Revisionist History

Pushkin Industries

Revisionist History is Malcolm Gladwell's journey through the overlooked and the misunderstood. Every episode re-examines something from the past—an event, a person, an idea, even a song—and asks whether we got it right the first time. From Pushkin Industries. Because sometimes the past deserves a second chance.

To get early access to ad-free episodes and extra content, subscribe to Pushkin+ in Apple Podcasts are pushkin.fm/pus.

iHeartMedia is the exclusive podcast partner of Pushkin Industries.

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Our Editor's Take

History isn't always what it appears to be. Things didn't always happen the way high school textbooks said. The Revisionist History podcast explores this exact notion. What if the history books didn't get it right? What happens when listeners examine the past from another perspective? Do they rethink everything they thought they knew? What if the world had it wrong the whole time? New evidence, new ideas, and new approaches can bring outdated thinking to light.

Malcolm Gladwell, the creator of this podcast, has a storied career in journalism, writing, and public speaking. His work focuses on research within the social sciences. Of course, his work also focuses on the implications of that research.

In its sixth season, Revisionist History takes listeners on a journey to reexamine a new list of events, places, people, and ideas. It encourages listeners to consider history from a new angle. What is that angle, exactly? One that includes questions, skepticism, and curiosity.

One episode seeks to discover why a fast-food giant changed its french fry recipe in 1990. A three-episode arc about The Little Mermaid dissects the art of a fairytale twist. Another episode hacks the algorithm for ranking American colleges and universities. The topics are diverse and compelling. Gladwell dives deep into the stories of David and Goliath, the Hollywood blacklist of the '50s, Van Gogh, and even laundry done right. No matter the listener's interest, there is a compelling episode available. It's easy to examine history through a new lens with the Revisionist History podcast on Amazon Music.

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Society & CultureSociety & Culture

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Introducing Revisionist History

Introducing Revisionist History

Coming soon, a new podcast series from bestselling author Malcolm Gladwell. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Season 10

Welcome to Development Hell

Welcome to Development Hell

Abandon hope, all ye who enter here. On February 29th, Revisionist History is returning with Development Hell, a series of untold stories about Hollywood projects that never left the page. There's a Philip K. Dick adaptation with a twist too shocking for the studios, a biopic about an exotic pet, and Malcolm’s own misadventure trying to adapt his bestselling book, Blink. Coming soon!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Blink with Stephen Gaghan | Development Hell

Blink with Stephen Gaghan | Development Hell

It’s the mid-2000s, Malcolm and writer/producer Stephen Gaghan (“Traffic”, “Syriana”) are running around Hollywood pitching their scripted adaptation of Blink. This conversation starts with a failed vampire love story, takes a ride in Leonardo DiCaprio’s Prius, before making an unexpectedly heartbreaking turn that leads Stephen to walk away from the project forever.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Variable Man with Gary Goldman and Angus Fletcher | Development Hell

The Variable Man with Gary Goldman and Angus Fletcher | Development Hell

Gary Goldman was a writer on “Total Recall”, a Philip K. Dick adaptation directed by Paul Verhoeven and starring Arnold Schwarzeneger. It was a big hit. So why do Gary and his writing partner, Angus Fletcher, have so much trouble selling another Philip K. Dick adaptation? They tell Malcolm that it all came down to a roller coaster ride of plot twists that even A-List action actors couldn’t stomach, and an early attempt at AI that was too dumb to pick a smart script.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Oscar Season with Talk Easy

Oscar Season with Talk Easy

Development Hell will return on Thursday with an all-new episode about a chimpanzee. In the meantime, here's a Hollywood-related episode from our friends at Talk Easy. Host Sam Fragoso talks with the New York Times critic Wesley Morris about all things Oscars, his career, and the state of the film industry. Find more Talk Easy at talkeasypod.com.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bubbles with Isaac Adamson | Development Hell

Bubbles with Isaac Adamson | Development Hell

This is the story behind a biopic about a chimpanzee named Bubbles, sidekick to the King of Pop. Malcolm talks with the writer, Isaac Adamson, about the project’s rise and fall. Netflix optioned the script, a director was attached, and then… everything fell apart. In the episode, Isaac reads from his 2015 Black List winning script, and he and Malcolm consider whether now is the time for “Bubbles.”See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Birthday Party with Charles Randolph | Development Hell

The Birthday Party with Charles Randolph | Development Hell

Before Charles Randolph won an Oscar for writing “The Big Short,” he adapted a memoir called “The Birthday Party”: the true story of a white man kidnapped by three young Black men. Is there a way to bring a story like that to screen, in a way that's honest and authentic? Randolph gives us a masterclass on a screenwriter's many minefields.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I Am Superman with Patty Jenkins | Development Hell

I Am Superman with Patty Jenkins | Development Hell

Between her big hits, “Monster” and “Wonder Woman”, Patty Jenkins wrote an R-rated fairy tale, starring a dog. She hoped that the dog would deliver such a great performance that the Academy would — for the first time — give the Best Actor award to an animal. The story was about a dog program in a prison, a perfect set-up for a story of both canine and human redemption, right? Wrong. That’s the kind of story Hollywood loves, but not the kind of story Jenkins wanted to tell. Enter development hell.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Labor of Love with M. Night Shyamalan | Development Hell

