Podcast · 50 episodes
Revisionist History
by Pushkin Industries · English
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 or at pushkin.fm/plus. iHeartMedia is the exclusive podcast partner of Pushkin Industries.
Latest episodes
The Invention of an EpidemicA Malcolm Gladwell chapter (“The Slave Owner’s Lament”) explaining the Stono Rebellion (1739) and arguing that the Second Amendment’s meaning is dishonest when separated from the slaveholding context…24 Sep 2026 · 49 min
President Barack Obama & Malcolm Gladwell: How Reconstruction Still Defines AmericaA conversation about Reconstruction after the Civil War—why it was both a radical attempt to expand democracy and a “necessary tragedy”—and how its unresolved conflicts still shape modern U.S.22 Sep 2026 · 1 h 2 min
A Dollop Crossover | Ben Naddaff-Hafrey on Staten Island and the Revolutionary WarStaten Island’s Loyalist resistance to the American Revolution, culminating in British control, rebel raids, prisoner exchanges, and a failed Staten Island militia defense during Washington’s 1780…17 Sep 2026 · 1 h 20 min
All episodes
The Invention of an EpidemicA Malcolm Gladwell chapter (“The Slave Owner’s Lament”) explaining the Stono Rebellion (1739) and arguing that the Second Amendment’s meaning is dishonest when separated from the slaveholding context…24 Sep 2026 · 49 min · 16 chapters
President Barack Obama & Malcolm Gladwell: How Reconstruction Still Defines AmericaA conversation about Reconstruction after the Civil War—why it was both a radical attempt to expand democracy and a “necessary tragedy”—and how its unresolved conflicts still shape modern U.S.22 Sep 2026 · 1 h 2 min · 10 chapters
A Dollop Crossover | Ben Naddaff-Hafrey on Staten Island and the Revolutionary WarStaten Island’s Loyalist resistance to the American Revolution, culminating in British control, rebel raids, prisoner exchanges, and a failed Staten Island militia defense during Washington’s 1780…17 Sep 2026 · 1 h 20 min · 34 chapters
The FinesFresh Kills landfill’s “fines” (unidentified dirt/dust left after sifting 9/11 rubble) and a years-long fight by families—especially Diane and Kurt Horning over their son Matthew’s remains—over…10 Sep 2026 · 31 min · 19 chapters
Merciless Indian Savages | First AmericaFirst America’s first episode examines how the U.S. founding myth omits Indigenous violence, focusing on a line in the Declaration of Independence calling Native people “merciless Indian savages,”…27 Aug 2026 · 37 min · 15 chapters
The Other Johnson and Johnson | From Planet MoneyThe rise and fall of George and Joan Johnson’s Black hair-care business, Afro-Sheen/Ultra Sheen, and how it shaped Black middle-class growth, civil rights funding, and Black media—then declined amid…20 Aug 2026 · 31 min · 18 chapters
The Staten Island Problem - Part 5: Revenge of the Forgotten Borough“The Staten Island Problem - Part 5: Revenge of the Forgotten Borough” (Hollywoodland/Exactly Right Network).6 Aug 2026 · 40 min · 17 chapters
The Staten Island Problem - Part 4: Wu-Tang vs. ShaolinThe episode “The Staten Island Problem - Part 4: Wu-Tang vs. Shaolin” (from Ben Nadeff-Haffrey’s series) argues that Staten Island’s secession movement and Wu-Tang Clan’s rise in the early 1990s were…30 Jul 2026 · 33 min · 16 chapters
The Staten Island Problem - Part 3: The Tuvalu EffectEpisode 3 of The Staten Island Problem (“The Tuvalu Effect”) explains how anti-secession Staten Islanders organized against the 1990s “Vote Yes” movement, and argues that island/archipelago…23 Jul 2026 · 31 min · 11 chapters
The Staten Island Problem - Part 2: A New MapEpisode 2, “A New Map” (The Staten Island Problem Part 2) explains why Staten Island secession gained traction after New York City’s Board of Estimate was ruled unconstitutional.16 Jul 2026 · 28 min · 22 chapters
