Ted Audio Collective.

Audio Collective.

This is Design Matters with Debbie Millman from Design Observer.com.

For 11 years now, Debbie Millman has been talking with designers and other creative types about what they do,

how they got to be who they are and

what they're thinking about. On this podcast Tiby moment talks with psychology

writer Maria Kanakova about her career and about her fascination with con

artists.

She explains why so many people fall prey to confidence games.

A lot of what makes us human is the exact same thing that makes us victims.

Here's Debbie Millman.

Imagine this scene.

A person, crying, seemingly lost on a busy street.

You approach and ask, what's wrong? He tells you an upsetting story about himself

and his circumstances, and it makes you want to help. But in reality, you are about to be conned.

Maria Conakova's new book, The Confidence Game,

dissect some of the world's greatest cons

and tells us about the men and women behind them.

Maria Kanakova is a contributing writer for the New Yorker.

Her work has appeared in the New York Times, The Atlantic, Salon, and many other publications.

Today I'm going to talk to her about her book and her fascination with psychology and

storytelling.

...