You Might Also Like: Revisionist History

Summary

Episode Summary: You Might Also Like: Revisionist History Release Date: March 28, 2025

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Introduction

In this episode of Revisionist History, host Malcolm Gladwell embarks on an unconventional journey to defend a seemingly universally criticized children's show: Paw Patrol. Despite widespread disdain among parents, educators, and intellectuals, Gladwell reveals his unexpected admiration for the franchise. This episode delves into the intricacies of Paw Patrol, exploring its impact on children's cognitive development and societal values.

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Paw Patrol: A Cultural Phenomenon

Gladwell begins by introducing Paw Patrol, a multi-billion-dollar franchise centered around a team of heroic puppies who undertake various rescue missions in the fictional towns of Adventure Bay and Foggy Bottom. He highlights the show's immense popularity among toddlers, surpassing iconic characters like Elmo and Mickey Mouse.

Notable Quote:

"Among toddlers, Paw Patrol is bigger than Elmo. It's bigger than Mickey Mouse. Just ask my daughter."
— Malcolm Gladwell [04:08]

Despite its appeal to young audiences, Gladwell points out the widespread criticism the show faces. Parents and educators argue that Paw Patrol stifles children's creativity and problem-solving skills by presenting problems that are invariably resolved swiftly and predictably.

Notable Quote:

"Like the Reddit thread, Paw Patrol has ruined my child's brain. Everything about Paw Patrol is awful. The yelling and constant panic. The stereotypes, the terrible design, the tropes. I wish it would disappear from the face of the earth and take all of its merch with it."
— Reddit User [04:28]

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Behind the Scenes: Insights from Creators

Gladwell interviews Cal Brunker and Bob Barlan, the writers behind the Paw Patrol movies, to uncover why the show resonates so deeply with children.

Notable Quote:

"The structures are so clear and consistent from episode to episode that it really pulls them in and they're able to feel comfortable and confident in that world of storytelling."
— Cal Brunker [09:18]

Brunker explains that the show's predictable structure allows children to engage confidently, knowing what to expect. This consistency fosters a sense of security and participation among young viewers.

Gladwell also shares impressive statistics, noting that Paw Patrol has spanned 11 television seasons and grossed $350 million from two feature films. He emphasizes that the show's approach to problem-solving is methodical and reinforces the idea of community and cooperation.

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The Criticism: An Expert Perspective

To present a balanced view, Gladwell brings in Angus Fletcher, a neuroscientist and narrative theorist at Ohio State University, who offers a scathing critique of Paw Patrol.

Notable Quote:

"It's designed to anesthetize your brain. I mean, I feel like I'm mainlining horse tranquilizer. It's a show that is studiously designed to interrupt active thought."
— Angus Fletcher [16:35]

Fletcher introduces the concept of "vacuous agon," a term coined by his colleague Mike Benvenisti, describing narratives where conflicts are resolved effortlessly, eliminating any genuine tension or need for critical thinking.

Notable Quote:

"They're deleting their capacity to develop an awareness of other answers to problems. You're removing that source of natural creativity."
— Angus Fletcher [25:43]

He argues that by consistently solving problems instantly, Paw Patrol hampers children's ability to engage in counterfactual causal thinking, a crucial cognitive process for developing problem-solving skills and resilience.

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Defense and Alternate Theory: Paw Patrol as Canadian Propaganda

Undeterred by Fletcher's critique, Gladwell presents his "Alternate Paw Patrol Theory," positing that the show's underlying message aligns with Canadian societal values of peace, order, and good government.

Notable Quote:

"Paw Patrol is an homage. It is the elaboration of the notion of peace, order, and good government."
— Malcolm Gladwell [28:51]

Gladwell connects this to the Canadian national narrative, suggesting that Paw Patrol embodies an idealistic view of municipal competence and interagency cooperation. He contrasts this with traditional American individualism, framing Paw Patrol as a representation of collective societal efforts to address communal issues.

Notable Quote:

"It's the end. It's like the nadir of comedy, because... Just relax, preschooler. Don't worry about this big, bad world you're entering in, because it's just fine. Don't even use your brain."
— Angus Fletcher [23:45]

Despite Fletcher's strong opposition, Gladwell argues that the show's portrayal of selfless heroes and community-focused problem-solving provides a positive framework for children, aligning with Canadian cultural values.

