Revisionist History: The Staten Island Problem

Manhattan, NY December. 2022. What do you do, after the state has tried to execute you, but failed? Kenny Smith’s legal team calls Kate Porterfield. A psychologist who specializes in trauma. Get early, ad-free access to the full season of The Alabama Murders by subscribing to Pushkin+ on  Apple Podcasts  or  Pushkin.fm . Pushkin+ subscribers can access ad-free episodes, full a...

Holman Correctional Facility. November 2022. The State of Alabama tries to execute Kenneth Smith. Get early, ad-free access to the full season of The Alabama Murders by subscribing to Pushkin+ on  Apple Podcasts  or  Pushkin.fm . Pushkin+ subscribers can access ad-free episodes, full audiobooks, exclusive binges, and bonus content for all Pushkin shows. Subscribe on Apple: apple.co/...

Holman Correctional Facility. June 2010. John Forrest Parker is put to death by lethal injection. He didn’t appear to suffer. But did he? Get early, ad-free access to the full season of The Alabama Murders by subscribing to Pushkin+ on  Apple Podcasts  or  Pushkin.fm . Pushkin+ subscribers can access ad-free episodes, full audiobooks, exclusive binges, and bonus content for al...

Colbert County. May 1989. One of the men charged with Elizabeth Sennett’s murder stands trial. But the prosecution’s case has  problematic inconsistencies. His fate comes down to the jury’s decision –– at least at first. Get early, ad-free access to the full season of The Alabama Murders by subscribing to Pushkin+ on  Apple Podcasts  or  Pushkin.fm...

Florence, Alabama. 1988. After a horrifying murder takes place, an anonymous caller names three young men as suspects. But speculation swirls about the victim’s husband. Get early, ad-free access to the full season of The Alabama Murders by subscribing to Pushkin+ on  Apple Podcasts  or  Pushkin.fm . Pushkin+ subscribers can access ad-free episodes, full audiobooks, exclusive...

In a small town in the northwest corner of Alabama, a cascade begins with a man and an affair. Get early, ad-free access to the full season of The Alabama Murders by subscribing to Pushkin+ on  Apple Podcasts  or  Pushkin.fm . Pushkin+ subscribers can access ad-free episodes, full audiobooks, exclusive binges, and bonus content for all Pushkin shows. Subscribe on Apple: apple.co/pus...

Florence, Alabama. 1988. A preacher has an affair. A woman is murdered. One death cascades into more, stretching across decades and leaving no one untouched — victims, bystanders, perpetrators, and those just trying to help. Eventually, the consequences lead to the center of a hot national debate on who should be allowed to live, who should die, and how the state should execute them. On The...

Wrapping up our summer music series, the Memphis-born, East Nashville-based singer songwriter Drew Holcomb talks with Malcolm in front of a live audience at the Cherry Lane Theater in Greenwich Village. Drew plays original songs and a few covers you might recognize on this exploration of his journey to Americana music.   For more interviews like this, check out Pushkin’s  Brok...

In 2019, Malcolm just wanted an excuse to hang out with Randy Newman so they sat down at the piano together and tried to answer the question: If you disagree with someone — if you find what they think appalling — is there any value in talking to them? Get ad-free episodes to Revisionist History by subscribing to Pushkin+ on Apple Podcasts or Pushkin.fm. Pushkin+ subscribers can access...

Malcolm’s habit of reading footnotes leads him to the psychologist Alan Elms, which leads him to the one song Elvis couldn’t sing. We revisit this 2018 episode as part of our encore music series. Get ad-free episodes to Revisionist History by subscribing to Pushkin+ on Apple Podcasts or Pushkin.fm. Pushkin+ subscribers can access ad-free episodes, full audiobooks, exclusive binges, and...

Why does country music make you cry, but rock and roll doesn’t? We revisit a musical interpretation of a divided America in this episode from 2017. Get ad-free episodes to Revisionist History by subscribing to Pushkin+ on Apple Podcasts or Pushkin.fm. Pushkin+ subscribers can access ad-free episodes, full audiobooks, exclusive binges, and bonus content for all Pushkin shows.  Subscribe...

How does genius emerge?  Kicking off our summer series, Malcolm digs into the Revisionist History archive to revisit Elvis Costello’s song “Deportee” and explore the power of innovation.  Get ad-free episodes to Revisionist History by subscribing to Pushkin+ on Apple Podcasts or Pushkin.fm. Pushkin+ subscribers can access ad-free episodes, full audiobooks, exclusive bin...

