Kurt Eichenwald, NY Times Best Selling Author
Today, my guest is Kurt Eichenwald, a contributing editor at Vanity Fair and a New York Times bestselling author of The Informant, Serpent on the Rock, Conspiracy of Fools and 500 Days.
He previously worked for twenty years at the Times as a investigative reporter, columnist and senior writer.
He is a two-time winner of the George Polk Award for excellence in journalism and was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2000 and 2002.
His second book, The Informant, was called “one of the best nonfiction books of the decade” by The New York Times Book Review and made into a major motion picture starring Matt Damon.
In this candid conversation, Kurt shared the real stories behind his transition to an author, his unique approach to narrative journalism, and his deeply personal battle to succeed despite severe medical trauma.
1. Finding the Narrative Arc. Kurt explained that his highly successful books, such as Conspiracy of Fools and The Informant, rely heavily on a strong "narrative arc" rather than simply lecturing readers on business or accounting. He describes his work as the "narrative reconstruction of true events". For example, he approached the massive Enron scandal not merely as a corporate fraud story, but as a thrilling human drama about the staggering incompetence of fascinating people whose crimes ultimately lit a match in a "basement full of gasoline".
2. The Illusion of Truth. Although he considers himself a "fraud aficionado," Kurt revealed that The Informant is actually his favorite book because it allowed him to play a "game on truth" with the reader. He wanted to demonstrate the concept that having 95% of the facts does not necessarily mean you have 95% of the truth. To prove this, he deliberately structured the book so that the reader's understanding of the facts completely flips five different times, serving as a profound commentary on the complex nature of truth and the inherent flaws in how people consume journalism.
3. The Journalistic Miranda Warning. Kurt attributes his unprecedented access to controversial subjects to his radically unbiased interviewing style; instead of confronting sources with accusations, he simply walks in and asks to hear their stories. However, he strictly enforces what he calls a "journalistic Miranda warning". He promises to listen to and incorporate everything a subject says as long as they are completely honest, but if he catches them in a single lie of omission or commission, he throws out absolutely everything they have told him.
4. Overcoming Uncontrolled Epilepsy. Shifting away from corporate fraud, Kurt discussed his recently finished, deeply personal memoir about his struggles with severe, uncontrolled epilepsy. He recalled facing immense systemic challenges between the ages of 18 and 32, including being fired from a job just three days after being hired purely because of his condition. By painfully revisiting the agonizing audio diaries he recorded during his most desperate moments, his ultimate goal with the book is to prove to others that they do not have to let severe trauma or disabilities govern their lives.
