He’s written several bestselling books, been a longtime storytelling in The New Yorker magazine, and has hosted the Revisionist History podcast. Malcom Gladwell is also a self-proclaimed car nut. He’s has teamed up with Lexus for a six-part podcast that is available now.
The podcast is titled “Go and See”, which is an approximate translation of the Japanese “genchi genbutsu,” or “go and see for yourself.” The idea stems from the idea that if someone goes to see how something is made, designed, or created, they’ll gain a greater understanding of the people behind the method. Lexus has invited Gladwell to visit Japan to take a behind-the-scenes look at Lexus operations.
The podcast is available on a number of platforms.Photo courtesy of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., Inc.
“Human-centered design has been a Lexus core value since inception, and this has led to some interesting and original approaches through the years,” said Lisa Materazzo, vice president of marketing at Lexus. “Malcolm Gladwell’s curiosity is contagious, and we are so pleased that he accepted our invitation to take a closer look at Lexus. I believe he was able to gain an understanding of how we learn by studying people. The resulting podcast series is truly intriguing.”
According to a release, the podcast series follows Gladwell as he travels to the company’s headquarters in Japan, explores a top-secret racetrack, and shadows engineers and executives.
Lexus excels at infusing key components of Japanese culture into its vehicles’ identity. Take, for example, the oragami-inspired folds of material in the Lexus LS.
The podcast takes a deeper look at this including how a Japanese tea ceremony influenced the engineering of a car window; to the musical composition of a coupe’s engine and the emotions it elicits.
“I once had a Lexus sports car and loved it. But after I gave it up, I didn’t really give them much more thought,” said Gladwell. “In Japan, I saw firsthand just how much thought and cultural know-how and expertise goes into the final product.”
Recorded over 10 weeks from December through February, Gladwell’s own Pushkin Industries produced the six-part series in partnership with Lexus. The first episode became available on March 5, 2020, and new episodes launch on subsequent Thursday.s Listeners can stream or download the series from Apple Podcasts, Radio.com, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Pocketcast, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, Castbox, NPR One, Web Players and more.