Starting next week, we revisit four of Malcolm’s favorite episodes from the Revisionist History archives, all about music. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In our season finale, we team up with the Culinary Institute of America to reverse engineer the secret recipe for Thomas’s English Muffins. You can read our top secret muffin recipe here . Get ad-free episodes to Revisionist History by subscribing to Pushkin+ on Apple Podcasts or Pushkin.fm. Pushkin+ subscribers can access ad-free episodes, full audiobooks, exclusive binges, and bonus conten...

Seven people knew the recipe for a half-a-billion dollar muffin. Then, one of them tried to leave. Get ad-free episodes to Revisionist History by subscribing to Pushkin+ on Apple Podcasts or Pushkin.fm. Pushkin+ subscribers can access ad-free episodes, full audiobooks, exclusive binges, and bonus content for all Pushkin shows.  Subscribe on Apple: apple.co/pushkin Subscribe on Pushkin: ...

What if we picked the wrong animal? Get ad-free episodes to Revisionist History by subscribing to Pushkin+ on Apple Podcasts or Pushkin.fm. Pushkin+ subscribers can access ad-free episodes, full audiobooks, exclusive binges, and bonus content for all Pushkin shows.  Subscribe on Apple: apple.co/pushkin Subscribe on Pushkin:  pushkin.fm/plus See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informa...

Malcolm and Lucie discover that they experience something very differently.   If you suspect you might have a problem recognizing faces and you want to get involved in the research they’re doing at Dr. Joe DeGutis’s lab, go to:  www.faceblind.org And if you’re curious about your own facial recognition abilities, these online tests are a good place to start:  https:...

Malcolm sits down with the linguist John McWhorter, to discuss his new book, Pronoun Trouble: The Story of Us in Seven Little Words . Among other things in their wide-ranging conversation, John makes an impassioned case for the return of “thou.” Get ad-free episodes to Revisionist History by subscribing to Pushkin+ on Apple Podcasts or Pushkin.fm. Pushkin+ subscribers can access ad-fre...

The world's most famous interviewer has a problem with interviewing. Revisionist History is here to help. Get ad-free episodes to Revisionist History by subscribing to Pushkin+ on Apple Podcasts or Pushkin.fm. Pushkin+ subscribers can access ad-free episodes, full audiobooks, exclusive binges, and bonus content for all Pushkin shows.  Subscribe on Apple: apple.co/pushkin Subscribe on Pushkin:...

Malcolm investigates the origins of what the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services believes (and doesn’t believe) about viruses. Get ad-free episodes to Revisionist History by subscribing to Pushkin+ on Apple Podcasts or Pushkin.fm. Pushkin+ subscribers can access ad-free episodes, full audiobooks, exclusive binges, and bonus content for all Pushkin shows.  Subscribe on Apple: app...

You might think unbelievably loud, shrill sirens on ambulances and fire trucks are just a fact of life. But what if we got the facts all wrong? In this episode we ask how we got here in the first place. It’s a story involving a TV show from the 1970s, hearses serving as ambulances, and a dog with a big voice. You can see a list of the sources we consulted while making this episode here . Get...

PAW Patrol is in trouble. Like Ryder and the pups, Malcolm comes to the rescue. Get ad-free episodes to Revisionist History by subscribing to Pushkin+ on Apple Podcasts or Pushkin.fm. Pushkin+ subscribers can access ad-free episodes, full audiobooks, exclusive binges, and bonus content for all Pushkin shows.  Subscribe on Apple: apple.co/pushkin Subscribe on Pushkin:  pushkin.fm/plus See...

Five years ago a police officer tried to stop Derek Chauvin from murdering George Floyd. Why didn’t he try harder? Get ad-free episodes to Revisionist History by subscribing to Pushkin+ on Apple Podcasts or Pushkin.fm. Pushkin+ subscribers can access ad-free episodes, full audiobooks, exclusive binges, and bonus content for all Pushkin shows.  Subscribe on Apple: apple.co/pushkin Subscr...

Five years ago the entire world watched Derek Chauvin murder George Floyd. What did we miss? Get ad-free episodes to Revisionist History by subscribing to Pushkin+ on Apple Podcasts or Pushkin.fm. Pushkin+ subscribers can access ad-free episodes, full audiobooks, exclusive binges, and bonus content for all Pushkin shows.  Subscribe on Apple: apple.co/pushkin Subscribe on Pushkin:  pushki...

Revisionist History will be back with an all-new season starting March 13th. We’ll be investigating everything from Paw Patrol to the secret behind English muffins to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Plus much, much more. To start, a two-part series that revisits the death of George Floyd in 2020. That’s next week – stay tuned. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.