The character arc of Charles Duhigg

A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record

Born in 1974 in New Mexico. Between then and now sit a Yale degree, a Harvard MBA, the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times from 2006 to 2017, The Power of Habit in 2012, a Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting in 2013, Smarter Faster Better in 2016, a move to The New Yorker, and Supercommunicators in 2024. The line below draws the story so far, in order.

Tap the line to pluck it. Hover or tap any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of his life; the sources are at the foot of the page.

Who is Charles Duhigg?

A Pulitzer in one hand, a habit loop in the other.

He took a bachelor's degree at Yale and an MBA at Harvard Business School, which is a route into consulting or banking that he did not take. He went into newspapers instead, writing for the Los Angeles Times and then joining The New York Times in 2006.

In 2012 he published The Power of Habit, which explains the cue, the routine and the reward, and why a habit is not a matter of willpower but of a loop that can be examined and altered. It spent more than three years on bestseller lists. It is the kind of book that changes how people describe their own behaviour, which is a rarer thing than selling well.

A year later he led the team that won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting, for a series of ten articles examining how technology companies actually conduct business. Those two things happening within a year of each other is the shape of this line: the popular book and the hardest prize in journalism, from the same person, in the same period. Smarter Faster Better followed in 2016, he left the Times in 2017 for The New Yorker, and Supercommunicators came in 2024. His line is worth reading because he did the serious reporting and the accessible explaining at the same time, and neither was a break from the other.

The moments

Charles Duhigg's timeline.

The 2000s

Jun 2003

Yale, then Harvard

Milestone, and it changed his direction. A route into consulting or banking, which he did not take.

1 Jun 2004

Use the MBA, or go into newspapers

Crossroads, decided.

The paths laid out: go into newspapers, taken, or use the degree. He led the team that won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting, and wrote three widely read books alongside it.

~2006

The New York Times

Milestone, and it changed everything. Newspapers, after an MBA. Most people with that degree go the other way.

The 2010s

28 Feb 2012

The Power of Habit

Milestone, and it changed everything. Three years on the lists, and it changed how people describe their own behaviour.

15 Apr 2013

The Pulitzer Prize

Milestone, and it changed everything. The hardest prize in journalism, one year after the popular book. Both, from the same person.

8 Mar 2016

Smarter Faster Better

Milestone, and it changed his direction. The second book, while still on the newspaper.

Jun 2017

He left for The New Yorker

Milestone, and it changed his direction. Eleven years at the Times, and then a different kind of room.

The 2020s

20 Feb 2024

Supercommunicators

Milestone, and it changed his direction. The third book, on the thing all the reporting had actually been about: how people hear each other.

The line reaches today still adding to itself, which is why it is drawn now rather than at the end. What it has set moving is a vocabulary: a great many people now talk about cues and routines and rewards when they describe their own behaviour, and that language came from one book.

What he wrote

Books by Charles Duhigg

2012
The Power of Habit
The cue, the routine and the reward, and why a habit is a loop rather than a matter of willpower. Over three years on bestseller lists.
2016
Smarter Faster Better
The secrets of being productive in life and business.
2024
Supercommunicators
How to unlock the secret language of connection.

Your turn

Every line draws a unique story.

His did the hardest reporting and the clearest explaining at once. Yours is already further along than you think, and drawing it takes about five minutes.

Step through

Draw my own line Explore Character Arc

Charles Duhigg: frequently asked questions

What people ask about his line.

What is Charles Duhigg's character arc?

A Harvard MBA who went into newspapers instead of the career it was built for, published a book in 2012 that changed how people describe their own behaviour, and led the team that won a Pulitzer Prize the following year.

What is The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg?

His book of 2012, which explains the cue, the routine and the reward, and argues that a habit is a loop that can be examined and altered rather than a matter of willpower. It spent over three years on bestseller lists.

Did Charles Duhigg win a Pulitzer Prize?

Yes. In 2013 he led the team that won the Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting, for a series of ten articles examining how technology companies conduct their business. It came in 2013, the year after his first book.

What did Charles Duhigg study?

He took a Bachelor of Arts at Yale University and an MBA at Harvard Business School. That degree is designed to lead into consulting or banking, and he went into newspapers instead, which is the first real decision on his line.

Where does Charles Duhigg write now?

For The New Yorker. He wrote for the Los Angeles Times, then joined The New York Times in 2006 and stayed until 2017, and now lives in Santa Cruz, California.

What books has Charles Duhigg written?

The Power of Habit in 2012, Smarter Faster Better in 2016, and Supercommunicators in 2024, the last of which is about how people actually hear each other, which is arguably what all the reporting had been about.

When was Charles Duhigg born?

In 1974, in New Mexico. The exact date is not in the public record, which gives only the year, so this page publishes the year alone rather than inventing a day for it.

Where does this timeline of Charles Duhigg's life come from?

From the public record. Character Arc drew every moment on this line from the sources listed at the foot of the page, and the kind and weight of each moment are our editorial reading. Charles Duhigg isn't a Member of Character Arc and has no connection with it, and no feeling is attributed to him.

More character arcs

Lives that rhyme with his.

Every Character, A to Z

Sources

Charles Duhigg, English Wikipedia biography, filed under living people.
The Pulitzer Prizes, 2013 Explanatory Reporting.