When Katharine Graham took over the Washington Post in 1963, she was a shy socialite who'd never run anything. By retirement, she'd taken down a president, ended the most violent strike in a generation, and built one of the best-performing companies in American history.

Graham had no training, no experience, not even confidence. Just a newspaper bleeding money and a government that expected her to fall in line.

When her editors brought her stolen classified documents, her lawyers begged her not to publish. They said it would destroy the company. She published them anyway. Nixon came after her, attacking her with the full force of the executive. Then Watergate. For nearly a year she was ridiculed and isolated while pursuing the story that would eventually bring down the president. 

Graham proved that you can grow into a job that initially seems impossible and no amount of training can substitute for having the right values and the courage to act on them.

Approximate timestamps: Subject to variation due to dynamically inserted ads:  
(02:19) The Making of an Unlikely Heiress 
(10:15) The Education of a Publisher’s Wife  
(22:16) Learning to Lead 
(30:46) Becoming a Media Titan  
(44:12) Legacy  
(47:59) Reflections + Lessons
This episode is for informational purposes only and is full of practical lessons I learned reading her memoir, Personal History and watching Becoming Katharine Graham. Check out highlights from this book in our repository, and find key lessons from Graham here: ⁠⁠<a href="https://fs.blog/knowledge-project-podcast/outliers-katharine-graham/">https://fs.blog/knowledge-project-podcast/outliers-katharine-graham/</a>
Thanks to ReMarkable for sponsoring this episode. Get your paper tablet at <a href="https://remarkable.com/">reMarkable.com</a> today
Upgrade—If you want to hear my thoughts and reflections at the end of all episodes, join our membership: <a href="https://fs.blog/membership/">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠fs.blog/membership⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</a>⁠⁠ and get your own private feed.
Newsletter—The Brain Food newsletter delivers actionable insights and thoughtful ideas every Sunday. It takes 5 minutes to read, and it’s completely free. Learn more and sign up at <a href="https://fs.blog/newsletter/">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠fs.blog/newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠</a>
Follow me on X at: <a href="https://x.com/ShaneAParrish">⁠⁠⁠⁠x.com/ShaneAParrish</a>
Check out our website for all stock video and photo credits. Episode photo sourced from: <a href="https://www.iwmf.org/community/katharine-graham/">iwmf.org/community/katharine-graham/</a> Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a>

Podurama

Home

Trending

Personal

Your Podcasts

New Episodes

My Files

Favourite Episodes

Tags (Folders)

Recently Played

Bookmarks

Followed Playlists

Katharine Graham: The Woman Who Took Down a President (Outliers)

The Knowledge Project with Shane Parrish

AI Chapters

AI Insights

Reviews