I Hate the Ivy League

Riffs and Rants on Elite Education

By: Malcolm Gladwell

Narrated by: Malcolm Gladwell

From Malcolm Gladwell’s hit podcast Revisionist History comes a compendium about one of his greatest obsessions: education.

Malcolm Gladwell has long relished the opportunity to skewer the upper echelons of higher education, from the institution of U.S. News & World Report’s Best College rankings to the LSATs to the luxe Bowdoin College cafeteria. I Hate the Ivy League: Riffs and Rants on Elite Education, upends the traditional thinking around how education should work and tries to get to the bottom of why we often reward the wrong people. The higher education system follows a hierarchy that was created to primarily benefit top-tier, elite, well-off students, but Gladwell wants to find out how we can do a better job at educating the middle and make education more affordable, fair, and open to all.

Why is Gladwell so obsessed with American education? The foreword and afterword of I Hate the Ivy League explains, framing this carefully curated selection of Revisionist History episodes. If you’ve never listened to Revisionist History, this collection is a thoughtful introduction to the long-running podcast, and if you’re already a fan, it allows for careful re-examination of the important issues at hand: how do we really determine what matters most when it comes to educating our children?

Please note: This collection includes content that has been released in the podcast series.

©2021 Malcolm Gladwell (P)2021 Pushkin Industries

Absolutely different

I love the way Malcolm Gladwell respectfully challenges the way we think about higher education/college!

We can do better

Great listen. Incredibly thought provoking, very frustrating and somehow Malcolm makes it entertaining as well.

Love it!

Malcolm Gladwell always make us think! Excellent book on our prejudices and higher American education..

Outstanding as always Mr. Gladwell!!!

I've heard all of these as they were released, but combining them all together really drives the point home!

An Enjoyable, Informative Read!

Such an enjoyable, informative read. If you’re a fan of Malcolm Gladwell, this book won’t disappoint. Fair warning to friends, I’ll be talking about this book for a while. Malcolm exposes some of the fundamental absurdities and inequities within the American educational system and most notably, within our standards of college ranking. Malcolm pokes holes in everything you think you know about the predictive value of standardized testing and its real-world relevance. He also exposes the insidious lingering effects of poorly orchestrated integration efforts following Brown v. Board of Education and argues that integration should’ve begun with teachers, not students. I especially appreciated the chapter where Malcolm delved into the arbitrary considerations driving US News & World Report’s college ranking system. This is one of those books that will stick with you and challenge you to reimagine education in America.

put together well for just a bunch of podcasts

the way the story is formatted is effected because it's a podcast but I do enjoy not having to hear the commercials.

Malcolm does it again..

This hits all the high points of what is wrong with the educational system. I’m considered a non-traditional student and went to schools that the majority of people haven’t heard of, but I’m still successful in my field with the education I received. Shout-out to my fellow TESU alumni.

As usual, informative and entertaining

Unfortunately, the people that I think should most read this book never will: academia and the bureaucrats that determine how government funding is used. I was Carlos without the angel to help me, and now I know I am not alone.

Malcolm Gladwell does it again!

So insightful and bringing truth and connections to light in a way I never thought about before. Malcolm Gladwell is by far my favorite author. He is not disparaging the Ivy League on their status or academics, but the principles of what makes sense for an elite body of educators. How do we educate, allocate and what drives those choices? Are they rational choices? You will not look at the Ivy League the same again.

Fantastic!

Well researched and presented and highly informative and entertaining. Malcolm Gladwell is so smart and brings you right along with his search for answers.