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“Can you keep a secret?”
It’s harder than it seems – after all, it’s only human to thirst after the juicy updates, jaw-dropping stories, and idle chatter that we typically collect over drinks with friends.
No one knows this better than journalist Kelsey McKinney, whose Normal Gossip podcast has accrued a listenership of millions. In YOU DIDN''T HEAR THIS FROM ME, McKinney explores the murkiness of everyday storytelling.
What even is gossip, and why is it considered a sin? Why are we obsessed with the details of celebrity drama and tabloid headlines? How do we use and abuse gossip – and why do we want to do it at all?
McKinney dives deep into a range of cultural cornerstones – from the Epic of Gilgamesh as told by chatbots, to the scandalous betrayals in The Traitors – and captures the heart of gossiping: how enchanting and fun it can be to lean over and whisper something a little salacious into your friend’s ear.
With wit and honesty, McKinney unmasks what we''re actually searching for when we demand to know the truth – and how much the truth really matters in the first place.<>
About the author
Kelsey McKinney
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McKinney has written this book to prove that gossip isn't just bitchy women with raised eyebrows exchanging each other's secrets like currency. It's a vital means of communication, and part of an ancient tradition of oral storytelling...This book is not simply a manual for those who like to harvest facts about their former friends on Facebook. Sure, it uses the Barbie film as a serious scientific case study, but it's also sharp-witted and thoroughly researched. There's history, theology, legal cases, a detailed physiology of the ear. Most usefully, McKinney convincingly proves that gossiping is a legitimate part of modern life The Times
