How I Write

Latest Episodes:

Jimmy Soni: Kobe Bryant’s Secret Obsession with Writing | How I Write Aug 27, 2025

Show notes

I interviewed Jimmy Soni, who is currently writing a book about Kobe Bryant. He spent six years on his previous book about the origin story of PayPal and has mastered the art of investigative biography. We talked about his 4am writing routine, how he blends research and writing to battle writers block, why he finds the best stories by talking to people on the periphery, his thoughts on using AI as a writing tool, and his experience creating a new publishing company. If you're interested in writing better non-fiction, doing deeper research, or finding the stories everyone else misses, this conversation will show you exactly how to do that.

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 X: https://x.com/david_perell

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John Lennox: AI, God & Writing | How I Write Aug 20, 2025

Show notes

I interviewed John Lennox, the Oxford mathematician who's spent decades bridging science and faith. We talked about why John 1:1 reveals we live in a word-based universe, how to recognize God-breathed scripture, why scientific explanations don't exclude God, and his fascinating take on AI as humanity's attempt to "make God." He also shared practical writing advice about self-criticism and why young people struggle with metaphors. If you're curious about how faith and reason work together, or worried about what AI means for humanity's future, this conversation will challenge how you think about both. Enjoy! 00:00:00 Why John 1:1 Reveals a Word-Based Universe 00:09:30 How to Know Scripture Is God-Breathed 00:17:40 Why Scientific Explanations Don't Exclude God 00:23:24 Why Style Is As Important As Substance 00:29:29 How to Balance Argument and Self-Criticism 00:33:35 How Narrow vs General AI Create Different Risks 00:41:40 Why the AI Race Is About Making God 00:46:02 How AI Changes What It Means to Be Human 00:52:47 How Christians Can Lead in AI Ethics

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Henrik Karlsson: One of the world’s most under-rated writers | How I Write Aug 13, 2025

Show notes

I interviewed Henrik Karlsson, a writer who's developed a five-step method for writing that starts with exploring without pressure and ends with crafting the opening last, after everything else is done. We talked about why looking away from the page improves your writing, how to suck reality into your descriptions, why protecting young ideas from early critique matters, and how to access pre-linguistic mental states where the best ideas live. He shared strange experiments that actually work, why breaking grammar rules improves your voice, and how writing becomes a search query for finding your perfect audience. If you want to write with more depth, develop your authentic voice, and learn how to turn mental chaos into compelling essays, this conversation will show you exactly how. Enjoy!

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Jayne Anne Phillips: Learn Storytelling from a Pulitzer Winner | How I Write Aug 06, 2025

Show notes

I interviewed Jayne Anne Phillips, who won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction for her novel Night Watch. We dug into passages from her writing that will show you how she thinks about voice, character, and the poetry of great writing. As you listen, I want you to notice something: pay attention to how many times Jane describes writing as a full-bodied experience. She sees the creative process almost like an archaeologist would, feeling her way into the hidden and mysterious world of her own novel. Now that sounds fascinating, but how do you actually do that? Well, that's what this interview is all about. Enjoy!

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Rosanne Cash: Writing Masterclass from 4x Grammy Winner | How I Write Jul 30, 2025

Show notes

I interviewed Rosanne Cash, a 4-time Grammy winner who's been writing songs for over 40 years. She's mastered something most writers struggle with: turning raw emotion into beautiful, lasting songs. She writes songs like a painter, starting with visual images, and brings the same rhythmic approach to both music and prose. We talked about how to turn pain into art, why anger and grief are powerful creative forces, how to deconstruct great songs to learn from masters like Bob Dylan, and how to develop your authentic voice through decades of deliberate practice. If you want to write with more emotional depth and turn life's difficulties into meaningful art, this conversation will show you how. Enjoy!

