“Wise, companionable, and often extremely funny” (Atlantic), Adam Gopnik’s The Real Work examines what is involved in learning a new skill—from life drawing to baking, boxing to dancing, performing magic tricks to driving. Along the way he discovers that virtuosity is sterile without vulnerability, and the best is the enemy of the good. He discusses the human need to achieve in relation to our limited span on earth with Richard Brodhead, Emeritus President of Duke University and scholar of 19th century literature. Adam Gopnik is a New Yorker staff writer.

Recorded November 3, 2023