Making News That Reflects America, With NPR’s CMO Michael Smith

Candid conversations about the DE&I movement happening in the US job market. Driving Change From the Inside — pilot cycle, is a multi-media series produced in partnership with Digital Content Next, featuring senior leaders from NASA, NPR, Robin Hood Foundation, and Havas Group.

Curiosity Lab created this series to elevate the voices of the leaders fighting for underrepresented talent, and to give a window into what’s possible for the diverse talent of our future. Scroll to the end of this transcript to watch highlights from our conversation.

Interview by Michael A. Tennant — Creative Direction by Caroline Bel-Kher
Illustrations by Rebecca Ustrell — Video Direction by Jace

Michael Tennant: I like to open these interviews with a little icebreaker question. This one comes from the Actually Curious Culture edition, and I picked it special for you. What’s your most recommended book or podcast?

Michael Smith: I’d say it’s this one that I’ve been listening to a lot recently called Philosophize This. I love philosophy, and I’ve been really deep into the Frankfurt School of Philosophies recently, which is really about post-modernism and structuralism and how established structures are really, very responsible for the way things happen in society more than individuals. That really plays into a lot of the conversations today about critical race theory and structural racism and systemic racism. I’ve been really geeking out on postmodern philosophy.

Michael Tennant: That’s amazing. I’ll have to tune in. Alright, so one more icebreaker question. What are three crucial routines that you keep?

Michael Smith: Yeah, crucial routines. I guess the first one would be, I try to do 40 push-ups every morning to remind myself that even though I’m getting older, I still can do it.

Michael Smith: The second thing is, I try to think about, before I get out of bed, a reason to be grateful that day. Just…