Everyone is a liar. The Ringer just has the guts to admit it. Science tells us that 60% of people lie during a 10-minute conversation, most likely around the question, "How are you?" Weirdly, that statistic is self-reported, so not only are people liars, but they also love to snitch on themselves. It's funny how it works out like that. Lying is something we all do, and sometimes, we have no idea why we do it. One thing we do know is it's very entertaining to hear about.
In the new limited series, coming to Spotify through The Ringer podcasting network, Truthless sees host Brian Philips speak with people, very important and otherwise, about the lies they tell and why they tell them. This isn't a podcast about our current golden age of grifters, scammers, and sociopaths, but rather the common lies we tell daily, like the ones about a fake family that we don't know why we keep telling. Truthless is a storytelling show that invites guests to retell a lie and try to make sense of the insecurities, desires, and vanities that told them to tell it. Joined by the likes of Kid Mero, Malcolm Gladwell, and non-celebrities like you, Philips dives into the humorous, revealing, and uncomfortable art of lying, whether those lies are to fake a death or to play hooky.
Truthless' first two episodes premiere today, October 15, with guest Katie Baker from The Ringer telling the tale of how she became, arguably, the world's first person to catfish. Meanwhile, in episode two, The Kid Mero of Desus & Mero discusses how he lied his way into an IT job at Lehman Brothers. We don't know how yet, but rest assured, 9/11 plays a role in Mero's dishonesty.
Everybody lies. Thankfully, now liars can simply provide us with entertainment.
