do elite universities care so much about sports? What is the Magic Third, and what does it mean for racial equity? In this provocative new work, Malcolm Gladwell returns to the subject of social epidemics and tipping points, this time with the aim of explaining the dark side of contagious phenomena. Through a series of riveting stories, Gladwell traces the rise of a new and troubling form of social engineering. He takes us to the streets of Los Angeles to meet the world's most successful bank robbers, rediscovers a forgotten television show from the 1970s that changed the world, and offers an alternate history of two of the biggest epidemics of our day: COVID and the opioid crisis. Gladwell shows that—whether in neighbourhoods, schools, zoos, or conference rooms - today’s epidemics are turbocharged versions of their earlier counterparts, and we are more tempted than ever to try to manipulate tipping points for our own ends. Yet these efforts often come at a cost, creating difficult trade-offs and unexpected dilemmas. Above all, we must recognize our responsibility - as individuals and as a society - to take tipping points seriously if we want to change our world for the better. 'Refining and deepening our understanding of the spread of customs, mores, and practices, Gladwell emphasizes those overstories, illustrating them with twisting and turning tales of, for example, how the word holocaust came into general usage, how the idea of gay marriage gained acceptability, and how widespread social engineering has quietly become one of the central activities of the American establishment.' - Kirkus.