Douglas Murray on Malcolm Gladwell: "I Still Don't Feel Pity" 

Douglas calling Malcom “Malc” will go down as one of the most legendary executions on a debate stage.

The Gladwell performance is a case study in cognitive dissonance. Douglas Murray is spot on - Gladwell did not listen and hallucinated opinions. It’s what happens when we despise other people before knowing a single accurate thing about them.

“ *Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought* ”

It was a shocking debate on Gladwell's part. No arguments, just rudeness and bluster. "Well, Malc" ! Brilliant, Douglas.

It was truly a cringe-inducing bloodbath, especially when he essentially annihilated Gladwell's credibility for life by way of detailing what Gladwell got disastrously wrong about Ireland in his book. Murray had attempted politeness up until that point but finally tired of Gladwell's goading -- and accusing Murrary & Taibbi of being white racists whilst himself defending the old-guard white press -- so I felt zero sympathy that Gladwell got it both barrels.

Telling lies to large groups of people and being assured they'll get away with it captures the ethos of modern journalism/media. Well said, Douglas.

I defended Gladwell a lot before this debate but this sent him into the irredeemable stratosphere. It was chilling how much he and his debate partner just ignored what Murray and Taibbi said and relentlessly gaslighted. This is what they did in a public debate, imagine what they do behind closed doors at their media outlet.

I was in attendance at that debate and can confirm the audience was groaning at Gladwell's performance. We had gone into the debate only really knowing Malcolm Gladwell, having read a few of his books (He was arguably the reason for our attendance). A few of us were shattered and alienated by his low road approach to debating and the tired / predictable use of his "white supremacist" accusations.

I had read a few of Malcolm Gladwells books and loved them. The monk debate... my jaw dropped. I can't understand how someone can write those books, and simultaneously be such an disingenuous ideologue. Really disappointed me.

Remember kids, if Malc can keep a career as an intellectual after showing the void that is his brain during this debate - you can do anything you want.

Hearing him actually say "I still don't feel pity," was way better than reading it!

Peter Hitchens nailed it: “You can not debate someone who actively despises you”

I saw this debate prior to this video. I walked in a HUGE fan of Gladwell’s, and once the absolutely out-of-left-field racist allegations started getting dropped over and over again, I was like, damn… I had this guy totally wrong. I’ve never had such a 180 turn on a speaker following a performance than this one.

I had to watch that debate over multiple evenings because as someone with an extremely low tolerance for cringe and second-hand embarrassment, I simply had to bail on the video after a few minutes. Malcolm made a complete fool of himself and doubled down by being smug whilst doing it. And to hear that he still doesn't get why he lost (besides being on the absolute wrong side of the argument) comes as no surprise at all.

I just love hearing Douglas Murray talk. That combination of class, wit, and razor-sharp sass 😂 Can't get enough of it!

I absolutely adore Douglas Murray. Such a refreshing and unique combination of razor sharp intellect and incisive sense of humor. The man is fearless and righteous in the best sense of the word.

My wife sent this debate to me. It was like watching an 80's movie where the sniveling elitist, snob, weasel was put in his place. I was just waiting for Matt and Douglass to do a jump high-five freeze over the credits after the post debate poll results were presented over a soundtrack of Huey Lewis and the News. So satisfying.

"He's had every advantage in life, he's just a fool" haha....absolute zinger. I watched that debate and he absolutely crucified him from start to finish.

I remember when Gladwell was all the rage, I read his book about practicing for 10,000 hours since my girlfriend owned a copy. He was absolutely marvelous at projecting this authoritative confidence, the sense of knowing the universe's hidden secrets, I could see why he was so popular and felt that sense of being enthralled by this new religion of self-improvement. And at the same time I read him mention that The Beatles became who they were because they played so many club gigs in Germany before they went back to Manchester and exploded, got their 10,000 hours in. But I knew the history of The Beatles, they struggled playing well at concerts throughout the 60s, they weren't ever world class musicians during that time. They were successful because John Lennon was such a creative dynamo, and he teamed up with Paul McCartney who was another creative dynamo. They loved music and were hyper-creative and it paid off in their song writing, they knew plenty of good music to ape and how to make it hipper for the 60s, for their style. And I realized Gladwell had no clue what he was talking about, he was just spinning a ridiculous narrative so he'd have something to hang his wonderful guru writing style across.

