In Defense of PAW Patrol

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On my last trip to London, I had dinner at my favorite spot in Clerkenwell.

It's been in continuous operation for something like 150 years, which means it predates automobiles, radios, and the zipper.

I had the mangalitza loin chop and the potatoes confi.

Yum.

You need to go there.

Although, I don't know if I'm allowed to say the name.

Let's just say it starts with a Q, then a C,

and then an H.

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Hello, hello, everyone.

You're in for a treat today.

I'm going to do battle on behalf of my three-year-old against some of the leading intellectuals of our day.

My producer says this is her favorite revisionist history episode ever.

As they say on the internet, big if true.

If you missed it, we opened this mini-season with two episodes about the death of George Floyd, which I hope you listened to if you haven't already.

And coming up soon, my colleague Ben Nadav Hafrey gives us the real story about,

well, I'm not going to tell you.

All I'll say is, when I listen to it, every single fact Ben relates in that episode was something I'd never heard of before.

Oh, and one last thing.

I mentioned it last week.

I'm doing my tour with No Small Endeavor and Drew Holcomb, April 9th in Louisville, April 10th in Indianapolis, and April 11th in Grand Rapids.

It's going to be a lot of fun.

If you live anywhere near those cities, you got to go.

Check it out at no smallendeavor.com.

Okay, off we go.

Enjoy, everyone.

Every night, after bath and just before bedtime, my three-year-old and I settle down in front of the television.

Paw Patrol, Paw Patrol, will be there on the double.

Whenever there's a problem, round Adventure Bay.

If you're not a parent of a young child, it's entirely possible you have no idea what Paw Patrol is.

That's fine.

Before I had children, I had never heard of it either.

So let me explain.

It's a multi-billion dollar franchise centered around a band of puppies who are called upon in each episode to rescue someone in peril.

There's a police dog named Chase, a fire dog named Marshall, a helicopter pilot named Sky, a Roadworks puppy named Rubble.

They stop runaway trains, they fight fires.

They repair the damaged flying saucers of adorable stranded aliens with enormous eyes.

You get the picture.

Among toddlers, Paw Patrol is bigger than Elmo.

It's bigger than Mickey Mouse.

Just ask my daughter.

Paw Patrol, we're on the double.

Whatever there is album on Adventure Day.

Rather is the team of pups.

We'll go and see today.

Marshall, Robo, Chase, Rocky, Zoo, guys.

Paw Patrol, Paw Pro.

And yet, for some reason, every parent I know, every student of children's television, every adult who has more than a passing interest in the intellectual and moral development of our young, hates Paw Patrol.

Like the Reddit thread, Paw Patrol has ruined my child's brain.

Quote, everything about Paw Patrol is awful.

The yelling and constant panic, the stereotypes, the terrible design, the tropes.

I wish it would disappear from the face of the earth and take all of its merch with it.

⁇ Unquote.

Go to TikTok.

They hate the puppies.

There's some things that really piss me off when it comes to Paw Patrol.

It's pretty simple.

It sucks.

My son watches Paw Patrol.

I hate it.

Everyone hates it, except for me.

And this episode is my attempt to convince you that I'm right and everyone else.

is wrong.

My name is Malcolm Gladwell.

You're listening to Revisionist History, my podcast where I like to argue on behalf of things that all common sense suggests are not true.

The following defense of Paw Patrol is squarely in that tradition.

It is a search and rescue mission for a show about search and rescue missions.

In all my long years of doing revisionist history,

I have never tackled a more forbidding task.

I started by calling people, anyone who I thought could help, asking the same questions over and over again.

First to a parent who had lived through what I'm living through right now.

We are here to discuss Paw Patrol,

which looms large in my life at the moment.

Yeah, I'm sure.

Then again, to an intellectual, someone I admired.

I don't understand the amount of hatred this show gets.

And again, this time to a sociologist, someone who has published in academic journals on the Paw Patrol phenomenon.

I am calling you because I spend every night watching Paw Patrol.

I'm sorry.

Sorry to hear that.

I spent so much time googling Paw Patrol, Google started feeding me Paw Patrol content.

Like the actress Kira Knightley on The Tonight Show, explaining what it's like to be the mother of a three-year-old.

Wait for it.

Baby's a toddler.

Baby's not a baby.

Baby's not a baby anymore.

Yeah, she's huge.

Three and a half.

Three and a half.

