Revisionist history | |
---|---|
Presentation | |
Hosted by | Malcolm Gladwell |
Genre | History |
Format | MP3 |
Language | English |
Updates | Weekly |
Length | 30–40 mins |
Production | |
No. of seasons | 9 |
No. of episodes | 100 (plus bonus episodes) (as of June 2024 [update] ) |
Publication | |
Original release | June 16, 2016 |
Provider | Pushkin Industries |
Related | |
Website | www |
Revisionist History is a podcast by Malcolm Gladwell produced by Gladwell's company Pushkin Industries. It began in 2016 and, as of 2024 [update] , has aired nine seasons.
Gladwell, who was already a successful author and essayist, was convinced to create a podcast by his friend Jacob Weisberg, then editor-in-chief of Slate Group, which includes the podcast network Panoply Media. Seasons 1 through 3 of Revisionist History were produced by Panoply. In September 2018, after Panoply ceased making podcasts, Gladwell announced he was co-founding a podcast company Pushkin Industries with Weisberg. [1] Pushkin has produced the series since then. [2]
Each episode begins with an inquiry about a person, event, or idea, and proceeds to question the received wisdom about the subject.
No. in season | Title | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | "The Lady Vanishes" | June 16, 2016 | |
Central Topic: The Roll Call , an 1874 oil-on-canvas painting by Elizabeth Thompson Themes Explored: How success by a member of a minority group does not alleviate discrimination, but perpetuates it. | |||
2 | "Saigon, 1965" | June 23, 2016 | |
Central Topic: Leon Gouré, Konrad Kellen and the RAND Corporation's recommendations regarding the Vietnam War Themes Explored: How personal bias can lead to people drawing different conclusions from the same data. | |||
3 | "The Big Man Can't Shoot" | June 30, 2016 | |
Central Topic: Wilt Chamberlain, Rick Barry and the underhand free throw Themes Explored: Why smart people sometimes refuse to accept the best ideas. | |||
4 | "Carlos Doesn't Remember" | July 7, 2016 | |
Central Topic: Meritocracy in American schools Themes Explored: How America is making use of its human capital. | |||
5 | "Food Fight" | July 14, 2016 | |
Central Topic: Bowdoin College, Vassar College, and the budgetary choices of colleges Themes Explored: How colleges get rewarded for distorting the educational system. | |||
6 | "My Little Hundred Million" | July 21, 2016 | |
Central Topic: The record-breaking Hank Rowan donation to Glassboro State University Themes Explored: The ideologies behind educational philanthropy. | |||
7 | "Hallelujah" | July 27, 2016 | |
Central Topic: "Deportee" by Elvis Costello and Paul Cézanne, Pablo Picasso, and Leonard Cohen Themes Explored: The role of time and repetition in the creation of works of genius. | |||
8 | "Blame Game" | August 4, 2016 | |
Central Topic: The 2009–11 Toyota vehicle recalls Themes Explored: Human perception and misconception, our fraught relationship to technology, media dishonesty. | |||
9 | "Generous Orthodoxy" | August 11, 2016 | |
Central Topic: Chester Wenger, the Mennonite minister who confronted his own church Themes Explored: Effective ways of dissent. | |||
10 | "The Satire Paradox" | August 18, 2016 | |
Central Topic: Harry Enfield and his creation of the Loadsamoney character Themes Explored: How satire with the aim of social protest can backfire. |
No. in season | Title | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | "A Good Walk Spoiled" | June 14, 2017 | |
Central Topic: Golf and golf clubs Themes Explored: Property taxes, real estate, CEO productivity. | |||
2 | "The Road To Damascus" | June 21, 2017 | |
Central Topic:The CIA's use of former terrorists as informants; the relationship between a security service and a free press Themes Explored: Forgiveness and second chances; transparency vs. security. | |||
3 | "Miss Buchanan's Period Of Adjustment" | June 28, 2017 | |
Central Topic: Brown v. Board of Education Themes Explored: The "persistent" legacy of racism in American schools. | |||
4 | "The Foot Soldier of Birmingham" | July 5, 2017 | |
Central Topic: A sculpture, The Foot Soldier, by Ronald McDowell as based on a photograph by Bill Hudson Themes Explored: Artistic license, sanitizing of history. | |||