What I love about Jordan is that he thinks out loud and you get to follow along

I watched the debate with Gladwell and Michelle Goldberg and they were infantile and incapable of mature thinking. Gladwell in particular was shockingly shallow.

One thing that struck me during the debate was that Douglas Murray and Matt both talked about the main stream media as a whole whereas both their opponents consistently attacked Douglas and Matt personally.

Douglas was THE adult in the room, it was very clear. His point about listening is crucial. It's incredible the responses he comes up with directly based on what he's listened to the person say. It's hard to really describe, he has tremendous processing speed.

“No, he’s just a fool.” I love Douglass Murray.😄

Love his expression when he says "I still don't feel pity". 😆 Such a great man and intellectual

Bravo Douglas Murray - I once had held Malcolm Gladwell in high regard however, his contempt towards Douglas during the debate was shocking and the audience voting 67% (Pro) vs. 33% (Con) should give Malcolm serious pause. Douglas, thank you for what you do, and thank you Jordan for posting this highlight.

This is very interesting. I’ve read three of Malcolm Gladwell’s books and really enjoyed them. Learnt a lot from him. So now my eyes are wide open in surprise! Huge admiration for Douglas Murray, in everything he does.

Douglas Murray is the witty, intellectual, snarky brit we didnt know we needed. So glad he has a platform.

“Oh, I listened to him.” That’s exactly right. The whole debate I kept thinking, “Gladwell is NOT paying attention.” How do you win a debate if you don’t pay attention to your opponent. Good job, Malk!

Gladwell had a classic narcissistic collapse. He's a textbook example.

"I had a great time smacking him around" - oh Douglas, you're a treasure.

Murray is always so good. Can't get enough of his intellect.

It wasn't really even a debate. Every time Murray made an argument, Gladwell responded with an ad hominem attack about Murray. It was obvious, after a while, that Gladwell didn't have a single valid argument.

I watched that debate and while I don’t loathe Gladwell, Murray tells it here exactly as it was. He really did behave like a toddler and was deliberately very condescending.

these two together is amazing, the feeling of knowing a conversation has 100% stability and wont derail into purposeless bullshit is comforting for sure

One of the first times I became aware of him was on a podcast in which he was discussing moral licensing. The example was referring to people who say things like "My best friend is black, I can't be racist". Malcolm was saying this gave one moral licensing to be secretly racist in other ways. I laughed because i realised it hasn't occurred to these people that they're not actually dealing with racists at all. So they invent psychologically complex bypasses to return to their belief. "Oh, he's just morally licensing himself.". Pathetic and shallow.

Douglas Murray is a savage debater. I would refuse to debate him on any issue 😂

I saw that debate in full and was so happy at the audience response. It was insanely obvious when watching and the fact Douglas was literally calling him out early and often was magical! Malcolm NEVER once acknowledged how wrong the media has been on most of the biggest political stories over the last few years. Pummeled

Douglas is a class act. Nice to see an adult command the room.

Two of my favorite people, Douglas and Jordan. Thank God you’re on our side!

I watched this debate and either Malcolm has completely lost it or he tricked all of us into thinking he is worth taking seriously. He had nothing of value to say

As someone who agreed with the premise that modern journalism was not to be trusted, I was excited to hear that Malcom Gladwell was going to represent the opposing side. I thought we’d get the best possible argument from him. Wow, was I ever wrong. Gladwell utterly beclowned himself. I also listened to his podcast where he delved into his failure - it was no better. He absolutely could not conceive that his own preconceptions and ideological blinders doomed him before he even opened his mouth on that stage. Sad. I sincerely enjoyed his books, but now I’m seriously questioning how many errors were made, how many assumptions are made, and how much he got wrong.