Are you into uh are you into paw patrol?

Oh.

I'm sorry, dude.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I'm sorry.

Everyone is sorry.

Well, I'm into Paw Patrol, and I'm not sorry.

Paw Patrol takes place in two imaginary towns, Adventure Bay and Foggy Bottom.

The group has as its headquarters what looks like a giant postmodern air traffic control center, complete with a really cool fire station pole that moves the members of the Paw Patrol from the briefing room to their waiting vehicles.

Vehicles, which are all, by the way, available separately for purchase.

In a typical Paw Patrol episode, and I say typical when I really mean every single Paw Patrol episode ever, someone in the greater Adventure Bay, Foggy Bottom metropolitan area has a problem.

They call Ryder, who is a little boy in charge of the Paw Patrol operation.

He summons the pups from whatever adorably cute leisure activity they are engaged in.

They come running.

Mighty pups, to the local!

Ryder needs us!

And without fail, the problem is solved.

For example, in season 7, episode 13, Paw Patrol Pups Save Election Day, a particular favorite in the Gladwell household, Mayor Humdinger of Foggy Bottom has decided unexpectedly to run for Mayor of Adventure City, precipitating a crisis.

Humdinger is wreaking havoc on the campaign trail, causing all kinds of chaos downtown.

This leads Alex, an adorable little boy who happens to find himself in the midst of the mayhem, to call for help.

It all happened because Mayor Humdinger's kidneys are launching election stuff everywhere.

We'll be right there, Alex.

There's a short briefing in the situation room.

Ryder gives out instructions.

So for this mission, I'll need Chase.

I need you to use your net to stop Mr.

Porter's out-of-control skateboard ride.

Chase is on the case.

And Martha, I'll need you to use your ladder to help get Danny down from that big billboard.

I'm ready for a rough, rough rescue.

And off the pups go.

Hey, guys.

Hey, Malcolm.

How you doing?

How's it going?

I called up Cal Brunker and Bob Barlin, the writers behind the Paw Patrol movies.

I asked them why they thought kids love the show so much.

The structures are so clear and consistent from episode to episode that it really pulls them in and they're able to feel comfortable and confident in that world of storytelling.

Oh, I forgot to mention that in addition to 11 seasons of Paw Patrol television shows, there have been two Paw Patrol movies which together grossed $350 million.

The structure of the show is

really quite smart in how they go about every

every rescue that takes place.

Ryder tells the pups what they're going to do, and then they show up and they do the same thing that he's just told the audience.

So I think the participation level from a child is able to be so much more because it's less surprising.

I did not grow up with the television, so this experience is all new to me.

Maybe that's why I like Paw Patrol so much.

Everyone else groans in silent agony over the thought of watching, say, Paw Patrol, the movie, for the fourth time.

Me, I'm like, what new fresh insights can I glean this time around about Chase, the police dog, a German shepherd who struggles with feelings of inadequacy?

Chase has got a backstory.

And I mean, at its highest level,

Chase believes that being scared means he's not a hero, and so he shouldn't be part of it.

And he learns that heroes get scared too, but keep going.

That's what makes them heroes.

The writer has that scene with him where they relive when he found Chase for the first time.

Yes,

I love to hear you saying this.

This brings me great joy.

On what is clearly University Avenue.

That's absolutely University Avenue.

It feels like it, doesn't it?

With the boulevard.

The dividers, exactly, yeah.

By the way, remember that reference, University Avenue.

What am I referring to?

A small clue to my grand unified theory of Paw Patrol.

A clue which I'm guessing all the other parents missed because they were on their phones checking Instagram.

Now, that, so, because there is, what's really interesting is that there,

when my daughter was watching that,

she, the first, we've seen it more than once, that movie.

And the first time she saw it, I think she was genuinely affected by it.

I mean, it was clear it was a different kind of an emotional experience than she'd been getting from the TV shows.

And the second and third time, gripping my hand tightly.

This is exactly what the corporate benefactors of the Paw Patrol franchise desire: a bonding moment between a dad and his daughter over a disconsolate puppy.

Was my daughter wearing Paw Patrol pajamas as this was happening?

Yes, she was.

And yet, there are people, lots of people, who look on that picture of family togetherness

and cry foul.

Can you explain this?

In today's super competitive business environment, the edge goes to those who push harder, move faster, and level up every tool in their arsenal.

T-Mobile knows all about that.

