WorkLife: The myth of genius with Helen Lewis
Worklife with Adam Grant
TED
4.8 • 9.4K Ratings
🗓️ 19 August 2025
⏱️ 38 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
What does it mean to be a genius? Journalist Helen Lewis is the author of the new book The Genius Myth, which offers a provocative analysis of how we put brainiacs on a pedestal. In this episode, Helen and Adam unpack our cultural myths about geniuses and explore the dangers of treating them like demigods. They also discuss what Helen learned from the wives of male geniuses and how child prodigies can avoid struggling as adults.
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Host: Adam Grant (Instagram: @adamgrant | LinkedIn: @adammgrant | Website: adamgrant.net/)
Guest: Helen Lewis (Website: theatlantic.com/author/helen-lewis/)
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Transcript
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