Ken Burns on his next projects and dealing with grief | ReThinking

ℹ️ EPISODE INFO

Released

January 19, 2026

Duration

15m

Channel

Re:Thinking with Adam Grant

Watch on YouTube

▶ Open ↗

📝 EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Ken Burns is a documentary filmmaker who has produced works about Mark Twain, Jackie Robinson, the American Buffalo, the Civil War, and now, in his latest work, the American Revolution. In this second part of their conversation, Adam and Ken move to more personal topics: Ken’s experience with fatherhood, the role of grief and loss in his work, and his hatred of careerism. Adam pitches some new ideas for upcoming documentaries, and Ken reflects on a time when the word “enthusiastic” was used against him. Host & Guest Adam Grant (Instagram: @adamgrant | LinkedIn: @adammgrant | Website: https://adamgrant.net/) Ken Burns (Website: https://kenburns.com/) Links https://www.facebook.com/kenburnspbs https://www.youtube.com/user/kenburnspbs https://kenburns.com/films/the-american-revolution/ 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

• Ken Burns

  guest

  Documentary filmmaker known for long-form historical series (e.g., PBS documentaries).

• Adam Grant

  host

  Organizational psychologist and author who hosts the ReThinking interview podcast.

🧾 EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Re:Thinking with Adam Grant, featuring Ken Burns and Adam Grant, Ken Burns on his next projects and dealing with grief | ReThinking explores Ken Burns on careerism, future films, and the enduring cycles grief Burns argues that avoiding “careerism” preserves creative freedom and prevents other people’s expectations from defining your professional path.

🔗 RELATED EPISODES

Prestigious colleges, STEM degrees, and hot takes with Zarna Garg | ReThinking

How to create a flourishing community with Dan Coyle | ReThinking

Gen Z's way of talking, explained | ReThinking

How to raise a new generation of readers with Shannon Hale | ReThinking with Adam Grant

How to stop chasing status with Alain de Botton and RaQuel Hopkins | ReThinking with Adam Grant

The secret skills behind mind reading with Oz Pearlman | ReThinking with Adam Grant