Helen Lewis on why genius is a myth | ReThinking with Adam Grant

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. Follow Host: Adam Grant (Instagram: @adamgrant | LinkedIn: @adammgrant | Website: adamgrant.net/) Guest: Helen Lewis (Website: theatlantic.com/author/helen-lewis/) Links The Genius Myth (https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/803542/the-genius-myth-by-helen-lewis/) Subscribe to TED Instagram: @ted YouTube: @TED TikTok: @tedtoks LinkedIn: @ted-conferences Website: ted.com Podcasts: ted.com/podcasts The TED Audio Collective is a collection of podcasts for the curious. The TED Audio Collective videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy (https://www.ted.com/about/our-organiz...). For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request at https://media-requests.ted.com. 00:00 Intro 00:16 Do geniuses exist? 4:12 Genius throughout history 7:24 Thomas Edison 10:04 Innovation vs. staying in your lane 11:58 What makes a genius? 15:11 The pitfalls of genius 17:20 The wives of male geniuses 22:21 Intelligence vs genius 23:59 When does creativity peak? 25:35 Lightning round 27:39 Advice for child prodigies 30:06 Credits

Helen LewisguestAdam Granthost

Aug 22, 202530mWatch on YouTube ↗

EPISODE INFO

Released: August 22, 2025
Duration: 30m
Channel: Re:Thinking with Adam Grant
Watch on YouTube: ▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

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. Follow Host: Adam Grant (Instagram: @adamgrant | LinkedIn: @adammgrant | Website: adamgrant.net/) Guest: Helen Lewis (Website: theatlantic.com/author/helen-lewis/) Links The Genius Myth (https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/803542/the-genius-myth-by-helen-lewis/) Subscribe to TED Instagram: @ted YouTube: @TED TikTok: @tedtoks LinkedIn: @ted-conferences Website: ted.com Podcasts: ted.com/podcasts The TED Audio Collective is a collection of podcasts for the curious. The TED Audio Collective videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy (https://www.ted.com/about/our-organiz...). For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request at https://media-requests.ted.com. 00:00 Intro 00:16 Do geniuses exist? 4:12 Genius throughout history 7:24 Thomas Edison 10:04 Innovation vs. staying in your lane 11:58 What makes a genius? 15:11 The pitfalls of genius 17:20 The wives of male geniuses 22:21 Intelligence vs genius 23:59 When does creativity peak? 25:35 Lightning round 27:39 Advice for child prodigies 30:06 Credits

SPEAKERS

Helen Lewis
guest
Journalist and author of the book The Genius Myth.
Adam Grant
host
Organizational psychologist and host of ReThinking with Adam Grant.

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Re:Thinking with Adam Grant, featuring Helen Lewis and Adam Grant, Helen Lewis on why genius is a myth | ReThinking with Adam Grant explores why ‘genius’ stories mislead us about creativity, success, and support Lewis argues that “genius” is often mythology—clean narratives like Newton’s apple that turn real biographies into marketable legends.

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