In a new podcast, Malcolm Gladwell explores a period of American history when the country appeared on the brink of radical change: Reconstruction. When the Civil War ended and enslaved people were freed, they were given, in theory, the right to vote and own property. But in practice, the achievements of Reconstruction did little to permanently enfranchise Black Americans or enshrine a healthy and multiracial democracy. Created in collaboration with Barack Obama, the podcast dives into the era and explores how Reconstruction’s failures might still be addressed today. —Paulina Prosnitz