Malcolm Gladwell
The Questlove Show
iHeartPodcasts
4.6 • 2K Ratings
🗓️ 3 December 2025
⏱️ 71 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this special, live-recorded conversation, Questlove sits down with bestselling author and podcast host Malcolm Gladwell at the iHeart Cafe in Cannes, France. The two old friends embark on a wide-ranging, insightful, and humorous discussion that covers everything from Malcolm’s childhood musical experiences, his theory of creativity and genius, and failing as a pathway to success. Through stories of growing up in a multicultural household, creative serendipity, and collaborative critique, Malcolm and Questlove explore how formative experiences shape both art and perspective. They also reflect on the legacy of critical thinking, the modern media landscape, and the impact of AI on truth and storytelling.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is an I-Heart podcast. |
| 0:02.5 | Guaranteed Human. |
| 0:04.6 | The Questlove show is a production of I-Heart Radio. |
| 0:11.1 | Good people, what's up? |
| 0:12.6 | How you doing? |
| 0:13.4 | Today's episode is actually the very first episode taped as the Questlove show. It was with author, podcast host, and my pal, Malcolm Gladwell. |
| 0:25.9 | We did this live on stage at the IHeart Cafe in Cannes, back in June. And you'll hear me |
| 0:32.5 | explore with this format, asking some random questions to get to know people in new ones. |
| 0:38.3 | Malcolm seemed to have fun with it, and along the way we discussed his latest book, Revenge |
| 0:42.9 | of the Tipping Point. |
| 0:44.6 | So please enjoy this episode, and let's go back live to the Iheart Cafe. |
| 0:49.6 | All right. |
| 0:58.9 | All right. Who's excited to hear a great podcast tonight? |
| 1:09.1 | About five years ago, we here at IHeart had the chance to begin working with one of the great podcasts out there. |
| 1:28.6 | By the way, I'm Will Pearson, president of IHeart podcast. We are so happy to have. Was that what that was about? That just was great, guys. I'm just going to sit down and chat for a bit. Thank you. No, but I'm pleased to introduce one of our favorite podcasters. A true cultural powerhouse. Of course, he's a founding member of the legendary roots. Let's give it up for the roots. He's a best-selling author. He's going to do the |
| 1:34.1 | wander up here. He's never, he's never patient. He's not a patient man. He's a historian. He's a |
| 1:39.0 | creative visionary. And as of three years ago, an Academy Award winner, let's give it up for the Academy Award winner for Summer of Soul, |
| 1:48.3 | about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival. |
| 1:51.5 | If you haven't checked out this year's documentary that he did |
| 1:54.8 | about the brilliant Sly Stone, unfortunately we lost him just last week. |
| 1:59.3 | It is a brilliant documentary as well. |
| 2:01.4 | He's, of course, an incredible DJ. |
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