Malcolm Gladwell
👤 SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
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.
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Get ad-free episodes of Revisionist History by subscribing to Pushkin Plus. Sign up on the show page on Apple Podcasts or at pushkin.fm. Pushkin Plus subscribers can access ad-free episodes, full audiobooks, exclusive binges, and bonus content for all Pushkin shows. You're listening to an iHeart Podcast.
Thank you. Thanks for having me on.
Thank you. Thanks for having me on.
Thank you. Thanks for having me on.
Yeah, well, it's funny. You did an in-depth analysis of the case, which I just listened to last night. I did the same thing on my podcast, two episodes on the case. You're right, reaching different conclusions. Although I think there are lots of interesting... issues that you raise, it's a complicated case. I think we could start there. More complicated, I think, than people realize.
Yeah, well, it's funny. You did an in-depth analysis of the case, which I just listened to last night. I did the same thing on my podcast, two episodes on the case. You're right, reaching different conclusions. Although I think there are lots of interesting... issues that you raise, it's a complicated case. I think we could start there. More complicated, I think, than people realize.
Yeah, well, it's funny. You did an in-depth analysis of the case, which I just listened to last night. I did the same thing on my podcast, two episodes on the case. You're right, reaching different conclusions. Although I think there are lots of interesting... issues that you raise, it's a complicated case. I think we could start there. More complicated, I think, than people realize.