Episode Released December 12, 2019
I LOVED this episode! It was one of those that made me ask myself “why haven’t I listened to this sooner?” I used to be wary of the Experts on Experts episodes because, like I have mentioned before, I really struggle with high-leverage thinking when listening to a podcast. I’m normally doing something else — brushing my teeth, biking to school, cutting oranges — and so to focus very deeply on every word an expert is saying is nearly impossible for me. But this episode felt different. I listened to Malcolm while doing every one of those aforementioned tasks and I still found it easy to understand him.
Malcolm Gladwell has a lot of skills, interests and experiences that most people don’t. For example: he was born in England and moved to Canada when he was young so I feel like he has a greater worldview than most. He’s an intense distance runner (Dax calls him a jogger lol) which speaks to his ability to focus and grind. Supported by his parents, he often skipped class in high school to study in a college library. He talks about a childhood friend, Terry, who while playing a game of Monopoly suggested they throw out all the rules and play the way they wanted to. I feel like this anecdote, in particular, really speaks to the heightened creative skills Malcolm cultivated in childhood that lent itself to his professional career.
One negative: a huge interlude in which Dax and Malcolm talk about cars. Honestly, hearing how giddy Dax was to talk to one of his idols made me happy for him, and the car interlude didn’t bother me that much because I know how much it meant to him (LMFAO I’m writing this as if I know Dax…) It wasn’t awful to listen to, but similar to Monica, I just have no interest in cars and I wasn’t expecting them to get that off topic.
This episode especially hit because I just watched “In & Of Itself” on Hulu. “In & Of Itself” is hard to explain. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before. If I had to figure out a way to describe it, it’s an indescribable story/illusion/narration/magic show that focuses on assumptions we make of others and ourselves. How we put people into boxes, which puts limitations on everyone. Malcolm has challenged this exact same topic through years of research and, of course, writing. I’m hesitant to say I’ll read or listen to Talking to Strangers because I am not drawn to non-fiction unless it is a memoir, but I know it could be a good challenge for me. I am more inclined to listen to the audiobook rather than read this book anyways because he noted that in the audiobook, when it is an interviewee’s turn to speak, they use real primary source content so you hear their voice in their cadence with their tone. So cool. Stay tuned for a book review…In the meantime, listen to this episode!