They're now the best network, according to the experts at OOCLA Speed Test, and they're using that network to launch Supermobile, the first and only business plan.

to combine intelligent performance, built-in security, and seamless satellite coverage.

With Supermobile, your performance, security, and coverage are supercharged.

With a network that adapts in real time, your business stays operating at peak capacity even in times of high demand.

With built-in security on the first nationwide 5G advanced network, you keep private data private for you, your team, your clients.

And with seamless coverage from the world's largest satellite-to-mobile constellation, your whole team can text and stay updated even when they're off the grid.

That's your business, Supercharged.

Learn more at supermobile.com.

Seamless coverage with compatible devices in most outdoor areas in the US where you can see the sky.

Best network based on analysis by UCLA of Speed Test Intelligence Data 1H 2025.

The Olympic Games have come a long way since the first one in 776 BC.

In fact, those Olympic Games weren't even games.

It was the Olympic game, as there was only one race, a straight 630-foot sprint.

By 67 AD, chariot racing had become a big event, so big that the Emperor Nero competed.

And even though he was thrown from his chariot and couldn't finish, he was nonetheless declared the winner.

It's good to be king.

One thing that hasn't changed is the importance of quality sleep to an athlete's performance.

Which is why Satva is so proud to have been named the official mattress and restorative sleep provider for the U.S.

Olympic and Para-Olympic teams.

No one knows more about restorative sleep than Satfa.

Each one of their mattresses is designed to provide the kind of sleep elite athletes need to perform at their peak.

Of course, you don't have to be an elite athlete to benefit from sleeping well.

Being human is the only requirement.

Visit SATFA.com slash Gladwell to save up to $200 on a $1,000 or more purchase.

That's S-A-A-T-V-A.com slash Gladwell.

American Military University, where service members like you can access high-quality, affordable education built for your lifestyle.

With online programs that fit around deployments, training, and unpredictable schedules, AMU makes it possible to earn your degree no matter where duty takes you.

Their preferred military rate keeps tuition at just $250 per credit hour for undergraduate and master's master's tuition.

And with 24-7 mental health support plus career coaching and other services, AMU is committed to your success during and after your service.

Learn more at amu.apus.edu slash military to learn more.

That's amu.apus.edu slash military.

On several occasions in the course of almost a decade now of revisionist history, I have called on Angus Fletcher, neuroscientist, turned narrative theorist, genius in residence at Ohio State University.

If you remember, for example, back to our three-part revision of the ending of Disney's The Little Mermaid, arguably the intellectual high watermark of the entire revisionist history corpus, Angus provided the intellectual firepower.

And remember when we did a whole series on the greatest movie scripts that never got made?

Angus had one.

Of course he did.

Angus is much, much smarter than I am.

More important, Angus is not hopelessly sentimental like I am.

He would not be derailed by the gentle pressure of a three-year-old's stubby fingers.

And when I remembered that Angus also has kids, I called him up.

Now, a small thing before we go on.

Normally, when we interview people, we edit the tape.

I interject with commentary.

The whole thing is compressed and annotated.

We give you snippets, but snippets do not do justice to Professor Angus Fletcher.

So you're going to get Angus Unbound.

I want to start.

You too went through a Paw Patrol period with your children.

Is this correct?

I did, yeah.

So my son likes Paw Patrol, and I had an immediate horrifying flashback when you brought the subject up because I went back and tried to watch a couple episodes just to remind myself.

And I immediately had to shut them off, actually, for self-preservation.

But there are many things to unpack here.

First of all, how long did your son still actively watch Paw Patrol?

No, no, absolutely.

He's still alive.

So

we managed to save him in time.

So you're, and while you were watching it with your son,

why did this show not appeal to you?

What is it about it that's like hitting you the wrong way?

It's designed to anesthetize your brain.

I mean, I feel like I'm mainlining horse tranquilizer.

It's a show that is studiously designed to interrupt active thought.

I mean, that's like the purpose of the

show.

And it's engineered brilliantly to do that.

It's like it's like the kind of like diabolical apotheosis of hundreds of years of figuring out how to how to make audiences more and more passive.

What do you mean?

Okay, break that down.

Tell me exactly what you mean by that.

So

it's the quintessence of this thing that we call narrative.

We have a term for this in narrative theory.

It's called vacuous agon.

Vacuous agon.

And basically what that means is like when there's a conflict, but there's no stress, there's no anxiety in the viewer because you know that it's going to work out.

