The Great Creators with Guy Raz - Podcast Rankings and reviews

I’ve always loved How I Built This — Guy Raz is the consummate interviewer, fueled by curiosity, kindness, and beyond thorough preparation. I also love how he aligns himself with the listener, and asks questions I would want to ask in his shoes. The Great Creators goes beyond How I Built This to talk about craft with people who have so much insight to offer. LOVED the Tom Hanks and Audra McDonald episodes and highly recommend the latest, with Jason Sudeikis. Thanks for this wonderful contribution, Guy!

On one hand, I love the diverse and prolific range of guests that Guy attracts. On the other, his interviewing style has some quirks that bother me and lessen the quality of the interview. I can sum it up with one word: "Yeah."

As the guest speaks, especially if it's something awkward or profound, Guy Raz says "yeah" at regular intervals. This is a normal vocal tic in a telephone call to let the other party know that you're there and listening. But in a podcast it serves to persistently interrupt the guest with... nothing. It adds nothing, makes it impossible to archive clips of audio, and can even feel inappropriate during confessional or challenging moments. "I struggled with drugs--" "Yeah." --and nearly divorced my wife--" "Yeah." "--but I made it through my dark times." "Yeah."

He asks great questions and does great research, but yeah.

This show is one of my favorites but it skews heavily white with the talent and the people profiled. Yes there are a few examples of people of color on the episode but why do we have to scroll back so far to find those episodes? Would love to see more diverse voices featured on this otherwise amazing podcast.

Many good nuggets of wisdom from people in the biz, sharing their life stories. In general recommended. Obviously relatable if you’re trying to start a similar career, and maybe applicable if you’re training to become a specialist. Personally I relate more with Raz’s other shows on founders and business leaders.