Shows / Revisionist History
Revisionist History
Revisionist History is Malcolm Gladwell's journey through the overlooked and the misunderstood. Every episode re-examines something from the past—an event, a person, an idea, even a song—and asks whether we got it right the first time. From Pushkin Industries. Because sometimes the past deserves a second chance.
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Episodes
Revisionist HistoryDr. Rock’s Taxonomy
John Rock was the co-inventor of the birth control pill — and a committed Catholic. He wanted his church to approve of his invention. What happens when a…
Revisionist HistoryThe Standard Case
Revisionist History tries to make sense of the conundrum of PED use in baseball, using the 500-year-old philosophical techniques of St. Ignatius. Part one of a…
Revisionist HistoryGood Old Boys
If you disagree with someone — if you find what they think appalling — is there any value in talking to them? In the early 1970s, the talk show host Dick…
Revisionist HistoryTempest in a Teacup
Bohea, the aroma of tire fire, Mob Wives, smugglers, “bro” tea, and what it all means to the backstory of the American Revolution. Malcolm tells the real story…
Revisionist HistoryThe Tortoise and the Hare
A weird speech by Antonin Scalia, a visit with some serious legal tortoises, and a testy exchange with the experts at the Law School Admissions Council prompts…
Revisionist HistoryPuzzle Rush
Malcolm challenges his assistant Camille to the Law School Admissions Test. He gets halfway through, panics, runs out of time, and wonders: why does the legal…
Revisionist HistoryIntroducing Revisionist History Season Four
Jesuits. Chess masters. Mafiosi. Lawyers. And a little bit of tire fire. Launching June 20th from Pushkin Industries. Learn more about your ad-choices at…
Revisionist HistoryAnalysis, Parapraxis, Elvis
The one song The King couldn’t sing. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy…
Revisionist HistoryStrong Verbs, Short Sentences
“She was Joan of Arc, Madame Curie, and Florence Nightingale—all wrapped up in one.” Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com…
Revisionist HistoryThe Imaginary Crimes of Margit Hamosh
Epidemics of fear repeat themselves. The first time as tragedy. The second time as farce. Margit Hamosh? Definitely farce. Learn more about your ad-choices at…
Revisionist HistoryMalcolm Gladwell's 12 Rules for Life
Crucial life lessons from the end of hockey games, Idris Elba, and some Wall Street guys with a lot of time on their hands. Learn more about your ad-choices at…
Revisionist HistoryThe Hug Heard Round the World
Q: Was there a period where you felt you had something to prove? A: The first 45 years of my life. Learn more about your ad-choices at…
Revisionist HistoryGeneral Chapman’s Last Stand
Good fences make good neighbors. Or maybe not. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy…
Revisionist HistoryFree Brian Williams
"Sorry dude, I don't remember you being on my aircraft." Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener…
Revisionist HistoryA Polite Word for Liar
An early morning raid, a house-full of Nazis, the world’s greatest harmonica player, and a dashingly handsome undercover spy. What could possibly go wrong?…
Revisionist HistoryBurden of Proof
“He called to wish me ‘Happy Birthday.’ Then he said, ‘I’m failing everything.’” Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See…
Revisionist HistoryDivide and Conquer
The complete, unabridged history of the world’s most controversial semicolon. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See…
Revisionist HistoryMalcolm Gladwell debates Adam Grant
In a special live taping at the 92nd Street Y in New York, Malcolm talks with WorkLife’s Adam Grant about how to avoid doing highly undesirable tasks, what…
Revisionist HistoryIntroducing Revisionist History Season Three
Malcolm Gladwell is back with season three of Revisionist History: harmonica players, mass delusion, semicolons, and a constitutional crisis. Launching May…
Revisionist HistoryThe Basement Tapes
What is a son’s obligation to his father? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy…
Revisionist HistoryMcDonald’s Broke My Heart
They made the world’s greatest French Fry. Then they threw it away. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See…
Revisionist HistoryMr. Hollowell Didn’t Like That
Arrested, arraigned, indicted, tried, convicted, and sentenced to die in the electric chair in 24 hours. Learn more about your ad-choices at…
Revisionist HistoryState v Johnson
“Nobody was interested in justice.” Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy…
Revisionist HistoryThe King of Tears
Why country music makes you cry, and rock and roll doesn’t: A musical interpretation of divided America. Learn more about your ad-choices at…
Revisionist HistoryThe Prime Minister and the Prof
The friendship that changed the course of World War II. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener…
Revisionist HistoryThe Foot Soldier of Birmingham
“Oh, Mac. What did you do?” Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Revisionist HistoryMiss Buchanan’s Period of Adjustment
A landmark Supreme Court case. A civil rights revolution. Why has everyone forgotten what happened next? Learn more about your ad-choices at…
Revisionist HistoryThe Road to Damascus
What happens when a terrorist has a change of heart? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for…
Revisionist HistoryA Good Walk Spoiled
Rich people and their addiction to golf: a philosophical investigation. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See…
Revisionist HistoryIntroducing Revisionist History Season Two
From bestselling author Malcolm Gladwell, season two of Revisionist History launches June 15th. Learn more about your ad-choices at…
Revisionist HistoryThe Satire Paradox
In the political turmoil of mid-1990s Britain, a brilliant young comic named Harry Enfield set out to satirize the ideology and politics of Prime Minister…
Revisionist HistoryGenerous Orthodoxy
A 98-year-old minister takes on his church over the subject of gay marriage—and teaches the rest of us what it means to stand up in protest. To learn more…
Revisionist HistoryBlame Game
In the summer and fall of 2009, hundreds of Toyota owners came forward with an alarming allegation: Their cars were suddenly and uncontrollably accelerating…
Revisionist HistoryHallelujah
How does genius emerge? An exploration of different types of innovation—through the lens of Elvis Costello’s extraordinary song “Deportee,” once utterly…
Revisionist HistoryMy Little Hundred Million
In the early ’90s, Hank Rowan gave $100 million to a tiny public university in Glassboro, New Jersey: not Harvard, not Yale, not even to his alma mater, MIT…
Revisionist HistoryFood Fight
Bowdoin College and Vassar College are two elite private schools that compete for the same students. But one of those schools is trying hard to address the…
Revisionist HistoryCarlos Doesn’t Remember
Of the tens of thousands of talented, low-income students who graduate from high school every year in the United States, most never make it to universities…
Revisionist HistoryThe Big Man Can't Shoot
Wilt Chamberlain’s brilliant career was marred by one, deeply inexplicable decision: He chose a shooting technique that made him one of the worst foul shooters…
Revisionist HistorySaigon, 1965
In the early 1960s the Pentagon set up a top-secret research project in an old villa in downtown Saigon. The task? To interview captured North Vietnamese…
Revisionist HistoryThe Lady Vanishes
In the late 19th century, a painting titled The Roll Call, by a virtually unknown artist, took England by storm. But after that brilliant first effort, the…
Revisionist HistoryIntroducing Revisionist History
Coming soon, a new podcast series from bestselling author Malcolm Gladwell. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See…