Malcolm Gladwell

Christmas is one week away. And how am I celebrating? With restraint and circumspection. In the Gladwell family, we do a mid-century modern Christmas. Spare, elegant, minimalist. Lots of the baby Jesus in a tasteful Scandinavian leather and rosewood manger. No Santa, no reindeer, no elves. Not so for my colleague, Ben-Nadav Haffrey.

Christmas is one week away. And how am I celebrating? With restraint and circumspection. In the Gladwell family, we do a mid-century modern Christmas. Spare, elegant, minimalist. Lots of the baby Jesus in a tasteful Scandinavian leather and rosewood manger. No Santa, no reindeer, no elves. Not so for my colleague, Ben-Nadav Haffrey.

The Glavos impose a dollar limit on gifts, like price controls in some socialist state. The Nadav Hafris spend months thinking of what to get one another. The Glavos buy a tree at the last moment and would be happier if we could just move the whole operation outside around the Douglas Pine in the backyard.

The Glavos impose a dollar limit on gifts, like price controls in some socialist state. The Nadav Hafris spend months thinking of what to get one another. The Glavos buy a tree at the last moment and would be happier if we could just move the whole operation outside around the Douglas Pine in the backyard.

Ben's family has a tree, a little model village covered in snow, and his father's vintage electric train set, plus a little metal tree with ornaments that's up year-round. So when I told Ben that I had never watched It's a Wonderful Life, he was stunned. Then he reached out to me, as the good Samaritan did to the traveler lying bereft by the side of the road. How could this be? He asked me gently.

Ben's family has a tree, a little model village covered in snow, and his father's vintage electric train set, plus a little metal tree with ornaments that's up year-round. So when I told Ben that I had never watched It's a Wonderful Life, he was stunned. Then he reached out to me, as the good Samaritan did to the traveler lying bereft by the side of the road. How could this be? He asked me gently.

Because, as you can imagine for the Nadaf Hafriz, It's a Wonderful Life is a sacred text. Then Ben told me another story about what, in his mind, is an even more important Christmas tale. A story that he regards as the apotheosis of all Christmas movies. A story not in a film, but of the making of a film. Welcome to Revisionist History. I'm Malcolm Gladwell.

Because, as you can imagine for the Nadaf Hafriz, It's a Wonderful Life is a sacred text. Then Ben told me another story about what, in his mind, is an even more important Christmas tale. A story that he regards as the apotheosis of all Christmas movies. A story not in a film, but of the making of a film. Welcome to Revisionist History. I'm Malcolm Gladwell.

Today on our show, Ben-Nanaf Hafri relays, for the very first time in history, the truly screwy story of the making of the oddest Christmas film of all time. Trust me, you have never heard this story before, ever.

Today on our show, Ben-Nanaf Hafri relays, for the very first time in history, the truly screwy story of the making of the oddest Christmas film of all time. Trust me, you have never heard this story before, ever.

Nor have you ever seen the movie in question, unless you're a member of the extended Nadaf Hafri clan or were recently incarcerated in a state that limits prisoner streaming access to obscure television movies of the 1990s. But when you listen to what follows, you're going to ask yourself the same question I asked myself when Ben first told me this story. How did I miss this?

Nor have you ever seen the movie in question, unless you're a member of the extended Nadaf Hafri clan or were recently incarcerated in a state that limits prisoner streaming access to obscure television movies of the 1990s. But when you listen to what follows, you're going to ask yourself the same question I asked myself when Ben first told me this story. How did I miss this?

Thank you all for coming.

Thank you all for coming.

Wait, we should probably do this before we get too far afield. On the music thing, if you've been talking so much, you will note that behind you, there is a Korg.

Wait, we should probably do this before we get too far afield. On the music thing, if you've been talking so much, you will note that behind you, there is a Korg.

And we have a request that you play one of your most famous compositions. Which... You know what I'm talking about. I'm talking about Cooking for Two from the legendary Arnold Schwarzenegger 1992 made-for-TV movie Christmas in Connecticut. Yeah.

And we have a request that you play one of your most famous compositions. Which... You know what I'm talking about. I'm talking about Cooking for Two from the legendary Arnold Schwarzenegger 1992 made-for-TV movie Christmas in Connecticut. Yeah.

Mitch, no, no, this, for some reason, I have no idea, my colleague Ben is obsessed with this and really wanted us to do this. And I thought, how great would it be for you to sing one of our songs? Just like, just give us a little taste.

Mitch, no, no, this, for some reason, I have no idea, my colleague Ben is obsessed with this and really wanted us to do this. And I thought, how great would it be for you to sing one of our songs? Just like, just give us a little taste.