The New Yorker Interview

Malcolm Gladwell on “The American Way of Killing”

马尔科姆·格拉德威尔谈“美式杀戮”

The New Yorker staff writer examines America’s unique problem with gun violence, and why he thinks under-policing is at the root of our problem.

《纽约客》特约撰稿人剖析美国独有的枪支暴力问题，以及他为何认为警力不足才是问题的根源。

ByDavid Remnick

September 18, 2026

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Malcolm Gladwell, a longtime staff writer at The New Yorker, often uses ideas from the social sciences and epidemiology and applies them to surprising topics. But his new book tackles an issue that’s in the headlines every day. The book is called “The American Way of Killing,” and the subject is America’s unique association with gun violence. Death statistics, he says, fail to convey the scale of the problem because advances in medical care save countless lives that are nevertheless scarred by violence. Gladwell talks with David Remnick about how gun-control advocates have got the problem wrong, and why he thinks that a persistent dynamic of under-policing and over-incarcerating is at the root of America’s problem. “I can’t even utter the phrase ‘defund the police,’ ” Gladwell says, “without nearly blowing a gasket.”

马尔科姆·格拉德威尔（Malcolm Gladwell）是《纽约客》的资深撰稿人，常借用社会科学和流行病学的思路，套用在出人意料的议题上。但他的新书触及的，是一个天天占据新闻头条的话题。这本书叫《美式杀戮》，主题是美国与枪支暴力之间那种独有的纠葛。他说，死亡统计数字无法传达问题的严重程度，因为医疗进步挽救了无数生命，可这些生命依然带着暴力的伤痕。格拉德威尔与戴维·雷姆尼克（David Remnick）对谈，讨论控枪倡导者如何把问题搞错了方向，以及他为什么认为，警力不足与过度监禁并存的长期态势，才是美国问题的根源。“我连‘削减警察经费’这句话都说不出口，”格拉德威尔说，“一说就几乎要气炸。”