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Cultural Comparisons and Final Reflections

Gladwell draws parallels between Paw Patrol and other cultural icons, such as Superman and Saul Bellow's literature, to underscore his argument that the show promotes a utopian vision of society where collective action prevails over individual heroism.

He contemplates the broader implications of Fletcher's criticisms, acknowledging the potential drawbacks but ultimately advocating for the positive messages Paw Patrol imparts to its young audience.

Notable Quote:

"A world where there is a puppy optimized for every kind of peril. Where help arrives at the very moment it is summoned. Where the heroes work not to benefit themselves, but the community in which they live."
— Malcolm Gladwell [40:47]

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Conclusion

In this thought-provoking episode, Malcolm Gladwell navigates the contentious discourse surrounding Paw Patrol, balancing expert criticism with cultural analysis. Through engaging interviews and insightful comparisons, he presents a nuanced perspective on how children's media can shape societal values and cognitive development.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• "Among toddlers, Paw Patrol is bigger than Elmo. It's bigger than Mickey Mouse. Just ask my daughter."
  — Malcolm Gladwell [04:08]

• "Like the Reddit thread, Paw Patrol has ruined my child's brain. Everything about Paw Patrol is awful."
  — Reddit User [04:28]

• "The structures are so clear and consistent from episode to episode that it really pulls them in and they're able to feel comfortable and confident in that world of storytelling."
  — Cal Brunker [09:18]

• "It's designed to anesthetize your brain. I mean, I feel like I'm mainlining horse tranquilizer. It's a show that is studiously designed to interrupt active thought."
  — Angus Fletcher [16:35]

• "They're deleting their capacity to develop an awareness of other answers to problems. You're removing that source of natural creativity."
  — Angus Fletcher [25:43]

• "Paw Patrol is an homage. It is the elaboration of the notion of peace, order, and good government."
  — Malcolm Gladwell [28:51]

• "A world where there is a puppy optimized for every kind of peril. Where help arrives at the very moment it is summoned. Where the heroes work not to benefit themselves, but the community in which they live."
  — Malcolm Gladwell [40:47]

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Additional Information

• Production Team:

  • Produced by Nina Bird Lawrence, Lucy Sullivan, and Ben Nadaff Haffrey
  • Editor: Karen Shakurji
  • Fact-Checking: Sam Russik
  • Engineering: Nina Bird Lawrence
  • Mixing and Mastering: Echo Mountain
  • Production Support: Loup Lemond
  • Executive Producer: Jacob Smith
  • Special Thanks: Sarah Nix and El Jefe Greta Kung

• Support and Sponsors:

  • Capital One Bank Guy advertisements interspersed throughout the episode
  • Nissan Murano, Reese's Chocolate Lava Big Cup, and other sponsors featured in promotional segments

• Cosmetic Elements:

  • Musical interludes from the Paw Patrol Theme Song punctuate the episode, enhancing the discussion's thematic focus.

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This episode of Revisionist History offers a compelling examination of children's media, urging listeners to reconsider the subtle influences embedded within popular shows like Paw Patrol. Through Malcolm Gladwell's balanced approach, the episode invites a deeper conversation about the role of storytelling in shaping young minds and societal values.

Transcript

[Child]

Foreign.

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[Malcolm Gladwell]

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[Paw Patrol Theme Song]

Paw Patrol, Paw Patrol will be there.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

On the double whenever there's problem round Adventure Bay. If you're not a parent of a young child, it's entirely possible you have no idea what Paw Patrol is. That's fine. Before I had children, I had never heard of it either. So let me explain. It's a multi billion dollar franchise centered around a band of puppies who are called upon in each episode to rescue someone in peril. There's a police dog named Chase, a fire dog named Marshall, a helicopter pilot named Sky, a roadworks puppy named Rubble. They stop runaway trains. They fight fires. They repair the damaged flying saucers of adorable stranded aliens with enormous eyes. You get the picture. Among toddlers, Paw Patrol is bigger than Elmo. It's bigger than Mickey Mouse. Just ask my daughter.

[Child]

Paw Patrol, we're on the double wherever there's a problem. Crown Adventure Day, rather is the team of pups will go and see today. Marshall Wobble, J. Rocky, Zoom.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

And yet, for some reason, every parent I know, every student of children's television, every adult who has more than a passing interest in the intellectual and moral development of our young, hates Paw Patrol. Like the Reddit thread, Paw Patrol has ruined my child's brain. Everything about Paw Patrol is awful. The yelling and constant panic. The stereotypes, the terrible design, the tropes. I wish it would disappear from the face of the earth and take all of its merch with it. Go to TikTok. They hate the puppies.

