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What makes someone tick? And how do you get them to reveal their truest self? The Art of the Interview goes on an expedition into the human spirit, peeling back the layers of captivating conversations with some of the world’s most fascinating figures. 

Join hosts Alex and Isabel as they team up with veteran interviewer Malte Herwig to explore how he uses preparation, intuition, and even silence to uncover the deepest secrets of legendary artists, actors, and thinkers. 

In The Art of the Interview, each episode unpacks an extraordinary life as seen through one interview. This isn't just about the answers—it's about the craft of asking the right questions, or sometimes, no questions at all.

WARNING: Hosts Alex and Isabel have a few surprises for you as they go from episode to episode, and Malte will weigh in on the powers and pitfalls of artifical and human intelligence. 

You'll find links to the original print interviews in the show notes for every episode.

More about Malte's work: https://publicorum.com/en/

www.publicorum.com

Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_01 (00:00):
Imagine a life so extraordinary it reads like
fiction.

SPEAKER_00 (00:03):
A mind so brilliant it reshaped how we see the
world.

SPEAKER_01 (00:08):
Have you ever wondered what truly makes
someone tick?
What secrets lie beneath thesurface of extraordinary people?

SPEAKER_00 (00:15):
Or how to tease out those secrets?

SPEAKER_01 (00:16):
Well, you're in the right place.
I'm Alex, and this is The Art ofthe Interview, where we take a
deep dive into extraordinaryinterviews with extraordinary
people.

SPEAKER_00 (00:24):
And I'm Isabel.
These aren't just conversations.
They are expeditions into thehuman spirit.

SPEAKER_01 (00:29):
You'll hear about remote remarkable people like
the visionary artist Christo,Hollywood actors like Michael
Douglas and John Malkovich, theneurologist and writer Oliver
Sacks, and the legendary pianistAlfred Brendel.
We're going to peel back thelayers and offer a fresh and
even surprising perspective onwhat truly defines a great
interview.

SPEAKER_00 (00:47):
And with us today is the journalist and author Malte
Herwig.
Over the last two decades, hisinterviews and stories have
appeared in leading U.S.,British, and German
publications, including the NewYork Times, The Guardian, Vanity
Fair, Welcome to the show,Malte.

SPEAKER_01 (01:12):
Thanks for having me.
Malte, when you approach someonefamous with a fascinating life
story, what's your firstthought?
How do you even begin to capturethat?

SPEAKER_02 (01:19):
Well, it's less about capturing and more about
connecting, Alex.
I'm trying to understand whattruly motivates people.
What makes their story unique?
And then I simply But

SPEAKER_00 (01:30):
there's clearly a method to your approach, Malte.
We'll see how you navigatesensitive topics or how you
create space for thoseunexpected, revealing moments.
What's your secret?

SPEAKER_02 (01:41):
It's careful preparation and, honestly, a lot
of intuition.
Sometimes the most powerfulmoments come from questions you
don't ask.
So it's less about the perfectquestion or list of questions
and more about a surprisinganswer or a shared silence.
the moment when the mask drops.

(02:03):
It's about letting theconversation breathe.
I think a good interviewer hasto be able to shut up and let
the silence work for them.

SPEAKER_01 (02:15):
And that's exactly what we'll be exploring in The
Art of the Interview.
Each episode, we'll take one ofMalte's interviews

SPEAKER_00 (02:21):
and dissect the technique, the subtle
strategies, and the pivotalmoments where the interview
truly became an art form.

SPEAKER_01 (02:28):
Join us as we delve into fascinating and uncover the
subtle craft that helped bringtheir stories to light.

SPEAKER_02 (02:34):
May I turn the table and ask you a question?
Sure thing.
This podcast is called AI forthe Art of the Interview?

SPEAKER_00 (02:43):
Well, AI is for Alex and Isabel.
We're your hosts, after all.
But there's plenty of time totalk about that in a later
episode.

SPEAKER_01 (02:53):
Find the Art of the Interview wherever you listen.
We'll post a new episode everyweek.

SPEAKER_00 (02:58):
You won't want to miss it.