Interview with an American
We sit down with Heather Cox Richardson, the ýapp history professor whose smash newsletter Letters from an American has made her one of the country’s leading public intellectuals.
QUICK Q&A
Joe Sabia ’06
The online video producer and creator of Vogue’s hit celebrity interview series “73 Questions.”
How did the idea for the “73 Questions” series come about? Condé Nast Entertainment, the video division of the magazine publisher, asked, “What would you do if you had four hours with actress Sarah Jessica Parker?” I had done some work for Vanity Fair before then, but this was my first time being approached to film a celebrity. I was really into one-take videos during that time—and I thought it could be really fun to ask Sarah Jessica Parker as many questions as possible in one take.
What makes video content go viral? A unique concept—when people see it, they immediately understand that it’s like nothing they’ve ever seen before.
What’s the best advice you can give? My mom passed away in March and I’ve been thinking a lot about what she gifted me. I was a kid obsessed with so many strange interests, and she gave me the freedom to be in love with what I was in love with. She poured gasoline on every flame of excitement. I’m so grateful for that. My advice would be to do that for yourself: Find out what excites you and then figure out the ways that you can really turn that flame into a life-changing conflagration.