ANA CORRALES: Hi, everyone.

Welcome to Talks at Google.

I'm Ana Corrales, the COO of Devices and Services.

I just wanted to mention that if you have questions,

we definitely want to capture those in the live chat.

That will be on your right.

And also, if you ask questions, we're

going to be giving you a copy of Guy Raz's new book, which

is super exciting.

So definitely an extra incentive for you

guys to think of great questions.

It's really my honor to introduce

today's guest, Guy Raz.

Many of you probably hear him every day,

because he has about 14 million people who

listen to him a month.

I'm one of those people.

And definitely, we want to welcome him into Google.

So let's bring up Guy.

And then I will do his formal introduction.

GUY RAZ: Hello.

ANA CORRALES: Thank you so much for joining us at Google.

It's really a pleasure to have you here.

Let's introduce you a little bit.

I know there's so much to talk about.

Let's start with the fact that you're a native Californian.

So we love you for that already.

And you are also the host and editorial director of NPR.

You have three shows.

I think you're one of the few people who have three very

popular shows in the top 20.

So, another one of your big accomplishments.

One of them is the "TED Radio Hour,"

which I believe is one of the fastest growing podcasts

in NPR, so congratulations.

The second one is "How I Built This,"

and that's the basis of your book

that we'll be discussing today that just released last week,

I think on September 15.

So congratulations on that for you.

And then, you have one that's near and dear

to my heart, which is "Wow in the World," which

is the first ever podcast for kids.

I think adults could get a lot out of that, too.

In addition to that, before you did all these podcasts,

you've had this incredible career that started very early.

And I think you were also a [INAUDIBLE] fellow at Harvard,

which was super impressive.

And I think you have so many awards,

I don't think I can go through all of them.

But I can definitely say that you

had your work in Iraq contributed

to many very prestigious awards for you and also for NPR.

Your work has contributed to the Peabody Award.

So now you're an author.

So if that wasn't enough, you're adding author to your resume.

And like I said, you've just written "How I Built This,"

and that came out last week.

So that's really what we're hoping

to discuss with you today.

On a personal basis, you're married.

You have two kids.

And from what I hear, you really love baseball, too.

So we can obviously wave that in.

So, really welcome to Google, Guy,

and thank you for joining us today.

GUY RAZ: Thank you for having me.

I think if I was watching that introduction, I would say, God,

I really hate that person.

They just sound like an overachiever.

And I would say that is the Facebook version of my life,

right?

The highlight reel.

And of course, it sounds very impressive,

but there are lots of very difficult, challenging,

catastrophic moments of failure throughout the--

ANA CORRALES: In between.

GUY RAZ: --throughout those times,

and but I'm very fortunate to have had an interesting career

and to be able to tell stories and to do "How I Built This."

And by the way, great news is that last year,

at the end of last year, I stepped down

from "TED Radio Hour."

And now, the show has a new, incredible host,

named Manoush Zomorodi.

So you should still check out the show.

It's still a great show.

And thank you for welcoming me.

ANA CORRALES: No, that was a good one for sure.

No, thank you.

Just one comment-- I would say I really sympathize with the fact

people see your career in LinkedIn or in your bio

or in Wikipedia, and they just assume that there was never

a tear, never a sweat, never a dire moment,

and that couldn't be further from the truth.

I think every successful person has always had that.

GUY RAZ: There were anti-depressants.

There were moments on the floor lying, crying with anxiety.

Yes, all those things.

ANA CORRALES: [INAUDIBLE] crying for sure.

All right, let's start because I want to get through.

We have so many questions that people submitted.

And we hope to get even more through this talk.

So the first one is, let's start with the pandemic.

It's such an important part of what's happening in the world

right now.

You have such a wide perspective.

I would love to hear what, for you, was

really surprising, both professionally and personally

through this pandemic.

GUY RAZ: I think I've been surprised at human resilience.

I mean, we've seen stories and we've read stories about--

certainly in this country, because it's easy.

It's been easy to live in the United States

for the last 50 years for most of us.

And we've read stories of people living in London

during the Blitz and people withstanding

hardship during wartime.

And of course, I wouldn't compare

this to living in London during the Blitz

or during wartime conditions.

But it's not that far off, in some ways.

