Following your purpose (not your passion) with comedian Zarna Garg
Tue Feb 03 2026
Zarna Garg is a stand-up comic, screenwriter, bestselling author, and one of the busiest people in comedy right now. But before she ever set foot onstage, she went to law school and tried her hand at entrepreneurship, failing at a vegan chili company, a tomato sauce brand, and even a matchmaking service. In this episode, Adam and Zarna reflect on how her daughter challenged her to consider a career pivot, debate the usefulness of a humanities degree, and break down the meticulous process that goes into developing a hit performance. Zarna also delivers some hot takes and tells the story of how she found her husband by posting a shockingly no-nonsense online ad.
Host & Guest
Adam Grant (Instagram: @adamgrant | LinkedIn: @adammgrant | Website: https://adamgrant.net/)
Zarna Garg (Instagram: @zarnagarg | YouTube: @zarnagarg | TikTok: @ZarnaGarg | Website: https://zarnagarg.com/)
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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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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Zarna Garg is a stand-up comic, screenwriter, bestselling author, and one of the busiest people in comedy right now. But before she ever set foot onstage, she went to law school and tried her hand at entrepreneurship, failing at a vegan chili company, a tomato sauce brand, and even a matchmaking service. In this episode, Adam and Zarna reflect on how her daughter challenged her to consider a career pivot, debate the usefulness of a humanities degree, and break down the meticulous process that goes into developing a hit performance. Zarna also delivers some hot takes and tells the story of how she found her husband by posting a shockingly no-nonsense online ad. Host & Guest Adam Grant (Instagram: @adamgrant | LinkedIn: @adammgrant | Website: https://adamgrant.net/) Zarna Garg (Instagram: @zarnagarg | YouTube: @zarnagarg | TikTok: @ZarnaGarg | Website: https://zarnagarg.com/) Follow TED! X: https://www.twitter.com/TEDTalks Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ted Facebook: https://facebook.com/TED LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ted-conferences TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tedtoks Podcasts: https://www.ted.com/podcasts 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 Learn more about our flagship conference happening this April at attend.ted.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.