Margaret Atwood on what AI can’t replace | ReThinking with Adam Grant

ℹ️ EPISODE INFO

Released

December 19, 2025

Duration

43m

Channel

Re:Thinking with Adam Grant

Watch on YouTube

▶ Open ↗

📝 EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Margaret Atwood is best known as the author of The Handmaid’s Tale, and she’s won a slew of awards for her novels, poetry collections, and children’s books. Now, at the age of 86, she’s written her first memoir, The Book of Lives. In this episode, Adam and Margaret break down her perspective on what creative jobs AI will and won’t threaten and discuss the evidence on the benefits of reading banned books. They also muse about why heroes need monsters and what it means to be delightfully disagreeable. Host & Guest Adam Grant (Instagram: @adamgrant | LinkedIn: @adammgrant | Website: https://adamgrant.net/) Margaret Atwood (Instagram: @therealmargaretatwood | Website: https://margaretatwood.ca/) Links https://margaretatwood.substack.com/ 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

• Adam Grant

  host

  Organizational psychologist and professor known for hosting the interview podcast ReThinking with Adam Grant.

• Margaret Atwood

  guest

  Acclaimed Canadian novelist and poet, author of The Handmaid’s Tale and other major works.

🧾 EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Re:Thinking with Adam Grant, featuring Adam Grant and Margaret Atwood, Margaret Atwood on what AI can’t replace | ReThinking with Adam Grant explores atwood on AI, originality, memoir-making, and resisting censorship pressures today Atwood argues current AI is good at formula and pastiche but lacks genuine originality, coherent plotting, and convincing inner life for characters.

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Do women write more banned books?