That culture, of dialogue and courteous exchange of ideas, is not gone yet, Mr. Murray. With you, Dr. Peterson and a host of others filling the vacuous hole created by online debating...hope is kept alive, if for no other reason than it (yours and Dr. Peterson's respectful approaches) is proof that it exists in the first place.

Man, one of Jordan's biggest inspirations is his ability to try and articulate the best you can. 3:00 explaining being in the moment while at the same time trying to speak or explain something is, i feel, a super undervalued valuable skill

"Well, Malc..." We will remember that line far into our senilehood 🤣

Two absolute legends. Not all heroes wear capes. I’m very thankful we have people like these two to combat that absolute nonsense that’s being thrown about in our society/culture. Thank you gentlemen. Don’t ever change.

I could listen to you two for hours and hours. I particularly really like you both and read both and all of your books. You should do a mini series on some topics you both love. I bet it would be brilliant as you are super complementary to each other.

I just stumbled across this video...Douglas Murray and Jordan Peterson in the same room? I was gobsmacked! I'm just an old Grandma, not the sharpest tack in the box, but am grateful to God that these two men grace this earth.

I watched that debate a couple months ago, I had always assumed Malcolm Gladwell was a cool guy, after seeing his debate performance i decided he was such a jerk, I won’t read his books ever again.

When I’m feeling down I go back and watch Douglas verbally flog the living sh** out of Gladwell. He was so terrible.

I absolutely can not get enough of Douglas Murray. That wit is so sharp it's a continual wonder he doesn't cut himself with it.

He didn't lose that debate for not having Oxford training, he lost it for being an awful human being.

One of Douglas’ many strengths is the ability to keep his head with extreme provocation. He let Malcolm off his rudeness on a number of occasions, before he went for the jugular and by this point the audience were itching for it, rather like the number of insults and assaults before the Hulk hulks up.

It's an honor just to be able to listen to these serious thinkers.

Gladwell's podcast on his defeat was fairly good. He does a good, dramatic introduction building up to his utter defeat. Temporarily boosted my opinion of him after Murray destroyed him. The main issue with the podcast, other than bringing his mother in, was that he only got to "listen better to better refute" rather than "consider his opponents may have a point".

More, please! I want to hear more of Douglas Murray's honest debate in an ingenuous atmosphere. I find the combination of Jordan and Douglas exhilarating! You actually talk sense.

' I still dont feel pity' 😂 That debate was a Masterclass and Matt and Douglas were well prepared. So good, a must see!

I enjoyed every second of how Douglas eviscerated that moron.

It was funny, the part of that debate that stood out was Gladwell repeatedly calling him “Doug” and Douglas hitting him with a mic drop moment calling him “Malc”.

When someone asks ‘if you could invite anyone in the world for a dinner party living or dead’ my answer would definitely include these two.

Never have I seen a man so throughly undressed, thrown to the ground, pissed on, told not to get the f up, to just lay down and take your place. Good job Douglas.

I lost respect for Gladwell after that one. He sounded so contrived and forced poor opinions so strongly. I could not believe it.

"So what did you do right that he did wrong?" "I listened. He didn't."

This was amazing - watched that debate - so hearing Douglas’s post-game breakdown was awesome

This is the cure we need for the dumbing down of society and even the idea of reasonable discussion. I hope to see much more. Thank you.

Douglass Murray is perhaps one of the sharpest minds of our time. He never goes ad hominem until his opponent does and then….. Clear the decks. He is a scathing example of why one should never mess with the Irish! Just Sayin! I’m a fan!

There are few things in this world more humiliating than hearing Douglas Murray speak poorly of you to another person.

Douglas Murray is savage AF. The picture in the dictionary next to the phrase "Killing me softly."

I remember Christopher Hitchens sternly reminded anyone not to call him “Chris.” Douglas is taking one of the lessons he learned from his old friend during the debate.

My favorite college professor had me read Outliers and I was able to go through every argument in that book and break down flaws in them. I look back at that and feel it was a large step for me thinking for myself.

