The Unusual Suspects with Kenya Barris and Malcolm Gladwell Audiobook By Kenya Barris, Malcolm Gladwell cover art

The Unusual Suspects with Kenya Barris and Malcolm Gladwell

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The Unusual Suspects with Kenya Barris and Malcolm Gladwell

By: Kenya Barris, Malcolm Gladwell
Narrated by: Kenya Barris, Malcolm Gladwell, Ursula Burns, Jimmy Kimmel, Sue Bird, Wes Moore, David Chang, Ava DuVernay, Dr. Dre
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Join Kenya Barris and Malcolm Gladwell as they bypass pleasantries and promotional banter to deliver raw, unfiltered conversations with some of today’s most influential figures. Featuring titans across a spectrum of professions (from Olympic gold medalists to trailblazing Fortune 500 CEOs and everything in between), The Unusual Suspects with Kenya Barris and Malcolm Gladwell pulls back the curtain to offer listeners unprecedented access to the minds of the world’s most extraordinary individuals and their distinct paths to success.

Episode 1: Ursula Burns, first Black woman to lead a Fortune 500 company
Episode 2: Jimmy Kimmel, longest-running late-night TV host
Episode 3: Sue Bird, WNBA superstar and legend
Episode 4: Wes Moore, first Black governor of Maryland
Episode 5: David Chang, renowned chef and founder of the Momofuku restaurant group
Episode 6: Ava DuVernay, acclaimed writer, director, and producer
Episode 7: Dr. Dre, iconic rapper, producer, executive, and actor
Episode 8: Kenya Barris, award-winning writer, producer, and showrunner and Malcolm Gladwell, New York Times bestselling journalist
Episode 9 (Bonus Live Recorded Episode): Dr. Brené Brown, the renowned researcher, bestselling author, and cultural force

©2024 Khalabo Ink Society (P)2024 Audible Originals, LLC

Accolades & Awards

Best of 2025
Editors Select
Best of 2025 Black Creators Editors Select Thought-Provoking Entertainment & Celebrities Funny Witty Entertainment & Performing Arts Biographies & Memoirs

Catch a glimpse of the guys and the guests!

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Kenya Barris
Malcolm Gladwell
Credits
About the Creator & Performer- Kenya Barris

About the Creator & Performer

Kenya Barris is an award-winning writer, producer, director and actor, whose innovative approach to comedy has firmly cemented his place as one of Hollywood’s great modern storytellers. Best known as the creator behind groundbreaking series like ABC sitcom black-ish and the Netflix original series #blackAF, Barris has built a career telling powerful stories that reflect our culture and fearlessly tackle an array of topics.
Most recently, Barris executive produced Diarra From Detroit, a dark comedy about a divorcing schoolteacher who refuses to believe she’s been ghosted by her rebound Tinder date; The Vince Staples Show, a scripted series loosely inspired by the life of multi-hyphenate musician Vince Staples; the final season of grown-ish; and produced The Underdoggs, an Amazon original sports comedy starring Snoop Dogg as a youth football team coach.
In 2023, Barris and his production company, Khalabo Ink Society, received Emmy nominations for two of their projects: Entergalactic, a first-of-its-kind adult animated music project that featured new music from the Grammy Award-winning musician Kid Cudi, and CIVIL, a documentary that offered an intimate portrait of groundbreaking civil rights attorney Ben Crump. Barris also made his feature directorial debut with Netflix’s hit comedy You People, which he also produced and co-wrote.
Barris and Khalabo have multiple high-profile projects in various stages of development. On the television side, projects include: sophomore seasons of Diarra From Detroit and The Vince Staples Show; The Book of Jose, a television series chronicling the life of rapper Fat Joe; Group Chat, a collaboration with Kim Kardashian, based on LaLa Anthony's best-selling book The Love Playbook; a limited series that will offer an intimate look into the life and legacy of the legendary comedian Richard Pryor. On the film side, Barris is developing projects such as: an untitled animated film inspired by the timeless music of Bob Marley; a modern reimagining of the 1939 classic film Wizard of Oz; Get Lite starring Storm Reid and marking Teyana Taylor’s feature directorial debut; a remake of It’s A Wonderful Life; a documentary on the life and career of rapper Chief Keef; Yumanzu, a high concept family adventure movie; Girls Trip 2; and The Man Who Lives Underground.
Additionally, Barris and Khalabo have an exclusive deal with Audible and in 2023 launched their first podcast, DJ Drama Presents: Gangsta Grillz. Hosted and produced with legendary hip-hop producer DJ Drama, the popular podcast featured conversations with notable artists such as Tyler, the Creator, Pharrell, Wiz Khalifa, Lil Wayne and more.

