🎩🔍 An Honest Liar - when does deception become fraud?
Details
Documentary discussion - watch beforehand, no screening.
What this is
A documentary about James Randi, stage illusion, skepticism, fraud, and the weird human hunger to believe.
Randi spent his life around deception, but not all deception is the same. A magic trick can be honest because everyone knows there is a trick. Fraud is something else: deception pretending to be truth.
That is where this gets interesting.
We’ll talk about illusion, belief, charisma, skepticism, and the uncomfortable question of why people often want to be fooled.
A few questions for the room
- “When is deception harmless, and when does it become exploitation?”
- “Why do intelligent people still fall for obvious fraud?”
- “Can skepticism become its own kind of performance?”
Watching
Watch the documentary beforehand. No screening at the event.
Official info:
https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/documentaries/honest-liar/
When and where
🗓️ Date: Sunday, October 18th, 2026
🕒 Time: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM PDT
📍 Location: UBC Learning Exchange
612 Main St, Vancouver, BC V6A 2V3, Canada
Meeting point: Main entrance at 612 Main Street.
Please arrive 10 minutes before the event starts. Doors close 10 minutes after the start time.
Cap: 20