How I Write Fareed Zakaria: How to Write Consistently Well | How I Write
Fareed Zakaria, a prominent journalist and author, shares invaluable insights into the craft of non-fiction writing. He discusses how journalism's deadlines have shaped his writing discipline over 25 years. Zakaria emphasizes the importance of human judgment in an AI-driven world and reflects on the lasting impact of literature like The Great Gatsby on his understanding of America. He also reveals techniques for efficient reading and the balance of anecdotes with data, highlighting how personal experiences enhance understanding and engagement.
01:09:57
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Why He Writes Books
- Fareed writes books out of guilt from academic training and the joy of deep learning.
- He finds writing books painful but loves the feeling of having written and digested complex topics.
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Use Deadlines And Delegation
- Use strict external deadlines to force consistent writing and improvement.
- Plan book research ahead and delegate tasks to research assistants for efficiency.
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AI Helps Research But Can't Replace Judgment
- AI excels at factual synthesis but lacks access to many full sources and the lived process of idea formation.
- Human judgment and the willingness to stake a reputation on an argument remain scarce compared to AI.
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Intro
00:00 • 3min
Why Fareed Writes Books
03:04 • 1min
Deadlines, Journalism, and Daily Structure
04:28 • 1min
Planning Books and Using Research Assistants
05:43 • 1min
Balancing AI Use in Research
06:58 • 4min
What Skill Will Remain Scarce? Judgment
11:08 • 1min
What Makes a Good Take
12:24 • 2min
Writing for Print Versus Television
14:39 • 2min
The Case for TV: Emotional Reach
16:58 • 3min
Authenticity and Personality on Screen
20:11 • 2min
Daily Routines: Reading and Time for Thinking
22:21 • 3min
Studying the Past to Explain the Present
25:28 • 38sec
How to Read Nonfiction Efficiently
26:05 • 3min
Deep Reading Reveals Craft
28:56 • 2min
Sponsor Break: Basecamp Mention
30:31 • 1min
Gatsby, America, and the Immigrant Perspective
31:34 • 4min
Journalistic Role Models and Intellectual Ambition
35:16 • 4min
Learning from Travel and On-the-Ground Reporting
39:31 • 3min
Collecting Local Impressions into Insight
42:39 • 4min
Anecdotes Versus Data: Both Matter
46:39 • 3min
His Study and the Power of Environment
50:08 • 4min
Early Mentors: Khushwant Singh's Influence
54:07 • 5min
Medium-Specific Lessons: Books, Articles, TV
59:34 • 2min
Watching Yourself and Purposeful Practice
01:02:02 • 3min
Teaching Writing: Read Good Writing, Then Write
01:05:28 • 2min
Final Reflections on Curiosity and Attentiveness
01:07:37 • 2min
Outro
01:09:56 • 1sec
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This episode is brought to you by Basecamp, the world’s simplest, most effective project management platform. Check them out at https://basecamp.com and tell them David Perell sent you.
Fareed Zakaria is one of the world’s leading journalists. Maybe you’ve seen him on CNN. Maybe you’ve read his books. Or maybe you’ve read his articles in the Washington Post.
This conversation is a university-level seminar in the craft of writing, which builds upon the thousands of articles Fareed’s written over his career. It’s a guidepost for anybody who wants to write non-fiction. How do you develop expertise? How should you structure your days? What kinds of deadlines should you set?
We also talked about how The Great Gatsby shaped his perspective on America, when to rely on anecdotes vs. data, and the skills that’ll remain scarce as AI breaks through the Turing Test and becomes a hyper-competent writer.
The through-line of Fareed’s work is a philosophy of purposeful practice: watching all his TV performances to see how he can improve, reading great writing to absorb what excellence looks like, and using the deadlines of TV and newspaper columns to write consistently. About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible.
Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell
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