 Hachette Audio presents Talking to Strangers, written and read by Malcolm Gladwell. Talking to strangers, what we should know about the people we don't know. For Graham Gladwell, 1934 to 2017. What you are about to hear is a different kind of audiobook. This is a book about strangers and what it means to understand them, and so I thought it did not make sense to follow the standard practice of just reading my words into a microphone. Instead, whenever possible, when I quote someone, I'll let you hear their words in their voice. When I talk about something that happened in the news whenever possible, I'll let you hear directly what happened. Think of this as an audiobook with the polish of a well-produced podcast, like my own revisionist history, to name just one example. Talking to strangers also has a theme song, Janelle Monnet's Hell You Tom Bout. I was almost finished with my book when I first heard that song, and I thought, I cannot publish Talking to Strangers without it, and so it appears throughout, and I think it sets the tone and theme perfectly, as you will hear. Thank you to Janelle Monnet and her team for lending their music to my words. Introduction Step out of the car In July 2015, a young African American woman named Sandra Bland drove from her hometown of Chicago to a little town an hour west of Houston. She was interviewing for a job at Prairie View A&M University, a school she had graduated from a few years before. She was tall and striking, with a personality to match. She belonged to the Sigma Gamma Rose sorority in college and played in the marching band. She volunteered with a seniors group. She regularly posted short inspirational videos on YouTube. Under the handle, Sandy Speaks. They often began, good morning my beautiful kings and queens. Good afternoon my kings and queens. I am up today just praising God, thanking his name, definitely thanking him, not just because it's my birthday, but thanking him for growth, thanking him for the different things that he has done in my life over this past year, but just looking back. Sample complete, ready to continue?