The Staten Island Problem - Part 1: The Mayor vs. the Borough PresidentStaten Island’s 1990s secession push and the early conflict between NYC Mayor David Dinkins and Staten Island Borough President Guy Molinari, framed as a “forgotten borough” parable about a country…9 Jul 2026 · 37 min · 12 chapters
Revenge of "A Good Walk Spoiled"The episode argues that golf courses in Los Angeles function like gated, tax-subsidized private property that blocks public access to scarce parks.7 Jul 2026 · 48 min · 18 chapters
Coming Soon: The Staten Island ProblemStaten Island’s attempted secession from New York City about 30 years ago, framed as an early example of how resentment can fracture a democracy and later echo nationally.29 Jun 2026 · 3 min
Frankenfood | The Mistakes SeriesThe episode “Frankenfood | The Mistakes Series” (Revisionist History) argues that food-industry progress can be derailed by branding and consumer storytelling.25 Jun 2026 · 32 min · 15 chapters
Reconstruction: The Unfinished PromiseThe opening episode of Malcolm Gladwell and Barack Obama’s eight-part series “Reconstruction: The Unfinished Promise” focuses on Frederick Douglass in 1865 and the early clash over how the U.S.18 Jun 2026 · 50 min · 19 chapters
Revisited: Ms. Buchanan’s Period of AdjustmentA revisited look at Brown v. Board of Education (1954) and the “period of adjustment” euphemism used to justify how school integration was carried out—arguing that the real harm fell on Black…11 Jun 2026 · 33 min · 16 chapters
Introducing The News from Scene on RadioSeen on Radio Season 8, episode 1 (“The News”) introduces a series about America’s “information crisis” and the troubled state of U.S.4 Jun 2026 · 42 min · 21 chapters
The Great American Elevator Tragedy | The Mistakes SeriesThe episode argues the U.S. became an elevator-poor country because building-code “perfection” made elevators too large and expensive, so developers choose stairs instead.28 May 2026 · 26 min · 12 chapters
James Fleming’s Impossible Vietnam War Rescue | From Medal of HonorLieutenant James “Jim” Fleming’s Medal of Honor rescue during a covert SOG (Studies and Observations Group) mission on Nov 26, 1968, at the Tan Laysan River border of Cambodia and South Vietnam,…22 May 2026 · 31 min · 9 chapters
The Trust DiagnosisHow trust decisions happen in high-stakes moments—starting with a “buy now” analogy, then shifting to crisis communications and a personal medical case.21 May 2026 · 39 min · 9 chapters
The BlackBerry Problem | The Mistakes Series“The Blackberry Problem” (Mistakes series) argues that BlackBerry’s decline wasn’t mainly about failing to innovate, but about a strategic shift being rejected by decision-makers.14 May 2026 · 33 min · 11 chapters
The Worst Poet in the World | From Cautionary TalesThe episode uses William McGonagall—widely labeled “the worst poet in the world”—to explore what people get wrong about creativity and failure, tying his infamously bad verse to real disasters like…7 May 2026 · 41 min · 15 chapters
Why Would I Do That to Jennifer Lopez? | The Mistakes SeriesIrv Gotti’s “mistake” during an Elle magazine interview—claiming Jennifer Lopez’s song “Ain’t It Funny” was about her ex, Puff Daddy—plus how earlier anger and a reporter’s choices helped turn it…30 Apr 2026 · 31 min · 10 chapters
A Tragedy in Texas | The Mistakes SeriesThis episode of Revisionist History (“A Tragedy in Texas: Mistakes Part 2”) focuses on the Sutherland Springs, Texas church shooting (Nov 2017) and the Air Force’s failure to report the shooter’s…23 Apr 2026 · 30 min · 8 chapters