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What is greatness? with Chuck Klosterman

June 2, 2026 · 39 min

Show notes

What does it take to actually be the greatest of all time? Chuck Klosterman is a cultural critic who studies the lowbrow, taking a closer look at sports, music, and media to discover what it can tell us about society and human behavior. In this episode, Adam challenges Chuck on his controversial take that Tom Brady is not the greatest football player of all time, and the two wrestle with the definition of greatness in the context of modern culture. Chuck also argues that football is headed towards a decline as America’s favorite sport, and invites Adam to reconsider whether or not self-awareness is an advantageous trait. 


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ReThinking is produced by Cosmic Standard. Our Senior Producer is Jessica Glazer, our Engineer is Aja Simpson, our Technical Director is Jacob Winik, and our Executive Producer is Eliza Smith.


For the full text transcript, visit ted.com/podcasts/rethinking-with-adam-grant-transcripts

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