Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford On Fire from the Inside - Lethal Injection Up Close with Malcolm Gladwell
36 snips
Oct 28, 2025 
Malcolm Gladwell, the acclaimed journalist and author of Revisionist History, dives into chilling details surrounding his new series, The Alabama Murders. He explores the traumatic backgrounds of those involved, the courtroom failures that facilitate wrongful executions, and the dark reality of lethal injection's painful effects. Gladwell argues that capital punishment often serves revenge rather than justice and reflects on Alabama's complex relationship with the death penalty. His insights challenge our understanding of morality and state power.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Trauma Specialist Sparked The Investigation
- Malcolm Gladwell met a trauma specialist who worked with torture victims and death row inmates and whose story anchored the series.
- Her account of a single case stayed with Gladwell and became the impetus for the Alabama Murders season.
Failure Cascade Explains Escalation
- Gladwell frames the case as a 'failure cascade' where small missteps compound into disaster.
- The affair, murder, trials and executions formed a continuing cascade lasting decades.
Preacher's Affair Started A Cascade
- Charles Sennett, a Church of Christ minister, had an affair that triggered suspicion and led him to hire two youths to harm his wife.
- The hired youths executed the plan ineptly, escalating a private failure into a public tragedy.