
The Genius Myth
A Curious History of a Dangerous Idea
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Narrated by:
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Helen Lewis
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By:
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Helen Lewis
About this listen
From acclaimed Atlantic staff writer and host of BBC’s podcast “The New Gurus” Helen Lewis comes a timely and provocative interrogation of the myth of genius, exploring the surprising inventions, inspirations and distortions by which some lives are elevated to 'greatness'—and others are not
*A Guardian, Financial Times, New Statesman and GQ Book for 2025*
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. In The Genius Myth, Helen Lewis unearths how this one word has shaped (and distorted) our ideas of success and achievement.
Ultimately, argues Lewis, the modern idea of genius—a single preternaturally gifted individual, usually white and male, exempt from social niceties and sometimes even the law—has run its course. Braiding deep research with her signature wit and lightness, Lewis dissects past and present models of genius in the West, and reveals a far deeper and more interesting picture of human creativity than conventional wisdom allows. She uncovers a battalion of overlooked wives and collaborators. She asks whether most inventions are inevitable. She wonders if the Beatles would succeed today. And she confronts the vexing puzzle of Elon Musk, the tech disrupter who fancies himself as an ubermensch.
Smart, funny, and provocative, The Genius Myth will challenge your assumptions about creativity, productivity, and innovation—and forever alter your mental image of the so-called “genius.”
©2025 Helen Lewis (P)2025 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
“By degrees unsettling, amusing, and prescient; a much-needed audit of a consuming idea”—Kirkus Review
"A brilliant, timely and compulsively readable book. With her characteristic combination of deep reporting and lightness of touch, Helen Lewis shows how the idea of genius has warped our understanding of human creativity–and why people of vast accomplishment in one domain can prove so destructively clueless in others."—Oliver Burkeman, author of Four Thousand Weeks
"A hilarious and thoughtful take-down of the ways we idolize brilliant assholes in science, art and business. Necessary reading."—Scott Galloway, Professor of Marketing, NYU Stern and Co-host of the Pivot and Prof G Markets podcasts
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We rely on our intuition, even though we don’t fully understand what it is, how it works, or if we can even trust it. In this fresh, mind-opening book, Elizabeth Greenwood takes us on a sweeping investigation into the subject, exploring how, in our data-driven world, we can harness intuition in our day-to-day lives. Digging deep into her personal experience as well as insights from neuroscience, psychology, feminist texts, psychics, and everyday people with extraordinary intuitive ability, Greenwood explores what we know about intuition.
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Love this book!
- By Paulette P. on 05-18-25
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Lions and Scavengers
- The True Story of America (and Her Critics)
- By: Ben Shapiro
- Narrated by: Ben Shapiro
- Length: 8 hrs
- Unabridged
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#1 New York Times bestselling author Ben Shapiro examines the current state of America and Western civilization, and poses a question: will we be Lions, or will we be Scavengers? In Lions and Scavengers, Shapiro invites you to take up the mantle of the Lion and defend the principles that shape the freedom of a fair, powerful society. With the stakes higher than ever, this book is a gripping exploration of the ongoing war between those who cherish our nation and those who seek to undermine it.
By: Ben Shapiro
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Race Against Terror
- Chasing an Al Qaeda Killer at the Dawn of the Forever War
- By: Jake Tapper
- Narrated by: Jake Tapper
- Length: 9 hrs
- Unabridged
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June 2011: a man fleeing the Arab Spring on a refugee boat surrenders himself to Italian authorities. He claims that, as a terrorist, he is responsible for the deaths of American soldiers. This unexpected surrender sets off an unlikely chain of events and one of the most significant, but little-known, cases in American history.
By: Jake Tapper
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The CIA Book Club
- The Secret Mission to Win the Cold War with Forbidden Literature
- By: Charlie English
- Narrated by: Michael David Axtell
- Length: 10 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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For almost five decades after the Second World War, the Iron Curtain divided Europe, standing as the longest and most heavily guarded border on earth. With the risk of nuclear annihilation too high for physical combat, conflict was reserved for the psychological sphere. No one understood this battle of hearts, minds, and intellects more clearly than Bucharest-born George Minden, the head of a covert intelligence operation known as the “CIA books program.” This initiative aimed to win the Cold War with literature.
By: Charlie English
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The Aviator and the Showman
- Amelia Earhart, George Putnam, and the Marriage That Made an American Icon
- By: Laurie Gwen Shapiro
- Narrated by: Stefanie Powers
- Length: 13 hrs
- Unabridged
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In 1928, a young social worker and hobby pilot named Amelia Earhart arrived in the office of George Putnam, heir to the Putnam & Sons throne and hitmaker, on the hunt for the right woman for a secret flying mission across the Atlantic. A partnership—professional and soon otherwise—was born.
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Black Lamb and Gray Falcon
- By: Rebecca West
- Length: 39 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Written on the brink of World War II, Rebecca West’s classic examination of the history, people, and politics of Yugoslavia illuminates a region that is still a focus of international concern. A magnificent blend of travel journal, cultural commentary, and historical insight, Black Lamb and Grey Falcon probes the troubled history of the Balkans and the uneasy relationships among its ethnic groups. The landscape and the people of Yugoslavia are brilliantly observed as West untangles the tensions that rule the country’s history as well as its daily life.
By: Rebecca West
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The Ambition Trap
- How to Stop Chasing and Start Living
- By: Amina AlTai, Rachel Rodgers
- Narrated by: Amina AlTai, Maria Shriver
- Length: 6 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Most of us think ambition means doing everything in our power to get what we want. But this approach costs us our health and wellbeing, and ultimately upholds oppressive systems. In The Ambition Trap, leadership coach Amina AlTai shows you how to break the cycle of overwork once and for all—and finally create the greatest, most joy-filled work of your life.
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Purposeful, Powerful, and Exactly What I Needed
- By Anna on 06-18-25
By: Amina AlTai, and others