Malcolm Gladwell

breakfast is the meal you make when you're barely conscious so the breakfast table is a super bowl for food companies lunch is eaten out dinner if you're lucky is prepared from scratch but think about breakfast all the day lies before you and you are in need of sustenance you want something wholesome but crucially easy a little ready-made breakfast foods become lifelong habits

Brands fight tooth and nail for a prime spot at that table. Many have fought valiantly. Cheerios, Lucky Charms, Pop-Tarts, Rice Krispies. But there's only one breakfast item, legendary enough, that when I take a bite, suddenly I remember my childhood. Also, how my father felt about cutting the croissant bread. I think he viewed that as a kind of a sign of, as a kind of a defeat move.

Brands fight tooth and nail for a prime spot at that table. Many have fought valiantly. Cheerios, Lucky Charms, Pop-Tarts, Rice Krispies. But there's only one breakfast item, legendary enough, that when I take a bite, suddenly I remember my childhood. Also, how my father felt about cutting the croissant bread. I think he viewed that as a kind of a sign of, as a kind of a defeat move.

A sign of moral weakness, moral and sort of a lack of real kind of fiber when it came to eating your food. Or Ben takes a bite and suddenly he's off for the millionth time about Proust.

A sign of moral weakness, moral and sort of a lack of real kind of fiber when it came to eating your food. Or Ben takes a bite and suddenly he's off for the millionth time about Proust.

Our breakfast mystery comes in packages of six, but they cannot be eaten right out of the box. Each item inside must be split in two, then toasted, then buttered for the magic to work. And oh, the magic works. I'm talking, of course, about Thomas's English muffins, the most iconic breakfast bread of all time.

Our breakfast mystery comes in packages of six, but they cannot be eaten right out of the box. Each item inside must be split in two, then toasted, then buttered for the magic to work. And oh, the magic works. I'm talking, of course, about Thomas's English muffins, the most iconic breakfast bread of all time.

What sets a Thomas's English muffin apart from all the others? It says right there on the package, nooks and crannies. The recipe for Thomas' English muffin has been one of the most closely held trade secrets there is. Until, allegedly, one baking executive tried to make off with the family's jewels. I'm Malcolm Gladwell.

What sets a Thomas's English muffin apart from all the others? It says right there on the package, nooks and crannies. The recipe for Thomas' English muffin has been one of the most closely held trade secrets there is. Until, allegedly, one baking executive tried to make off with the family's jewels. I'm Malcolm Gladwell.

You're listening to Revisionist History, my show about things overlooked and misunderstood. Today on the show, Ben-Nedaf Hafri peers into the nooks and crannies of one of the greatest legal cases you've never heard of. It's a big story, this muffin case. Today, you're getting part one.

You're listening to Revisionist History, my show about things overlooked and misunderstood. Today on the show, Ben-Nedaf Hafri peers into the nooks and crannies of one of the greatest legal cases you've never heard of. It's a big story, this muffin case. Today, you're getting part one.

How did you get into writing about raccoons?

How did you get into writing about raccoons?

I'm talking with intrepid investigative reporter for the Toronto Star, Amy Dempsey-Raven. Typically, she covers police wrongdoing, child welfare, controversial homicides. But in 2016, when Toronto declared a war on raccoons and unveiled a new raccoon-resistant composting bin, she realized it's time to get serious.

I'm talking with intrepid investigative reporter for the Toronto Star, Amy Dempsey-Raven. Typically, she covers police wrongdoing, child welfare, controversial homicides. But in 2016, when Toronto declared a war on raccoons and unveiled a new raccoon-resistant composting bin, she realized it's time to get serious.

This raccoon-resistant bin cost the city 31 million Canadian dollars. But Toronto is known as the raccoon capital of the world. Theoretically, it's a point of pride, but it's a little more complicated than that. If a race of Martians took over your city, would you call it the Martian capital of the world? Only if you'd already admitted defeat.

This raccoon-resistant bin cost the city 31 million Canadian dollars. But Toronto is known as the raccoon capital of the world. Theoretically, it's a point of pride, but it's a little more complicated than that. If a race of Martians took over your city, would you call it the Martian capital of the world? Only if you'd already admitted defeat.

That was about 40 years ago. Things have gotten much, much worse.

That was about 40 years ago. Things have gotten much, much worse.

Raccoons in the garbage. Raccoons on the train. Raccoons on the back deck.