Past Episodes
Feb. 21, 2025
Magic Theater of the Mind : Hesse's Exploration of the Subconscious
In this episode of The Mad Genius Thesis Podcast , we explore Gunnar Decker’s biography of Hermann Hesse, a deep dive into the life and mind of the author of Steppenwolf and The Glass Bead Game . Hesse’s work is a testament t...
Feb. 20, 2025
The Addictive Spotlight : Maria Callas and the Perils of Fame
In this episode of The Mad Genius Thesis Podcast , we explore Maria Callas: The Woman Behind the Legend by Arianna Huffington, an intimate look at the opera icon’s extraordinary talent and turbulent inner world. Callas was mo...
Feb. 20, 2025
The Daemon Knows – Genius, Inspiration, and the American Sublime
In this episode of The Mad Genius Thesis Podcast , we explore The Daemon Knows by Harold Bloom, a deep dive into the mystical force of daemonic inspiration in American literature. Bloom examines how twelve literary giants—inc...
Feb. 20, 2025
Tolstoy's Torment : Mental Anguish and Creative Genius
In this episode of The Mad Genius Thesis Podcast , we explore Tolstoy: A Biography by A. N. Wilson, an in-depth look at the life, philosophy, and creative genius of Leo Tolstoy. From his aristocratic origins to his dramatic s...
Feb. 20, 2025
From Melancholia to Depression – How Psychiatry Redefined Mood Disorders
In this episode of The Mad Genius Thesis Podcast , we explore From Melancholia to Depression by Åsa Jansson, a deep dive into the 19th-century transformation of mental health diagnoses. We discuss how melancholia evolved into...
Feb. 20, 2025
Melancholy and Genius – The Eighteenth-Century View of Creative Despair
In this episode of The Mad Genius Thesis Podcast , we examine Melancholy Experience in Literature of the Long Eighteenth Century , a fascinating exploration of how melancholy and depression were understood, represented, and t...
Feb. 20, 2025
Camille Paglia : Order and Chaos in the Creative Psyche
In this episode of The Mad Genius Thesis Podcast , we explore Sexual Personae by Camille Paglia, a bold analysis of Western art, sexuality, and the tension between order and chaos. Paglia argues that creativity thrives in the...
Feb. 20, 2025
From Ecstasy to Despair: The Two Sides of Isadora Duncan
Was Isadora Duncan’s radical approach to dance a product of pure genius, or did it emerge from personal turmoil and defiance of societal norms? In this episode of The Mad Genius Thesis , we explore Done into Dance: Isadora Du...
Feb. 20, 2025
Emily Dickinson : "I felt a Funeral, in my Brain"
Was Emily Dickinson’s legendary isolation a conscious choice, or a sign of deeper mental struggles? In this episode of The Mad Genius Thesis , we explore Emily Dickinson: A Literary Life by Linda Wagner-Martin, examining how ...
Feb. 20, 2025
Emperor of Eccentricity : Exploring the Mind of Howard Hughes
Was Howard Hughes a visionary entrepreneur, or was his brilliance ultimately consumed by his own mind? In this episode of The Mad Genius Thesis , we explore Empire: The Life, Legend, and Madness of Howard Hughes by Donald L. ...
Feb. 20, 2025
"Coldness & Desertion of the Spirit": Hume's Dark Night of the Soul
Was David Hume’s philosophical genius shaped by his battles with doubt and melancholy? In this episode of The Mad Genius Thesis , we explore David Hume: A Biography by Ernest Campbell Mossner, examining how Hume’s skepticism,...
Feb. 20, 2025
Hitchcock's Gaze: Vision, Voyeurism, and the Watching Birds
Was Alfred Hitchcock’s cinematic brilliance fueled by his own psychological darkness? In this episode of The Mad Genius Thesis , we explore The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock by Donald Spoto, uncovering how...
Feb. 19, 2025
'My Hideous Progeny': Mary Shelley, Mental Torment, and the Birth of a Monster
Was Mary Shelley’s literary genius born from inspiration, or was it forged in struggle? In this episode of The Mad Genius Thesis , we explore the life and mind of Mary Shelley, examining how personal tragedy, intellectual amb...
Feb. 19, 2025
What if the Right Brain was the Master and the Left Brain was his Emissary?
Does the structure of our brain shape the course of human creativity? In this episode of The Mad Genius Thesis , we explore The Master and His Emissary by Iain McGilchrist, examining the profound influence of the brain’s hemi...
Feb. 19, 2025
Melancholy and the Muse: Lincoln's Depression and Creative Leadership
Did Abraham Lincoln’s struggles shape his extraordinary leadership and creativity? In this episode of The Mad Genius Thesis , we explore David Herbert Donald’s biography of Lincoln, uncovering how personal hardship, depressio...
Feb. 19, 2025
Creative Illness : Jung and the Red Book
Was Carl Jung’s Red Book a descent into madness or a revolutionary act of creative genius? In this episode of The Mad Genius Thesis , we explore C.G. Jung's Red Book: Journey into Analytical Psychology by Walter Boechat, exam...
Feb. 19, 2025
Recycling Trauma : Autobiography in the plays of Tennessee Williams
Was Tennessee Williams’ brilliance inseparable from his personal demons? In this episode of The Mad Genius Thesis , we explore Tennessee Williams: Everyone Else is an Audience by Ronald Hayman, examining the intersection of h...
Feb. 19, 2025
The Agony and the 'Origin': Darwin's Journey Through Illness and Inspiration.
Was Charles Darwin’s scientific genius shaped by his struggles, or was his creativity a product of collaboration and perseverance? In this episode of The Mad Genius Thesis , we explore Charles Darwin: The Power of Place by Ja...
Feb. 19, 2025
Five Ways Split: The Fragmented Genius of Judy Garland
Was Judy Garland’s immense talent inseparable from her personal struggles? In this episode of The Mad Genius Thesis , we explore Get Happy: The Life of Judy Garland by Gerald Clarke, examining how fame, pressure, and addictio...
Feb. 19, 2025
Oliver and Indra discuss the history of the Mad Genius Myth
Is creative genius fueled by suffering, or have we been mythologizing pain all along? In this episode of The Mad Genius Thesis , we explore the origins of the mad genius stereotype, tracing it from the Dionysian revelry of an...
Feb. 18, 2025
Nothing Was the Same: A Memoir by Kay Redfield Jamison
How does grief shape the mind of a creative genius? In this episode of The Mad Genius Thesis , we explore Nothing Was the Same by Kay Redfield Jamison, a deeply personal memoir about love, loss, and resilience. Jamison reflec...
Feb. 18, 2025
An Unquiet Mind by Kay Redfield Jamison
Can mental illness fuel creativity, or does it threaten to destroy it? In this episode of The Mad Genius Thesis , we explore An Unquiet Mind by Kay Redfield Jamison, a raw and deeply personal account of living with manic-depr...
Feb. 18, 2025
Shadow Behind the Spotlight: Marilyn Monroe’s Genius and Pain
Was Marilyn Monroe’s captivating brilliance shaped by her struggles, or did fame amplify her inner turmoil? This episode of The Mad Genius Thesis explores Marilyn Monroe: The Biography by Donald Spoto, uncovering the complex ...
Feb. 18, 2025
Holden's Breakdown: Mental Health in Salinger's World
Did J.D. Salinger’s literary brilliance come at the cost of his mental well-being? This episode of The Mad Genius Thesis explores Kenneth Slawenski’s biography of Salinger, tracing the complex relationship between his creativ...