What Malcolm Gladwell has said about Gun violence in the United States

3 quotes · 1 episode · Oct 7, 2026

Malcolm Gladwell, Author of Outliers, whose theory about Chinese numerals Jiang disputes, has been quoted on Gun violence in the United States 3 times in 1 episode of Next Question with Katie Couric, most recently on October 7, 2026. Each quote below is verbatim and links to the moment it was said.

In their words

Gladwell argues that the United States is not unusual in levels of crime but in levels of violence, so politicians should focus on violence.
“If you want to be tough on crime, be tough on violence because that's where we are three, four, five times more serious than everybody else”
Next Question with Katie Couric: Malcolm Gladwell on America’s Gun Crisis (Oct 7, 2026) · Listen from 12:02
Gladwell argues that access to trauma care determines whether a shooting becomes a homicide.
“I'm gonna get to a level one trauma center in three minutes. Unless they shoot me in the head or the heart, I'm gonna survive”
Next Question with Katie Couric: Malcolm Gladwell on America’s Gun Crisis (Oct 7, 2026) · Listen from 6:33
Gladwell says that removing guns from America would unquestionably reduce homicide, though he has mixed feelings about gun control as a strategy.
“In the abstract, if I were to remove guns from America, would we have less homicide? 100%. Zero doubt about that”
Next Question with Katie Couric: Malcolm Gladwell on America’s Gun Crisis (Oct 7, 2026) · Listen from 47:03

Malcolm Gladwell on America’s Gun Crisis
Next Question with Katie Couric · Oct 7, 2026 · 1 h 4 min
Katie Couric talks with Malcolm Gladwell about his book The American Way of Killing, covering under-policing, prisons, the Second Amendment, assault weapons bans and gun suicide.