Reflecting on the impact of a successful book on life and career choices

Ta-Nehisi Coates is an author and journalist. His next book is The Message.

“I don’t think we have the luxury as journalists of avoiding things because people might say bad things about us. I don’t even think we have the luxury of avoiding things because we might get fired. I don’t think we have the luxury of avoiding them because somebody might cancel some sort of public speech that we have. I then have to ask you, what are you in it for? Like, why did you come here? Did you come here just to make a living? Because there are many other things where you could make more money.”

Show notes:

• ta-nehisicoates.com
• Coates on Longform
• Longform Podcast #7: Ta-Nehisi Coates
• Longform Podcast #97: Ta-Nehisi Coates
• Longform Podcast #168: Ta-Nehisi Coates
• Longform Podcast #225: Ta-Nehisi Coates
• Longform Podcast #360: Ta-Nehisi Coates and Chris Jackson
• Longform Podcast #408: Ta-Nehisi Coates
• 04:00 "Fear of a Black President" (The Atlantic • Sep 2012)
• 05:00 The Beautiful Struggle (One World • 2009)
• 12:00 "The Case for Reparations" (The Atlantic • Jun 2014)
• 13:00 Between the World and Me (One World • 2015)
• 36:00 "The Mask of Doom" (New Yorker • Sep 2009)
• 40:00 "How Tech Giants Cut Corners to Harvest Data for A.I." (Cade Metz, Cecilia Kang, Sheera Frenkel, Stuart A. Thompson and Nic Grant • New York Times • Apr 2024)
• 42:00 Shell Game (Evan Ratliff • 2024)

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