Malcolm Gladwell Sounds Off

The New Yorker writer and author on the power of podcasting and his next move. 

- Carrie Cummings

Since history is written by the victor, it needs a top-notch editor. And that’s exactly why best-selling author and New Yorker writer Malcolm Gladwell rolled out Revisionist History, a podcast in partnership with Slate’s Panoply Media. The 10-episode series that debuted in June aims to shift the lens on events ranging from stolen art to a car manufacturer’s fiasco to the American educational system in a bid to poke holes in the way we think about the past and present. With Gladwell at the helm, the podcast was an instant success, reaching the top spot on iTunes even before the first episode aired. As Gladwell prepares for the second season of Revisionist History, we caught up with him in his West Village home to talk about the power of audio, advertising and what’s next.

Why is a podcast the best medium for the types of stories that you want to tell?

It’s so different from writing books. You can tell a different kind of story, and when you can hear people’s voices, you can recreate scenes and emotions and all those kinds of things so much more keenly and powerfully. And there’s a wonderful directness to the podcasts—that I can do it and put it up online and I can reach all my listeners. There’s an immediacy to it that’s incredibly appealing.