And this is a, I have to give credit to who coined this term.

It was a brilliant member of my lab.

His name is Mike Benvenisti.

He coined the term after watching Phineas and Ferd, which is a Disney show with his three children.

And the point of vacuous agon is that you're constantly being presented with problems that are solved immediately at the moment moment that you are presented with the problem.

And I think it's probably obvious for you, having, I'm sure, watched several episodes of this show, how mechanically what the show does is it gives you a problem, and then immediately Ryder shows up like a helicopter parent, like the ultimate helicopter parent, and tells everybody exactly what to do.

So the problem will go away.

And then we just kind of watch as the problem goes away.

Yeah.

That's exactly right.

So, and you think that's problematic because

it's not that I think that it's problematic, Malcolm.

It's that I know it's problematic.

So I don't know if you're aware of this, but for the last 30 years, there's been this crisis in American schools.

American kids have been getting less creative.

And because they've been getting less creative, they've been less able to solve their own problems.

And because they're less able to solve their own problems, they have these rises in anxiety and anger, you know, losses of self-efficacy, resilience, all these kinds of things.

And, you know, the major reason for this is that we are either solving their problems for them.

Yeah.

So we're coming in and solving their problems for them, or we're essentially suspending them in this state of giving them artificial problems.

So an artificial problem is like a math problem or a standardized test or something that doesn't exist in the real world.

And, you know, and you learn the formula.

And once you learn the formula, you know how to solve it.

And so kids are developing this, you know, ability to get better and better and better and better at school.

And then they just keep failing at life.

And this TV show is a paradigmatic example of that entire process.

I mean, I mean, it solves all the problems before you.

There's no ability you have to exercise any curiosity because the moment a problem happens, like literally you're told these two dogs are going to go solve it in in exactly this way.

There's no opportunity for the brain to engage what we call encounterfactual causal thinking, these processes that occur when we encounter a problem.

The whole reason for imaginative literature, the reason that things like Curious George and Winnie the Pooh were created are to stimulate these processes in young children, because at the age of four is actually when they develop the capacity for irony.

for narrative irony.

And all those books and reading with your children, for reasons we could discuss if you're interested, stimulates all those processes.

And when you watch this show, it nukes them.

So it's not bad in the sense that like giving your children ice cream isn't bad, right?

They can have ice cream, but if all you give them is ice cream, what happens to them, right?

They become diabetic.

And it's the same thing with this show in your brain.

Yeah.

God, I feel bad now.

You filled me with a kind of degree of self-loathing and guilt over the damage I'm doing to my daughter's imagination, her ability to problem solve.

This is what you do.

I should point out how strange this is.

A generation ago, people loved children's television.

The invention of children's television was one of America's signature cultural triumphs.

Intellectuals wrote love songs to children's television.

I remember once in the late 1990s when I discovered Sesame Street for the first time, I was so entranced that I went to the Sesame Street studios and just hung out there for what seemed like days.

I was there during the great Slimy episode.

Maybe you remember this.

Slimy, the adorable Sesame Street worm, becomes an astronaut.

And so the Sesame Street staff brought in Tony Bennett, whose signature song, of course, was Fly Me to the Moon, to sing, Slimey to the Moon.

And when this worm arrives, you'll find

he'll take a leap that's small for him.

But huge for all worm kind.

I was there for that, standing this close to the legend himself, who acted like this was the greatest moment of his entire career.

My point is, back in the day, the leading cultural figures of our time would happily make the pilgrimage to a random TV studio in Queens to make light of their own work on behalf of toddlers everywhere.

But now, the cultural luminaries and the intellectuals have abandoned ship.

By 11 minutes into his denunciation of Paw Patrol, Angus had mentioned Dickens, the A-Team, Plautus, and Aristophanes.

Now, he had moved on to explaining the phenomenon of new comedy and contrasting it with something he called old comedy.

And what happens in old comedy is you're presented with real problems.

So an example of a real problem would be war.

or the breakdown of democracy.

And then the comedy goes on and the problem gets worse and it gets worse and it gets worse and it gets worse.

And then eventually the comedy falls apart and it just ends.

And basically the comedy is saying, that's a big problem.

You guys in the audience better figure out how to solve that.

So it forced people to think about hard things in a public place where they could kind of wrestle with it and solve their own problems.

Then what happened was the emergence of new comedy, which is essentially light entertainment.

