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Malcolm Gladwell: The Most Useful Hour You'll Ever Spend on Storytelling | How I Write

November 4, 2026 · 59 min

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Malcolm Gladwell is on the show today and he's one of the most influential nonfiction writers of the 21st century. You know him from books like Outliers, The Tipping Point, and David and Goliath, as well as his essays in The New Yorker.

I told Malcolm, "I want to learn one thing from you: how you tell a story like you do. What is your process? How do you find the facts, craft the narrative, and conduct your research? How do you weave it all together into a compelling story that resonates, changes worldviews, and is easy to remember?"

If you want to learn to tell a great story, you're in the right spot. Here's my conversation with Malcolm Gladwell.

About the host
Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible.

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