5 | "The Prime Minister and the Prof" | July 12, 2017 | |
Central Topic: The friendship between Winston Churchill and Lord Cherwell; the 1943 Bengal famine Themes Explored: How friendships affect people in power. | |||
6 | "The King of Tears" | July 19, 2017 | |
Central Topic: Country music as illustrated by an interview with prolific songwriter Bobby Braddock Themes Explored: Sad country songs, as compared to general levity of the rock and roll genre. | |||
7 | "State v Johnson" | July 26, 2017 | |
Central Topic: Black Americans and the US justice system Themes Explored: Institutional racism, power dynamics. | |||
8 | "Mr. Hollowell Didn't Like That" | August 2, 2017 | |
Central Topic: Black Americans and the US justice system via an extended interview with Vernon Jordan about his work with Donald L. Hollowell Themes Explored: Institutional racism, power dynamics. | |||
9 | "McDonald's Broke My Heart" | August 9, 2017 | |
Central Topic: McDonald's decision to stop frying its french fries in beef tallow Themes Explored: The link between saturated fats and heart disease, the power of individual persistence. | |||
10 | "The Basement Tapes" | August 16, 2017 | |
Central Topic: Dr. Ivan Frantz's "Minnesota Coronary Experiment" on the effects of vegetable oil in cholesterol reduction and on general health Themes Explored: Medical effects of animal fats/vegetable and corn oil, Father and Son relationships |
No. in season | Title | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | "Divide and Conquer" | May 17, 2018 | |
Central Topic: The complete, unabridged history of the world's most controversial semicolon Themes Explored: The impact of grammar in interpretation of law, law reviews by Michael Stokes Paulsen. | |||
2 | "Burden of Proof" | May 24, 2018 | |
Central Topic: The story of college football player Owen Thomas and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Themes Explored: Why we should sometimes act before having concrete proof. | |||
3 | "A Polite Word for Liar (Memory Part 1)" | May 31, 2018 | |
Central Topic: Harmonica player Larry Adler's recollections of his eventful life Themes Explored: The unreliable nature of memory. | |||
4 | "Free Brian Williams (Memory Part 2)" | June 7, 2018 | |
Central Topic: TV Anchor Brian Williams's fall from grace after inaccuracies appear in some of his reporting reminiscences Themes Explored: The unreliable nature of memory. | |||
5 | "General Chapman's Last Stand" | June 14, 2018 | |
Central Topic: The impact of General Leonard F. Chapman Jr. in securing the borders of the United States Themes Explored: American immigration policy; whether good fences make good neighbors. | |||
6 | "The Hug Heard Around The World" | June 21, 2018 | |
Central Topic: Sammy Davis Jr. and his relationship with Richard Nixon Themes Explored: Race and tokenism, especially in public figures. | |||
7 | "Malcolm Gladwell's 12 Rules for Life" | June 28, 2018 | |
Central Topic: The mathematics of 'pulling the goalie' in hockey and its application in life Themes Explored: Self-help manuals, disagreeableness | |||
8 | "The Imaginary Crimes of Margit Hamosh (Scientific Fraud Part 1)" | July 5, 2018 | |
Central Topic: Suspected scientific fraud in the work of Professor of Medicine Margit Hamosh, and the policing of scientific research by the Office of Scientific Integrity Themes Explored: Mass sociogenic illnesses, also known as fear epidemics. | |||
9 | "Strong Verbs, Short Sentences (Scientific Fraud Part 2)" | July 12, 2018 | |
Central Topic: The battle between Bernadine Healy, director of the National Institutes of Health, and congressman John Dingell Themes Explored: The policing of scientific research by the Office of Scientific Integrity; fear epidemics. | |||
10 | "Analysis, Parapraxis, Elvis" | July 19, 2018 | |
Central Topic: Statistical analysis of lyrical lapses in Elvis' performances and what they tell us about his state of mind Themes Explored: Parapraxis (Freudian Slip), Elvis Presley, the psychology of performing. |
No. in season | Title | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | "Puzzle Rush (Education Part 1)" | June 20, 2019 | |
