
About this episode
Florence, Alabama. 1988. A preacher has an affair. A woman is murdered. One death cascades into more, stretching across decades and leaving no one untouched — victims, bystanders, perpetrators, and those just trying to help. Eventually, the consequences lead to the center of a hot national debate on who should be allowed to live, who should die, and how the state should execute them.
On The Alabama Murders, Malcolm Gladwell asks: why, in our efforts to alleviate suffering, do we so often make it worse?
Pushkin+ subscribers can binge the entire season of Revisionist History: The Alabama Murders early and ad-free. Sign up on the Revisionist History show page or at pushkin.fm/plus.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Get every episode summarized
Each time Revisionist History publishes, we email you a written briefing from the transcript — the topics, who appeared, and any specific claims, with the ad reads skipped.
Email me new episodesFree for 3 shows. No card needed.
Hosts & guests
No transcript yet
This episode has not been transcribed. Request it and it moves to the front of the queue.
More episodes
More from Revisionist History

Merciless Indian Savages | First America
Revisionist History

The Other Johnson and Johnson | From Planet Money
Revisionist History

The Staten Island Problem - Part 5: Revenge of the Forgotten Borough
Revisionist History

The Staten Island Problem - Part 4: Wu-Tang vs. Shaolin
Revisionist History