Labor of Love with M. Night Shyamalan | Development Hell

Before M. Night Shyamalan became a household name for his mind bending thrillers like “The Sixth Sense” and “Signs”, he was just a young screenwriter in love. And during those blissful early years of marriage he wrote a love story. The screenplay for “Labor of Love” sold right away, and over the next 30 years or so there would be numerous attempts to make it into a movie. There was a major studio, there were A-list directors, Shyamalan even found his perfect star. In this episode, M. Night Shyamalan tells Malcolm about the script that haunts him. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Blue Seattle with Cameron Crowe | Development Hell

Blue Seattle with Cameron Crowe | Development Hell

In 1986, Cameron Crowe, the film director, and Nancy Wilson, of the rock group Heart, got married. They honeymooned in a little cabin in the Pacific Northwest, and while they were there decided to write a musical, about Elvis as a cab driver in Seattle. They wrote and recorded demos of all the songs, and called it “Blue Seattle.” It became a lost masterpiece that never saw the light of day. In our Development Hell season finale, Cameron joins Malcolm to share the songs and tell the story behind “Blue Seattle” for the very first time.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Malcolm on No Small Endeavor

Malcolm on No Small Endeavor

Malcolm recently sat down with friend and award-winning theologian Lee C. Camp to discuss his journey on the acclaimed podcast No Small Endeavor. In this episode, they explore a host of Malcolm's stories – from receiving permission from his mother to cut class to spending three days a week in Freudian therapy as a young adult – all which contributed to who he is today. Produced by Great Feeling Studios and PRX, No Small Endeavor brings thoughtful conversations with bestselling authors, artists, theologians and philosophers – like Hollywood legend Rob Reiner, and Civil Rights hero Reverend James Lawson – about what it means to live a good life. Listen to more episodes of No Small Endeavor here: https://link.chtbl.com/LN08h4po?sid=RevisionistHistoryEpisode See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Season 9

Doctors, Guns, and Money

Doctors, Guns, and Money

Coming soon – a six-part series from Revisionist History about everything Americans get wrong about guns. The series will air weekly, starting Thursday, August 31st. You can binge listen to all six episodes early and ad-free by subscribing to Pushkin Plus on Apple Podcasts, or by visiting: pushkin.fm/plus. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Guns Part 1: The Sudden Celebrity of Sir John Knight

Guns Part 1: The Sudden Celebrity of Sir John Knight

In the battles over gun rights, a shadowy English nobleman from the 17th century has unexpectedly taken center stage. Who was he? What did he do that has — 300 years later — endeared him to a generation of legal scholars? Revisionist History explores the cult of personality around the mysterious Sir John Knight. Sign up for Pushkin+ on the Revisionist History Apple Show page or at Pushkin.fm to binge the entire series now!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Guns Part 2: Getting out of Dodge

Guns Part 2: Getting out of Dodge

The longest running television series of the 20th century was Gunsmoke, a western set in the notorious Dodge City, Kansas. Malcolm sweeps away mountains of legal scholarship to make a bold claim: The simplest explanation for the Supreme’s Court’s puzzling run of gun rights decisions may be that the justices watched too much Gunsmoke when they were growing up. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Guns Part 3: A Shooting Lesson

Guns Part 3: A Shooting Lesson

Malcolm goes to a shooting range in the woods of North Carolina to get a tutorial on the AR-15. It’s scary. It’s ugly. It’s at the center of the gun control debate. But what exactly makes it worse than other guns? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Guns Part 4: Moral Hazard

Guns Part 4: Moral Hazard

Robert Kennedy was killed by an assassin's bullet in 1968, ending his presidential run. Had he been shot today, would he have lived? A what-if story about homicides and medical care and the moral consequences of a world where trauma surgeons have gotten really, really good at what they do. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Guns Part 5: The Footnote

Guns Part 5: The Footnote

At the end of a forgotten study of convicted murderers, the author left a devastating footnote. We travel to an old plantation house outside Montgomery Alabama to hear his story — and what it tells us about American gun violence.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Five Burning Travel Questions with Malcolm Gladwell

Five Burning Travel Questions with Malcolm Gladwell

Revisionist History hits the road, courtesy of Airbnb. Malcolm shares some travel tips, including music for poolside relaxation, how to find your way around the Carolinas, and what to do about inclement weather. Then, Di Zock and Michael Specter talk about the pros and cons of traveling with your dog. The finale of our series on guns in America airs this Thursday. Please write in with your comments at revisionisthistory.com.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Guns Part 6: “Sin is the failure to bother to care”

Guns Part 6: “Sin is the failure to bother to care”

Abdullah Pratt grew up in one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in America, then returned to be an ER doctor in his neighborhood hospital. At the end of Revisionist History’s series on everything Americans get wrong about guns, we offer a final lesson on the obligations and costs of compassion.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Silicon Valley on the Couch

Silicon Valley on the Couch

Why is Silicon Valley where it is? How did a narrow valley in California become the epicenter of the computer age? People usually say it’s because of Stanford, or the weather. But the answer may be something much more … Freudian. In this episode, Malcolm puts William Shockley—inventor of the transistor, winner of the Nobel Prize, father of Silicon Valley—on the couch.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Unlocking Hidden Potential with Adam Grant

Unlocking Hidden Potential with Adam Grant

Malcolm Gladwell hosts a rollicking live discussion about Adam Grant’s new book, “Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things,” which is available now. They explore why we overemphasize innate talent, how Adam grappled with impostor syndrome as a writer and perfectionism as an athlete, and how to chart a path toward achieving greater things. They also discuss the evidence on affirmative action — and riff on topics ranging from humility to psychoanalysis to whether Lions or Bills fans suffer more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.