I watched it in full. 100% Douglas absolutely nailed Malcolm Gladwell to the mask. Douglas is one of the best debaters of our time.

If you haven't seen it, the debate was just brutal. It's good to see that the audience agreed.

“I still don’t feel pity” 😂 Love Douglas Murray!

Anyone who puts themselves on the receiving end of Douglas' sense of humor deserves whatever he gets. Love listening to these two great minds having a conversation

I didn’t think Matt Taibbi was a strong debater but he was at least strong on the facts. On the other hand, Douglas Murray was able to crush their weak arguments with god like precision.

I'm a salesman, not a great one, but a salesman. The hardest part in cold calling is the "Lego conversation" these two brilliant minds mention here. I'm very bad at truly listening. The old saying of 2 ears one mouth is a simple concept, but also having the confidence to really sit there and be silent is very difficult. I'd say the biggest equalizer is knowledge and preparation. If you're prepared and have knowledge of the person's business or what they're trying to accomplish you can ask better questions.

I came into watching that debate having such a high opinion of Malcolm Gladwell... read his books, listened to him over the years on various platforms.... but that high opinion got turned on it's head for good after watching his pathetic/disgusting performance. Really showed his true colors, that elitist, condescending SOB. SO thankful for Douglas Murray for how he handled him.

My god the amount of charisma, intelligence, integrity and physical grace that radiates from these two, almost melts the screen.

Two absolute Legends. I could listen to them debating all day long.

I wouldn't be surprised to learn that Douglas Murray is absolutely hilarious when the occasion strikes.

The passivity of conservatives does not exist in Douglas. Love this man

I watched the debate. Whatever regard I once may have had for Malcolm evaporated when I saw his smug demeanour towards those who were, in fact, despite his self-assurance, giving him the sound thrashing of a lifetime. The echoes of cane snapping across his raw rump will resound down the corridors of time till the crack of doom.

I still can’t believe anyone, and I mean ANYONE that voted on that debate cast their vote for Gladwell. Pathetic!

My favourite bit was when Douglas called him Malc - I was roaring !

I read the “Strange Death of Europe” in a day. Ever since then I can’t get enough of Douglas. I use some of his tools in conversation

I doubt many people could debate Douglas Murray. He chews them up and spits them out with such poetic eloquence

To see the two of these gentlemen talking together is fantastic as I have never listened to such interesting people.

I absolutely love listening to you both and your debates. You gentlemen are my favorites. Please keep up your great work.

Fantastic debate by Douglas he absolutely destroyed Malc 😂😂😂

I would refuse to debate Douglass if the topic was what I ate for dinner the night before.

Bravo Douglas Murray in the debate and here, in the post match analysis! My hat is off to you, as always! If Douglas Murray commented a telephone book, I would listen.

I love Murray’s ability for raw honesty 🙏

I watched that debate, it was incredible. The truly astronomical levels of bad will and laziness from Gladwell's side compared to the intellectual honesty and debating genius on the other side was stunning.

Douglas Murray is a pleasure to listen to. His voice is like smooth butter. His insults are so smart that he could insult me and i would not know and feel he complimented me.

Douglas Murray is a man after my own heart. His statements are echoes of my own thoughts. How extraordinary. Jordan has difficulty keeping up with Douglas. It's not a wonder Douglas Murray finds decreasing numbers of people to debate with - he's just that good.

Well done Douglas, you dismantled him verbally.

Even as an agnostic I can appreciate that pride is a deadly sin by contemplating Malcolm Gladwell’s absurd self-regard (not just on show in the Munk debate). He is so high on his own vapours he renders himself incapable of thinking or debating. Loved seeing Douglas elegantly hanging, drawing and quartering him!

Wonderfully articulate, Douglas Murray is always a pleasure to listen to.

That debate was pure gold

I've read Gladwell's book "Outliers", and I think he's basically right in that one; it does take a lot of time and effort (probably in the region of 10,000 hours) to really get good at something.