Malcolm Gladwell
👤 SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
This season on Revisionist History, we're going back to the spring of 1988 to a town in northwest Alabama where a man committed a crime that would spiral out of control.
From Revisionist History, this is The Alabama Murders.
Listen to Revisionist History, The Alabama Murders on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Malcolm Gladwell here.
This season on Revisionist History, we're going back to the spring of 1988 to a town in northwest Alabama where a man committed a crime that would spiral out of control.
From Revisionist History, this is The Alabama Murders.
Listen to Revisionist History, The Alabama Murders on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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.