Guy Kawasaki's Remarkable People

What does it really look like when history unfolds a few feet in front of you? Pete Souza spent years inside the White House capturing presidents Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama—not as symbols, but as human beings making impossible decisions. In this episode, he shares how trust, timing, and restraint shape the images we remember most. From the story behind iconic photographs to the quiet disciplin...

What if you’re chasing the wrong kind of meaning? Dave Evans—Stanford educator, Apple pioneer, and co-author of How to Live a Meaningful Life—returns to challenge how we think about purpose. Instead of answering the abstract “meaning of life,” he focuses on a better question: how to experience more meaning in life right now. He breaks down why impact and fulfillment often fall short, and introduce...

What if you’ve been listening wrong your entire life? Haru Yamada, social linguist and author of Kiku: The Japanese Art of Good Listening, reveals why listening is far more complex—and powerful—than we think. From losing part of her hearing to studying cultures across seven countries, she unpacks how meaning is co-created between people. This conversation challenges the idea that communication is...

This Earth Day, we revisit a remarkable conversation with Jane Goodall—both a timely call to action and a reflection on a life that reshaped how we see animals, nature, and ourselves. From her groundbreaking discoveries with chimpanzees to her decades of environmental advocacy, Jane shares why hope is something we choose—and why our everyday decisions matter more than we think. It’s a powerful rem...

What does it really take to see the future before it arrives? Guy Kawasaki sits down with Brian Solis, author of Mindshift, to unpack how leaders can stop reacting and start shaping what’s next. They explore the difference between automation and augmentation, why most organizations fail to realize AI’s potential, and how storytelling fuels real transformation. Brian shares practical frameworks for...

What happens when a group of grandmothers challenges a brutal dictatorship—and wins? In this episode, Haley Cohen Gilliland, journalist and director of the Yale Journalism Initiative, recounts the extraordinary true story behind her book A Flower Traveled in My Blood. She reveals how Argentina’s “Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo” used courage, persistence, and groundbreaking DNA science to find g...

Brad Meltzer joins Guy Kawasaki to discuss his latest thriller, The Viper, and the real-world research behind it—from America’s most secretive funeral home to the hidden realities of witness protection. They dive into the meaning of pentimento, why rough drafts shape masterpieces, and how grief, morality, and second chances influence Brad’s storytelling. The conversation spans conspiracies, charac...

Disruption expert Scott Anthony explains why innovation alone isn’t enough—and why the real work of disruption is making things simpler, cheaper, and more accessible. Drawing on decades of research and stories from companies like Procter & Gamble and Apple, he breaks down why success so often becomes the enemy of reinvention. We also explore ideas from his new book, Epic Disruptions, including...

Jennifer Welch joins Remarkable People with her signature candor, sharp humor, and unapologetic edge. As co-host of I’ve Had It and author of the new book Life Is a Lazy Susan of Sh*t Sandwiches, she’s built a platform by betting on herself—and refusing to tone it down. We talk about moral clarity in a divided country, loving someone through addiction, admitting when you’re wrong, and why outrage...

We first released this episode with Dolly Chugh more than a year ago, but it feels even more relevant today. Dolly is a social psychologist at NYU who studies how well-intentioned people deal with bias, identity, and the stories we tell ourselves about the world. Her work challenges a deeply held belief: that being a “good person” is enough. In this conversation, Dolly explains why that mindset ca...

What really happened inside Apple’s first fifty years? David Pogue joins Guy Kawasaki to unpack the myths, the meltdowns, and the moments that built the world’s most influential tech company. From near-misses aboard OceanGate to tense interviews with Elon Musk, Pogue shares stories only a veteran reporter could collect—and why writing Apple: The First 50 Years changed how he sees Silicon Valley. T...

Cindy Cohn joins Remarkable People to break down encryption, Section 230, metadata, and the real meaning of the First and Fourth Amendments in the digital age. As longtime leader of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, she has taken on the Department of Justice, challenged mass surveillance, and helped secure the tools we rely on every day. We also dive into her new memoir, Privacy’s Defender: My T...

Why does personal finance feel so stressful—even when we’re wealthier than ever? Tarun Ramadorai joins Guy Kawasaki to explain why the system isn’t just confusing, but often rigged against ordinary people. Tarun is a finance professor and co-author of the new book Fixed: Why Personal Finance Is Broken and How to Make It Work for Everyone. He breaks down why smart people make terrible money decisio...