About the Creator & Performer- Malcolm Gladwell

About the Creator & Performer

Malcolm Gladwell is the author of seven New York Times bestsellers, including The Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers, Talking to Strangers, and The Bomber Mafia. He is the co-founder of Pushkin Industries, an audiobook and podcast production company that produces the podcasts Revisionist History, Against the Rules with Michael Lewis, The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos, and Broken Record.

Credits

The Unusual Suspects with Kenya Barris and Malcolm Gladwell is an Audible Original
Produced by Audible and Khalabo Ink Society
Hosted by: Kenya Barris and Malcolm Gladwell
Executive Producer(s) for Khalabo Ink Society: Kenya Barris and Malcolm Gladwell
Executive Producer for Audible: Joshua Poole
Produced by: Kristin Alcala, Jamie Nelsen, and Gila "WeezyWTF" Shlomi
Written by: Damilare Sonoiki
Edited by: Jamie Nelsen
Assistant Editor: Crystal Pastis
Creative Consultant: Cassandra Vargas
Recorded/Engineered by: Michael Beliveau (LA), Alexx Anderson (NY), and William Flynn (EP1)
Original music by: Bekon
Sound design by: Michael Beliveau
Mixed and mastered by: Michael Beliveau
Music Supervisor: Gabe Hilfer
Head of Creative Development at Audible: Kate Navin
Chief Content Officer: Rachel Ghiazza
Copyright 2025 by Khalabo Productions, Inc
Sound recording copyright 2025 by Audible Originals, LLC
Talent Booking: Central Talent Agency
Production Lawyer: Eric Spiegelman
Production Accountant: Kristin Johnsen
Archival Clearance Coordinator: Jordan Keeble
Music Clearances: DMG Clearances
Production Assistants: Devin Kruger, Tionne Johnson, Clara Colom, and Jaire George
Kenya Barris Assistants: Adrienne Bresnahan and Desmond Bull
Malcolm Gladwell Assistants: Tali Emlem and Luke Lamond

Unusual Suspects - Featuring
Fascinating Interviews • Insightful Conversations • Inspiring Life Stories • Authentic Storytelling • Informative Content

Highly rated for:

All stars
Most relevant
Most of these discussions are great. But Kenya Barris is embarassing in his sexist questions to Ava Duvernay about her dating life and why his is so different, and what is and is not acceptable. Guy wants to be so woke, but this is painful, and she’s clearly uncomfortable too. Also, self-described massive Dre fan, yet he doesn’t know within 3 years when “Straight Outta Compton” came out. He says ‘85 and he was 11 or 12, when it was early ‘89, and he must have been 14. In terms of a seminal album, that age difference is light years in a kid’s life. Poser.

Gladwell, however, is the Man.

Mostly great, also emBarris-ing

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I liked it all. Kenya and Malcolm made me feel included even though I am not black. I would love to be friends with Ursula who spoke to my heart. Jimmy Kimmel, Ava DuVernay, Sue Bird Wes Moore and David Chang I look forward to seeing what they do next. Dr. Dre was like having a conversation with my cousin but on another side of things. And the interview with each other made the fact that I have always felt I am different even among my family, a wow moment to discover I am not the only one.

Unusual is good

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I loved listening to Malcolm Gladwell and Kenya Barris interview these people who are well known in their areas, but some of whom I knew little about. I gave 4 stars on performance because at times, I struggled to understand what Barris said and had to slow down and repeat the audio.

Inspired interviews

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They had a real conversation about what I think young folks will be thinking and talking about in the future.

Future generations

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This is a series of amazing interviews done perfectly by a duo of amazing people.

If you have not listen to this your missing out.

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