Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) has made quite a splash since he was elected to Congress in November. Not because of his work, but because of a web of lies that have been uncovered.
So far, lies told by the politician include claims about where he worked, where he went to school, his religion and a claim that his mother was in the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. The list goes on.
It made the “Something Offbeat” podcast team wonder about trust and how we evaluate whether others are being honest.
“When there's one lie that’s been exposed, it becomes very easy to sort of dig and look for all the rest of them,” explained guest Dr. Erin Heerey a psychology professor at Western University in Ontario. “This is like, you know, this is like digging up the backyard of a serial killer. But, you know, there are bits that could be uncovered, skeletons in closets, as it were.”
Listen in to find out the conscious and unconscious methods humans try to establish and determine trust before lies start becoming apparent – from mimicry and social cues to creating institutions and other vetting processes.
Each week, “Something Offbeat” dives into stranger-than-fiction headlines. If you have suggestions for stories “Something Offbeat” should cover, send them to us at somethingoffbeat@audacy.com.
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