Chapter 37: Malcolm Gladwell on strangers, spies, and silencing the system

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Sep 14, 2019

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3 Books is a completely insane and totally epic 15-year-long quest to uncover the 1000 most formative books in the world. Each chapter is hosted live and in-person at the guest's preferred location by Neil Pasricha, New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Awesome and The Happiness Equation. Each chapter of 3 Books uncovers and discusses the three most formative books from one of the world's most inspiring people. Sample guests include: Judy Blume, David Sedaris, Chris Anderson of TED, and the world's greatest Uber driver. Each of the 333 chapters is dropped on the exact minute of every new moon and full moon until September 1, 2031. 3 Books is an Apple "Best Of" award-winning show as well as the world's only podcast by and for book lovers, writers, makers, sellers... and librarians. For more info check out: www.3books.co

Malcolm Gladwell is a journalist, a speaker, and the author of five New York Times bestsellers including The Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers, What The Dog Saw, and David and Goliath. His latest book, Talking to Strangers, was published on September 10, 2019. He has been a staff writer for the New Yorker since 1996. Foreign Policy has three times named him one of their Top Global Thinkers, and he has been named one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People. He is a trustee of the Surgo Foundation and currently serves on the board of the RAND Corporation.

Chapter Description:

Who we are is a function of where we are.

Do you agree with that?

Who you are depends on where you are.

We’re different people in different places, right?

You’re different in the board room than you are on vacation. You’re different with your parents than you are with your kids. And, as for me, I’m different hanging with with Malcolm Gladwell in the West Village than I am sitting in my basement as I type up this blog post.

And that theme is one that we get to open up in Chapter 37 of 3 Books with Malcolm Gladwell. Guys, I was so nervous for this podcast. I mean, super nervous. I couldn’t sleep for a few nights before. I read his three most formative books. I listened to his podcast Revisionist History. I got an advance copy of his brand new book Talking To Strangers. I mean, I was so nervous that I showed up for the podcast an hour early. (Who does that?)

So Malcolm invites me into his place and we get settled around a table surrounded by books. Top to bottom! Floor to ceiling! And, no big deal, all hardcovers. I’m intimated but at the very end of the podcast, right after I clicked stop on the recorder … he said three words that completely chilled me out. (I’ll tell you what they were after the show.) I found him extremely down to Earth with a beautiful calming energy.

We talk about raising great nerds in a world forcing us into the mean, how to find tribes where we truly fit in, who he thinks is the best non-fiction author alive, why thrillers are incredibly instructive, what his biggest advice is for aspiring authors, and, of course, his three most formative books.

I hope you enjoy Chapter 37 with Malcolm Gladwell.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:

Why should we reread books more often?
Are we all simply products of our environments?
What book has Malcolm read every five years since the age of 15?
Which book does Malcolm call “appallingly marketed”?
How do we preserve our privacy in an endlessly connected world?
And much, much more…

Leave us a voicemail! Your message may be included in a future episode: 1-833-READ-A-LOT.

You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.3books.co/chapters/37