In this first portion of our two part interview with the famed host of This American Life, we discuss with Ira his beginnings in radio, the slow process it took to find his voice through years of doubt, the tension he had with his parents through his 20's as they tried to convince him to find more financially stable work, and the philosophy that he now brings to storytelling.

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For decades Robert Krulwich has had one the most distinctive voices in American public radio and journalism. And I don’t just mean the specific sound created by his vocal cords, but the personality that imbues his pieces and explorations. He has an enthusiasm, and an almost childlike exuberance unlike anyone else I know of on the airwaves.    

He’s best known these days as the co-host of WNYC’s Radiolab, where he plays both foil and co-conspirator to Jad Abumrad. But Robert’s connection to radio goes back to the heady early days of National Public Radio. He joined the network in 1978 when it was just getting going, and it was there that he made a name for himself by explaining complex topics, in fun, offbeat ways.

He stayed at NPR until 1985, And while now he is best known for his radio work, he has also reported extensively for television.  For 22 years, Krulwich was a science, economics, general assignment reporter at CBS and ABC News and also worked on PBS programs such as Frontline and Nova. 

What I love about Robert, and what makes him such a great journalist, is that for most of us, curiosity seems to be a relatively quiet pull, or tug within us.  Maybe it drives us to pick up a book, or do a few google searches. But for Robert, curiosity almost seems  like a being that possesses him. It’s something that propells him forward, and animates him, and leads him  to marvel at all sorts of things that most of us wouldn’t think of to ponder. Things such as 'How much does a Hurricane weigh' or 'what nationality are you if you’re born on an airplane?' 

Robert Krulwich is like your favourite mad professor, who is able to turn things that normally seem drab and dull, into questions, and mysteries that you can’t wait to learn more about. And it’s contagious. You can’t help but feel a bit more lust for life after hearing Krulwich talk.

As New York Magazine put it, he’s "The man who simplifies without being simple.” And even more impressive than that for me is the clear joy and fun he has in the process along the way.  

I spoke to Robert about his childhood in New York, his early capers as a 'pretend' teenage journalist, and the life long career he's made for himself out of following his own curiosity. Listen to our interview with Robert Krulwich here.