Malcolm Gladwell

Pushkin.

Pushkin.

A while ago, my colleague Ben-Dadaf Hafri and I gathered to eat English muffins at the Pushkin office. Ben had the idea to do a story about the famous secret recipe for Thomas' English muffins. It sounded like a fun romp. Go for it, I said. Have a good time. Enjoy yourself. And then, a couple months down the road, Ben recorded the following voice memo.

A while ago, my colleague Ben-Dadaf Hafri and I gathered to eat English muffins at the Pushkin office. Ben had the idea to do a story about the famous secret recipe for Thomas' English muffins. It sounded like a fun romp. Go for it, I said. Have a good time. Enjoy yourself. And then, a couple months down the road, Ben recorded the following voice memo.

It was clear that Ben had gone very deep into the nooks and crannies of this story, but this work was too important to stop. In case you missed our previous episode, let me catch you up. One of the most famous trade secrets of all time is the recipe for Thomas's English muffins.

It was clear that Ben had gone very deep into the nooks and crannies of this story, but this work was too important to stop. In case you missed our previous episode, let me catch you up. One of the most famous trade secrets of all time is the recipe for Thomas's English muffins.

It involves how they create their famous nooks and crannies, the most distinctive feature of a nearly half a billion dollar product. The owner of Thomas's, Bimbo Bakeries, Grupo Bimbo, say this secret was allegedly known to only seven employees at the company.

It involves how they create their famous nooks and crannies, the most distinctive feature of a nearly half a billion dollar product. The owner of Thomas's, Bimbo Bakeries, Grupo Bimbo, say this secret was allegedly known to only seven employees at the company.

And they sued one of them to keep him from taking another job, which set off a whole race in corporate America to lock up as many trade secrets as possible. Soon, the corporate world could look a lot more mystical and secretive. And all this led Ben, many, many years later, to wonder, how hard can it be to make a muffin?

And they sued one of them to keep him from taking another job, which set off a whole race in corporate America to lock up as many trade secrets as possible. Soon, the corporate world could look a lot more mystical and secretive. And all this led Ben, many, many years later, to wonder, how hard can it be to make a muffin?

So he set out to try and reverse engineer the famous Thomas' English muffins recipe.

So he set out to try and reverse engineer the famous Thomas' English muffins recipe.

You're coming after my livelihood? Ben! But it's too late to turn back. He's in too deep. He's told me he might even have to go to the CIA. I'm Malcolm Glebel. You're listening to Revisionist History, my show about things overlooked and misunderstood. This season, we've taken on a great many foes. The haters of Paw Patrol, the absurd claims of RFK Jr., the lazy interviewing style of Joe Rogan.

You're coming after my livelihood? Ben! But it's too late to turn back. He's in too deep. He's told me he might even have to go to the CIA. I'm Malcolm Glebel. You're listening to Revisionist History, my show about things overlooked and misunderstood. This season, we've taken on a great many foes. The haters of Paw Patrol, the absurd claims of RFK Jr., the lazy interviewing style of Joe Rogan.

But now we're taking on our biggest opponent yet. Big Muffin. Because their trade secret represents a rising tide of secrecy that's coming for us all. And so we shall persist despite our nightmares. We must reverse engineer the English muffin.

But now we're taking on our biggest opponent yet. Big Muffin. Because their trade secret represents a rising tide of secrecy that's coming for us all. And so we shall persist despite our nightmares. We must reverse engineer the English muffin.

The secret recipe for Rachel Wyman's improved Thomas's English muffins can be found in our show notes. We've put the vinegar version in there too. If you want the authentic Thomas's flavor, leave them in a bag for a week so they get stale. The key thing is to overproof and refrigerate the dough. Why? Just ask Rachel.

The secret recipe for Rachel Wyman's improved Thomas's English muffins can be found in our show notes. We've put the vinegar version in there too. If you want the authentic Thomas's flavor, leave them in a bag for a week so they get stale. The key thing is to overproof and refrigerate the dough. Why? Just ask Rachel.

Revisionist History is produced by Ben-Nadav Hafri with Lucy Sullivan and Nina Bird Lawrence. This episode was edited by Julia Barton. Fact-checking by Kate Furby. Original scoring by Luis Guerra. Mixing and mastering on this episode by Echo Mountain. Our executive producer is Jacob Smith. Production support from Sarah Bruguere and Luke Lamond.

Revisionist History is produced by Ben-Nadav Hafri with Lucy Sullivan and Nina Bird Lawrence. This episode was edited by Julia Barton. Fact-checking by Kate Furby. Original scoring by Luis Guerra. Mixing and mastering on this episode by Echo Mountain. Our executive producer is Jacob Smith. Production support from Sarah Bruguere and Luke Lamond.