Central Topic: The LSAT and its ability to judge potential law students Themes Explored: How to judge human ability, standardized tests. | |||
2 | "The Tortoise and the Hare (Education Part 2)" | June 27, 2019 | |
Central Topic: Malcolm Gladwell's Grand Unified Theory for fixing American Higher Education Themes Explored: Meritocracy, standardized tests, the Tortoise and the Hare. | |||
3 | "Tempest in a Teacup" | July 4, 2019 | |
Central Topic: The Boston Tea Party's actual relationship to the American Revolution Themes Explored: Rhetoric vs. reality in national history, crime and its political influence. | |||
4 | "Good Old Boys" | July 11, 2019 | |
Central Topic: Randy Newman's album Good Old Boys, and its message about race and civil rights in America Themes Explored: The value of discourse with people we disagree with; how conflict inspires creativity. | |||
5 | "The Standard Case (Casuistry part 1)" | July 18, 2019 | |
Central Topic: Andy Pettitte's baseball career and maritime fines, examined using Jesuit problem-solving (casuistry) Themes Explored: How we deal with novel problems. | |||
6 | "Dr. Rock's Taxonomy (Casuistry part 2)" | July 25, 2019 | |
Central Topic: Dr. John Rock, his invention of the birth control pill, and his Catholic views on birth control Themes Explored: How we deal with novel problems, Casuist rationalizations. | |||
7 | "Descend into the Particular (Casuistry part 3)" | August 1, 2019 | |
Central Topic: The Jesuitical idea of “disordered attachments”, applied to the shootings of Michael Brown, Angel Navarro, and other police-involved shootings in the United States Themes Explored: How we deal with novel problems; the importance of narratives. | |||
8 | "In a Metal Mood" | August 8, 2019 | |
Central Topic: Elvis Presley's cultural appropriation of black music, compared to Pat Boone's album In a Metal Mood; Taco Bell and its relationship to Mexican food Themes Explored: The difference between cultural appropriation and inspired innovation. | |||
9 | "Chutzpah vs. Chutzpah" | August 15, 2019 | |
Central Topic: The phenomenon of chutzpah, and its definitions in America and Israel. Case studies included. Themes Explored: Audacity vs. shamelessness, as defined by chutzpah. | |||
10 | "The Obscure Virus Club" | August 22, 2019 | |
Central Topic: The scientists, particularly Howard Martin Temin, who discovered rous sarcoma virus and other retroviruses, the discovery of HIV/AIDS as a retrovirus, and the effect of those discoveries on the central dogma of molecular biology Themes Explored: The power of persistence, the effect of dogma on scientific progress. | |||
N/A | "The Queen of Cuba" | August 29, 2019 | |
Central Topic: How espionage plays off of human nature, common misconceptions about deception through a case study of Ana Montes and the 1996 Hermanos al Rescate incident; Tim Levine's studies of deception, and the Milgram experiment Themes Explored: How human nature influences our interactions with strangers, truth-default theory, and the nature of deception. Note: This episode is a chapter from the audiobook version of Malcolm Gladwell's 2019 book Talking to Strangers . |
No. in season | Title | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | "Dragon Psychology 101" | June 18, 2020 | |
Central Topic: The financial, curation, and storage policies of the Met and other art museums Themes Explored: Hoarding; attachment, relationships, and memory through objects. | |||
2 | "Hedwig's Lost Van Gogh" | June 25, 2020 | |
Central Topic: Art Museums, Part 2: Van Gogh's "Vase with Carnations" and other MacGuffins Themes Explored: The real value of the things we treasure; the hoarding habit in the curation of museum collections. | |||
3 | "The Powerball Revolution" | July 2, 2020 | |
Central Topic: Adam Cronkrite's idea of democratic lotteries, theories about predictions Themes Explored: Elections, lotteries, and our ability to predict effective traits for performing vs. governing. | |||
4 | "The Bomber Mafia (Curtis LeMay, part 1)" | July 9, 2020 | |
Central Topic: Curtis LeMay, the "Bomber Mafia", the development of the B-29 bomber Themes Explored: American innovation and technological obsession, applied to military airpower | |||
