Derek Thompson
Staff writer at The Atlantic, Host of “Plain English” podcast
Derek Thompson is a senior editor at The Atlantic, where he writes about economics and the media. He is a regular contributor to NPR’s Here and Now and appears frequently on television, including CBS and MSNBC.
He is also the host of the podcast Plain English and the author of the national bestselling book Hit Makers: How to Succeed in an Age of Distraction, which has been translated into a dozen languages.
Thompson was named to both Inc. magazine and Forbes‘ 30 Under 30 lists. He lives in New York City.
“The disease is the fact that liberalism, which used to be an ideology of building, has become an ideology of blocking.”
▸
01:17:12 min
—
with
There’s a reason you can’t stop you head boppin’ to block-rockin’ beats, and why you can’t get a song’s hook out of your head.
▸
5 min
—
with
The scandalous history of the Billboard Hot 100 is the perfect analogy for how Donald Trump’s popularity broke the rigid power structure of American politics.
▸
4 min
—
with
Is coolness wearing a leather jacket and slicking your hair back? Or is it “a measured rebellion” within established boundaries? One big thinker tells us that being “cool” is sort of like a cult, at least from a sociological standpoint.
▸
4 min
—
with
History is littered with thousands of things that tried to appeal to everyone and yet failed miserably. If you want true success, try to appeal to a core group.
▸
4 min
—
with
Here’s why your brain’s biases are a win for fake news, and a pay day for Facebook.
▸
9 min
—
with
So, how do you make something popular? Simple! You just update something old. This applies to storytelling, design, and even tech gadgets.
▸
7 min
—
with