DiscoverReThinkingWhat motivates great Americans with Ron Chernow
What motivates great Americans with Ron Chernow

What motivates great Americans with Ron Chernow

Update: 2025-07-081
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Description

Ron Chernow is a Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer whose work has deepened our understanding of the men who made history in America, and even inspired Lin Manuel Miranda to write his musical about Alexander Hamilton. In this episode, he and Adam discuss Ron’s new book on Mark Twain, analyze what fuels outsized accomplishments, and dig into what it takes to uncover new insights into the lives of historical figures.


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Host: Adam Grant (Instagram: @adamgrant | LinkedIn: @adammgrant | Website: adamgrant.net/)

Guest: Ron Chernow (Website: ronchernow.com/


Links

Mark Twain by Ron Chernow 

Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow


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For the full text transcript, visit ted.com/podcasts/rethinking-with-adam-grant-transcripts


ReThinking is produced by Cosmic Standard. Our Senior Producer is Jessica Glazer, our Engineer is Aja Simpson, our Technical Director is Jacob Winik, and our Executive Producer is Eliza Smith.


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What motivates great Americans with Ron Chernow

What motivates great Americans with Ron Chernow