[Nissan Murano Advertiser]

There's some things that really piss me.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

Off when it comes to Paw Patrol.

[BetterHelp Therapist]

It's pretty simple.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

It sucks.

[Angus Fletcher]

My son watches Paw Patrol. I hate it.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

Everyone hates it except for me. And this episode is my attempt to convince you that I'm right and everyone else is wrong. My name is Malcolm Gladwell. You're listening to Revisionist History, my podcast where I like to argue on behalf of things that all common sense suggests are not true. The following defense of Paw Patrol is squarely in that tradition. It is a search and rescue mission for a show about search and rescue missions. In all my long years of doing Revisionist history, I have never tackled a more forbidding task. I started by calling people, anyone who I thought could help, asking the same questions over and over again. First, to a parent who had lived through what I'm living through. Right now, we are here to discuss Paw Patrol, which looms large in my life at the moment.

[Angus Fletcher]

Yeah, I'm sure.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

Then again, to an intellectual, someone I admired, what is. I don't understand the amount of hatred this show gets. And again, this time to a sociologist, someone who has published in academic journals on the Paw Patrol phenomenon. I am calling you because I spend every night watching Paw Patrol.

[Angus Fletcher]

I'm sorry.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

I'm sorry to hear that. I spent so much time Googling Paw Patrol. Google started feeding me Paw Patrol content like the actress Keira Knightley on the Tonight show, explaining what it's like to be the mother of a three year old. Wait for it.

[Capital One Bank Guy]

Baby's a toddler.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

Baby's not a baby. Baby's not a baby anymore. Yeah, she's huge. Three and a half. Three and a half. Are you into. Are you into Paw Patrol?

[Angus Fletcher]

Oh, I'm sorry.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

Yeah, yeah, I'm sorry. Everyone is sorry. Well, I'm into Paw Patrol and I'm not sorry. Paw Patrol takes place in two imaginary towns, Adventure Bay and Foggy Bottom. The group has as its headquarters what looks like a giant postmodern air traffic control center, complete with a really cool fire station pole that moves the members of the Paw Patrol from the briefing room to their waiting vehicles. Vehicles which are all, by the way, available separately for purchase. In a typical Paw Patrol episode. And I say typical when I really mean every single Paw Patrol episode ever. Someone in the greater Adventure Bay, Foggy Bottom metropolitan area has a problem. They call Ryder, who's a little boy in charge of the Paw Patrol operation. He summons the pups from whatever adorably cute leisure activity they are engaged in.

[Child]

They come running, mighty pups to the lookout. Ryder needs us.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

And without fail, the problem is solved. No job is too big.

[Child]

No pup is too small.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

For example, in Season 7, Episode 13, Paw Patrol Pup Save Election Day. A particular favorite in the Gladwell household, Mayor Humdinger of Foggy Bottom has decided unexpectedly to run for mayor of Adventure City. Precipitating a crisis, Humdinger is wreaking havoc on the campaign trail, causing all kinds of chaos downtown. This leads Alex, an adorable little boy who happens to find himself in the midst of the mayhem, to call for help.

[Child]

It all happened because Mayor Humdinger's kiddies are launching election stuff everywhere.

[Angus Fletcher]

Vote for me.

[Child]

We'll be right there, Alex.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

There's a short briefing in the situation room. Ryder gives out instructions.

[Child]

So for this mission, I'll need. Chase, I need you to use your net to stop Mr. Porter's out of control skateboard ride. Chase is on the case. And Marcus, I'll need you to use your ladder to help get Danny down from that big billboard. I'm ready for a ruff ruff rescue.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

And off the pups go. Hey, guys.

[Angus Fletcher]

Hey, Malcolm.

[Cal Brunker]

How you doing?

[Malcolm Gladwell]

How's it going? I called up Cal Brunker and Bob Barlan, the writers behind the Paw Patrol movies. I asked them why they thought kids loved the show so much.

