Malcolm Gladwell

Just so you're aware, if you're thinking of getting the audiobook, you're in for 27 hours and 20 minutes of this.

Just so you're aware, if you're thinking of getting the audiobook, you're in for 27 hours and 20 minutes of this.

What doesn't RFK Jr. like? Pills, powders, pricks, and potions. The very things that the Department of Health and Human Services brings to the world. And of all the pills and powders and pricks within his domain, the one he hates the most is Rodotech. And why does he hate Rodotech? Because he's a Bishampian. And a Bishampian has to hate Rodotech.

What doesn't RFK Jr. like? Pills, powders, pricks, and potions. The very things that the Department of Health and Human Services brings to the world. And of all the pills and powders and pricks within his domain, the one he hates the most is Rodotech. And why does he hate Rodotech? Because he's a Bishampian. And a Bishampian has to hate Rodotech.

Because if Kennedy admits that Rodotech works, then the whole edifice of 19th century pseudoscience that he has committed himself to comes tumbling down. RFK Jr. likes to pretend that he is alarmed by vaccines that do not work. No, he's alarmed by vaccines that do work. Heaven, help us. Next time on Revisionist History, the plot thickens and the virus spreads from RFK Jr. to Joe Rogan.

Because if Kennedy admits that Rodotech works, then the whole edifice of 19th century pseudoscience that he has committed himself to comes tumbling down. RFK Jr. likes to pretend that he is alarmed by vaccines that do not work. No, he's alarmed by vaccines that do work. Heaven, help us. Next time on Revisionist History, the plot thickens and the virus spreads from RFK Jr. to Joe Rogan.

Revisionist History is produced by Lucy Sullivan, Nina Bird Lawrence, and Ben-Nadav Hafri. Our editor is Karen Shakerji. Fact-checking by Kate Furby. Original scoring by Luis Guerra. Engineering by Nina Bird Lawrence. Mixing and mastering on this episode by Marcelo D'Oliveira. Production support from Luke Lamond. Our executive producer is Jacob Smith.

Revisionist History is produced by Lucy Sullivan, Nina Bird Lawrence, and Ben-Nadav Hafri. Our editor is Karen Shakerji. Fact-checking by Kate Furby. Original scoring by Luis Guerra. Engineering by Nina Bird Lawrence. Mixing and mastering on this episode by Marcelo D'Oliveira. Production support from Luke Lamond. Our executive producer is Jacob Smith.

Special thanks to Sarah Nix and El Jefe Greta Cohn. I'm Malcolm Gladwell.

Special thanks to Sarah Nix and El Jefe Greta Cohn. I'm Malcolm Gladwell.

When Malcolm Gladwell presented NPR's Throughline podcast with a Peabody Award, he praised it for its historical and moral clarity. On Throughline, we take you back in time to the origins of what's in the news, like presidential power, aging, and evangelicalism. Time travel with us every week on the Throughline podcast from NPR.

When Malcolm Gladwell presented NPR's Throughline podcast with a Peabody Award, he praised it for its historical and moral clarity. On Throughline, we take you back in time to the origins of what's in the news, like presidential power, aging, and evangelicalism. Time travel with us every week on the Throughline podcast from NPR.

Hello, hello, everyone. This is the first of what are going to be a couple of episodes in this mini-season from my colleague, Ben-Nadav Hafri. Ben is the guy, when you're hiking through the wilderness, who says, let's go this way. And there's no trail. And you think, oh, I'm going to get eaten by bears. And then, no, you find some lost civilization and large piles of glittering gold.

Hello, hello, everyone. This is the first of what are going to be a couple of episodes in this mini-season from my colleague, Ben-Nadav Hafri. Ben is the guy, when you're hiking through the wilderness, who says, let's go this way. And there's no trail. And you think, oh, I'm going to get eaten by bears. And then, no, you find some lost civilization and large piles of glittering gold.

Ben started telling me this story and I stopped him halfway through and I said, oh Ben, this is a spandrel. And what's a spandrel? One of my all-time favorite concepts invented by Stephen Jay Gould. The spandrel is the thing that doesn't have a function, but which hangs around like a random hitchhiker because it happens to be riding along with things that do have a function. Like your earlobes.

Ben started telling me this story and I stopped him halfway through and I said, oh Ben, this is a spandrel. And what's a spandrel? One of my all-time favorite concepts invented by Stephen Jay Gould. The spandrel is the thing that doesn't have a function, but which hangs around like a random hitchhiker because it happens to be riding along with things that do have a function. Like your earlobes.

I mean, what are they there for? Doesn't it seem like they were all just along for the ride with the part of our ear that actually does useful things? Or your chin. What's up with the chin? We look at a spandrel and we assume there has to be a reason for it. And there isn't. They're just spandrels. My name is Malcolm Gladwell.

I mean, what are they there for? Doesn't it seem like they were all just along for the ride with the part of our ear that actually does useful things? Or your chin. What's up with the chin? We look at a spandrel and we assume there has to be a reason for it. And there isn't. They're just spandrels. My name is Malcolm Gladwell.

This is Revisionist History, my podcast about things overlooked and misunderstood. In this episode, my colleague Ben-Nadav Hafri investigates a spandrel you don't even realize you've been living with, something that none of us would ever think to question. Because it's such a bedrock part of our world, we all just assume it has to be there. And it doesn't. I'm talking, of course, about Sirens.

This is Revisionist History, my podcast about things overlooked and misunderstood. In this episode, my colleague Ben-Nadav Hafri investigates a spandrel you don't even realize you've been living with, something that none of us would ever think to question. Because it's such a bedrock part of our world, we all just assume it has to be there. And it doesn't. I'm talking, of course, about Sirens.