And I think that what's been pretty remarkable to me

is to see how resilient Americans can be.

I think it's-- and people around the world.

I think it's been a really challenging time.

And we have adapted.

It's not ideal.

I think most of us wish that we didn't have to work from home

and that we could see our friends

and our loved ones and our colleagues.

And but at the same time, I think

that we have managed as best as possible.

And so, that's been pretty great.

It's been a silver lining during an otherwise challenging

and often bleak time.

ANA CORRALES: Yeah.

OK, you are now--

you've been a journalist your whole career.

You're always interviewing people.

Now you're getting interviewed.

You're writing a book.

How does it feel to be on the other side?

Would love to hear that.

And then, also, you're launching a book in the pandemic.

So how has that experience been for you so far?

GUY RAZ: Yeah, I love talking to people.

I love pulling stories out of people.

I love triggering memories.

That's what I do.

That's why I get out of bed in the morning, because I love

hearing other people's stories, because I

think that's how we learn about the world

and how we learn about ourselves.

And we see ourselves in the stories of others.

And what I try to do with the people I interview

is to humanize them.

The people that we venerate and might--

I don't know-- sort of put on a pedestal

and think of as heroes are actually ordinary people who

have their own anxieties and challenges

and dealt with their own crises and struggles.

In my case, I mean, it's true that I

have spent most of my time asking the questions.

And now, the tables have turned.

And it's incredibly heartwarming and gratifying

to hear that people are interested in me.

Because I just think of myself as--

we all have our own self-image.

Why would somebody be interested in me?

But it's really nice to see that people

are interested in me and in the book and in the shows that I do

and in the content that I create.

And it's also a chance for me to connect

with the people who are moved or touched or affected or inspired

by the work I do.

Because that's why I do it.

I do it for that reason.

I do it for you guys, for the people

who are here and watching and listening.

That's why I do it.

So it's been a very interesting experience so far.

I will say, in terms of launching

a book in the midst of a pandemic, originally,

I would have been on a two-week book tour

around the country and then overseas.

ANA CORRALES: Did you consider pushing it,

like so many people are doing?

Just pushing everything to the right,

hoping that it's better later?

GUY RAZ: No, because this is going to last for a long time.

I think this sort of pandemic and even

after there's a vaccine or we feel more comfortable,

I think people will still be reluctant to go

to live events for a while.

I think we're going to live with this for quite some time.

So the reality is, we have to adapt.

The downside is I don't get to interact personally

with the people who listen to the show

and have been inspired by it.

The upside is--

ANA CORRALES: I know, because we would

be in a big room full of people for you--

GUY RAZ: That's right.

ANA CORRALES: --at Google, so yeah.

GUY RAZ: Right, and I've been to Google's campus

and have spoken there before, and it's just

wonderful to be there.

The upside is, I've been able to have hundreds of conversations.

I mean, so many since early August,

when podcasts and these kinds of events.

And so, that's been great.

I've been able to talk about the book and answer questions

and to do it efficiently because I'm not going anywhere.

ANA CORRALES: Yeah, no, totally.

It's a lot more efficient, that's for sure.

I know you've spoken to so many people

throughout your different shows, your experience

as a journalist, I think 6,000 and above.

Then you started your podcast.

And then, you sort of wrote this book.

But your first episode, I believe,

was with Sara Blakely, who was the founder of Spanx.

And I was just wondering if you could describe why

you picked her, why that story.

Would love to get your thoughts on that.

GUY RAZ: Yeah, I mean, there was a few things--

well, many things that we did very deliberately

at the beginning.

I thought of how I built this as--

I've never thought of it as a business show.

I've always thought of it as a show about human journeys.

So it's like a hero's journey.

If you know Joseph Campbell and you

know the notion of a hero's journey,

you will find that in every episode of "How I Built This,"

there's a narrative arc, and you will hear from somebody

who had a crazy idea, encountered doubters, found

a mentor, the mentor died, slayed a dragon,

almost died themselves, obviously not literally,

but metaphorically.

And so, really from the outset, I

wanted this to be a show about human journeys

because that's really how we learn.

Whether we're entrepreneurs or acting

in an entrepreneurial way or we want to introduce a disruptive

idea into the world, we learn through stories,

through other people's mistakes and triumphs and failures