When is the work of two people together greater than what either could do on their own? In Powers of Two: Finding the Essence of Innovation in Creative Pairs, Shenk breaks the myth of the lone genius apart and draws on new scientific research to show how the pair is the embodiment of ingenuity.

Shenk explains how synergy created the magic of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, the hilarity of Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the startup savvy of Sheryl Sandberg and Mark Zuckerberg, the financial stylings of Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger, the civil rights fire of Ralph David Abernathy and Martin Luther King, Jr.

When it comes to creative success, Shenk persuasively argues that two is the magic number – and understanding why changes everything we thought we knew about creativity

Shenk is the author of Lincoln’s Melancholy, a New York Times Notable Book. He directs the Arts in Mind series on creativity and serves on the general council of The Moth. In conversation with Alix Spiegel, an NPR correspondent who works on the Science desk and covers psychology.