A number of people have asked about a story I told at the Moth about my early days in the newspaper business.
The Moth is a weird and wonderful club in New York City founded a few years ago by George Green, who wanted to recreate the late-night story-telling sessions of his childhood in Georgia. Every few weeks, a bunch of people get together in a dark and boozy room somewhere in Manhattan and try and outdo each other. I told a Moth story several years ago, and last month it was picked up by the NPR show This American Life. (You can find it here)
There is a disclaimer at the end of the This American Life broadcast, to the effect that the Moth is a place where "people come to tell both true stories and occasional tall tales." As I think should be obvious if you listen to it, my story definitely belongs to the "tall tale" category. I hope you enjoy it. But please do so with a rather large grain of salt.
ei
This story is small beer. As one critic noted (in another context), Gladwell's real offense is building castles of pseudo-science in the quicksand of anecdote.
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Posted by: Anna Gott | March 26, 2008 at 01:37 PM
malcolm,
i wish you were a little more loyal to your blog. you rarely write on your blog anymore. i do not mean to suggest that you are not important and do not have anything more important to do but keep my lack of gladwell things to read in mind.
sincerely,
sarah
Posted by: sarah | March 26, 2008 at 08:58 PM
Has Jack Shafer written the article yet where he acknowledges that HIS article was a joke? If not, it truly is baffling that anyone would be upset by a tale that (i) takes OBVIOUS liberties with the truth and (ii) was told in a context in which the storyteller is EXPECTED to take liberties with the truth.
The fact that a handful of people don't get a joke doesn't mean it wasn't funny in the first place.
Posted by: Robin M | March 27, 2008 at 01:03 PM
@ Robin M
The question is whether the liberties and context were in fact obvious. Your simply stating that they were is not helpful except perhaps as a data point for an empirical study measuring public opinion.
Finally, the humor of the piece was not in question, only its veracity. Shafer was calling Gladwell out for being untruthful not unfunny.
Posted by: anon1 | March 27, 2008 at 02:30 PM
This sounds really unusual. Where is that place in New York?
Posted by: Karl | March 30, 2008 at 06:28 PM
thanks malcolm this is very interesting
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Posted by: Google | April 04, 2008 at 01:15 AM
Der lang anhaltende Machtkampf um das Gebiet Tibet, wobei es meiner Ansicht nach um die einseitige Macht Chinas geht und auf der anderen Seite ein repressionsfreies und anerkanntes Nebenherleben (lt. dem Dalai Lama), spitzt sich angesichts der bevorstehenden Olympischen Spiele weiter zu.
Posted by: Thomas | April 05, 2008 at 08:04 PM
Malcolm Gladwell, I'm so glad you are back.
Posted by: Mary Schaefer | April 06, 2008 at 08:41 PM
nice
Posted by: Christian Bross | April 15, 2008 at 06:57 AM
Malcolm,
I've loved story telling since I heard a wonderful professional tell a great ghost story and then was able to repeat the entire thing almost word for word the next evening to my daughters.
Talk about making ideas sticky!
I've did a fair amount of thinking about what makes ideas travel as I wrote my own book on creating impact this year.
Now I'm experimenting with Zingwhacker ideas and "whisper" campaigns, where the key element is the listener's ability to create their own story and spread it.
Only about 4 people even know what Zingwhacker ideas are and as of two weeks ago a Google search turned up zero results, but now people are creating their own definitions of what Zingwhacker ideas could possibly be.
The more people add their own ideas to the mix and ask the question, "what are they anyway?" the more they spread.
So go ahead!
Tell your tall tales, ghost stories, rumors, lies and fabrications.
Personally, I think it is a Zingwhacker of an idea.
Posted by: Ken McArthur | April 15, 2008 at 07:30 PM
That is an interesting one!
Posted by: Nancy | April 16, 2008 at 08:53 AM
great
Posted by: maguila | April 17, 2008 at 04:42 PM
This is my blog
http://maguila.blogdrive.com/
Posted by: maguila | April 17, 2008 at 04:45 PM
I know this is going to seem really pithy, but This American Life is produced by Public Radio International, not NPR.
Many people don't even realize there's a difference, but it's quite a big one, actually.
Posted by: sylvia | April 23, 2008 at 09:36 PM
hello...
Posted by: Apramey Dube | April 24, 2008 at 05:32 AM
Great Articles...
Posted by: Rion | April 26, 2008 at 01:25 AM
King James' Bible in acrostic form. A little literary joke.
Posted by: koteyner | April 28, 2008 at 03:21 PM
Hey, I'm not really here to discuss this topic, I was just wondering if you could lend me a view on your career. I have a career fair at my high school. My asperation is to be a phycologist/writer. If you could Email me, and lend me any input at all on the subject, I would greatly appreciate it. I have read some excerpts from your books, and really enjoy what you have to say. Thanks again, in adavance.
Posted by: Shane | April 29, 2008 at 12:06 PM
As a soon-to-be journalism undergraduate, I desperately wanted the bit about the Post's lax hiring practices to be true...
Posted by: Lily | April 29, 2008 at 04:49 PM
Places like the Moth seems to be very interesting: they should be a great source of inspiration for a writer. Maybe, even here in Italy there are site like this, but I don't know it.
Posted by: Velvety Scarlet | April 30, 2008 at 04:58 AM
more content please, Mr Gladwell.
Love your writings (NY archive and blog and books)... just want more!
Posted by: spice | May 04, 2008 at 12:29 AM
I have noticed you have not written much for the New Yorker recently.
....................
Geeth
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