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Recode radio presents Recode Decode, hosted by Kara Swisher, powered by digital media.

Hi, I'm Kara Swisher, executive editor of Recode.

You may know me as the only person who liked Ted Cruz in college,

but in my spare time, I talk tech, and you're listening to Recode Decode,

a podcast about tech and media's key players, big ideas, and how they're changing the world we live in.

Today in the red chair, we have Eric Weiner, the author of the New York Times bestseller, The Geography of Bliss.

He now has a book called The Geography of Genius, and when he tries to understand how our surroundings

might encourage us to be smarter and more innovative, a perfect topic for people in Silicon Valley.

Welcome, Eric.

Thanks, Karam. Delighted to be here.

So your first book was enormously successful.

New York Times bestseller, everyone knew about it.

Talk a little bit about the first book itself, because I think people want to get an idea of who you are.

Well, you know, for most of my career, I was a journalist, a foreign correspondent for NPR.

And like most journalists, I, you know, specialized in misery.

That's what journalists do.

You know, I wake up every morning and I think, what's wrong?

I think, where's the most miserable place in the world, and I would get on their plane?

Where are they fucking something up?

Exactly.

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