it's our pleasure to have you here. Kari, in your upcoming book Crash Test Girl, you mention how the scientific method is the perfect tool for solving life's everyday problems. Can you tell me more about that? Kari Byron: Well honestly, when we did Myth Busters and every science show I've done since then we learned pretty quickly that the perfect narrative for finding a myth plausible or busted was to use the scientific method to analyze and I kind of unwittingly have been using the same methodology my entire life to solve any problem and I just kind of put my own spin on it. Instead of experimentation, I more crash test into things. I'm a little ... I'm more of a type of person to jump in head first and deal with the consequences rather than plan out too much.

Chuck (host): I can imagine. You strike me as that type of person.

Kari Byron: Well I mean even to get my job at Myth Busters, I kind of just walked into Jamie's shop with a portfolio and just forced my way in there to see what would happen. I had no idea it was going to lead into a Myth Busters career I thought I was gonna try to get into Special Effects.

Chuck (host): Well, see that's why that was amazing because I mean I know, your career, you started off as an artist and I always thought that was a neat story that you just kind of walked into Myth Busters and you wanted to get there so it was Special Effects that attracted you to the show and that decision and that determination for going in and wondering in on the show to eventually becoming a host of this incredible television shows, it's amazing what you did.

Kari Byron: I don't know if it was amazing. I feel like I have a little bit of right time, right place luck on my side, as well. I definitely worked really, really hard but I have been afforded some amazing opportunities.

Chuck (host): Well, I'm obviously a huge fan of Myth Busters, I know a lot of our listeners are too. Is there a behind the scenes story from your book that you'd like to share?

Kari Byron: I have so many behind the scenes stories and in fact, you know, maybe I could leave the book once if you want other ones I could probably give you something that didn't even make it into the book if you like.

Chuck (host): OH that'd be great, sure, we'd love to hear that.

Kari Byron: What's your favorite Myth? I was just on Twitter this morning and people were asking me about some old shark myths and I was just kind of cracking up laughing 'cause shark week always, because it's such a weird thing to test, we always ended up coming up with very strange methods for testing it and shark week was the first time I really jumped up with Jamie and Adam on my own and started to really become a host because they took me with them to the Bahamas and one of the first myths that we had to test was whether punching a shark would make it mad and it would go away instead of attacking you.

Kari Byron: Now, to do that, you know, none of us were gonna jump straight in the water and just punch a shark because ... well, do I need to explain that? Chuck (host): Obvious reasons, no.

Kari Byron: So we wanted to create a controlled experiment so we took Buster and Jamie made this amazing punching rig so that the shark could get punched and we filled a wetsuit full of just really gross bait, all sorts of chum, but the funny part for me was that we had to figure out the fist. They needed the right (simulator) so it felt like a fist. They had to be the right shape and we were thinking where can we find fists? So ...

Chuck (host): Where does one find fists, you can't really go to the dime store I guess, I don't know.

Kari Byron: Right? So you know, luckily we live in San Francisco and there's a place called Mr. S Leather and they sold novelty fists so Jamie and I went on a very uncomfortable shopping excursion to ... it was an S&M store ... and walked around the shop looking for the right (type of) fist and they have an entire wall of them and I remember just both of us blushing so intensely trying to buy these things and explaining why we needed so many of them to the shop owner.

Chuck (host): That is strange on so many levels and you're getting paid for this too. That's even more incredible.

Kari Byron: I know. I remember walking in there I'm like this is a shop I never would have ventured into but hey, why not?

Chuck (host): Wow. I've had some weird jobs but nothing comes close to that. Nothing at all.

Kari Byron: Oh my gosh. Especially like, get to know the boss man. Come on Jamie. Let's take an excursion.

Chuck (host): Now, he's great. Obviously you have a very close relationship with Tory and Grant and Jamie and Adam. I know you have toured recently with Tory and Grant. Do you keep in touch with Jamie?

Kari Byron: You know, Jamie I had lunch with just a couple weeks ago. He's very busy doing secret projects for secret agencies that involve things that I'm not allowed to talk about that are amazing.

Chuck (host): I bet they are. Everything you guys do seems to be amazing so that's for sure.

Kari Byron: Right? You'll walk into a shop one day and they're will be just some kind of tank like what are you doing? Are you kidding me right now?

Chuck (host): Let me ask you this ... switching gears ... I saw that you had a cameo on The Orville, TV show last fall. I love that show. What was that like? Kari Byron: You know, I would love to say it was super duper fun but I was an extra and kind of incognito so ...

Chuck (host): Yeah, you were hard to recognize, that's for sure.

Kari Byron: The first couple hours were super fun in all of that makeup but man the people that played those character actors they were so hard. After like the 12th hour of wearing that heavy headpiece I mean I had ...

Chuck (host): 12 hours? Wow.

Kari Byron: Oh no, it was even longer and when it hit the 12-hour mark is when I was like oh my god, how do you guys do this for a day rate and then just like appliances glued to our faces and so much make up and it itched and it was hot. It was awesome because I got all this behind the scenes stuff and I got to see everything that was going on and I got to get my makeup done by Howard Berger and his team.

Kari Byron: Which, do you know Howard Berger from K and B Studios?

