IQ Fetishism. Interview with Quinn Slobodian – 13 August 2025

Historian Quinn Slobodian (author of Crack-Up Capitalism, Hayek’s Bastards, and the forthcoming Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed) walks Moira and Adrian through the fate of IQ in late 20th century and early 21st century right wing thought. How did this concept bring together the nationalist right and self-described libertarians? How did it become a load bearing self-identifier for many a “gifted” kid of the 1990s? And how did it take hold so thoroughly among the Silicon Valley elite?

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