Why Do We Fall for Charlatans?
We talk about how charlatans exploit our need for certainty, belonging and leadership — and why the tricks are old, but thanks to viral amplification on social media, the scale is new.
October 7, 2025
54 min
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3,029 of 3,393
October 7, 2025
Why Do We Fall for Charlatans?
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Episode 3,029 of 3,393 — walk the feed in the order it was published.
Why Do We Fall for Charlatans?
Summary
What makes us vulnerable to charlatans? A new book by journalist Quico Toro takes a close look at charismatic manipulators from literal snake oil peddlers to crypto scammer Sam Bankman-Fried. We talk to Toro about how charlatans exploit our need for certainty, belonging and leadership — and why the tricks are old, but thanks to viral amplification on social media, the scale is new. Toro’s book, co-written with Moisés Naim, is “Charlatans: How Grifters, Swindlers, and Hucksters Bamboozle the Media, the Markets, and the Masses.”
Guests:
Francisco Toro, author, "Charlatans: How Grifters, Swindlers, and Hucksters "Bamboozle the Media, the Markets, and the Masses" - he's also director of climate repair at the Anthropocene Institute
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