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Think from KERA

Best of Think '25: What makes a genius

Think from KERA

KERA

Society & Culture, 071003, Think, Krysboyd, Kera

4.7911 Ratings

🗓️ 29 December 2025

⏱️ 47 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Acing that Mensa test might not be the definite sign of genius you think it is. Helen Lewis is a staff writer at The Atlantic and host of the BBC podcast series “The New Gurus” and “Helen Lewis Has Left the Chat”. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why the very idea of “genius” is a social construct, why the label excludes as much as it includes, and why it’s time to look at creativity in a new way. Her book is “The Genius Myth: A Curious History of a Dangerous Idea.

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Transcript

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0:00.0

Have you heard about OMG? Yes. This is a website the New York Times wirecutter featured as one of their most popular gifts. And for good reason, it presents new findings from the largest ever research study into women's pleasure and intimacy. In partnership with researchers at Yale and at Indiana University, they asked tens of thousands of women what they

0:21.6

wished they and their partners had discovered sooner. They found the patterns in those

0:26.2

discoveries and all that wisdom and intimacy is organized as hundreds of short videos,

0:31.6

animations, and how-toes. When you see OMG, yes, you might understand why wirecutter recommended it.

0:38.2

It is warm, honest, and has regular women talking about real experiences.

0:42.7

It's truly eye-opening.

0:44.8

See for yourself at omgyes.com.

0:47.3

That's OMGS.com. Everybody loves a genius story.

1:02.1

Whether somebody's gifts are of the Stephen Hawking or Steve Jobs or Tina Turner variety,

1:07.0

they make impossible stuff look easy and they let us off the hook.

1:10.8

Like we cannot possibly

1:12.1

be expected to measure ourselves against their almost miraculous achievements.

1:16.6

But is genius, a supernatural state or a social construct?

1:21.5

From KERA in Dallas, this is think.

1:24.3

I'm Chris Boyd.

1:25.6

My guest believes that who gets called a genius has more to do with

1:29.2

us than them. It's an indicator of what a society finds valuable. And the way we usually tell

1:34.4

the stories of geniuses is interesting as much for the details we leave out as for the ones we

1:39.3

memorize. Helen Lewis is a staff writer at the Atlantic and host and co-host of numerous podcasts,

1:45.7

including the new gurus and Helen Lewis has left the chat.

1:49.1

Her book is called The Genius Myth, a curious history of a dangerous idea.

1:53.4

All this week we're listening back to our favorite shows of 2025, and it seems we're not

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