Q & A With Guy Raz

After seven years Guy Raz will be stepping down as host and editorial director of TED Radio Hour. Listeners will continue to enjoy hearing him on TED Radio Hour for the rest of the year, and he will remain a partner with NPR as host of How I Built This podcast and summit, and the children's podcast Wow in the World.

This is the end of an era... how do you feel?

I feel so proud of what we've built over these seven years. And also nostalgic for the struggles and challenges we faced in the early days to get this show off the ground.

Favorite TED Radio Hour memory?

Our interview with the late Oliver Sacks at his apartment in New York. Unbeknownst to us, he lived about a NY subway line and every few minutes, a train rumbled underneath our feet. We were worried we wouldn't be able to use any of the audio from his beautiful interview. But after a week of tweaking the audio, our brilliant engineer made it work!

What did you learn from hosting the show for so long?

I learned that ideas matter and that ideas can change the world.

What did you love best about hosting the show?

Obviously the opportunity to speak to and learn from some of the most creative and inspiring people on earth but also the opportunity to mentor younger producers who have and will go on to make great radio.

What are you excited about now? What's next?

I'm super excited about the next chapter of the show. I have poured so much of myself into this show over the past seven years and I know that the next iteration will be even better and more exciting. And of course, I'm not going too far. I'll still be making radio on How I Built This and Wow in the World and my other projects like Wisdom from the Top.

How I Built This is a show about inspiration and accomplishment — do you feel inspired talking to these people?

Without a doubt. This show—these interviews—have made me a better person and a more empathetic person.

What is the most important lesson you've learned from meeting all these amazing people on TED Radio Hour and How I Built This?

That kindness matters above all. End of story.