Malcolm Gladwell's Blog

My latest article, on the work of the economist David Galenson, is now up on the New Yorker website here.

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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 wierd 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 b

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Just to be clear: I'm not advocating that steriods be legalized. In fact, I think that's probably a terrible idea.  I'm simply puzzled. The professional sports establishment is in the midst of a major witchhunt against alleged users of performance enhancing drugs. But no one--so far as I can tell-- has articulated a coherent explanation for what should be banned and why.

"James," one of the commenters on the "Free Fernando Vina" post brought up the issue of Lasik eye surgery. That's a very good e

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From the January 14, 2008 Sports Illustrated:

Page 36:  "Then, on a late touchdown run against Arkansas on Nov. 23 [LSU quarterback Matt Flynn:] separated his throwing shoulder. Two painkilling injections allowed him to stay in the game."

Page 51: "In the moments before kickoff, some players listen to metal and some listen to rap. Some talk to God and some talk to themselves. Seattle Seahawks defensive end Patrick Kerney wraps a black graphite glove around his neck, wires it to the portable neurmus

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I'm still mystified by certain aspects of Major League Baseball's drug policy.

Consider the following:

An aging pitcher is suffering from a variety of persistent injuries. They are healing slowly. He is depressed and lethargic, and anxious about his career. He goes to see his doctor. The doctor finds that the patient's testosterone count is low. He prescribes the pitcher a small dose of testosterone, as part of  his rehab. The patient is desperate, and the doctor agrees to experiment with testoste

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