Elon and the Genius Trap
June 12, 2025
35 min
132
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302 of 364
Episode 132 · June 12, 2025
Elon and the Genius Trap
0:00 / 35:33
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The Atlantic Episodes Around June 12, 2025
Episode 302 of 364 — walk the feed in the order it was published.
35:33This episodeElon and the Genius Trap
Summary
Explaining how Musk tanked his reputation has many ways: First, he alienated environmentalists by teaming up with Trump, and then he alienated Trump fans by insulting their hero. Another way is clear by looking at American culture’s historical relationship with “genius,” and how it tends to go wrong.
In this episode, we talk with Helen Lewis, author of The Genius Myth: A Curious History of a Dangerous Idea, about what Musk has in common with Thomas Edison, how psychedelics fit into the archetype, and what the possible paths are for Musk moving forward.
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