The Disappearing Spoon: a science history podcast with Sam Kean · Sam Kean, Bleav
The Sad Story of Darwin’s Self-Procleimed “Stupidest” Child
April 22, 2025·19 min·1 clip
Leonard Darwin believed 'a man who can earn and keep money shows he has the qualities essential to survival,' dismissing artists and philosophers as sentimental nonsense.
As heard by us
Leonard Darwin's family inheritance becomes a study of how heredity hardened into eugenic public life.
Leonard Darwin enters the story as a 12-year-old newly at school, already aware that other children are whispering about his father's controversial book.
Why you'd press play
You get a half-crown wager that opens onto Leonard Darwin's grim turn toward eugenics.
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