1. Research the specified topic using your domain expertise
2. Gather sources following the source hierarchy
3. Document findings with full citations
4. Flag items needing human verification

• Personal background (birthplace, family, education)
• Career trajectory and turning points
• Interviews and profiles
• Motivations and psychology
• Relationships (co-founders, rivals, mentors, family)
• Personality traits and quirks
• Hobbies, interests, humanizing details
• Key life moments and decisions

• Interviews they gave
• Autobiographies/memoirs
• Conference talks, speeches
• Personal blog posts

• Profiles by journalists who met them
• Interviews with colleagues, family, friends
• Authorized biographies
• Documentary appearances

• News profiles
• Magazine features
• Podcast episodes about them
• Book chapters

• Wikipedia (verify against primary)
• LinkedIn (career timeline)
• Public records

"[name]" interview

• Subject speaking in their own voice
• Personal anecdotes they share
• Their explanation of decisions
• Candid moments

• New Yorker
• Vanity Fair
• Wired
• Bloomberg Businessweek
• New York Times Magazine

• Wired
• MIT Technology Review
• The Verge
• Ars Technica

• Forbes
• Fortune
• Inc.
• Fast Company

• Biographies of subject
• Books about their company/project
• Industry histories mentioning them
• Memoirs by colleagues

• Google Books (preview)
• Amazon Look Inside
• Library databases
• Book reviews quoting passages

1. Origin: Where did they come from? (Place, family, class)
2. Formation: What shaped them? (Education, early jobs, mentors)
3. Motivation: Why did they do what they did? (Money? Ideology? Recognition?)
4. Method: How did they operate? (Personality, management style)
5. Relationships: Who mattered to them? (Partners, rivals, family)
6. Turning points: What moments changed their path?
7. Contradictions: What doesn't fit the simple narrative?
8. Humanity: What makes them relatable/interesting beyond the headline?

• Specific details (not "he was smart" but "dropped out after one semester")
• Contradictions (public image vs. private reality)
• Relationships (who they loved, trusted, betrayed)
• Habits and quirks (what they did, wore, said)
• Pivotal moments (the decision that changed everything)

"[name]" childhood OR "grew up" OR parents
"[name]" "in an interview" OR "told me" OR "said"
"[name]" personality OR "known for" OR reputation
"[name]" wife OR husband OR family OR children
"[name]" hobby OR "in his spare time" OR "outside of work"

• Born: [Date, place]
• Family: [Parents, siblings, spouse, children]
• Education: [Schools, degrees, dropouts]
• Early career: [First jobs, formative experiences]

"[Quote about themselves or their work]" — [Source], [Date]

"[Another revealing quote]" — [Source], [Date]

• [Trait 1 - with evidence]
• [Trait 2 - with evidence]
• [How others describe them]

• [Person]: [Nature of relationship, significance]
• [Person]: [Nature of relationship, significance]

• [Date/Event]: [What happened, why it mattered]
• [Date/Event]: [What happened, why it mattered]

• [Hobby, habit, quirk]
• [Anecdote that reveals character]
• [Contradiction or surprise]

• Character traits for narrative: [What defines them]
• Specific details: [Concrete facts for authenticity]
• Emotional hooks: [What makes them sympathetic/compelling]
• Quotable phrases: [Things they said that work in lyrics]

• [What we don't know about them]

• [What to double-check]

---

• "I started because..."
• "Back when I was..."
• "The first time I..."

• "I wanted to..."
• "It was important to me that..."
• "The reason I..."

• "Looking back..."
• "I should have..."
• "If I could do it again..."

• "We used to..."
• "[Name] and I..."
• "The team was..."

• "That's when I realized..."
• "Everything changed when..."
• "The turning point was..."

• More latitude for research
• Public statements fair game
• Public actions documented

• More caution required
• Focus on what's already public
• Consider impact

• Mental health details
• Family relationships
• Financial difficulties
• Personal struggles

• May respond to the work
• Consider current context
• Avoid defamation

• Consider impact on family
• Legacy is contested territory
• Death circumstances may be sensitive

• Origin stories
• Philosophy/ideology
• Key decisions
• Relevant albums: Distros

• Career trajectory
• Management style
• Downfall narrative
• Relevant albums: Authorization, Mark to Market

• Background leading to crime
• Methodology
• Capture/consequences
• Relevant albums: Various true crime

• Promise and potential
• What went wrong
• Legacy
• Relevant albums: Tracks about Ian Murdock, etc.

1. Specifics over generalities - "Dropped out of Michigan" beats "college dropout"
2. Their words are best - Direct quotes > journalist paraphrase
3. Contradictions are gold - Complexity makes compelling characters
4. Relationships reveal character - Who they loved, hated, betrayed
5. Small details humanize - Habits, quirks, appearance
6. Timeline matters - When did they change?