“Really great journalism requires two things: first, it requires deep and substantive reporting; but second, it requires a coherent vision of the subject. The balance of these two things is impossibly tricky, but Nilay is the rare genius who does the work and pulls it off.
Journalism is not the bloodless, or mindless, assembling of facts. That’s a necessary precondition for journalism, but not the measure of success. Journalism requires an editorial insight into the beat being covered, it requires a clear point of view, that guides the journalists and the audience as they together explore the beat covered.
Nilay is so successful because he is committed to both of these dimensions of his work, and DECODER is a pure example. I’ve learned so much from this podcast, and I am so grateful for it. When Nilay enters into every interview, I know what he cares about, and I understand WHY he cares about it. I love having him as a guide into the world of leaders, decision makers, and other entrepreneurs. I love the clarity and consistency of his curiosity, and how it has given me a useful framework for evaluating each of his guests.
One of the special pleasures of Nilay’s work is that, because of his consistency and transparency, I can compare guests across podcasts. When CEOs return to the show, Nilay has a ready scorecard for them to answer to because he can refer back to their last visit. But even better, when he has multiple executives on from a single industry, we can meaningfully compare and contrast their styles, their visions, their assessments of the state of the industry, because Nilay is there to patiently set them each alongside the others. I have learned so much by the contrasting approaches of the different executives, even when they face identical problems.
Ultimately, Nilay is producing a record of the industries that he covers. It is guided by his interests and passions, but it is developed with an exacting patience and thoroughness that has it grow more and more useful as the episodes pile up. You can feel Nilay’s work really elevating the industries he covers by meaningfully holding them accountable. Not to his arbitrary whims, but to the measure of their own words. Nilay remembers what you said six months ago, and he’s ready to hold you to your claims.
On a personal note, I am really inspired by how Nilay balances the grace of a good host with the precision and bravery of a lawyer. He’s always genial, welcoming, respectful, but never timid or obsequious. He has his questions, and he wants answers. Not only is this impressive, but it’s an approach that really humanizes his subjects. Executives can often be distant, risk averse, and just plain difficult as interview subjects. But Nilay, as a successful founder himself, is able to really engage with these leaders in a way that helps me to understand who they are and why they do what they do.
You should listen to DECODER.”
Fritz Swanson via Apple Podcasts ·
United States of America ·
05/09/24