>> STEPHEN: MY NEXT GUEST
TONIGHT IS THE AUTHOR OF FIVE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING
BOOKS, INCLUDING "THE TIPPING POINT," "BLINK," AND "OUTLIERS." HE NOW HAS A NEW PODCAST CALLED
"REVISIONIST HISTORY." PLEASE WELCOME, MALCOLM
GLADWELL! (BAND PLAYING)
>> Stephen: GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN. >> GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN. >> Stephen: HAVEN'T SEEN YOU
FOR A FEW YEARS. ALWAYS FUN TO TALK TO YOU. FOR A LIVING, YOU SAY THINGS
THAT OTHER PEOPLE HAVEN'T THOUGHT OF BEFORE. >> YOU'RE SETTING THE BAR
AWFULLY HIGH. >> Stephen: NO PRESSURE. (LAUGHTER)
, BUT "BLINK," TH TH THE TIPPING POINT, YOU'VE SOLD A LOT OF
BOOKS. IF IT DOESN'T WORK, YOU HAVE
FOOLED A LOT OF PEOPLE, INCLUDING ME. YOU SHOULD WRITE ABOUT HOW YOU
DO THAT. >> THIS IS MY THIRD TIME -- NO,
FOURTH TIME. I WAS ON THE THE OTHER SHOW. >> Stephen: FIRST TIME OVER
HERE. >> REPEAT GUEST. >> Stephen: YOU ARE A RHPEAT
GUEST. NOT HERE. WE'LL SEE. (LAUGHTER)
WELL, I'VE GOT TO ASK YOU A QUESTION. YOU'VE GOT A NEW POD T.S.A. CALLED "REVISIONIST HISTORY"
WHICH I'M VERY INTERESTED IN. WHY DO A PODCAST? YOU'RE ONE OF THE LAST GUYS THAT
SELLS BOOKS. YOU AND J.K. ROWLING AND THEN MY
COOKBOOKS. (LAUGHTER)
>> THIS IS WHAT HI FRIEND CHARLES ALWAYS SAYS YOU THINK
WITH YOUR EYES AND YOU FEEL WITH YOUR EARS. IT'S A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT --
>> Stephen: HOLD ON. (LAUGHTER)
THINK EYES, FEEL EARS. >> THINK ABOUT IT, YOU WRITE A
BOOK, YOU CAN COMMUNICATE COMPLICATED IDEAS AND PEOPLE BE
GRASP PEM, BUT YOU CAN'T MOVE PEOPLE EMOTIONALLY. IT'S VERY HARD. >> Stephen: WHAT! HAVE YOU READ A BOOK? YOUR BOOKS MAKE YOU THINK. >> THINK OF HOW MUCH EASIER IT
IS TO MAKE A PERSON LAUGH IN PERSON. LAUGHING IS NOT THE BAR. THE HIGH BAR IS CRYING. TEARS, MAKING SOMEONE CRY --
>> Stephen: I DISAGREE. YOU THINK IT'S EASIER TO MAKE
SOMEONE LAUGH THAN CRY? ARE YOU CRAZY? >> Stephen: YOU DON'T WANT TO
MAKE PEOPLE CRY. EVERYONE WANTS TO MAKE PEOPLE
LAUGH SO PEOPLE PRACTICE IT MORE. >> FIRST OF ALL, I THINK THERE
IS FIVE MOMENTS IN MY TEN EPISODES OF "REVISIONIST
HISTORY" WHERE I'M ALMOST CERTAIN PEOPLE WILL CRY. I CRY JUST WHEN I THINK ABOUT
THOSE MOMENTS THAT'S SUCH A POWERFUL THING. >> Stephen: WHAT YOU JUST SAID
IS BETTER THAN WHAT I DO FOR A LIVING. (LAUGHTER)
>> NO NO, NO NO. (APPLAUSE)
StepheWHAT WAS THE MOST POWERFUL INTERVIEW YOU DID WITH JAVIER? >> Stephen: HE SHARED HIS OWN
EXPERIENCE ABOUT FACING DEATH. >> THAT'S WHAT YOU REMEMBERED. YOU COULD DO THAT INTERVIEW A
THOUSAND TIMES AND YOU WILL LAUGH A THOUSAND TIMES BUT THE
THING YOU WILL REMEMBER IS THAT ONE MOMENT WHEN HE TOUCHED REAL
EMOTION, AND THAT, ON A PODCAST, YOU COULD DO THAT. AND WHEN I DISCOVERED THAT, THAT
WAS LIKE, WOW, THIS IS SOMETHING I WANT TO TRY. >> Stephen: WOW. YOU'RE GETTING A LITTLE
EMOTIONAL. >> Stephen: WELL, I WAS
THINKING ABOUT WHY THAT IS, WHY THAT MOMENT WAS SO MOVING, AND I
THINK IT'S RARE FOR PEOPLE TO SHARE OF THEMSELVES HONESTLY
WITHOUT ANY GUARD. >> YES. >> Stephen: I THINK EVERYBODY
HAS THE CAPABILITY TO DO THAT BUT WE'RE SO LOATHE TO DO IT
BECAUSE WE PROTECT OURSELVES FROM EACH OTHER BECAUSE WE'RE
