Revisionist History

Here’s a clip from a Pushkin Industries audiobook that you may enjoy: The Art of Small Talk. Hilarious and practical advice for how to up your small talk game from comedians, actors and self-appointed experts on chit-chat, Casey Wilson and Jessica St. Clair. Casey and Jessica share six simple rules for how to engage in small talk and achieve the connectedness we all crave with any and everyone. Enjoy this clip from The Art of Small Talk, featuring Malcolm. And if you’re interested in hearing more small talk tips, download the complete audiobook at https://www.pushkin.fm/audiobooks/the-art-of-small-talk. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Here’s an episode from another Pushkin Industries podcast that you may enjoy. Introducing Deep Cover: The Nameless Man. This season, host Jake Halpern tells the epic tale of two federal agents who investigate a rumor about a murder that supposedly took place 15 years prior. It is also the story of a family searching for answers about why their brother was killed. These two storylines collide in a courtroom in Philadelphia, where murder, memory, and morality go on trial.  Listen to Deep Cover wherever you find your podcasts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.

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.

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.

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.

To mark International Day of Happiness and the release of the annual World Happiness Report, Dr Laurie Santos talks to fellow Pushkin podcasters Dr Maya Shankar, Tim Harford and Malcolm Gladwell about the happiness topics that they would like to see raised on this day of global wellbeing awareness.    The discussion ranges from how to quiet your inner monologue; though the misery of running in a Canadian winter; to the happiness lessons to be learned from a colonoscopy.    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Before Charles Randolph won an Oscar for his adaptation of “The Big Short”, he took a swing at a thornier adaptation, a memoir called “The Birthday Party.” It’s the true story of a white man kidnapped by three young Black men. In his adaptation, Randolph chose not to write the action movie that producers had in mind, but to focus on the racial dynamics at play. And Hollywood wasn’t having it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Malcolm Gladwell sits with interior design legend Nate Berkus in a live conversation covering everything from travel, to their moms, prestige TV, and finding the places that can cure us of melancholy. This episode was recorded at the AC Hotel New York Times Square, and is brought to you by AC Hotels. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The digital revolution has been happening for a while now, but with 5G, it’s about to reach a whole new level. IT departments are about to rule the world. So in this paid partnership with T-Mobile for Business, Malcolm sits with leaders in the world of retail and healthcare to discuss how their industries are changing. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A young family nearly lost everything in the 1970s farm crisis. Then, they invented a board game. Today on the show, producer Ben Naddaff-Hafrey shares a story about how life shows up in games and what games teach us about risk, life, love, and in this case ... farming. For more episodes like this, check out Pushkin’s The Last Archive podcast. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Revisionist History heads to Las Vegas for the Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix, courtesy of T-Mobile for Business. Malcolm talks with T-Mobile and Las Vegas Grand Prix executives about how 5G technology is changing professional sports — from how athletes compete, to how fans watch and even find their seats. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What does a pilot sound like? Malcolm and Ben Naddaff-Hafrey take off on a long, strange investigation that takes them from Las Vegas to Family Guy to the airspace over the Mojave desert and the cold waters of the Hudson river. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In order to stay competitive in a rapidly changing marketplace, businesses need to adapt to the potential of generative AI. In this special live episode of Smart Talks with IBM, Malcolm Gladwell is joined onstage at iHeartMedia’s studio by Dr. Darío Gil, Senior Vice President and Director of Research at IBM. They chat about the evolution of AI, give examples of practical uses, and discuss how businesses can create value through cutting edge technology. Watch the video version of the conversation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOwM__St6aU  Hear more from Darío on generative AI for business: https://www.ibm.com/think/ai-academy Visit us at: https://www.ibm.com/smarttalks/ This is a paid advertisement from IBM. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Maria Konnikova returns as Revisionist History’s ombudsman. Today, she talks with Malcolm about assault rifles, tales of the two Matt Dillons, moral hazard, localized mortgage rates, and possible solutions to America’s gun problem. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.