5 | "May the Best Firebomb Win (part 2)" | July 16, 2020 | |
Central Topic: Hoyt Hottel's "firebomb bake-off"; Louis Fieser and the development of napalm as an offensive weapon Themes Explored: The impact of scientific innovation in modern warfare | |||
6 | "Bombs-Away LeMay (part 3)" | July 23, 2020 | |
Central Topic: Curtis LeMay's problem-solving; area bombing and the events leading up to Operation Meetinghouse Themes Explored: Leadership, adaptability, ethics, and problem-solving in times of conflict. | |||
7 | "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen (part 4)" | July 30, 2020 | |
Central Topic: The aftermath of the firebombing of Tokyo and the legacy of napalm incendiaries in modern warfare, told through M*A*S*H and the career of Curtis LeMay Themes Explored: The legacy of ethically dubious weapons, and how we view atrocities and conflicts of our national past. | |||
8 | "Hamlet Was Wrong" | August 6, 2020 | |
Central Topic: A auto analysis of Malcolm Gladwell's nihilism in hiring practices, through use of Laurence Peter's hierarchy concept known as the Peter Principle Themes Explored: Social practices and practical implications in hiring, and the possible benefits of nihilism. | |||
9 | "Oh Howard, You Idiot!" | August 13, 2020 | |
Central Topic: Clifford Irving's hoax autobiography, the influence of public image, and the real Howard Hughes Themes Explored: How people manage their image, the power of fiction and public perception. | |||
10 | "A Memorial For the Living" | August 20, 2020 | |
Central Topic: The 9/11 memorial, the homeless in Jacksonville, and the management of memories — "a gorgeous mausoleum for the dead, a scatter plot for the living” Themes Explored: Our attachment to memories and memorials, and what we collectively choose to remember. |
No. in season | Title | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | "I Love You Waymo" | June 24, 2021 | |
Central Topic: The future of automobiles, cities, and pedestrians, explored through Waymo's development of autonomous cars. Themes Explored: How we predict the future of technology; madman theory as it relates to pedestrians. | |||
2 | "Lord of the Rankings (Rankings part 1)" | July 1, 2021 | |
Central Topic: How U.S. News & World Report ranks colleges and universities in the US, and the flaws in how its algorithm ranks schools. Themes Explored: The power of algorithms and ranking in our perceptions of institutions; how our personal biases can influence peer-rankings and the algorithms we create. | |||
3 | "Project Dillard (Rankings part 2)" | July 8, 2021 | |
Central Topic: Dillard University, and how US News & World Report's college rankings misses and misuses data to misidentify HBCUs and other schools. Themes Explored: The power of algorithms in our perceptions, racial biases and privilege, and how holistic evaluations can change our perceptions. | |||
4 | "The Judgement of Helen Levitt" | July 15, 2021 | |
Central Topic: Former screenwriter Helen Levitt (wife of Alfred Lewis Levitt), and the effect of her blacklisting during the Red Scare. Themes Explored: How our society chooses to judge others, and the underestimated effect of social exclusion. | |||
5 | "Little Mermaid Part 1: The Golden Contract" | July 22, 2021 | |
Central Topic: The story presented in Disney's animated film The Little Mermaid, compared to the original story. Themes Explored: Law, themes, and “moral sloppiness” in entertainment portrayals of older stories. | |||
6 | "Little Mermaid Part 2: The Fairytale Twist" | July 29, 2021 | |
7 | "Little Mermaid Part 3: Honestly Ever After" | August 2, 2021 | |
8 | "Laundry Done Right" | August 12, 2021 | |
Central Topic: Habits and practices for doing laundry; Procter & Gamble's effort to make environmentally friendly consumer products. Themes Explored: The environmental effects of laundry and the tradeoffs for our habits and sustainable practices. | |||
9 | "A Serious Game" | August 18, 2021 | |
Central Topic: To better prepare for the unexpected may not make plans, but to play games. Themes Explored: | |||