AFRAID THAT PEOPLE DON'T WANT TO HEAR OUR REAL FEELINGS. >> AND IN A PUBLIC SETTING WHERE
HE DOESN'T KNOW ANYONE IN THE AUDIENCE. BUT THOSE SORT OF MOMENTS ARE SO
INCREDIBLY VALUABLE AND THEY'RE -- WHEN YOU CAN BREAK
THROUGH ALL OF THAT NOISE, WHEN YOU'RE COMMUNICATING, WHEN
YOU'RE TRYING TO TELL A STORY TO SOMEBODY --
>> Stephen: HIS STORY ABOUT SHARING HIS OWN PERSONAL TRIALS
IS MORE MOVING THAN ME MAKING JOKES ABOUT ORLANDO BLOOM'S
(BLEEP). >> YES. >> Stephen: JUST WANTED TO GET
YOU ON RECORD. >> THERE'S A MOMENT IN MY SECOND
TO LAST EPISODE OF MY SHOW WHERE I'M INTERVIEWING THIS
98-YEAR-OLD MENNONITE PASTOR FROM LANCASTER COUNTY, BUT THERE
IS A MOMENT WHEN HE'S TALKING AND HE'S DESCRIBING SOMETHING
AND HE STARTS TO CRY, AND EVERYONE IN THE ROOM IS CRYING,
AND I'M TRYING NOT TO CRY BECAUSE I'M TRYING TO CONDUCT AN
INTERVIEW ON TAPE, AND I DIDN'T WANT TO SOB. BUT IT'S THE SAME THING. IT'S A MOMENT WHERE HE JUST SORT
OF CUTS THROUGH ALL OF THE -- AND HE'S TALKING ABOUT SOMETHING
THAT'S ABSOLUTELY AT THE CENTER OF HIS OWN KIND OF VALUE SYSTEM
AND BELIEF AND I THINK -- THAT MOMENT MADE THE WHOLE TEN
EPISODES WORTH DOING. >> Stephen: WHAT'S AT THE
CENTER OF YOUR BELIEF? LIKE WHAT IS THE CORE OF MALCOM
GLADWELL? IF I CUT YOU OPEN AND COUNTED
THE RINGS, WHAT'S THAT CENTER RING, MALCOM GLADWELL? >> I JUST WANT TO EXPLAIN THINGS
TO PEOPLE. >> Stephen: YOU'RE A TEACHER. I THINK SO, YEAH. I COME FROM A FAMILY OF
TEACHERS. TEACHERS AND PREACHERS IS
BASICALLY WHAT MY FAMILY IS. YOUR DAD WAS A DOCTOR. >> Stephen: A DOCTOR, YEAH. O WE'RE ALL --
>> Stephen: TEACHER, THOUGH, ACADEMIC. >> THAT'S THE GLADWELL DNA. >> Stephen: I NEED YOUR HELP
WITH SOMETHING BEFORE WE GO HERE IS THAT -- WE'RE COMING UP ON
THE WEEKEND AND I'M GOING TO BE GOING TO SOME COCKTAIL PARTIES
LIKE YOU DO. I DON'T KNOW THAT THERE WILL BE
98-YEAR-OLD MENNONITES THERE, BUT THERE WILL BE A PARTY. (LAUGHTER)
I WANT TO SAY, I WAS TALKING TO MALCOM GLADWELL LAST NIGHT AND
HE TOLD ME THIS THING THAT HE HASN'T SAID TO SOMEBODY ELSE
ABOUT, SOMETHING, AND THEY'LL SAY, DID YOU HEAR, COLBERT TALKS
TO MALCOM GLADWELL. WHAT CAN I DROP AT THE PARTY
THIS WEEKEND AND PEOPLE GO THAT'S THE BEST COCKTAIL CHATTER
I'VE EVER HEARD. BECAUSE YOU'RE COCKTAIL CHATTER
BAIT. WHAT HAVE YOU GOT? SOMETHING GOOD. WHAT IF I GOT? WELL, YOU KNOW, THE -- I'M GOING
TO PLUG MY SHOW. >> Stephen: SURE. THE SHOWS ARE ALL ABOUT MY
OBSESSION ABOUT WHAT'S WRONG WITH AMERICAN HIGHER EDUCATION. (CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
HERE'S MY FAVORITE STATISTIC. >> Stephen: WHAT IS IT? IF YOU SUM UP THE ENDOWMENTS
OF THE SEVEN IVY LEAGUE SCHOOLS PLUS STANFORD, DO YOU KNOW HOW
MUCH MONEY THAT COMES TO? $140 BILLION. DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY LOW-INCOME
STUDENTS ARE EDUCATED BY THE IVY LEAGUE PLUS STANFORD? >> Stephen: WHAT? 11,000. 140 BILLION HERE, 11,000 THERE. IF YOU CAN TELL ME WHY THAT'S A
GOOD THING, I'M ALL EARS. >> Stephen: DID YOU GO TO AN
IVY LEAGUE? >> UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO. >> Stephen: I DIDN'T EITHER SO
WE'RE BOTH EQUALLY INDIGNANT ABOUT IT. >> I WANT TO SEE YOU! >> Stephen:
NEW EPISODES OF "REVISIONIST HISTORY" ARE AVAILABLE ON
ITUNES. MALCOLM GLADWELL, EVERYBODY!
Vic college alum!