Good morning, friends!
A few years ago, I spent a month studying the best interviewers in the world — Oprah, Larry King, Barbara Walters, Tim Ferriss, Ira Glass, Howard Stern, Brandon Stanton.
I then put together my learnings into an article titled: “10 Interview Techniques From the World’s Best Interviewers.” That piece has opened doors and gotten me opportunities simply because I decided to publish a mini-masterclass on the one thing I genuinely enjoy doing.
The tools in it work for journalistic interviews, job interviews, and hell, even first dates.
I’ll be doing a live Ask Me Anything on Substack this Tuesday, September 8 at 11 a.m. EST.
For one hour, I’ll walk you through what I learned about opening questions, building rapport, finding “the juice,” interrupting on purpose, and the non-obvious techniques necessary to have a real conversation.
Send me your questions ahead of time or ask them live. See you on Tuesday.
(You’ll get an email with the video link at 11 a.m. ET on Tuesday or you can drop this link in your calendar now.)
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NEWSLETTER RECOMMENDATION: My fellow writer Peter Yang creates amazingly practical AI tutorials and interviews but I really like his personal essays like why he quit his high-paying tech job to bet on himself.
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THE PROFILES.
— The financier who wants to save America [**HIGHLY RECOMMEND**]
— Apple’s new CEO
— The stuntman who made injuries the work
— The nutrition coach who sold granola for $850 million
— The designer after LVMH sold his name
THE PEOPLE.
The financier who wants to save America: Anthony Scaramucci has survived a 10-day White House stint, a near-divorce, the FTX implosion, and some bad bets. Now, from behind the wheel of his Lamborghini in the Hamptons, Scaramucci argues that America is making some bad bets of its own — monopolies, money in politics, and an economy tilted toward the rich. He thinks the way to solve these problems is to tax the wealthy more, break up concentrated power, and rebuild the middle class. (For an even more in-depth look, check out my profile on Anthony Scaramucci here.)
Apple’s new CEO: John Ternus has spent 25 years inside Apple, and as of tomorrow he has the $4.6 trillion job Tim Cook is leaving. He is not Steve Jobs, and he is not Jony Ive. “If you’re looking for an iconic product visionary person to come in, that’s not Ternus,” one longtime Apple investor told Fortune. Can a calm hardware engineer, famous for not roiling the waters, close an AI gap the company is already behind on? (FORTUNE; reply to this email if you can’t access the article)
The stuntman who made injuries the work: Johnny Knoxville doesn’t keep track of how many bones he’s broken. After 25 years of Jackass, his doctor told him that the injuries are the very purpose of his line of work. This profile shows Knoxville’s origin, method, and the cost of never stopping. (The New Yorker)
The nutrition coach who sold granola for $850 million: Seventeen years ago, Elizabeth Stein started making muffin mix in her Upper West Side kitchen for a handful of nutrition clients. She had no business plan, bootstrapped, and waited years to take outside money. Last month, she sold Purely Elizabeth to Ferrero for an estimated $850 million while also remaining CEO. Here’s how she did it. (Forbes)
The designer after LVMH sold his name: Marc Jacobs’s first interview since LVMH sold the brand is pretty blunt for a fashion cover. Runway has “never been commercially successful,” he says, and LVMH has “done the least possible they can in terms of growing our business.” The piece is about a 40-year craft, a grandmother on the Upper West Side, and what happens when the name on the door is no longer yours. (Vanity Fair)
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Great reminder that interviewing is a skill you can keep sharpening. I’ve seen that the best conversations come from preparation, real curiosity, and knowing when to move beyond the expected question and follow the thread that actually matters.
How do you put your topics together?