Book · 2006 · Medical
The Genius Factory
The Curious History of the Nobel Prize Sperm Bank
- mentions
- 1
- person
- 1
- podcast
- 1
- episode
- 1
- recommendation
- 1
So, I have brought The Genius Factory by David Plots, which is the story of one mad eugenicist millionaire who decides that the way to solve all of America's problem is to get lots of Nobel Prize winners to donate their sperm...
Why people recommend it
The Genius Factory by David Plotz is a non-fiction book that recounts the history of a controversial repository established by a wealthy eugenicist to collect genetic material from Nobel Prize winners in an attempt to engineer gifted children. Helen Lewis recommended this compelling work as her final book suggestion on The Ezra Klein Show in June 2026. During the podcast discussion, Lewis described the book as the narrative of a mad eugenicist millionaire who determined that the solution to America's various problems involved persuading numerous Nobel laureates to donate their sperm to create a superior generation. Plotz's investigation delves into the bizarre origins, execution, and ultimate outcomes of this ambitious and ethically fraught social experiment. By bringing up the book during her conversation with Ezra Klein, Lewis underscored the fascinating and disturbing nature of this historical episode, illustrating the lengths to which individuals have gone in pursuit of utopian eugenic goals and the complex questions these endeavors raise about genetics, intelligence, and human engineering.
Every mention
Helen Lewis So, I have brought The Genius Factory by David Plots, which is the story of one mad eugenicist millionaire… 1
“So, I have brought The Genius Factory by David Plots, which is the story of one mad eugenicist millionaire who decides that the way to solve all of America's problem is to get lots of Nobel Prize winners to donate their sperm...”
