In This Episode You’ll Learn:
- The importance of following your passion
- How curiosity can be a good thing
- Why we should make every moment count
A Curious Start
Katie Hafner is an American journalist, writer and podcaster. Curious by nature, she has tackled a range of diverse topics from technology, society, and healthcare to computer hacking, golfing, and motherhood.
Katie was very successful quite early on in her career, especially being one of the first female journalists covering technology. Despite this success, she didn’t want to remain a tech reporter; instead she wanted to focus her efforts on changing the world.
[7:05] “I realized that I loved this conceit of telling one small story and describing an entire world through this one grain of sand.”
Pursuing What Interests You
Many journalists become stuck in their niche and tend not to branch out from their specialties once they have established them. Katie enjoys the freedom of writing about what she finds interesting, finding the intersection of fascinating ideas with broader meaning.
[13:54] “My main premise, when I walk around in the world is: I am nothing special. Right? I noticed this, or this just happened to me, but there’s absolutely nothing special about the fact that I noticed it. But what could be special is the fact that I do something with that, with having noticed it.”
From Journalist To Podcaster
Katie’s excellent journalism comes from her ability to expand concrete events into wider truths or questions. She didn’t learn until recently that the same strength would also make her a good podcaster, something she discovered as she was covering stories — many of them highly emotional — at the beginning of the pandemic.
Allowing people to talk and being an active listener are two of the most important things when conducting podcast interviews, says Katie. Rambling in an interview can yield some of the best content. Cutting an interview short runs the risk of missing out on unexpectedly good conversation.
Making Every Moment Count
It is easy to get caught up in our own heads when trying to run a business, produce a podcast or simply go about our daily lives. Follow your passions and do work that you truly believe in. Katie leaves us with this parting wisdom:
[27:35] “Don’t waste your time doing stuff that isn’t your passion. Life is, in fact, short.”
