How John Grisham turns real-life cases into courtroom dramas

John Grisham is the author of over 50 #1 bestselling novels, including A Time To Kill and The Pelican Brief—but before he became the preeminent writer of legal thrillers, he had a tumultuous career as a lawyer. Adam and John discuss how John’s experience in the courtroom inspires his fiction, and how it has continued to shape his perspective on storytelling and criminal justice. They also dig into John’s writing process, unpack his feelings of doubt that still linger after success, and reflect on the moment that changed his mind about the death penalty. Follow Host: Adam Grant (Instagram: @adamgrant | LinkedIn: @adammgrant | Website: adamgrant.net/) Guest: John Grisham (Instagram: @johngrisham | Website: https://jgrisham.com/) Links https://www.facebook.com/JohnGrisham/ https://jgrisham.com/books/ Join us in person at a TED conference: https://tedtalks.social/events Become a TED Member to support our mission: https://ted.com/membership Subscribe to a TED newsletter: https://ted.com/newsletters Follow TED! X: https://www.twitter.com/TEDTalks Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ted Facebook: https://facebook.com/TED LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ted-conferences TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tedtoks Podcasts: https://www.ted.com/podcasts The TED Audio Collective is a collection of podcasts for the curious. The TED Audio Collective videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy (https://www.ted.com/about/our-organiz...). For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request at https://media-requests.ted.com.

John GrishamguestAdam Granthost

Oct 17, 202534mWatch on YouTube ↗

EPISODE INFO

Released: October 17, 2025
Duration: 34m
Channel: Re:Thinking with Adam Grant
Watch on YouTube: ▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

John Grisham is the author of over 50 #1 bestselling novels, including A Time To Kill and The Pelican Brief—but before he became the preeminent writer of legal thrillers, he had a tumultuous career as a lawyer. Adam and John discuss how John’s experience in the courtroom inspires his fiction, and how it has continued to shape his perspective on storytelling and criminal justice. They also dig into John’s writing process, unpack his feelings of doubt that still linger after success, and reflect on the moment that changed his mind about the death penalty. Follow Host: Adam Grant (Instagram: @adamgrant | LinkedIn: @adammgrant | Website: adamgrant.net/) Guest: John Grisham (Instagram: @johngrisham | Website: https://jgrisham.com/) Links https://www.facebook.com/JohnGrisham/ https://jgrisham.com/books/ Join us in person at a TED conference: https://tedtalks.social/events Become a TED Member to support our mission: https://ted.com/membership Subscribe to a TED newsletter: https://ted.com/newsletters Follow TED! X: https://www.twitter.com/TEDTalks Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ted Facebook: https://facebook.com/TED LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ted-conferences TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tedtoks Podcasts: https://www.ted.com/podcasts The TED Audio Collective is a collection of podcasts for the curious. The TED Audio Collective videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy (https://www.ted.com/about/our-organiz...). For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request at https://media-requests.ted.com.

SPEAKERS

John Grisham
guest
Bestselling American author and former trial lawyer known for courtroom/legal thrillers including "A Time to Kill."
Adam Grant
host
Organizational psychologist and host of the podcast "Re:Thinking with Adam Grant."

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Re:Thinking with Adam Grant, featuring John Grisham and Adam Grant, How John Grisham turns real-life cases into courtroom dramas explores john Grisham on fear, discipline, and real cases becoming fiction Grisham recounts a disastrous early murder trial that ended in an acquittal and taught him how fear, preparation gaps, and duty to a client collide in real courtrooms.

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