[Cal Brunker]

The structures are so clear and consistent from episode to episode that it really. It pulls them in and they're able to feel comfortable and confident in that world of storytelling.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

Oh, I forgot to mention that in addition to 11 seasons of Paw Patrol television shows, there have been two Paw Patrol movies, which together grossed $350 million.

[Cal Brunker]

The structure of the show is really quite smart in how they go about every rescue that takes place. Ryder tells the pups what they're going to do, and then they show up and they do the same thing that he's just told the audience. So I think the participation level from a child is able to be so much more because it's less surprising.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

I did not grow up with a television, so this experience is all new to me. Maybe that's why I like Paw Patrol so much. Everyone else groans in silent agony over the thought of watching, say, Paw Patrol the movie for the fourth time. Me, I'm like, what new, fresh insights can I glean this time around about Chase, the police dog, a German shepherd who struggles with feelings of inadequacy.

[Cal Brunker]

Chase has got a backstory, and I mean, at its highest level, Chase believes that being scared means he's not a hero, and so he shouldn't be part of it. And he learns that heroes get scared, too, but keep going. That's what makes them heroes.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

Ryder has that scene with him where they relive when he found Chase for the first time.

[Cal Brunker]

Yes. I love to hear you saying this.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

This brings me great joy on what is clearly University Avenue.

[Paw Patrol Theme Song]

Absolutely.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

Yes, it's University Avenue.

[Cal Brunker]

It feels like it, doesn't it, with.

[Paw Patrol Theme Song]

The boulevard, the dividers.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

Exactly.

[Capital One Bank Guy]

Yeah.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

By the way, remember that reference, University Avenue? What am I referring to? A small clue to my grand unified theory of Paw Patrol. A clue which I'm guessing all the other parents missed because they were on their phones checking Instagram. Now that so? Because there is. What's really interesting is that there, when my daughter was watching that, she. The first we seen it more than once, that movie, and the first time she saw it, I think she was genuinely affected by it, I mean it was clear it was a different kind of an emotional experience than she'd been getting from the TV shows. And the second and third time, gripping my hand tightly. This is exactly what the corporate benefactors of the Paw Patrol franchise desire. A bonding moment between a dad and his daughter over a disconsolate puppy. Was my daughter wearing Paw Patrol pajamas as this was happening? Yes, she was. And yet there are people, lots of people, who look on that picture of family togetherness and cry foul. Can you explain this?

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[Paw Patrol Theme Song]

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[Malcolm Gladwell]

On several occasions in the course of almost a decade now of revisionist history, I have called on Angus Fletcher, neuroscientist turned narrative theorist, genius in residence at Ohio State University. If you remember, for example, back to our three part revision of the ending of Disney's the Little Mermaid, arguably the intellectual high watermark of the entire revisionist history corpus, Angus provided the intellectual firepower. And remember when we did a whole series on the greatest movie scripts that never got made? Angus had one. Of course he did. Angus is much, much smarter than I am. More important, Angus is not hopelessly sentimental like I am. He would not be derailed by the gentle pressure of a three year old's stubby fingers. And when I remembered that Angus also has kids, I called him up. Now, a small thing before we go on, normally when we interview people, we edit the tape, I interject with commentary. The whole thing is compressed and annotated. We give you snippets, but snippets do not do justice to Professor Angus Fletcher. So you're going to get Angus unbound. I want to start you, you too went to a Paw Patrol period with your children, is this correct?

[Angus Fletcher]

I did, yeah. So my son likes Paw Patrol. And I had an immediate horrifying flashback when you brought the subject up, because I went back and tried to watch a couple episodes just to remind myself, and I immediately had to shut them off, actually, for. For self preservation.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

But there are many things to unpack here. First of all, how long did your son still actively watch Paw Patrol?

[Angus Fletcher]

No, no, absolutely. He's still alive. So. So we managed to. We managed to save him in time.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

You're so your. And why you were watching it with your son. Why, why, why did this show not appeal to you? What is it about it that's like hitting you the wrong way?

[Angus Fletcher]

It's designed to anesthetize your brain. I mean, I feel like I'm mainlining horse tranquilizer. It's a show that is studiously designed to interrupt active thought. I mean, that's like the purpose of the show and it's engineered brilliantly to do that. It's like the kind of, like, diabolical apotheosis of hundreds of years of figuring out how to make audiences more and more passive.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

What do you mean? Okay, break that down. Tell me exactly what you mean by that.

