The Genius Myth, with Helen Lewis and Armando Iannucci (Part Two)

Intelligence Squared

Arts, News, Society & Culture, News Commentary

4.2 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 1 July 2025

⏱️ 37 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The tortured poet. The rebellious scientist. The monstrous artist. The tech disruptor. You can tell what a society values by who it labels as a genius. You can also tell who it excludes, who it enables, and what it is prepared to tolerate. Taking us from the Renaissance Florence of Leonardo da Vinci to the Florida rocket launches of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Helen Lewis joined us to unravel a word that we all use — without really questioning what it means. In conversation with acclaimed satirist and screenwriter Armando Iannucci she drew from her new book 'The Genius Myth' to uncover the secret of the Beatles’ success, discuss how biographers should solve the ‘Austen Problem’ and reveal why Stephen Hawking thought IQ tests were for losers. Lewis and Iannucci asked if the modern idea of genius — a class of special people — is distorting our view of the world. --- If you'd like to become a Member and get access to all our full ad free conversations, plus all of our Members-only content, just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more. For £4.99 per month you'll also receive: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared episodes, wherever you get your podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series - 15% discount on livestreams and in-person tickets for all Intelligence Squared events ... Or Subscribe on Apple for £4.99: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series … Already a subscriber? Thank you for supporting our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations! Visit intelligencesquared.com to explore all your benefits including ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content and early access. … Subscribe to our newsletter here to hear about our latest events, discounts and much more. https://www.intelligencesquared.com/newsletter-signup/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Enough from the Tragl.
0:02.0	Spiele Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 and 4 and grinds as it was 2002.
0:08.0	A legendary remake of original games with 9 parks, crasser tricks, platform-overgreifed multiplayer
0:14.0	and ab-gaffirned new game modi.
0:17.0	Holt you the new Tony Hawks Pro Skater 3 and 4 and
0:20.0	and the world, the Schwed Sturt Sturbed NE. Now, now bestell on Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 and 4 and and the world,
0:21.4	The Shredd Stip Nye.
0:22.9	Now, now
0:24.0	on Tony Hawk the Game.com,
0:25.7	shreckstry, Play Now,
0:27.3	forfugable from the 11th July.
0:30.2	Exclusively on Disney Plus.
0:32.3	It's hard and it's brutal and that's what makes it special.
0:36.4	The multi-award winning series, FX's The Bear, is back for a brand new season.
0:41.3	Upon my signal, unleash hell.
0:44.3	And every second counts.
0:47.3	When that shows zero, this restaurant ceases operations.
0:51.3	FX's the Bear.
0:52.3	New season now streaming exclusively on Disney Plus.
0:57.1	18 plus subscription required season C's apply.
1:00.1	Welcome to Intelligence Squared, where great minds meet.
1:03.7	I'm producer Mia Sorrenti.
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 28 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Intelligence Squared, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Intelligence Squared and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.