Helen Lewis on Dead Parents, Paper Animals, And The Politics of Genius

The Gist

Mike Pesca

News, Politics, Arts, Daily News

4.4 • 3.6K Ratings

🗓️ 17 June 2025

⏱️ 45 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Helen Lewis discusses The Genius Myth: A Curious History of a Dangerous Idea, her critique of how society defines—and distorts—the concept of genius. From Hans Eysenck’s wildly specific formula (preferably Jewish, born in February, lose a parent before age 10) to Picasso denying his granddaughter a paper animal because “this is the work of Picasso,” Lewis explores how mythmaking inflates flawed men into icons. Plus, negotiations aren't the goal—the goal is the goal. Negotiations are just a way to get there (or not). Produced by Corey WaraProduction Coordinator Ashley KhanEmail us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠To advertise on the show, contact ⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠ or visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe to The Gist: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: ⁠⁠⁠⁠GIST INSTAGRAM⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow The Gist List at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Pesca⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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0:29.9	Tomorrow we are going live on Substack with Nate Silver. Nate is the guy who invented 538, not just the numbers, no, the numbers.
0:39.7	And also, he has a very good Trump popularity tracker.
0:44.0	I want to see how he did after the parade, after the No Kings rally.
0:48.4	He's really good, Nate is, in terms of analyzing things like what the Democrats might be doing better to appeal to
0:56.0	regular voters. I think we'll also weigh in on the New York mayoral primary. That's kind of
1:01.5	interesting. No, isn't it? Indeed it is. Nate Silver knows what he's talking about. I'm going to get
1:07.7	him on Substack live from Las Vegas because he's not just a political expert. He's also very good at poker. I'm going to get him on Substack live from Las Vegas because he's not just a political
1:12.5	expert. He's also very good at poker. Why don't we talk about the NBA finals as well? Go to
1:17.9	Mike Peska.substack.com to sign up for free and to see me and Nate Silver 1230 p.m. Eastern
1:25.7	Wednesday. Well, it's pretty early in the morning, Las Vegas time.
1:32.3	It's Tuesday, June 17th, 2025 from Peach Fish Productions.
1:36.4	It's the gist I'm Mike Peska.
1:38.8	Negotiations are good, according to diplomats.
1:42.3	Well, they give diplomats jobs. But I will say this as a counterpoint.
1:47.4	Negotiations, talks, diplomacy are only good or bad as they relate to the achievement of a policy
1:55.2	goal. We understood this in Trump's first term. He always talked about what's wrong with talks
2:00.4	with the North Koreans?
	...

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