[Angus Fletcher]

So it's the quintessence of this thing that we call narrative. We have a term for this in narrative theory. It's called vacuous agon. Vacuous agon. And basically what that means is when there's a conflict, but there's no stress, there's no anxiety in the viewer because you know that it's gonna work out. And this is a. I have to give credit to who coined this term. It was a brilliant member of my lab. His name's Mike Benvenisti.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

He.

[Angus Fletcher]

He coined the term after watching Phineas and Ferb, which is a Disney show. His three children. And the point of vacuous agon is that you're constantly being presented with problems that are solved immediately at the moment that you are presented with the problem. And I think it's probably obvious for you, having, I'm sure, watched several episodes of this show, how mechanically what the show does is it gives you a problem, and then immediately Ryder shows up like a helicopter parent, like the ultimate helicopter parent, and tells everybody exactly what to do. So the problem will go away, and then we just kind of watch as the problem goes away.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

Yeah, that's exactly right. So. And you think that's problematic because.

[Angus Fletcher]

It's not that I think that it's problematic, Malcolm. It's that I know it's problematic. So I don't know if you're aware of this, but there, for the last 30 years, there's been this crisis in American schools. American kids have been getting less creative. And because they've been getting less creative, they've been less able to solve their own problems. And because they're less able to solve their own problems, they have these rises in anxiety and anger, know, losses of self efficacy, resilience, all these kinds of things. And, you know, the major reason for this is that we are either solving their problems for them.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

Yeah.

[Angus Fletcher]

So we're coming in and solving their problems for them, or we're essentially suspending them in this state of giving them artificial problems. So an artificial problem is like a math problem or a standardized test or something that doesn't exist in the real world. And, you know, and you learn the formula, and once you learn the formula, you know how to solve it. And so kids are developing this, you know, ability to get better and better and better and better at school. And then they just keep failing at life. And this TV show is a paradigmatic example of that entire process. I mean, it solves all the problems before you. There's no ability you have, to exercise any curiosity because the moment a problem happens, like literally, you're told these two dogs are going to go solve it in exactly this way. There's no opportunity for the brain to engage what we call in counterfactual causal thinking, these processes that occur when we encounter a problem. The whole reason for imaginative literature, the reason that things like Curious George and Winnie the Pooh were created or to stimulate these processes in young children, because at the age of four is actually when they develop the capacity for irony, for narrative irony. And all those books and reading with your children for reasons we can discuss if you're interested, stimulates all those processes. And when you watch this show, it nukes them. So it's not bad in the sense that, like, giving your children ice cream isn't bad. Right. They can have ice cream, but if all you give them is ice cream, what happens to them? Right. They become diabetic. And it's the same thing with the show in your brain.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

Yeah. God, I feel bad now. You filled me with a kind of degree of self loathing and guilt over the damage I'm doing to my daughter's imagination, her ability to problem solve. This is what you do. I should point out how strange this is. A generation ago, people loved children's television. The invention of children's television was one of America's signature cultural triumphs. Intellectuals wrote love songs to children's television. I remember once in the late 1990s, when I discovered Sesame street for the first time. I was so entranced that I went to the Sesame street studios and just hung out there for what seemed like days. I was there during the great Slimy episode. Maybe you remember this. Slimy, the adorable Sesame street worm, becomes an astronaut. And so the Sesame street staff brought in Tony Bennett, whose signature song, of course, was Fly Me to the Moon, to sing Slimy to the Moon. And when this worm arrives, you'll find.

[Angus Fletcher]

He'Ll take a leap that's small for.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

Him, but huge for all worm kind. I was there for that. Standing this close to the legend himself, who acted like this was the greatest moment of his entire career. My point is, back in the day, the leading cultural figures of our time would happily make the pilgrimage to a random TV studio in Queens to make light of their own work on behalf of toddlers everywhere. But now the cultural luminaries and the intellectuals have abandoned ship. By 11 minutes into his denunciation of Paw Patrol, Angus had mentioned Dickens, the A team, Plautus and Aristophanes. Now he had moved on to explaining the phenomenon of new comedy and contrasting it with something he called old comedy.