And what happens in light entertainment is a fake problem is posed.

A fake problem is posed.

And then just if you might be getting stressed about this fake problem,

the comedy answers it for you by the end so you can relax.

So, what's diabolical about Paw Patrol is it takes real problems and turns them into imaginary problems.

It's like

the end, it's like the nadir of comedy.

Because, I mean, there are real problems that it seems to embrace, you know, and people seem to get in trouble and stuff like that, you know.

But then it just reveals that they're all, you know, not a problem.

You don't have to worry about them because you know, Ryder will just show up or there'll be some like weird gizmo gadget thing that will solve the problem for you.

So, you know, just relax, preschooler.

Don't worry about this big bad world you're entering in because it's just fine.

Don't even use your brain.

Why were you even giving a brain?

What's the point of a brain, right?

You need to solve problems.

Everything's already solved.

Look how perfect.

I know I promised you that I was going to play Angus at full length, Angus Unbound.

And if this were the Joe Rogan experience, and I bring up Joe Rogan for a reason, by the way, because revisionist history is coming back to Joe Rogan big time in the coming weeks.

If this were the Joe Rogan experience, I'd have just run it all.

Effort.

Who among us does not have a spare three and a half hours to listen to a perfect stranger speak about their weightlifting routines?

But my assumption is that you, unlike the many millions of Roganites, have jobs.

So from here on out, I'm just giving you the good parts.

So what would happen if you showed an old comedy show to a child?

What happens if in Paw Patrol, they don't solve the problem?

What does my daughter do?

Yeah, so this is great.

So your child will will become concerned.

Your child will become concerned.

And then your child will probably turn to you as the authority figure in her life and be like, I'm kind of concerned.

What's going to happen to

that truck that's suspended over that chasm or whatever other Paul Petroleum problem there is, right?

Yeah.

And then you're going to look very seriously at them and say, I don't know.

What do you think is going to happen?

And then they would have to pause and then they would think and then they would have to imagine themselves solving the problem.

And that's the value.

I'm a new parent, just over three years into the experience, and I have all the insecurities that come with being a rookie.

I don't know what I'm doing.

I put my daughters in bed at night and pray they fall asleep.

I make them oatmeal in the morning and pray they eat it.

I help build castles made of magnetiles and pray they don't destroy them.

And all the while, I ask myself, who are these mysterious creatures over whom I have recklessly been given dominion?

And now Angus, who I admire like few others, was telling me I was doing it all wrong.

You're deleting their capacity to develop an awareness of other answers to problems.

You're removing that source of natural creativity.

You're also removing the pressure on them to try and find that perspective to solve those other problems.

And so this entire part of their brain is just atrophying at the exact critical moment when, as human beings, we're supposed to have it and it's supposed to come online.

This is devastating.

This has been a devastating conversation.

Yeah, I'm sure.

When we come back, my grand unified theory of paw patrol.

In today's super competitive business environment, the edge goes to those who push harder, move faster, and level up every tool in their arsenal.

T-Mobile knows all about that.

They're now the best network, according to the experts at an OOCLA Speed Test, and they're using that network to launch Supermobile, the first and only business plan to combine intelligent performance, built-in security, and seamless satellite coverage.

With Supermobile, your performance, security, and coverage are supercharged.

With a network that adapts in real time, your business stays operating at peak capacity even in times of high demand.

With built-in security on the first nationwide 5G advanced network, you keep private data private for you, your team, your clients.

And with seamless coverage from the world's largest satellite-to-mobile constellation, your whole team can text and stay updated even when they're off the grid.

That's your business, supercharged.

Learn more at supermobile.com.

Seamless coverage with compatible devices in most outdoor areas in the U.S.

where you can see the sky.

Best network based on analysis by UCLA of Speed Test Intelligence Data 1H 2025.

The Olympic Games have come a long way since the first one in 776 BC.

In fact, those Olympic Games weren't even games.

It was the Olympic game, as there was only one race, a straight 630-foot sprint.

By 67 AD, chariot racing had become a big event, so big that the Emperor Nero competed.

And even though he was thrown from his chariot and couldn't finish, he was nonetheless declared the winner.

It's good to be king.

One thing that hasn't changed is the importance of quality sleep to an athlete's performance.

Which is why Satfa is so proud to have been named the official mattress and restorative sleep provider for the U.S.

Olympic and Para-Olympic teams.

No one knows more about restorative sleep than Satva.

