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Home > The Positive Leadership Podcast > Running From and Running Toward: Rewriting the Stories We Inherit with Nicholas Thompson
Podcast: The Positive Leadership Podcast
Episode:

Running From and Running Toward: Rewriting the Stories We Inherit with Nicholas Thompson
Category: Business
Duration: 01:28:03
Publish Date: 2026-02-18 08:00:00
Description:

What if the stories you inherited about who you’re supposed to become—from your family, your industry, your own fears—are the very narratives holding you back? 

In this powerful episode of the Positive Leadership Podcast, I welcome Nicholas Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic, a visionary media executive who has led transformations at The New Yorker and WIRED, and an extraordinary marathoner who set an American record in the 50K at age 45. 

But Nick’s story isn’t just about professional success or athletic achievement. It’s about the conscious choice to rewrite the narrative we inherit. 

Nick grew up watching his brilliant father—a Rhodes Scholar and academic star—whose life eventually “cracked up” due to alcoholism and personal struggles. Around Nick’s 40th birthday, his father warned him: “All men’s lives fall apart at this age.” That was the script Nick had inherited. A story of inevitable decline. 

But Nick refused to live that story. 

In our conversation, we explore: 
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