[Angus Fletcher]

And what happens in old comedy is you're presented with real problems. So an example of a real problem would be war or the breakdown of democracy. And then the comedy goes on and the problem gets worse and it gets worse and it gets worse and it gets worse, and then eventually the comedy falls apart and it just ends. And basically the comedy is saying, that's a big problem. You guys in the audience better figure out how to solve that. So it forced people to think about hard things in a public place where they could kind of wrestle with it and solve their own problems. Then what happened was the emergence of new comedy, which is essentially light entertainment. And what happens in light entertainment is a fake problem is posed. A fake problem is posed, and then just if you might be getting stressed about this fake problem, the comedy answers it for you by the end so you can relax. So what's diabolical about Paw Patrol is it takes real problems and turns them into imaginary problems. It's like the end. It's like the nadir of comedy, because, I mean, there are real problems that it seems to embrace. You know, people seem to get in trouble and stuff like that, you know, but then it just reveals that they're all, you know, not a problem. You don't have to worry about them because, you know, Ryder will just show up or there'll be some, like, weird gizmo gadget thing that will solve the problem for you. So, you know, just relax, preschooler. Don't worry about this big, bad world you're entering in, because it's just fine. Don't even use your brain.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

Why?

[Angus Fletcher]

Why were you even given a brain? What's the point of a brain, right? You need to solve problems. Everything's already solved. Look how perfect.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

I know I promised you that I was going to play Angus at full length. Angus Unbound. And if this were the Joe Rogan experience, and I bring up Joe Rogan for a reason, by the way, because revisionist history is coming back to Joe Rogan big time in the coming weeks. If this were the Joe Rogan experience, I'd have just run it all. Eff it. Who among us does not have a spare three and a half hours to listen to a perfect stranger speak about their weightlifting routines? But my assumption is that you, unlike the many millions of Roganites have jobs. So from here on out, I'm just giving you the good parts. So what would happen if you showed an old comedy show to a child? What happens if in Paw Patrol they don't solve the problem? What does my daughter do?

[Angus Fletcher]

Yeah, so this is great. So your child will become concerned. Your child will become concerned, and then your child will probably turn to you as the authority figure in. In her life and be like, I'm kind of concerned what's going to happen to that. That truck that suspended over that chasm or whatever other Paw Patrol the problem there is.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

Right, yeah.

[Angus Fletcher]

And then you're going to look very seriously at them and say, I don't know, what do you think is going to happen? And then they would have to pause and then they would think, and then they would have to imagine themselves solving the problem. And that's the value.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

I'm a new parent just over three years into the experience, and I have all the insecurities that come with being a rookie. I don't know what I'm doing. I put my daughters in bed at night and pray they fall asleep. I make them oatmeal in the morning and pray they eat it. I help build castles made of magnetiles and pray they don't destroy them. And all the while I ask myself, who are these mysterious creatures over whom I have recklessly been given dominion? And now Angus, who I admire like few others, was telling me I was doing it all wrong.

[Angus Fletcher]

You're deleting their capacity to develop an awareness of other answers to problems. You're removing that source of natural creativity. You're also removing the pressure on them to try and find that perspective to solve those other problems. And so this entire part of their brain is just atrophying at the exact critical moment when as human beings, we're supposed to have it and it's supposed to come online.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

This is devastating. This has been a devastating conversation.

[Angus Fletcher]

Yeah, I'm sure.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

When we come back, my grand unified theory of Paw Patrol.

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[Paw Patrol Theme Song]

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[Malcolm Gladwell]