10 | "The Dog will See you now" | August 26, 2021 | |
Central Topic: In recent times, most problems can't be solved by humans alone. Themes Explored: |
No. in season | Title | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | "The Magic Wand Experiment" | June 22, 2022 | |
Central Topic: What experiments would experts conduct if they didn't have to worry about ethics, finances, or other barriers? Themes Explored: | |||
2 | "Way to Go, Ohio" | June 30, 2022 | |
Central Topic: Akron, Ohio helped us learn about the benefits of iodized salt. What else could be distributed via salt? Themes Explored: | |||
3 | "In Triplicate" | July 7, 2022 | |
Central Topic: Themes Explored: | |||
4 | "Star Struck" | July 14, 2022 | |
Central Topic: The impact of media on societal beliefs and actions. Themes Explored: | |||
5 | "When Will Met Grace" | July 21, 2022 | |
Central Topic: How a single television show, Will & Grace , shaped societal beliefs. Themes Explored: Explicit | |||
6 | "“I Was A Stranger and You Welcomed Me”" | July 28, 2022 | |
Central Topic: The importance of everyday acts of kindness. Themes Explored: | |||
7 | "Outliers, Revisited" | September 14, 2022 | |
Central Topic: Themes Explored: | |||
8 | "The Department of Physiological Hygiene" | September 21, 2022 | |
Central Topic: Themes Explored: | |||
9 | "The Rise of the Guinea Pigs" | September 28, 2022 | |
Central Topic: Exploration of the Minnesota Starvation Experiment. Themes Explored: | |||
10 | "The Mennonite National Anthem" | October 5, 2022 | |
Central Topic: The long-term impacts of the Minnesota Starvation Experiment. Themes Explored: |
No. in season | Title | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|
N/A | "From Broken Record: Rick Rubin in Conversation with Malcolm Gladwell" | January 25, 2023 | |
Central Topic: Rick Rubin discusses how to cultivate creative authenticity and discover your unique voice. Themes Explored: How to be authentically ourselves. | |||
1 | "A Treat for the Die-Hards" | February 15, 2023 | |
Central Topic: How a narrative ends may be more important than anything else. | |||
2 | "Rodents and Red Wine with Maria Konnikova" | July 8, 2023 | |
Central Topic: Maria reads letters from listeners and discusses various topics with Malcolm. | |||
3 | "Started From The Bottom with Justin Richmond" | March 15, 2023 | |
Central Topic: Malcolm and Justin discuss their paths to success and the obstacles they overcame. Themes Explored: Biracial identities, racism Explicit | |||
4 | "Higher Animals with Michael Specter" | April 5, 2023 | |
Central Topic: The future of life on Earth given the current scientific revolution. Themes Explored: | |||
5 | "Malcolm Goes to Debate School" | July 29, 2023 | |
6 | "The Mystery of Mastery with Adam Gopnik" | May 17, 2023 | |
Central Topic: Adam discusses his book, The Real Work: On the Mystery of Mastery, in which he talks to experts about the secrets behind their mastery and the lessons learned. Themes Explored: | |||
7 | "The Crisis in Girls' Sports with Lauren Fleshman and Linda Flanagan" | May 24, 2023 | |
Central Topic: Athletes Linda and Lauren discuss how to make sports more enjoyable for girls and women. Themes Explored: | |||
8 | "The Pushkin Prize for Egregiously Deceptive Self-Promotion" | June 8, 2023 | |
Central Topic: The Pushkin Prize and the university that fought back against the US News & World Report rankings to their own detriment. Themes Explored: | |||
9 | "Feeling A Bit Attacked with Maria Konnikova" | June 21, 2023 | |
Central Topic: Maria and Malcolm respond to letters about debate and explicit language in podcasts. Themes Explored: Explicit | |||
10 | "A Good Circle" | June 28, 2023 | |
Central Topic: Solving problems in higher education. Themes Explored: | |||
11 | "Acting Out" | June 21, 2023 | |
Central Topic: Themes Explored: | |||
12 | "Taxonomy of the Modern Mystery Story" | July 26, 2023 | |
Central Topic: How modern mystery stories impact our perceptions of policing. Themes Explored: | |||
13 | "Guns Part 1: The Sudden Celebrity of Sir John Knight" | August 31, 2023 | |
Central Topic: Sir John Knight and his impact on modern-day gun policy. Themes Explored: | |||
