Malcolm Gladwell revisits old ideas in a new book, 'Revenge of the Tipping Point'

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4.2 • 672 Ratings

🗓️ 15 October 2024

⏱️ 8 minutes

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Summary

When Malcolm Gladwell released The Tipping Point in 2000, the book became a huge bestseller–and Gladwell became a star. Nearly a quarter-century later, the journalist and podcaster revisits that work. Revenge of the Tipping Point employs Gladwell's familiar methods, using storytelling to examine the spread of negative social behavior by pharmaceutical companies, bank robbers and Medicare fraudsters. In today's episode, the author sits down with NPR's Steve Inskeep to discuss why Gladwell's view of society has darkened over time and what the author thinks of his harshest critics.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, it's Empire's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbaugh. Today's interview is with the super popular
0:07.2	journalist and podcast host Malcolm Gladwell. His new book, Revenge of the Tipping Point,
0:11.7	is a sociological exploration of how negative social behavior spread. In this interview with
0:17.6	NPR Steve Inski, they talk about some of the arguments Gladwell makes
0:21.3	in the book, but the part I found particularly illuminating is when Gladwell reflects on his
0:27.1	long writing career, the criticisms he's gotten, the negative reviews, and how he's changed
0:33.2	as a writer from the beginning of his career compared to where he's at now.
0:43.4	And he doesn't even really refute the criticisms, but instead sees their point from a different angle. That's ahead.
0:45.8	In the U.S., national security news can feel far away from daily life.
0:50.5	Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind closed doors on our new show, sources and methods.
0:57.1	NPR reporters on the ground bring you stories of real people helping you understand why distant
1:02.1	events matter here at home.
1:04.4	Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
1:10.5	Malcolm Gladwell is revisiting the book that made him famous.
1:14.2	The tipping point was a huge bestseller in 2000.
1:17.7	Its title proclaimed an alluring idea.
1:20.7	A social trend or behavior might spread slowly until a tipping point when it reaches
1:25.7	just enough people and then suddenly it's everywhere,
1:29.0	like an epidemic. Businesses and activists loved this, even as critics questioned some of
1:35.2	Gladwell's findings. Recently, he started an update to that book and decided instead on a total
1:40.8	rewrite. I mean, I'm 61, so I have a little more humility about what I'm doing.
1:46.9	He also has a darker view of society.
	...

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