I said way back in the beginning that there was an important clue in my conversation with the creators of the Paw Patrol movies. Something crucial to understanding my stubborn affection for the Paw Patrol franchise. Something about University Avenue. Remember that? You might have wondered what University Avenue I was referring to. Well, it's the one in Toronto. University Avenue is one of the central boulevards that runs through downtown Toronto. It is the Broadway of Toronto. In the Paw Patrol movie, it appears as a little visual clue that tells you something crucially important about Ryder and his band of merry pups. Something I realized as I prepared to respond to Angus attacks that even the mighty Angus had missed now. But wait. Now I feel. Angus, your arguments are so compelling and overwhelming, I feel foolish in offering my defense of Paw Patrol. But I should. I think. I feel I should do it anyway. The key to understanding Paw Patrol. So this is. This is the alternate Paw Patrol theory. And the key to the alternate Paw Patrol theory is understanding that it is a Canadian show. Paw Patrol is conceived, made and distributed from my home country of Canada. It is as Canadian as maple syrup. As Canadian as a flock of geese streaking across the sky. And what Paw Patrol is doing is enacting a fantasy of municipal competence, which is absolutely essential to understanding what. Understanding Canada. That's what Canada is, right? Is a country which is formed. What is the. You know, the essential credo of the United States is life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness an individualist credo? What is the parallel credo of Canada that was embedded in the Canadian Articles of Confederation? It is peace, order and good government. Right. What is Paw Patrol? Paw Patrol is an homage. And it is. It is the elaboration of the notion of peace, order and good government. And the. The key thing in the Paw Patrol song, at the very beginning, they go, paw Patrol, Paw Patrol. Whenever you're in trouble, Paw Patrol, Paw Patrol will be there on the double. That's crucial. It is that not only is every problem assessed, but every problem is. Is addressed in a timely manner, in a efficient, competent manner. So that what Paw Patrol is all about is that this is, in Canadian terms, what we want our state to do. Right? It is to. And what is. What is Paw Patrol itself? It is. It's a. It's an example of interagency cooperation. Right. Chase the police dog, Marshall the firefighter, sky the pilot, Rubble the contractor, all working together. Very Canadian notion that if only. If only we join hands and cooperate across disciplines, we can more effectively address the social ills that plague us. It's just Canada. So what my daughter is getting is essentially Canada.

[Angus Fletcher]

Yeah, well, I mean, I've seen on the news how perfect things are in Canada, Malcolm, so you don't have to convince me. It's a utopian land where everything works out. There was. There's no. There's no problems with settlements or anything.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

It's a comparative judgment. This point about the centrality of public sector competence to the Canadian identity is worth a bit of a digression. It concerns the 1991 hit single from the band Crash Test Dummies. Perhaps you remember it. It was called Superman's Song, and it turns on a sociological comparison of Tarzan.

[Brad Roberts]

And Superman, Tarzan wasn't a ladies man. He'd just come along and scoop him up under his arm like that, quick as a kid in the jungle.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

Superman, the song argues, is Tarzan's antithesis. He's not some rapacious profiteer.

[Brad Roberts]

Superman never made any money for saving the world from Solomon Grundy. And sometimes I despair the world will never see you another man like him.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

This is how the lead singer for the Crash Test Dummies, Brad Roberts, explained his thinking to a college newspaper. Quote, Superman as cast in Superman's song, is obviously a left wing political figure. His activity in the community is intrinsic to his being. Superman is being juxtaposed against Tarzan, who is kind of a laissez faire capitalist type who retreats to the forest and rejects the idea of the community. He wants to live in a so called animal state and he doesn't want to be bothered with any kind of political realities. First of all, how great is it that rock stars once talked like this? Second, on the basis of this argument, where do you think the Crash Test Dummies are from? It's obvious. Canada. Of course, this is a song that could only have been written by a Canadian. Only a Canadian would find something utterly reprehensible in Tarzan's naked displays of strength and brute force. And only a Canadian would look long and hard at Superman and conclude he's one of us. Listen.

[Brad Roberts]

Hey, Bob. Sup had a stray job. Even though he could have smashed through any bank in the United States. He had the strength, but he would not.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

Any bank in the United States. Meaning Superman is at a place below the border where the expectation is he will use his gifts for his own selfish ends. The superhero who puts his community first stands for peace, order and good government.

[Brad Roberts]

Sometimes when soup was stopping crimes, I'll bet he was tempted to just quit and turn his back on them. Join towns in the forest.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

The forest clearly referring to anything below the 49th parallel.

[Brad Roberts]

But he stayed in the city, kept on changing clothes and dirty old phone booths till his work was through. Been nothing to do but go home.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

He stayed in the city working out of decrepit phone booths because he believed super strength and superpowers ought to be deployed on behalf of the public good. When I see Superman, I think he's a Paw Patrol character. Before we got hooked on Paw Patrol, my daughter and I watched Minnie's Botoons, equally absurdly popular short cartoons about a small business run by a Minnie Mouse and her best friend and maybe lover. I'm unclear on that. Daisy Duck, devoted To selling bows. A bowtique. And yes, the theme song is as good as you might imagine.

[Child]

Welcome to my new boutique, where each and every bow you meet. If fun and fashion are what you see, come inside and take a peek. If fun and fashion are what you see, you're always welcome and many spouses.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

Every episode of Botunes also begins with a problem, which the episode resolves through Minnie's ingenuity and persistence.