What if healthcare stopped reacting to illness and started anticipating it? In this episode of Remarkable People, Guy Kawasaki sits down with Dr. Lloyd Minor, Dean of the Stanford University School of Medicine, to explore how precision health, artificial intelligence, and whole-person care are reshaping the future of medicine. This wide-ranging conversation challenges how we define health, how muc...

What do golf, grit, and gratitude have to do with college success? Renee Fluker answers that question with 25 years of proof. As the founder of Detroit’s College Career & Beyond | Midnight Golf Program, Renee has helped more than 3,000 students—many written off by traditional systems—develop the life skills, discipline, and confidence to thrive in college and beyond. In this episode, Guy Kawas...

What if the real challenge in your career isn’t working harder—but figuring out who you actually are? Guy Kawasaki sits down with Suzy Welch—NYU Stern professor, former editor-in-chief of Harvard Business Review, and bestselling author—to explore purpose, resilience, and leadership. Drawing from her new book, Becoming You, Suzy shares a practical framework for aligning values, aptitudes, and econo...

What does it really mean to give without keeping score? Brad Feld has built a career by answering that question differently than almost anyone in venture capital. In this episode of Remarkable People, Guy Kawasaki sits down with Brad to unpack the philosophy behind his new book Give First, a mindset that has shaped startup communities, mentorship culture, and long-term trust across the tech world....

What if lasting change didn’t require motivation or willpower? In this re-released episode of the Remarkable People Podcast , Guy Kawasaki revisits his conversation with BJ Fogg , Stanford behavior scientist and New York Times bestselling author of Tiny Habits . BJ explains why most habit advice fails and shares a simple framework for creating change that actually sticks: • Make habits so small yo...

What does it cost to care deeply—and what happens when the work that defines you nearly breaks you? In this episode of Remarkable People, Guy Kawasaki sits down with Jane Chen, the co-founder of Embrace and author of the raw, unforgettable memoir Like a Wave We Break. Jane shares her journey from a childhood shaped by fear and expectation to building a life-saving global health organization—and th...

What happens when childhood is rewired by smartphones and social media? Jonathan Haidt joins Guy to break down how a single decade transformed attention, resilience, and the emotional lives of millions of kids. Drawing from his bestselling book The Anxious Generation, Jonathan explains why Gen Z’s spike in anxiety wasn’t random — and what we can do to make sure Gen Alpha doesn’t suffer the same fa...

Maya Shankar joins Guy Kawasaki to unpack the psychology of change—why it rattles us, how it reshapes identity, and what helps people emerge stronger on the other side. Drawing from research, lived experience, and her book The Other Side of Change, Maya challenges the idea that growth comes easily and offers a grounded, human approach to navigating uncertainty without clichés. --- Guy Kawasaki is...

What if success depends less on merit and more on the quiet transfer of status? In this episode, Guy Kawasaki interviews Toby Stuart, UC Berkeley Haas professor and leading expert on innovation and social networks, to break open the unseen systems that shape who rises and why. Drawing from his new book Anointed, Toby explains how institutions — universities, investors, employers — confer credibili...

Erin Nance is an orthopedic surgeon who has seen firsthand how often patients—especially women—are misdiagnosed, dismissed, or overlooked. In this conversation with Guy Kawasaki, she unpacks why curiosity and humility matter more than hierarchy, how AI is reshaping diagnosis, and why being believed can be lifesaving. Drawing from her book Little Miss Diagnosed, Erin challenges how medicine is prac...

What makes ordinary people do extraordinary things? In this episode of Remarkable People, bestselling author and historian Lynne Olson joins Guy Kawasaki to uncover the powerful story behind The Sisterhood of Ravensbrück—a true account of courage, solidarity, and resistance inside Hitler’s largest concentration camp for women. Through her signature storytelling, Olson shares how a group of French...

What makes humans so predictably irrational? Nobel Laureate Richard Thaler and Alex Imas join Guy Kawasaki to reveal the quirks that shape our decisions—from golf greens to stock markets. Drawing from their new book, The Winner’s Curse: Then and Now, they revisit the field they helped pioneer: behavioral economics. This episode is a masterclass in understanding why the smartest people make the str...