Jun 11, 2020 · 18m · how-i-built-this

How I Built Resilience: Live with Kevin Hart

Kevin Hart · 11m spoken Guy Raz · 5m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions

In this live episode of NPR's How I Built This: Resilience Edition, Guy Raz interviews Kevin Hart about overcoming career setbacks, developing an unshakeable mindset, and the responsibility of corporate leaders to confront systemic racism. Hart shares actionable insights from his entrepreneurial journey, emphasizing how radical accountability and social solidarity drive personal success and meaningful reform.

How this conversation actually went

Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Guy holds 29.8% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Guy as informed peer 3.0 Guest teaching 4.0 Guest disagreement 1.0 Guy pushing back 0.3
05100:0010:000:51–4:56 · Guy as informed peer 4/10 Racial Justice, Global Solidarity, and Generational Progress Guy introduces historical context and references his conversation with Troy Carter and a speech by Barack Obama. Kevin reframes Carter's 'shame on America' quote, explaining that the issue has moved far past shame to demanding structural alignment from mainstream America.4:57–10:12 · Guy as informed peer 3/10 The Mindset of Success, 'The Decision', and Embracing Failure Guy shares his own philosophy on failure being a blessing and prompts Kevin about crushing career moments. Kevin elaborates on how people unnecessarily inflate failure, using the box office outcome of Soul Plane as a prime teaching example.10:17–15:17 · Guy as informed peer 2/10 Audience Q&A: Navigating White Spaces and Conquering Fear Guy presents audience questions regarding navigating predominantly white spaces and overcoming the fear of failure. Kevin gives a masterclass on how he dismantled industry assumptions about Black-led comedies abroad by matching the promotional models of Will Smith and Tom Cruise.15:18–17:45 · Guy as informed peer 3/10 The Entrepreneurial Mandate to Confront Injustice Guy asks about the responsibility of entrepreneurs during times of racial injustice, asserting that silence equates to taking a side. Kevin enthusiastically agrees and issues a direct challenge to the business community not to stay silent.0:51–4:56 · Guest teaching 5/10 Racial Justice, Global Solidarity, and Generational Progress Guy introduces historical context and references his conversation with Troy Carter and a speech by Barack Obama. Kevin reframes Carter's 'shame on America' quote, explaining that the issue has moved far past shame to demanding structural alignment from mainstream America.4:57–10:12 · Guest teaching 3/10 The Mindset of Success, 'The Decision', and Embracing Failure Guy shares his own philosophy on failure being a blessing and prompts Kevin about crushing career moments. Kevin elaborates on how people unnecessarily inflate failure, using the box office outcome of Soul Plane as a prime teaching example.10:17–15:17 · Guest teaching 5/10 Audience Q&A: Navigating White Spaces and Conquering Fear Guy presents audience questions regarding navigating predominantly white spaces and overcoming the fear of failure. Kevin gives a masterclass on how he dismantled industry assumptions about Black-led comedies abroad by matching the promotional models of Will Smith and Tom Cruise.15:18–17:45 · Guest teaching 3/10 The Entrepreneurial Mandate to Confront Injustice Guy asks about the responsibility of entrepreneurs during times of racial injustice, asserting that silence equates to taking a side. Kevin enthusiastically agrees and issues a direct challenge to the business community not to stay silent.0:51–4:56 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Racial Justice, Global Solidarity, and Generational Progress Guy introduces historical context and references his conversation with Troy Carter and a speech by Barack Obama. Kevin reframes Carter's 'shame on America' quote, explaining that the issue has moved far past shame to demanding structural alignment from mainstream America.4:57–10:12 · Guest disagreement 1/10 The Mindset of Success, 'The Decision', and Embracing Failure Guy shares his own philosophy on failure being a blessing and prompts Kevin about crushing career moments. Kevin elaborates on how people unnecessarily inflate failure, using the box office outcome of Soul Plane as a prime teaching example.10:17–15:17 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Audience Q&A: Navigating White Spaces and Conquering Fear Guy presents audience questions regarding navigating predominantly white spaces and overcoming the fear of failure. Kevin gives a masterclass on how he dismantled industry assumptions about Black-led comedies abroad by matching the promotional models of Will Smith and Tom Cruise.15:18–17:45 · Guest disagreement 0/10 The Entrepreneurial Mandate to Confront Injustice Guy asks about the responsibility of entrepreneurs during times of racial injustice, asserting that silence equates to taking a side. Kevin enthusiastically agrees and issues a direct challenge to the business community not to stay silent.0:51–4:56 · Guy pushing back 1/10 Racial Justice, Global Solidarity, and Generational Progress Guy introduces historical context and references his conversation with Troy Carter and a speech by Barack Obama. Kevin reframes Carter's 'shame on America' quote, explaining that the issue has moved far past shame to demanding structural alignment from mainstream America.4:57–10:12 · Guy pushing back 0/10 The Mindset of Success, 'The Decision', and Embracing Failure Guy shares his own philosophy on failure being a blessing and prompts Kevin about crushing career moments. Kevin elaborates on how people unnecessarily inflate failure, using the box office outcome of Soul Plane as a prime teaching example.10:17–15:17 · Guy pushing back 0/10 Audience Q&A: Navigating White Spaces and Conquering Fear Guy presents audience questions regarding navigating predominantly white spaces and overcoming the fear of failure. Kevin gives a masterclass on how he dismantled industry assumptions about Black-led comedies abroad by matching the promotional models of Will Smith and Tom Cruise.15:18–17:45 · Guy pushing back 0/10 The Entrepreneurial Mandate to Confront Injustice Guy asks about the responsibility of entrepreneurs during times of racial injustice, asserting that silence equates to taking a side. Kevin enthusiastically agrees and issues a direct challenge to the business community not to stay silent.