00:00:00 Why Great Writers Love Language Early 00:07:47 When to Ask for Feedback on Songs 00:14:46 How to Deconstruct Songs Like Bob Dylan 00:21:25 How to Study Different Songwriting Traditions 00:25:19 Why Truth Should Drive Your Creative Work 00:31:11 Why You Must Master Rhyme Schemes First 00:35:13 How to Use Anger as Creative Fuel 00:42:15 Why Emotions Are Invitations for Discovery 00:50:56 How Your Voice Changes Over Your Career 00:56:06 How Songs Start as Visual Images 01:01:25 Why Music Survives When Everything Else Dies 01:05:48 The Dream That Changed Everything About Art

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David Whyte: Inside the Mind of A Master Poet | How I Write Jul 23, 2025

Show notes

I interviewed David Whyte, a poet who has mastered the art of turning life's deepest experiences into beautiful writing. We talked about how to write from the place where your inner world meets the outer world, why difficult emotions like grief and anger are actually forms of care, how memorizing poetry changes how you experience reality, and practical techniques for developing deeper attention. If you want to write more authentically, develop a stronger presence, or learn to find beauty in ordinary moments, this conversation will give you specific tools to do that.

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Alain de Botton: Writing Is Revenge | How I Write Jul 16, 2025

Show notes

I interviewed Alain de Botton, a philosopher and writer who has turned personal pain into universal wisdom. He's written dozens of books and built The School of Life into a YouTube channel with nearly 10 million subscribers, but the thing that makes him unique is that he approaches writing as a form of emotional archaeology. We talked about why good writing requires suffering, why loneliness is essential to the creative process, and how writing is actually a form of revenge. He also shared his approach to writer's block and why he believes the pressure is on us creatives to deepen our self-exploration. If you want to understand how to write with emotional honesty and create work that genuinely connects with people, this conversation will show you a completely different way to think about the craft. Enjoy!

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Steven Levitan: How Modern Family Rewrote The Rules of Sitcom | How I Write Jul 09, 2025

Show notes

I interviewed Steven Levitan, the co-creator and showrunner of Modern Family, one of the most successful sitcoms of the past two decades. What makes him fascinating isn't just that he wrote hundreds of TV episodes, but how he thinks about the craft of comedy writing itself. We talked about why story breaking is the hardest part of TV writing, how he juggles multiple storylines in 21 minutes, the difference between fast-twitch and slow-twitch writers, why the best jokes come from character, how to build character dynamics that last hundreds of episodes, and why Modern Family was designed to bring joy to families. If you want to understand how professional comedy writers think about storytelling, character development, and the creative process behind hit television, this conversation will give you an inside look at the secrets that made Modern Family. Enjoy!

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David Zucker: Hollywood Director Explains The 15 Rules of Comedy | How I Write Jul 02, 2025

Show notes

I interviewed David Zucker, the director behind Airplane!, Naked Gun, and some of the funniest movies ever made. What makes this conversation fascinating isn't just the behind the scenes stories, but how he breaks down comedy writing like a science. We talked about his specific rules for making people laugh, his "flywheel theory" of pacing that keeps audiences laughing non-stop, and why they test-screened Airplane! so many times. If you want to understand what actually makes something funny, whether you're writing, performing, or just curious about the craft, this conversation will show you the discipline and technique behind comedy that looks effortless. Enjoy!

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Bible Project: How Two Guys Changed Bible Education on YouTube | How I Write Jun 25, 2025

Show notes

This is not a normal episode. There's two guests, not one. Tim Mackie and Jon Collins, and they're the founders of the Bible project, a YouTube channel with more than half a billion views. It is entirely devoted to teaching people how to read just one book. I think that book happens to be the most influential book in the history of western civilization. The beginning of this interview is about how they make these videos. They're so good, how they're researched, how they're written, how they're animated. Then we got into the deeper stuff, and I think you're going to like it whether you're religious or not. Questions like, how should you read the Bible? And what can we learn about all the different writing styles in scripture? Stories, songs, poetry, proverbs, parables, all those things.

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