Episode · Behind the Bastards · 2026-09-17
Books mentioned on Part Four: Francis Galton: Inventor of Eugenics
We conclude the story of Francis Galton and explore all the hideous ways his ideas helped inspire eugenic laws around the world, and ultimately the Holocaust. Sources: https://www.
Robert Evans discussed A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of the Norwood Builder by Arthur Conan Doyle, and Hereditary Genius by Francis Galton.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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A Study in Scarlet
A Study in Scarlet is Arthur Conan Doyle's foundational 1887 detective novel that introduced the legendary fictional character Sherlock Holmes to the reading public.
Discussed“by the fact that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle published his first Sherlock Holmes book, a study in Scarlet in 1887.”
Where to get it
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The Adventure of the Norwood Builder
Discussed“So, in 1903, Arthur Conan Doyle published The Adventure of the Norwood Builder, which is a homes mystery that hinged around like like the big point, like the the the big like twist in this is that like they they find evidence that a guy did a murder based on like a fingerprint and then Holmes is able to prove”
Where to get it
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Hereditary Genius
Hereditary Genius by Francis Galton is an 1869 book that attempts to rank people by lettered classes while arguing that human intelligence and success are entirely heritable.
Discussed“At the end of his autobiography, he states his opinion that time is only proven had only proven the claims he made in hereditary genius 45 years earlier even more correct. He reprinted a segment of that book.”
Where to get it
