Ron Chernow on writing about great Americans | Rethinking with Adam Grant

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. Follow 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 Subscribe to TED Instagram: @ted YouTube: @TED TikTok: @tedtoks LinkedIn: @ted-conferences Website: ted.com Podcasts: 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. 00:00 Intro 00:22 Choosing biography subjects 02:32 Getting to know a historical figure 06:36 People are full of contradictions 08:37 Similarities between Ron's subjects 12:09 Ulysses S. Grant 14:22 Mark Twain 17:58 What made Twain successful? 21:24 What would Twain think today? 26:02 Mark Twain and Ulysses S. Grant's friendship 27:46 Lightning round

Ron ChernowguestAdam Granthost

Jul 21, 202534mWatch on YouTube ↗

EPISODE INFO

Released: July 21, 2025
Duration: 34m
Channel: Re:Thinking with Adam Grant
Watch on YouTube: ▶ Open ↗

EPISODE 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. Follow 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 Subscribe to TED Instagram: @ted YouTube: @TED TikTok: @tedtoks LinkedIn: @ted-conferences Website: ted.com Podcasts: 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. 00:00 Intro 00:22 Choosing biography subjects 02:32 Getting to know a historical figure 06:36 People are full of contradictions 08:37 Similarities between Ron's subjects 12:09 Ulysses S. Grant 14:22 Mark Twain 17:58 What made Twain successful? 21:24 What would Twain think today? 26:02 Mark Twain and Ulysses S. Grant's friendship 27:46 Lightning round

SPEAKERS

Ron Chernow
guest
Pulitzer Prize–winning American biographer known for works on Alexander Hamilton, George Washington, Ulysses S. Grant, John D. Rockefeller, and Mark Twain.
Adam Grant
host
Organizational psychologist and professor who hosts the podcast ReThinking with Adam Grant.

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Re:Thinking with Adam Grant, featuring Ron Chernow and Adam Grant, Ron Chernow on writing about great Americans | Rethinking with Adam Grant explores ron Chernow reveals biography methods, contradictions, Twain, and leadership insights Chernow chooses biography subjects who shaped foundational “building blocks” of American culture and is drawn to revisiting figures whose reputations feel incomplete or distorted by consensus.

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