The character arc of Guy Raz

A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record

Born on 9 November 1975 in West Covina, California. Between then and now sit Brandeis in 1996, a Cambridge master's in history, an NPR internship in 1997, Berlin from 2000, London from 2002, Jerusalem from 2004, the Pentagon from 2006, Weekend All Things Considered from 2009, the TED Radio Hour from 2012, How I Built This from 2016 and The Great Creators from 2022. 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 Guy Raz?

He was a war correspondent first.

He graduated from Brandeis University in 1996 and took a master's in history at Cambridge. In 1997 he was an intern on All Things Considered at NPR, which is where almost everybody in American public radio starts. What happened next was unusually fast: by 2000, at twenty four, he was NPR's Berlin bureau chief, and from 2002 its London bureau chief.

From 2004 to 2006 he was a CNN correspondent in Jerusalem, and from 2006 to 2008 NPR's Pentagon correspondent. That is the part of the line people forget, and it is the part that explains the rest. A person who has spent years asking careful questions in difficult places asks a very different kind of question of a founder than a business journalist does.

He hosted Weekend All Things Considered from 2009 to 2012 and the TED Radio Hour from 2012 to 2019. In 2016 he created How I Built This, in which founders describe how a company actually started, including the parts that went wrong, and it became one of the most listened to business programmes anywhere. Wow in the World, for children, followed in 2017 with Mindy Thomas, then Wisdom from the Top in 2019 and The Great Creators in 2022. By 2018 he was the only person to have had three podcasts at once among Apple's top twenty. The book of How I Built This came in 2020.

The moments

Guy Raz's timeline.

The 1990s

Jun 1996

Brandeis, then Cambridge

Milestone, and it changed his direction. A history master's, which shows in how he builds a story.

Jun 1997

An internship at NPR

Milestone, and it changed his direction. Where almost everybody in American public radio starts.

The 2000s

Jun 2000

Berlin bureau chief

Milestone, and it changed everything. Bureau chief at twenty four, three years after the internship.

Jun 2002

London bureau chief

Milestone, and it changed his direction. A second bureau, and a second country, before he was thirty.

Jun 2004

Correspondent in Jerusalem

Milestone, and it changed everything. Two years reporting from one of the hardest postings there is.

Jun 2006

The Pentagon

Milestone, and it changed his direction. Covering a defence department, which is mostly the art of asking again.

Jun 2009

Weekend All Things Considered

Milestone, and it changed his direction. From reporting to hosting, and a national audience each weekend.

The 2010s

Jun 2012

The TED Radio Hour

Milestone, and it changed his direction. Seven years turning other people's talks into radio.

1 Jun 2015

Stay in news, or make a show

Crossroads, decided.

The paths laid out: build his own programme, taken, or stay with the established shows. How I Built This became one of the most listened to business programmes anywhere, and by 2018 he had three shows at once in Apple's top twenty.

12 Sep 2016

How I Built This

Milestone, and it changed everything. Founders describing how it actually started, including the parts that went wrong.

Jun 2018

Three in the top twenty

Milestone, and it changed everything. Three shows in the top twenty at once, which nobody else had done.

The 2020s

Jun 2022

The Great Creators

Milestone, and it changed his direction. Two more programmes, and the same method turned on artists.

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 several hundred honest accounts of how a company actually began, asked for by somebody who learned to ask in much harder rooms.

What he wrote

Books by Guy Raz

2020
How I Built This
The unexpected paths to success of the founders he has interviewed, drawn from several hundred conversations.

Your turn

Every line draws a unique story.

His spent a decade asking careful questions in hard places before any of this. Yours is already further along than you think, and drawing it takes about five minutes.

Step through

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Guy Raz: frequently asked questions

What people ask about his line.

What is Guy Raz's character arc?

An NPR intern at twenty one, a Berlin bureau chief at twenty four, a correspondent in Jerusalem and at the Pentagon, and then the creator of a programme in which founders describe how a company actually began.

What is How I Built This by Guy Raz?

The programme he created in 2016, in which founders describe how their company actually started, including the parts that went wrong. A book of the same name followed in 2020.

Was Guy Raz a war correspondent?

He was a CNN correspondent in Jerusalem from 2004 to 2006 and NPR's Pentagon correspondent from 2006 to 2008. It is the part of his line people forget, and it is what explains the questions he asks now.

What podcasts has Guy Raz made?

The TED Radio Hour from 2012, How I Built This from 2016, Wow in the World for children from 2017, Wisdom from the Top in 2019 and The Great Creators from 2022.

Did Guy Raz have three podcasts in the top twenty?

Yes. As of 2018 he was the only person ever to have had three podcasts simultaneously among Apple's top twenty programmes, which is a record nobody else has matched. The three were the TED Radio Hour, How I Built This and Wow in the World.

Where did Guy Raz study?

At Brandeis University, from which he graduated in 1996, and at Cambridge University, where he took a master's in history. The history training shows in how carefully he builds a story.

What did Guy Raz do at NPR?

He interned on All Things Considered in 1997, was Berlin bureau chief from 2000, London bureau chief from 2002 and Pentagon correspondent from 2006, then hosted Weekend All Things Considered and the TED Radio Hour.

Where does this timeline of Guy Raz'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. Guy Raz isn't a Member of Character Arc and has no connection with it, and no feeling is attributed to him.

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Sources

Guy Raz, English Wikipedia biography, filed under living people.
NPR, bureau chief and correspondent postings 2000 to 2008.
Publisher records for How I Built This, 2020.