[Child]

That gives me an idea.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

But who is the beneficiary of Minnie's ingenuity? Minnie is Minnie and her considerable business interests. There is no community in Minnie Mouse's botunes, no civic obligations. There is only the profit that ensues to Minnie and her shareholders.

[Child]

There's no business like faux business.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

All of this made me think of the first lines of Saul Bellow's novel. The Adventures of Augie March may be the most famous opening sentence in all of American literature. I am an American, Chicago born Chicago, that sombre city, and go at things as I have taught myself, freestyle and will make the record in my own way. First to knock, first admitted. Sometimes an innocent knock, sometimes a not so innocent. That's Minnie Mouse in a nutshell. Minnie is American Disney born. Minnie is for Minnie. Minnie is about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. But do you know the dirty little secret about Saul Bellow? He was a Canadian. And I wouldn't be surprised if in an earlier version of Augie March, Saul Bellow admitted to the truth of his birthright. I am a Canadian. Toronto born Toronto, that clean and tidy city. And we go at things as I have been taught by the civic institutions of my municipality, through cooperation and interagency task forces. First to respond, first to apologize. Always an innocent knock. Angus Fletcher, genius in residence, made lots of very good points. But did he deal with the elephants in the room? Tarzan, Minnie Mouse, Saul Bello? He did not. I'm simply saying that I'm understanding where this notion, the notion of the new comedy is so implicit in the Canadian national narrative. That's what it is. There are no real problems in Canada. Canada is this oasis. We're surrounded by countries with real problems, not Canada. We don't pick fights with people. We don't have racism. We welcome immigrants. We have national health care. Canada is the embodiment of the new, of the promise of the new comedy. Every problem can be simply addressed through some interagency task force. Right. So my daughter's just getting a. She's just getting a little bit of Canadian propaganda. That's how I would read it. Angus said the Paw Patrol's problem was that it was vacuous Agon. Paw Patrol's weakness was that it constantly presented its little viewers with a problem solved at the moment of its presentation. But when I look around me at the world, all I can say is, I don't know. I could use a little more vacuous Agon in my life right now. A world where there is a puppy optimized for every kind of peril. Where help arrives at the very moment it is summoned. Where the heroes work not to benefit themselves, but the community in which they live. Where the definition of a Superman is someone who turns down the opportunity to rob every bank and instead toils on behalf of his countrymen as a fantasy. An aspiration to plant in my daughter's head here and now. That doesn't sound too bad.

[Child]

Paw Patrol, we're on the double. Whatever. There's a problem. Crown Adventure Day, rather is the team all pups will go and see today. Marshall Wobble Chase Rocky Zoom Tooth.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

Revisionist History is produced by Nina Bird Lawrence, Lucy Sullivan and Ben Nadaff Haffrey. Our editor is Karen Shakurji. Fact checking by Sam Russik. Engineering by Nina Bird Lawrence. Mixing and mastering by Echo Mountain. Production support from Loup Lemond. Our executive producer is Jacob Smith. Special thanks to Sarah Nix and El Jefe Greta Kung. I'm Malcolm Gladwell. My daughter made this whole episode possible.

[Podcast Host]

This podcast is supported by BetterHelp, offering licensed therapists you can connect with via video phone or chat. Here's BetterHelp head of clinical operations, Hes Yu Jo discussing who can benefit from therapy.

[BetterHelp Therapist]

I think a lot of people think that you're supposed to be going to therapy once you're like having panic attacks every day. But before you get to that point, I think once you start even noticing that you feel a little bit off and you can't maintain this harmony that you once had in relationships, that could be a sign that maybe you want to go talk to somebody. There's always a benefit in talking to someone because we can all benefit from improved insight about ourselves and who we are and how we behave with other people. So if you're human, that's like a good indicator that you could benefit from talking to somebody.

[Podcast Host]

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[Paw Patrol Theme Song]

Is kicking off season two with an episode you won't want to miss. Join host Ben Walter, CEO of Chase for Business, as he welcomes a very special Guest, chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase, Jamie Dimon. Hear about the challenges facing small businesses and some of the oh moments Jamie has overcome. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Chase Mobile app is available for select mobile devices. Message and data rates may apply. J.P. morgan Chase Bank NA Member FDIC Copyright 2025 J.P. morgan Chase & Company.