Each one of their mattresses is designed to provide the kind of sleep elite athletes need to perform at their peak.

Of course, you don't have to be an elite athlete to benefit from sleeping well.

Being human is the only requirement.

Visit SATFA.com slash Gladwell to save up to $200 on a $1,000 or more purchase.

That's S-A-A-T-V-A.com/slash Gladwell.

American Military University is the number one provider of education to our military and veterans in the country.

They offer something truly unique: special rates and grants for the entire family, making education affordable not just for those who serve, but also for their loved ones.

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Visit amu.apus.edu/slash military to learn more.

That's amu.apus.edu slash military.

I said way back in the beginning that there was an important clue in my conversation with the creators of the Paw Patrol movies.

Something crucial to understanding my stubborn affection for the Paw Patrol franchise.

Something about University Avenue.

Remember that?

You might have wondered what University Avenue I was referring to.

Well, it's the one in Toronto.

University Avenue is one of the central boulevards that runs through downtown Toronto.

It is the Broadway of Toronto.

In the Paw Patrol movie, it appears as a little visual clue that tells you something crucially important about Ryder and his band of merry pups.

Something I realized as I prepared to respond to Angus' attacks that even the mighty Angus had missed.

Now...

But wait, now I feel...

Angus, your arguments are so compelling and overwhelming.

I feel foolish in offering my defense of Paw Patrol.

But

I feel I should do it anyway.

The key to understanding Paw Patrol, so this is

the alternate Paw Patrol theory.

And the key to the alternate Paw Patrol theory is understanding that it is a Canadian show.

Paw Patrol is conceived, made, and distributed from my home country of Canada.

It is as Canadian as maple syrup, as Canadian as a flock of geese streaking across the sky.

And what Paw Patrol is doing is enacting a fantasy of municipal competence, which is absolutely essential to understanding what,

understanding Canada.

That's what Canada is, right?

Is a country which has,

which has formed, what is the, you know, the essential credo of the United States is life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, an individualist credo.

What is the parallel credo of Canada that was embedded in the Canadian Articles of Confederation?

It is peace, order, and good government.

Right?

What is Paw Patrol?

Paw Patrol is an homage.

It is the elaboration of the notion of peace, order, and good government.

And the key thing in the Paw Patrol song at the very beginning, they go, Paw Patrol, Paw Patrol, whenever you're in trouble, Paw Patrol, Paw Patrol, we'll be there on the double.

That's crucial.

It is that not only

is every problem assessed, but every problem is addressed in a timely manner, in an efficient, competent manner.

So that what Paw Patrol is all about is that this is in Canadian terms what we want our state to do, right?

It is to, and what is Paw Patrol?

itself?

It is,

it's an example of interagency cooperation, right?

Chase the police dog, Marshall, the firefighter, Sky the pilot, Rubble the contractor, all working together.

Very Canadian notion.

That

if only we join hands and cooperate across disciplines, we can more effectively address the social ills that plague us.

It's just Canada.

So what my daughter is getting is

essentially Canada.

Yeah, well, I mean, I've seen on the news how perfect things are in Canada, Malcolm.

So you don't have to convince me.

It's a utopian land where everything works out.

There's

no problems with

settlements or anything.

It's a comparative judgment.

This point about the centrality of public sector competence to the Canadian identity is worth a bit of a digression.

It concerns the 1991 hit single from the band Crash Test Dummies.

Perhaps you remember it.

It was called Superman's song, and it turns on a sociological comparison of Tarzan and Superman.

He just come along and scoop my bunger his arm like that.

Quick as a cat in the jungle.

Superman, the song argues, is Tarzan's antithesis.

He's not some rapacious profiteer.

Superman never made any money for saving the world from Solomon Grundy.

And sometimes I despair the world will never see another

man

like him.

This is how the lead singer for the Crush Test Dummies Brad Roberts explained his thinking to a college newspaper.

Quote, Superman, as cast in Superman's song, is obviously a left-wing political figure.

His activity in the community is intrinsic to his being.

Superman is being juxtaposed against Tarzan, who is kind of a laissez-faire capitalist type, who retreats to the forest and rejects the idea of the community.

He wants to live in a so-called animal state, and he doesn't want to be bothered with any kind of political realities.

Unquote.

First of all, how great great is it that rock stars once talked like this?

Second, on the basis of this argument, where do you think the Crash Test dummies are from?

