Pushkin

Six years ago, before podcasting was even a twinkle in my eye, I wrote a screenplay for

a TV series. It was called Jewelty Hills. My first and only screenplay. I spent a year

in the opening scene, a battered Honda pulls up to a house on a long, leafy street.

Angela Nation, 31, is behind the wheel. Jeans, Afro, sunglasses. She's beautiful, though

trying not to be. The car looks like a family's been living in the back seat. She pulls up

to an immaculate Victorian. A petite, very proper African-American woman comes out

the front door. Ingrid James, 63. She gets in.

Let's be clear. Nothing happened with Jewelty Hills. I got as far as pitching it to a Hollywood

studio. I shouldn't say who. Well, okay. It was Fox. Imagine a room full of TV executives

around a table. I talked about the big themes, the theories, race, conscience, conspiracies,

corruption, blah, blah, blah. I waved my hands in the air for a good hour. The room was

hushed. And when I was done, the executive in charge said, we love it. But do you think

you could work in a car chase? Things went downhill from there.

My name is Malcolm Gladwell. You're listening to revisionist history. My podcast about things

overlooked and misunderstood. This is part one of what will be two bonus episodes for the

holiday season. I'm going to answer your listener questions, riff on things revisionist, history-ish

and tell random stories, including in part two, one about my dad, another about a famous

rapper, and beginning in an act of shameless self-promotion with the story of my failed screenplay.

We brought it to life with the help of the Pushkin theatrical players. I promise the point of

it will be clear in a moment.

Angela looks over at Ingrid. Season Atlanta Hawks cap in the bag by Ingrid's feet.

...