When Robert Redford passed away in September, I mentioned that I once got to meet him very briefly.
This was while I was working for Bob Woodward. Here, I’ll quote myself:
My small office was next to Woodward’s, with a door that didn’t really close. People would poke their heads in to say hello.
Sometimes: “Hi, I’m here to service the air conditioner.”
This time: “Hi, I’m Bob Redford.”
I remember thinking, Oh, so this is what a movie star is like in real life: charisma, charm, good looks that he clearly worked hard at maintaining, while somehow making it all look effortless.
But there are a lot of good-looking people in the world, and Redford was much more than that.
I had half-forgotten that Bob reads this newsletter (Woodward, not Redford), and so I was gratified when he reached out after seeing that edition to ask me to come by and visit.
It’s been many years now, but I’m still kind of awestruck that I had the chance to work for someone who was my journalism hero since I read All the President’s Men in 8th grade.
So I grabbed a quick flight down to D.C.
Fun fact: I know from working for Bob that there’s a risk when you sit down to eat with him.
It’s that you’ll realize afterward that you spent time with one of the most accomplished journalists of his time -- but that you somehow managed to dominate the conversation.
You’ll get a half hour into it and realize you haven’t asked any questions.
(Probably no surprise, but Bob is really, really good at getting people to talk.)
Sure enough, Bob asked to know about this newsletter … and the newsletter economy in general … and who I still keep in touch with from The Washington Post … and what I thought about the Post in 2025 … and what else I was reading … and of course things like how my family is doing ...
But, I wanted to ask questions, too.
On the plane down, I had “speed re-read” his latest book, War. (Bob is big on one-word titles these days.)
There were two items that jumped out at me:
The first was Bob’s reporting that in fall 2022, the U.S. intelligence community calculated a 50% chance that Vladimir Putin would use nuclear weapons in Ukraine.
“A coin flip,” as Bob put it.
I’m surprised that this vignette didn’t play a big role in the coverage of his book at the time; I think Bob agreed.
The second item from the book came from summer 2024.
Anthony Blinken was talking to Joe Biden about whether he should run for reelection, and Blinken made a universal point:
“I don’t want to see your legacy jeopardized. Anyone who is written about gets one sentence. That’s the legacy.”
It’s true, right?
Lincoln freed the slaves. Einstein cracked relativity. Beethoven wrote symphonies. Your grandfather fought in the war. Your aunt made the best apple pie.
(Or maybe your aunt fought in the war and your grandfather was the baker. What do I know?)
Now, as I write this ...
I don’t think I actually got Bob to tell me what he hoped his one sentence would be! Or if I did, I didn’t write it down.
Bad Bill Murphy Jr.! Have you learned nothing?
Actually, I have learned something. Ask questions!
So let me ask you one today:
If we only get a one-sentence legacy, what do you hope yours will be?
How about answering that one in the comments? (If that’s too heavy, you can also share a one-sentence you think would be admirable in general, even if it’s not the one you want personally.)
As always, when I do these calls for comment, if you want to answer but would prefer to remain anonymous, that’s fine. Reply to this email and I’ll add it to the comments without your name.
Have a good lunch today. Don’t forget to ask questions.
7 other things
Shares of Nvidia rose more than 4% Wednesday, making the tech giant the first company to cross the $5 trillion market value threshold. The extraordinary milestone reflects a remarkable rise for the company, which has evolved from a niche video game processor to an integral player in the artificial intelligence boom. Consider that Apple became the first publicly traded U.S. company to reach $1 trillion as recently as 2018. (CNBC)
Hurricane Melissa left dozens dead and widespread destruction across Cuba, Jamaica and Haiti on Wednesday, knocking out power and forcing residents from their homes in inundated towns. Jamaican officials reported complications in assessing the damage because of outages, noting that “a total communication blackout” in some areas. (AP)
Remember yesterday I said Netflix was the top streamer for under-18s? Hours later, buoyed by the runaway success of “KPop Demon Hunters,” “Happy Gilmore 2” and the second season of “Wednesday,” Netflix reported its third-quarter revenue grew 17 percent. The streaming giant said the higher results had come from a mix of subscription growth, advertising and other sales. (NYT)
The British newspaper the Times has apologized and deleted an article after discovering its reporter had been duped by someone pretending to be Bill de Blasio, the former mayor of New York City. A man purporting to be De Blasio gave senior reporter Bevan Hurley a series of quotes criticising Zohran Mamdani, the frontrunner in the current mayoral race, ahead of the vote next Tuesday. (The Guardian)
In the past 12 years, 35 days is the longest any member of Congress elected via special election has had to wait to be sworn into office, according to a Ballotpedia analysis. Wednesday marked day 36 for U.S. Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva. Democrats allege Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson is delaying Grijalva’s swearing in because she’d deliver the 218th signature on a petition to force the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, which President Trump opposes. (Axios)
Using AI to negotiate a $195k hospital bill down to $33k. (Threads)
An 80-year-old Australian woman’s remains were found after a cruise ship allegedly left her behind on an island. Her body was recovered on Sunday, according to ABC News Australia. The search for her was launched Saturday night after she was reported missing hours after the Coral Adventurer cruise ship visited Lizard Island, which is about 200 miles north of Cairns, considered the gateway to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. The unidentified woman had been on a group hiking tour of the island but did not return to the ship, which departed between 6 and 7 p.m. (Fox News)
Thanks for reading. See you in the comments!
One from a reader: “He really brought out the best in people.”
From another reader!
"She taught all of her students to read."