See Revisionist History Live!

Episode Summary

The episode begins with several sponsored advertisements from companies like IBM, Pushkin Industries, Hartford Insurance, and Amazon Books. The main content features host Malcolm Gladwell providing a behind-the-scenes look at the process of creating an episode of Revisionist History. Gladwell explains that a key part of his creative process is the "table read," where he reads a draft script to his team and invited guests. During the table read, the guests provide feedback, critique the episode, and help Gladwell refine and improve it. As Gladwell describes it, he waits for swooning and applause after reading his "brilliant script," but instead the guests pick apart the episode until he's a "bloody mess." While difficult, this process allows Gladwell to hear his own writing with "new ears" and go back to make it better. The reason Gladwell is describing his creative process is to promote a new, live event called "Revisionist History Live." Over two nights in New York City and Philadelphia, Gladwell will conduct a live table read on stage in front of an audience. He sees it as a chance to peel back the curtain on his show and involve the audience in workshopping a new episode. For fans of the show, it's a unique opportunity to see how Revisionist History episodes come together.

Episode Show Notes

For the first time ever, Revisionist History is hitting the road! On two nights, Malcolm will be working out an episode from the upcoming season 7—with the help of some very smart friends—on stage. We’ve never pulled back the curtain like this before.Join us on June 6 in New York City or June 8 in Philadelphia. We’ll work on a grand unified theory and make a few digressions together. Get your tickets today at revisionisthistory.com.

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Episode Transcript

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With the Hartford Insurance Group Benefits Insurance, you'll get it right the first time. Keep your business competitive by looking out for your employees' needs with quality benefits from the Hartford. The Hartford Group Benefits team makes managing benefits and absences a breeze while providing your employees with a streamlined world-class customer experience that treats them like people, not policies. Keep your workforce moving forward with group benefits from the Hartford. The Bucks got you back. Learn more at theheartford.com slash benefits. SPEAKER_05: PushkInto SPEAKER_05: Hello, hello, Revisionist History listeners. What you've just heard are a few seconds from a Revisionist History table read. If you've ever wondered what makes Revisionist History Revisionist History, it's the table read. During a table read, I read what I consider to be a brilliant script to my team. We invite other people from Pushkin, sometimes a random mystery guest. They listen to me, we play the tape, and I wait for a swooning and applause, and it never comes. Everyone just picks apart the whole thing until I'm a bloody mess on the phone. SPEAKER_04: I don't know, I just, I feel like this was an unusual episode in that I knew exactly what you were saying from like, early on. Like, we see where this is going, and so I sort of- You want more misdirection. Yeah, I wanna think I'm going somewhere else, or at least have a kind of more complicated point. SPEAKER_05: The good part, though, is when other people listen to what I've written, suddenly I hear it with new ears, and then it's back to my laptop and a chance to make it all better. So that's what we've been up to with the 10 stories you're about to hear in the new season of Revisionist History. Season seven launches on June 30th, and it's all about experiments that have changed our world. Experiments that could have been experiments we're too afraid to try. And in fact, I'm so enamored with experiments, I want to invite you to one. Something I've been wanting to do for a while, Revisionist History Live. I think of it as a table read in front of an audience. Two nights where I'll be working on a new episode with the help of some very smart friends on stage. We're going to be talking about the new episode on stage. We've never pulled back the curtain like this before. Join me June 6th in New York City, or June 8th in Philadelphia. We'll work on a grand unified theory and make a few digressions together. Tickets available at revisionisthistory.com. Get yours today. Cloths, anyone? The order's wrong, the argument's even. I wrote it and I was lost. SPEAKER_04: Yeah, it's just like a digression. SPEAKER_05: Malcolm Gladwell here. Let's re-examine employee benefits. With the Hartford Insurance Group Benefits Insurance, you'll get it right the first time. 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That's M-I-M-E-C-A-S-T.com to learn how you can work protected with Mindcast. SPEAKER_02: With millions of books on Amazon, there's a reading feeling for everyone. For example, Juan's. Ah. As he drifts away to Nirvana after only the first chapter is different to Maya's. Ah. When she discovered the narrator was, in fact, the evil twin, which is also different to Noah's. Aw. Anytime the cute cyberpunk is mentioned, even though in reality he'd be totally out of his league, from two to Amazon books, that reading feeling awaits.