speaking balance: gold is Guy, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)

0:00 · Guy 46.7% · guest 53.3%0:00 · Guy 46.7% · guest 53.3%3:00 · Guy 30.7% · guest 69.3%3:00 · Guy 30.7% · guest 69.3%6:00 · Guy 18.3% · guest 81.7%6:00 · Guy 18.3% · guest 81.7%9:00 · Guy 31.5% · guest 68.5%9:00 · Guy 31.5% · guest 68.5%12:00 · Guy 10.6% · guest 89.4%12:00 · Guy 10.6% · guest 89.4%15:00 · Guy 29.4% · guest 70.6%15:00 · Guy 29.4% · guest 70.6%18:00 · Guy 100% · guest 0%18:00 · Guy 100% · guest 0%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 2:47 Rejecting the 'shame on America' phrase

Kevin pushes back on Troy Carter's phrase cited by Guy, arguing that simply saying 'shame on America' is insufficient and outdated for the current crisis.

Hardest push from Guy ▶ 7:33 Raz compares contemporary protests to the 1960s

Guy synthesizes points from President Obama to frame the unique demographic breadth of the 2020 protests compared to the Civil Rights Movement.

Biggest teaching moment ▶ 10:55 Disproving international market bias

Kevin educates the host and audience on how studios falsely assumed Black-led films could not sell abroad, explaining how he proved them wrong through sheer promotional work.

Guy holds their own ▶ 4:31 Raz contextualizes historical civil rights moments

Guy demonstrates his historical perspective by connecting current protests to Emmett Till, Michael Brown, and historic civil rights struggles.

the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicGuy as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementGuy pushing backWhy
Racial Justice, Global Solidarity, and Generational Progress 4521 Guy introduces historical context and references his conversation with Troy Carter and a speech by Barack Obama. Kevin reframes Carter's 'shame on America' quote, explaining that the issue has moved far past shame to demanding structural alignment from mainstream America.
The Mindset of Success, 'The Decision', and Embracing Failure 3310 Guy shares his own philosophy on failure being a blessing and prompts Kevin about crushing career moments. Kevin elaborates on how people unnecessarily inflate failure, using the box office outcome of Soul Plane as a prime teaching example.
Audience Q&A: Navigating White Spaces and Conquering Fear 2510 Guy presents audience questions regarding navigating predominantly white spaces and overcoming the fear of failure. Kevin gives a masterclass on how he dismantled industry assumptions about Black-led comedies abroad by matching the promotional models of Will Smith and Tom Cruise.
The Entrepreneurial Mandate to Confront Injustice 3300 Guy asks about the responsibility of entrepreneurs during times of racial injustice, asserting that silence equates to taking a side. Kevin enthusiastically agrees and issues a direct challenge to the business community not to stay silent.

Statements from this episode (4)

Opinion
Hart: 2020 racial justice protests show unprecedented mainstream alignment in his lifetime
“We need the alignment. And that's what I felt like I'm starting to see. I'm seeing an alignment, and I haven't seen that. Not in my life. I haven't seen it at this level.”
Kevin Hart Jun 11, 2020 ▶ 4:21
Assertion Supported
Kevin Hart: Soul Plane was a box office failure
“Soul Plane did not do good in the box office, and I said Soul Plane was supposed to be the movie that was supposed to make me the next Eddie Murphy.”
Kevin Hart Jun 11, 2020 ▶ 9:14
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Kevin Hart: Hollywood claimed Black-led comedies do not translate globally
“So I was told that comedy starring a African-American lead wouldn't transfer universal. They just don't. And within that conversation, after hearing it so many times, my fight became asking studios for the opportunity To be marketed internationally for an oppo…”
Kevin Hart Jun 11, 2020 ▶ 11:03
Insight
Kevin Hart: Silence on social injustice signals contentment with the status quo
“Being silent is, it's catastrophic. Your silence basically says that you're not aware and you don't care. And that means that you're okay and you're content with the way that things are. And if you are, it's a problem.”
Kevin Hart Jun 11, 2020 ▶ 15:45
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