14 | "Guns Part 2: Getting out of Dodge" | September 7, 2023 | |
Central Topic: The relationship between Gunsmoke and modern-day gun policy. Themes Explored: | |||
15 | "Guns Part 3: A Shooting Lesson" | September 14, 2023 | |
Central Topic: What makes an AR-15 scarier than other guns? Themes Explored: | |||
16 | "Guns Part 4: Moral Hazard" | September 21, 2023 | |
Central Topic: Exploring 'what-ifs' in relation to the US's relationship to guns, including homicides, medication, and the assassination of JFK Themes Explored: | |||
17 | "Guns Part 5: The Footnote" | September 28, 2023 | |
Central Topic: Themes Explored: | |||
18 | "Guns Part 6: "Sin is the failure to bother to care"" | October 5, 2023 | |
Central Topic: Themes Explored: | |||
19 | "Silicon Valley on the Couch" | October 19, 2023 | |
Central Topic: Themes Explored: | |||
20 | "Unlocking Hidden Potential with Adam Grant" | October 26, 2023 | |
Central Topic: Themes Explored: | |||
21 | "The Bear Was Poked with Maria Konnikova" | November 2, 2023 | |
Central Topic: Themes Explored: | |||
22 | "This Is Your Captain Speaking" | November 16, 2023 | |
Central Topic: Themes Explored: | |||
23 | "Board Game Season" | December 21, 2023 | |
Central Topic: Themes Explored: | |||
24 | "Revision History LIVE with Nate Berkus" | February 26, 2024 | |
Central Topic: Themes Explored: |
The season Development Hell interviewed notable screenwriters and film directors about a passion project which never came to fruition.
No. in season | Title | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | "Blink with Stephen Gaghan: Development Hell" | February 29, 2024 | |
2 | "The Variable Man with Gary Goldman and Angus Fletcher: Development Hell" | February 29, 2024 | |
Central Topic: Goldman and Fletcher speak about their attempt to adapt a science-fiction novel by Philip K. Dick. Themes Explored: | |||
3 | "Bubbles with Isaac Adamson | Development Hell" | March 7, 2024 | |
Central Topic: Adamson speaks about his screenplay biopic of Michael Jackson, told from the perspective of Jackson's pet chimpanzee Bubbles. Themes Explored: | |||
4 | "The Birthday Party with Charles Randolph | Development Hell" | March 14, 2024 | |
Central Topic: The Big Short screenwriter Randolph speaks about his screenplay based on the true story of an interracial kidnapping. Themes Explored: | |||
5 | "I Am Superman with Patty Jenkins | Development Hell" | March 21, 2024 | |
Central Topic: Jenkins speaks about her R-rated screenplay about a dog program in prison. Themes Explored: | |||
6 | "Labor of Love with M. Night Shyamalan | Development Hell" | March 28, 2024 | |
Central Topic: Shyamalan speaks about his romantic drama, a departure from the psychological thrillers for which he's most famous. Themes Explored: | |||
7 | "Blue Seattle with Cameron Crowe | Development Hell" | April 11, 2024 | |
Central Topic: Crowe speaks about his musical movie about Elvis Presley, including playing several songs. Themes Explored: |
No. in season | Title | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | "Hitler's Olympics Part 1: The Blue-Eyed Tornado" | June 27, 2024 | |
Central Topic: 1936 Summer Olympics Themes Explored: | |||
2 | "Hitler's Olympics Part 2: Pangloss, Polonius, Prufrock" | July 4, 2024 | |
Central Topic: 1936 Summer Olympics Themes Explored: US IOC Representative Charles H. Sherrill | |||
3 | "Hitler's Olympics, Part 3: Mustache to Mustache" | July 11, 2024 | |
Central Topic: Themes Explored: | |||
4 | "Hitler's Olympics, Part 4: Outcast in Olympia" | July 18, 2024 | |
Central Topic: Themes Explored: |
Revisionist History has received positive reviews from critics. In Podcast Review, Nic Dobija-Nootens called it "perplexing, frustrating, and always worth a second look". [3] TheNew York Times 's Amanda Hess praises the show's impact, crediting it for creating a "podcast micro-genre ... [of] history-bending show[s]". [4]
Malcolm Timothy Gladwell is a Canadian journalist, author, and public speaker. He has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1996. He has published seven books. He is also the host of the podcast Revisionist History and co-founder of the podcast company Pushkin Industries.
