Does the Label ‘Genius’ Do More Harm than Good?

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KQED

Politics, News, News Commentary

4.6 • 656 Ratings

🗓️ 16 July 2025

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

“You can tell what a culture values by who it labels a genius—and also what it is prepared to tolerate. The Renaissance had its great artists. The Romantics lionized androgynous, tubercular poets. Today we are in thrall to tech innovators and brilliant jerks in Silicon Valley.” So writes Atlantic staff writer Helen Lewis in her new book, “The Genius Myth: A Curious History of a Dangerous Idea.” Lewis analyzes how the “genius” label is disproportionately applied to white men, often acting as an excuse for antisocial behavior. She joins us to share why she thinks we could all be more honest about the role history and collaboration play in any individual’s accomplishments—and the good that comes from allowing fewer lone wolves to make decisions on our collective behalf. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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0:00.0	Comcast business can help turn small businesses into reliably up and running,
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0:14.9	Support for KQED podcasts comes from the San Jose Museum of Art.
0:19.6	Photographer Paul Ho-Hare explores homeland and family among her Hmong American community.
0:25.8	See the imaginative landscape.
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0:32.9	From K-Q-E-D.
0:49.9	Thank you. From KQED. From KQED in San Francisco, I'm Mina Kim.
0:53.2	Coming up on forum, Who deserves to be called
0:55.6	a Genius? In her new book exploring that question, Helen Lewis reminds us the label has been
1:01.0	disproportionately applied to white men, obscuring the role that collaborators, social conditions,
1:06.8	and luck play. And if, as Lewis says, who we label a genius reveals what a culture values, what does it
1:14.0	mean that these days we seem to be applying it to, quote, brilliant jerks in Silicon Valley?
1:19.3	Lewis joins us to explore the genius myth, a curious history of a dangerous idea, which is the title of her book.
1:26.8	Join us.
2:19.1	Music a dangerous idea, which is the title of her book. Join us. you know, Welcome to Forum. I'm Mina Kim. It's hard to find a better example of what's wrong with our modern idea of genius than Elon Musk, according to Helen Lewis, who starts her book called The Genius Myth, this way. I apologize in advance. There is nowhere to start this book except with Elon Musk.
2:27.0	Someone who might have gone down in history as a space pioneer who tried to get humanity
2:30.6	to Mars, or as the innovator who made owning an electric car seem like an adventure
2:35.5	rather than a penance? In other words, a genius. Instead, she writes, he has lived long enough
2:41.2	to be considered a villain, at least a liberals. Helen Lewis is staff writer at The Atlantic
2:46.2	where she writes about politics and culture. Welcome to Forum, Helen.
2:52.1	Hello.
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