It's obvious.

Canada, of course.

This is a song that could only have been written by a Canadian.

Only a Canadian would find something utterly reprehensible in Tarzan's naked displays of strength and brute force.

And only a Canadian would look long and hard at Superman and conclude, he's one of us.

Listen.

Any bank in the United States, meaning Superman, is at a place below the border where the expectation is he will use his gifts for his own selfish ends.

The superhero who puts his community first stands for peace, order, and good government.

The forest, clearly referring to anything below the 49th parallel.

But P

stayed in the city

and kept on changing clothes and dirty old phone booths till his work was through.

And nothing to do but go home home.

He stayed in the city working out of decrepit phone booths because he believed super strength and superpowers ought to be deployed on behalf of the public good.

When I see Superman, I think

he's a Paw Patrol character.

Before we got hooked on Paw Patrol, my daughter and I watched Minnie's Bow Toons, equally absurdly popular short cartoons about a small business run by a Minnie Mouse and her best friend and maybe lover, I'm unclear on that, Daisy Duck, devoted to selling bows, a boutique.

And yes, the theme song is as good as you might imagine.

Every episode of Botoons also begins with a problem, which the episode resolves through Minnie's ingenuity and persistence.

That gives me an idea.

But who is the beneficiary of Minnie's ingenuity?

Minnie is.

Minnie and her considerable business interests.

There is no community in Minnie Mouse's bow toons, no civic obligations.

There is only the profit that ensues to Minnie and her shareholders.

There's no business like bow business.

All of this made me think that the first lines of Saul Bellows' novel.

The adventures of Auggie March, maybe the most famous opening sentence in all of American literature.

Quote, I am an American, Chicago-born, Chicago that somber city, and go at things as I have taught myself, freestyle, and will make the record in my own way, first to knock, first admitted, sometimes an innocent knock, sometimes a not so innocent, unquote.

That's Minnie Mouse in a nutshell.

Minnie is American, Disney-born.

Minnie is for Minnie.

Minnie is about life, liberty, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

But do you know the dirty little secret about Saul Bellow?

He was a Canadian.

And I wouldn't be surprised if, in an earlier version of Augie March, Saul Bellow admitted to the truth of his birthright.

I am a Canadian, Toronto-born, Toronto that clean and tidy city, and we go at things as I have been taught by the civic institutions of my municipality.

Through cooperation and interagency task forces first to respond first to apologize always an innocent knock

angus fletcher genius in residence made lots of very good points but did he deal with the elephants in the room tarzan mini mouse salbello he did not i'm simply saying that i'm understanding where this notion, the notion of the new comedy is so implicit in the Canadian national narrative.

That's what it is.

There are no real problems in Canada.

Canada is this oasis.

We're surrounded by countries with real problems.

Not Canada.

We don't pick fights with people.

We don't have racism.

We welcome immigrants.

We have national health care.

Canada is the embodiment of the promise of the new comedy.

Every problem can be simply addressed through some interagency task force, right?

So my daughter is just getting a, she's just getting a little bit of Canadian propaganda.

That's how I would read it.

Angus said the Paw Patrol's problem was that it was vacuous agon.

Paw Patrol's weakness was that it constantly presented its little viewers with a problem solved at the moment of its presentation.

But when I look around me at the world, all I can say is, I don't know.

I could use a little more vacuous agon in my life right now.

A world where there is a puppy optimized for every kind of peril, where help arrives at the very moment it is summoned, where the heroes work not to benefit themselves but the community in which they live.

Where the definition of a superman is someone who turns down the opportunity to rob every bank and instead toils on behalf of his countrymen.

As a fantasy, an aspiration to plant in my daughter's head here and now,

that doesn't sound too bad.

Whatever there is album, on adventure day.

Robert is the team of cups.

We'll go and see today.

Marshall, Robo, Chase, Rocky, Zoo, and Sky.

Momento, popular.

Revisionist History is produced by Nina Bird Lawrence, Lucy Sullivan, and Ben Nadaf Haffrey.

Our editor is Karen Shikurji.

Fact-checking by Sam Russik.

Engineering by Nina Bird Lawrence.

Mixing and mastering by Echo Mountain.

Production support from Luke Lamon.

Our executive producer is Jacob Smith.

Special thanks to Sarah Nix and El Hefe, Greta Kong.

I'm Malcolm Gladwell.

My daughter made this whole episode possible.

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