"It's Just So Enjoyable." Jodi Kantor On The Power Of Craft In A Digitized World

**Morra Aarons-Mele** (0:02)
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I'm Morra Aarons-Mele, and this is The Anxious Achiever. Today my guest on the show is the famed investigative journalist, Jodi Kantor. I would say that Jodi and her reporting partner, Megan Toohey, are best known for breaking the Harvey Weinstein story and changing the world with a global reckoning around what came to be known as Me Too. But Jodi has been reporting on the workplace for decades and the digitization of the workplace and what that does to our humanity, to our financial stability, and to our society. Here today though, she's got a message of hope and practicality. It's based on her incredible commencement address at Columbia College from last year, 2025 Given in the midst of so much turmoil, so much uncertainty, and especially at Columbia, a campus erupted in disagreement and anger and chaos because of Israel and Gaza. And what Jodi told students is the subject of her new book, How to Start, Discovering Your Life's Work. And it's what we talk about today. Jodi wants students to find and hone their craft and match that with a need in the world. Craft is big. To me, craft is a way of living. It's a way of being and it's a value. Craft takes time. And as Jodi points out, it is deeply enjoyable to practice a craft that you love. In my interviews with what I call atypical achievers, people who manage mental illness or who are neurodivergent, it is craft that makes the difference between thriving and struggling in a world that isn't built for you. Your craft is the special and unique skill that you bring to the world that has a very powerful application in the world. And as Jodi points out, it could be being a surgeon, it could be being a great TV writer, it could be being an incredible hairdresser, it could be Beacon Podcast or craft is big. So I hope you enjoy my conversation with Jodi Kantor, New York Times journalist, bestselling author, and one of my heroes.
Well, Jodi, I'm so honored and excited to have you on the show. You are one of my living heroes. And I'm sure you actually, yeah, you are. And I'm sure you hear that a lot. You know, I'm sure you hear that.

**Jodi Kantor** (6:11)
Well, thank you very much for saying that. I mean, investigative journalism is like mostly unglamorous, hard work. But listen, it's my craft. I believe in it. It yields results. It still yields results now despite everything. And yeah, I mean, it's an honor to do this work. Like with the Weinstein investigation, it was really an honor from the very first phone call.