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The Genius Myth, with Helen Lewis and Armando Iannucci

History &
Social Policy

Is the modern idea of genius — a class of special people — distorting our view of the world?

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, discussed how biographers should solve the ‘Austen Problem’ and revealed 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.

Speakers for the motion

  • Helen Lewis

    Journalist, broadcaster and author of The Genius Myth

Featuring

  • Armando Iannucci

    Writer, satirist and broadcaster

Speakers are subject to change.

Speakers

Speaker

Helen Lewis

Journalist, broadcaster and author of The Genius Myth

Staff writer on The Atlantic and former associate editor of the New Statesman. She presents The Spark on BBC Radio 4, in which she interviews radical thinkers on their solutions to the structural problems of our age and frequently appears on political comedy shows like Have I Got News For You.  Her first book was Difficult Women: A History of Feminism in 11 Fights and her forthcoming title is The Genius Myth. 
Host

Armando Iannucci

Writer, satirist and broadcaster

Writer, satirist and broadcaster who has written, directed and produced numerous critically acclaimed films, television and radio comedy shows. His screenplay for the film 'In The Loop' was nominated for an Oscar at the Academy Awards. His BBC series – 'The Thick of It' – was nominated for 13 BAFTA Awards, winning five during its four-series run. He is also the writer of 'Veep' and co-creator of the popular Steve Coogan character Alan Partridge.  Iannucci is currently working on a stage production of Dr. Strangelove featuring Steve Coogan and coming to the West End in Autumn 2024.