Guy Raz is well known for his NPR programs TED Radio Hour, the third most-downloaded podcast in America, and How I Built This. Each of these has over 14 million monthly listeners worldwide. He also created and co-hosts Wow In The World, the first-ever podcast for kids. His calm tone of voice mixed with an excitement for the content creates a great program for fans. I am already a big fan of his two adult NPR shows and would not be surprised if I end up listening to his program for kids, "a show about science, wonder, discovery and the amazing things happening in our world."1 His voice is so perfect for podcasting that I could listen to him read a menu and find it fascinating.
Raz is clearly very interested in the content he covers. You can tell he wants the show to be just perfect. This reminds of Amabile's Beyond Talent, a paper that discusses motivation. Raz's desire to put on a good show is motivation from within. He wants to create work to be proud of. Though the effort he puts into making great programs is certainly rewarded extrinsically. Last year, "Raz became the first person in the history of podcasting to have three shows in the top 20 on the Apple Podcast charts."1 He has been with NPR since 1997, so it is a labor of love, having interviewed over 6,000 people over the course of his career. His podcasts have brought information and hope to millions all over the world. His shows both educate and exhilarate, permitting you love knowledge! His determination and brilliance in interviewing is a testament to his field. As far as I am concerned, Raz is the gold-standard of radio programming.
Raz is a talented journalist and has created a lot to be proud of so far in his life. He even has a wonderful family life! Who says you can't have it all? He is still young and I look forward to seeing what else he achieves. I recommend his work on a weekly basis and I invite you to check it out as well. Here is a link to one of my favorite TED Radio Hour episodes as well as my favorite How I Built This episode. I hope you are as in awe of his work as I am. Enjoy.TED Radio Hour- Networks: https://www.npr.org/programs/ted-radio-hour/509349587/networks
Archive: https://www.npr.org/programs/ted-radio-hour/archive
How I Built This: https://www.npr.org/2017/01/30/511817806/virgin-richard-branson
Archive: https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this
Source:
https://www.npr.org/people/6597623/guy-raz
As an avid NPR listener, I appreciate Raz’s work on How I Built This since it breaks the monotony of NPR’s more news-related programing. You can certainly tell that he spends a lot of time researching each guest based on the interview questions he asks them. It just goes to show how dedicated he I to his craft.
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