Lost Interviews Offer a Unique View of Steve Jobs

After Steve Jobs' passing last year, a number of so-called "lost interviews" with the iconic businessman were released, but Fast Company claims it has "a treasure trove of unearthed interviews, conducted by the writer who knew [Jobs] best."

091350 jobs forbes 400 2010
Since 1985, reporter Brent Schlender had covered Steve Jobs for Fortune and the Wall Street Journal and discovered three dozen tapes with recordings of interviews Schlender had conducted with Jobs over 25 years:

Rummaging through the storage shed, I discovered some three dozen tapes holding recordings of extended interviews--some lasting as long as three hours--that I'd conducted with him periodically over the past 25 years. Many I had never replayed--a couple hadn't even been transcribed before now. Some were interrupted by his kids bolting into the kitchen as we talked. During others, he would hit the pause button himself before saying something he feared might come back to bite him. Listening to them again with the benefit of hindsight, the ones that took place during that interregnum jump out as especially enlightening.

The interviews cover much of the time that Jobs spent at Pixar, which often gets forgotten because of what he did putting Apple on top of the corporate world. But, of all that Schlender shares of Steve Jobs is the change in Jobs after he marries Laurene Powell-Jobs and starts a family.

Even after he went back to Apple, there was nothing Jobs liked more than spending time at home. Not that he wasn't a workaholic. We were iChat buddies for several years, so his name would pop up whenever he was working at his computer at home. Almost invariably, he was in front of his Mac until after midnight. We'd occasionally have a video chat, and if it took place early in the evening, I'd often see one of his children in the background looking on.

The full article, "The Lost Steve Jobs Tapes" -- as well as the selected highlights from the interviews themselves -- are worth a read and show some of the personal and professional growth that Jobs experienced during his years at NeXT and Pixar.

Top Rated Comments

macus3r Avatar
156 months ago
Tim's the man, but I think everyone can agree: there'll never be anybody else like Steve.

I miss the guy...
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
hobo.hopkins Avatar
156 months ago
I hope at least some of these are released. They sound fascinating. Love him or hate him he was definitely brilliant.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ProVideo Avatar
156 months ago
While I'm sure there will be a release of a professionally edited with narrative commentary version. I'd love to hear a "raw dump" of these tapes streaming in my office as I work during the day. That is a subscription I'd gladly pay for over a few months.

I want a soundbyte of him saying "This is ****" on an infinite loop.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mobi Avatar
156 months ago
His vision and focus over the past 3 decades give me productivity and utility that I cherish every day!
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Stouver Avatar
156 months ago
I would be really interested to hear some of these if they were ever released.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
entatlrg Avatar
156 months ago
His vision and focus over the past 3 decades give me productivity and utility that I cherish every day!

Can't believe some idiot downvoted your post.

Agreed, Steve was an inspiring and brilliant man. I miss him.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

reset password request iphone

Warning: Apple Users Targeted in Phishing Attack Involving Rapid Password Reset Requests

Tuesday March 26, 2024 4:34 pm PDT by
Phishing attacks taking advantage of Apple's password reset feature have become increasingly common, according to a report from KrebsOnSecurity. Multiple Apple users have been targeted in an attack that bombards them with an endless stream of notifications or multi-factor authentication (MFA) messages in an attempt to cause panic so they'll respond favorably to social engineering. An...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Purple

iOS 18: What to Expect From 'Biggest' Update in iPhone's History

Wednesday March 27, 2024 11:10 am PDT by
At least some Apple software engineers continue to believe that iOS 18 will be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Below, we recap rumored features and changes for the iPhone. "The iOS 18 update is expected to be the most ambitious overhaul of the iPhone's software in its history, according to people working on the upgrade," wrote Gurman, in a r...
maxresdefault

Apple to Launch New iPad Pro and iPad Air Models in May

Thursday March 28, 2024 11:07 am PDT by
Apple will introduce new iPad Pro and iPad Air models in early May, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman previously suggested the new iPads would come out in March, and then April, but the timeline has been pushed back once again. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Apple is working on updates to both the iPad Pro and iPad Air models. The iPad Pro models will...
maxresdefault

Apple Announces WWDC 2024 Event for June 10 to 14

Tuesday March 26, 2024 10:02 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its 35th annual Worldwide Developers Conference is set to take place from Monday, June 10 to Friday, June 14. As with WWDC events since 2020, WWDC 2024 will be an online event that is open to all developers at no cost. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. WWDC 2024 will include online sessions and labs so that developers can learn about new...
apple maps 3d feature

Apple Maps May Gain Custom Routes With iOS 18

Tuesday March 26, 2024 3:10 pm PDT by
Apple may be planning to add support for "custom routes" in Apple Maps in iOS 18, according to code reviewed by MacRumors. Apple Maps does not currently offer a way to input self-selected routes, with Maps users limited to Apple's pre-selected options, but that may change in iOS 18. Apple has pushed an iOS 18 file to its maps backend labeled "CustomRouteCreation." While not much is revealed...
General iOS 17 Feature Orange Purple

Apple Releases Revised Versions of iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 With Updated Build Number

Wednesday March 27, 2024 5:59 am PDT by
Apple on late Tuesday released revised versions of iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 with an updated build number of 21E237, according to MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris. The updates previously had a build number of 21E236. The revised updates are available for all iPhone and iPad models that are compatible with iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, but they can only be installed via the Finder app on macOS...
applephilschiller

Apple's Phil Schiller Works 80 Hours a Week Overseeing App Store

Wednesday March 27, 2024 2:03 pm PDT by
With the App Store and app ecosystem undergoing major changes in the European Union, The Wall Street Journal today shared a profile on App Store chief Phil Schiller, who is responsible for the App Store. Though Schiller transitioned from marketing chief to "Apple Fellow" in 2020 to take a step back from Apple and spend more time on personal projects and friends, he is reportedly working...