A few years ago a friend of mine and I started playing a game we called Dinner Party. In it each of us got to pick four to six people we wanted to have dinner and drinks with. There were no rules to our little game, you could have anyone from any area over to dine. So for instance if an evening with the Dalai Lama, Brett Favre, Janet Yellen, and your dad sounds good then all you had to do is click your heals together and yell "bleep Donald Trump," and wallah its on. I am not sure Favre and the Lama eat from the same food groups so you might want to consider that, but hey its your dinner not mine. Just remember that this is a one time hypothetical game, so don't throw away your one chance by inviting A Rod, Jerry Falwell, Herman Cain, and Hope Solo. Crazy can be fun for a while but you have to clean up afterword. My list has always had a few stalwarts on it, and a couple openings in case I need to change things up. Anthony Bourdain always makes the list because you know he'll cook. Wendell Berry and John Stewart are pretty much locks at well, as is Teri Gross to keep the conversation going. But number one invite goes out to a guy worthy of his own evening, Malcolm Gladwell.
If your not familiar with the work of Mr Gladwell then all I can do is ask that your stop wasting your time with my blog and go read one of his books. "Outliers" or "David and Goliath" would be good places to start. Or your could spend some time listening to the best new podcast out there since Serial. Gladwell's Revisionist History (revisionisthistory.com) pod is so good I probably should warn you to not start listening to it when you have a lot to do. I don't want to be responsible for the loss of your job, or burnt dinners at your house. That being said the sooner you start binge listening the sooner season one will be over and, you can go back to your toil and trouble for a year as you wait for season two.
In episode 7 of the first season of Revisionist History, Gladwell talks a lot about how some art takes years to prefect and or to reach iconic status, while other works are instantly great and appear to come effortlessly. I am guessing that the podcast has been a lot of work in the making, but I know for a fact that its great right now. In each of the seasons 10 episodes he digs into a topic ranging from underhand free throws to university endowments. In fact the three part series within the series on money and universities is really good. I never would have guessed that topic could be so thorny. Episode nine about a pastor choosing to defy his church by marrying his gay son is profound. You will not be disappointed!
Having read most of his books the thing that makes Revisionist History special is its absorb-ability. Imagine reading a book were every chapter blows your mind. After a while you feel like your missing out on half the good stuff because your brain can't take it all in. The podcast is like one chapter of good stuff once a week so you can ruminate on it all.
I will let the man sum this up in his own words, since after all he is one of the best.
"If there is a lesson to the ten episodes of this first season of Revisionist History its this, that nothing of consequence gets accomplished without courage. You can't educate the poor without making difficult choices, without giving up some portion of your own privilege. You can't be a great basketball player without being willing to look stupid. You can't heal your church without sacrificing your own career. You can't even drive a car properly unless your willing to acknowledge that you sometimes make mistakes, stupid, involuntary, dumb mistakes. The path to a better world is hard, is that depressing? I don't think so, I think whats depressing is when we ignore everything history is trying to tell us"
Boom!
Having read most of his books the thing that makes Revisionist History special is its absorb-ability. Imagine reading a book were every chapter blows your mind. After a while you feel like your missing out on half the good stuff because your brain can't take it all in. The podcast is like one chapter of good stuff once a week so you can ruminate on it all.
I will let the man sum this up in his own words, since after all he is one of the best.
"If there is a lesson to the ten episodes of this first season of Revisionist History its this, that nothing of consequence gets accomplished without courage. You can't educate the poor without making difficult choices, without giving up some portion of your own privilege. You can't be a great basketball player without being willing to look stupid. You can't heal your church without sacrificing your own career. You can't even drive a car properly unless your willing to acknowledge that you sometimes make mistakes, stupid, involuntary, dumb mistakes. The path to a better world is hard, is that depressing? I don't think so, I think whats depressing is when we ignore everything history is trying to tell us"
Boom!