Chuck (host): Actually he was a friend of yours was he not? Is that how you got to be able to do that?

Kari Byron: That is. We had all ... you know Tory and I have been friends with him and we're always teasing him like hey we wanna come be on Walking Dead, can we be zombies and he called us and he's like "hey, you guys wanna be aliens?" We're like, yes, yes we do. That's the best part about this … I've just enough fame to have a lot of really cool friends.

Chuck (host): You do. Let me ask you this: do you believe in aliens?

Kari Byron: Do I believe in aliens? Not in the form that can maybe come down and talk to us 'cause I feel like if ... I'm kind of with Stephen Hawking on this if there were aliens coming down here they would dominate us and we would be their pets.

Chuck (host): I think I tend to agree with that too.

Kari Byron: Yeah.

Chuck (host): Let’s chat about Space X ... I thought this was really cool The launched a Tesla recently with Star Man. What do you think of that? It sounds like it was Elon trying to bust some myths of his own, do you think?

Kari Byron: You know I am such a fan of anybody that's going to do any sort of research that brings us closer to space and I love that the private industries have taken over the mantle because you know NASA just ... they need more money. I mean, if we didn't try to go to the moon how many inventions would we not have today? I mean, it's incredible what the research can find for us just in small ways.

Kari Byron: I mean, even the Tempurpedic I sleep on at night came from research from going to the moon.

Chuck (host): Right, yeah the NASA spin-offs are incredible, what we get is so much return on that. I think maybe you, maybe Grant and Tory should write on a future Space X mission, how's that sound?

Kari Byron: I'm in. I'll never say no to an adventure.

Chuck (host): I would love to see that episode.

Chuck (host): Of all the testing you've done for TV, what was the best?

Kari Byron: The most intriguing test ... should I say motherhood?

Chuck (host): Motherhood, yes.

Kari Byron: Yes. No, you know we were ... it's really hard because we do have decades of experiments and beyond Myth Busters I've done a lot of different science shows even travel science shows with Tory on the Travel Channel and it's kind of just keeping that curiosity alive and whatever we're presented we jump into and find the wonder to it. I mean whether someone asks me to research cow hearts or space travel, I'm going to be very excited about it and I think that's why this job has always kept me a little ... I don't wanna say immature but kid-like maybe?

Chuck (host): Yeah, that's fair enough. I mean you've got to have curiosity to want to find out the answers to these things no matter what they are.

Kari Byron: I've been lucky enough to have a career where I can tap into that on a daily.

Chuck (host): Yeah, you do and that ... speaking of motherhood, I know that you have a daughter. Is she into science 'cause I keep thinking, what are science fairs like at the Byron household? I just can’t imagine ... does she always win first place when she joins a science fair? I just can't imagine how that would be.

Kari Byron: Well she's only 8 right now so we do get to do a lot of fun stuff every now and then. A little liquid nitrogen or dry ice is her favorite just 'cause there's that wow factor. But you know, she's definitely finds it on her own. She takes all sorts of science and coding classes and she's obsessed with Minecraft and it's all her.

Chuck (host): I do think you've inspired, obviously, lots of kids both boys and girls, male and female of all ages, for pursuing a career in the STEAM field, you know, Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics. You made a huge impact in that field. What would you like to be known for?

Kari Byron: You know what? I don't care what I'm known for, quite honestly as long as I'm having a good time. I just want my kid to know that I loved her and I'm a good mom but everything else is gravy.

Chuck (host): Is there anything else you'd like to discuss about your book?

Kari Byron: This book came about with a crash test. I was actually ... this is a weird story but I ... after a talk one night I was in a bar with Howard Berger from K and B, the space gal, Homer Hickman who wrote Rocket Boys, and Thomas Dolby who, you know and he had that ... you know he's a musician and we were all kind of telling war stories and having a really good time and Homer Hickman's like "you should write a book." I'm like no, you write books, books are hard. I could never do that.

Kari Byron: Like, no, you should write a book and he basically double dog dared me into writing a book and I went home and I was like ... nah that's scary. It's just too much. It's too much vulnerability, that's too hard ... and then I was explaining to my daughter something ... she ... you know, we were talking about being brave and I remember looking at her and saying well, being brave isn't super heroes. It's being scared of something and doing it anyway and then afterwards I walked away and I'm like "oh damn it. I gotta write a book."

Kari Byron: I gotta write a book because I'm scared to and I have to do it anyway because my journey through life has been trying to figure out how to be brave and the best way for me to do that was to crash test it, was to just like jump in even though I'm scared, try it, and then see what opportunities present themselves so I decided to write this book for girls and guys who are just kind of getting to that point of their life where they need to learn to be brave and make their lives for themselves.

Chuck (host): Kari, that's wonderful. I love the title and honestly cannot wait 'til the book comes out.

Kari Byron: Well pre-order it now. It's out there.

Chuck (host): That's right, Crash Test Girl can pre-ordered at this link.

Chuck (host): Kari, again, thank you so much for joining me again today, it's quite an honor to speak to you. Really appreciate you joining us.

Kari Byron: Thanks Chuck, it was fun.

Chuck (host): You can pre-order Kari's new book Crash Test Girl at your favorite retailer including Amazon. For more information visit her website at karibyron.com.