Jacob Weisberg is an American political journalist, who served as editor-in-chief of The Slate Group, a division of Graham Holdings Company. In September 2018, he left Slate to co-found Pushkin Industries, an audio content company, with Malcolm Gladwell. Weisberg was also a Newsweek columnist. He served as the editor of Slate magazine for six years before stepping down in June 2008. He is the son of Lois Weisberg, a Chicago social activist and municipal commissioner.
Lois Weisberg was the first Commissioner of Cultural Affairs for the City of Chicago, from 1989 until January 2011.
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Megaphone is a Software as a service (SaaS) business owned by Spotify. The company provides software for podcast hosting and monetization as well as an ad network to generate additional revenue for podcast publishers. It was formerly an audio content producer started by The Slate Group as Panoply Media, and later shifted to focusing solely on software for monetizing, measuring and distributing podcasts of media companies and independent producers.
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Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know about the People We Don't Know is a nonfiction book written by Malcolm Gladwell and published by Little, Brown and Company on September 10, 2019. The audiobook version of the book follows Gladwell's Revisionist History podcast-style structure, using Gladwell's narration, interviews, sound bites, and the theme song "Hell You Talmbout".
Making Oprah is an American bio-podcast produced by WBEZ and hosted by journalist Jenn White. The three-part series tells the history and development of Oprah Winfrey's professional career. It premiered on November 10, 2016. The podcast was recommended by Wired, Time, and The New York Times.
The Bomber Mafia: A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War is a 2021 book by Malcolm Gladwell that examines the US Bomber Mafia of World War II, which advocated precision aerial bombing as a means to win a war. Gladwell stated the audiobook for The Bomber Mafia came about as an expansion of material from his podcast Revisionist History, and that the print book originated from the audiobook. The book follows the Bomber Mafia, especially Major General Haywood S. Hansell, and the development of a high-altitude precision aerial bombardment strategy in World War II as a means to limit casualties. After difficulties in applying the Bomber Mafia's theoretical strategy, Major General Hansell was replaced by Major General Curtis LeMay, who utilized tactical changes such as attacking Japanese population centers with napalm to ensure a Japanese surrender. Upon release, The Bomber Mafia was met with mixed reviews, with reviewers praising its audiobook version but criticizing the book for a lack of detail and factual accuracy.
Pushkin Industries is an American publisher of podcasts and audiobooks. It was co-founded in 2018 by Malcolm Gladwell and Jacob Weisberg. As of 2021, it hosts over 25 podcasts.
Eric Eisner is an American entertainment industry lawyer and executive who served as president of The Geffen Film Company and Island World Inc. He also founded the Young Eisner Scholars (YES) program.
The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel is a children's audio drama and science fiction podcast produced by Blobfish Radio, Gen-Z Media, and Pinna.fm Network. The show won a Peabody Award in 2016 and was later adapted into books and optioned for a television show.
Hedwig Frida Ullmann, née Nathan, was a German Jewish art collector and refugee.
Cautionary Tales is a podcast produced by Pushkin Industries and hosted by economic journalist Tim Harford. Each episode presents a story of historical failure and analyzes it for patterns and lessons useful in the current day.