Bestselling author and Podcast host Malcolm Gladwell offers a powerful examination of interactions with strangers, and why it often goes wrong. How did Fidel Castro fool the CIA for a generation? Why did Neville Chamberlain think he could trust Adolf Hitler? Why are campus sexual assaults on the rise? Do television sitcoms teach something about the way people relate to each other that isn't true? A challenging and controversial excursion through history, psychology, and scandals taken straight from the news, Gladwell revisits the deceptions of Bernie Madoff, the trial of Amanda Knox, the suicide of Sylvia Plath, the Jerry Sandusky pedophilia scandal at Penn State University, and the death of Sandra Bland, throwing the understanding of these and other stories into doubt.

The popular podcast host and author explores how people interact with strangers and why these exchanges often go wrong, offering strategic tips for more accurate and productive interactions.