Those who know Fareed Zakaria through his weekly column or CNN show may he surprised to learn he considers books the important way he can put new ideas in the world. But Fareed's original aspiration was to be an academic, and it was a chance lunch with Walter Isaacson that convinced him to apply for a job as editor of Foreign Affairs instead of accepting an assistant professorship at Harvard. His latest book, Age of Revolutions: Progress and Backlash from 1600 to the Present is a testament to his enduring passion for ideas and his belief in the importance of classical liberalism in an age of increasing populism and authoritarianism.
Tyler sat down with Fareed to discuss what he learned from Khushwant Singh as a boy, what made his father lean towards socialism, why the Bengali intelligentsia is so left-wing, what's stuck with him from his time at an Anglican school, what's so special about visiting Amritsar, why he misses a more syncretic India, how his time at the Yale Political Union dissuaded him from politics, what he learned from Walter Isaacson and Sam Huntington, what put him off academia, how well some of his earlier writing as held up, why he's become focused on classical liberal values, whether he had reservations about becoming a TV journalist, how he's maintained a rich personal life, and more.
Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video.
Recorded March 8th, 2024.
Other ways to connect
Photo Credit: Jeremy P. Freeman, CNN
Marc Andreessen on Learning to Love the Humanities
Jamal Greene on Reconceiving Rights
Tyler and Daniel Gross Talk Talent
Chris Blattman on War and Centralized Power
Thomas Piketty on the Politics of Equality
Roy Foster on Ireland’s Many Unmade Futures
Lydia Davis on Language and Literature
Sam Bankman-Fried on Arbitrage and Altruism
Chuck Klosterman on Writing the Past and Relishing the Present
Sebastian Mallaby on Venture Capital
Stewart Brand on Starting Things and Staying Curious
Russ Roberts on Israel and Life as an Immigrant
Ana Vidović on Prodigies, Performance, and Perseverance
Conversations with Tyler 2021 Retrospective
Ray Dalio on Investing, Management, and the Changing World Order
Ruth Scurr on the Art of Biography
David Rubenstein on Private Equity, Public Art, and Philanthropy
David Salle on the Experience of Art
Stanley McChrystal on the Military, Leadership, and Risk
Claudia Goldin on the Economics of Inequality
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Meaningful Life with Andrew G. Marshall
The No-Frills Teacher Podcast
Heal, Survive & Thrive!
The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast
The Mel Robbins Podcast