George Santos and the great American tradition of "self-making"

It's Been a Minute

NPR

Society & Culture, News Commentary, News, Religion & Spirituality, Spirituality

4.7 • 9.2K Ratings

🗓️ 25 April 2023

⏱️ 22 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

New York Congressman George Santos has been embroiled in controversy since the day he stepped into office in November. The New York Times and other publications have reported that much of the Republican lawmaker's alleged resume – from where he went to college to his supposed time at Goldman Sachs – cannot be backed up with evidence. In this episode, rather than dig into what is true or false, host Brittany Luse asks why someone would embellish their resume in the first place. Author Tara Isabella Burton says it all goes back to the uniquely American obsession with being "self-made."

Burton's book, Self-Made: Curating our Identities from Da Vinci to the Kardashians is available for pre-order here.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm Jesse Thorne.
0:01.8	On Bullseye, I usually handle introducing and promoting our guests, but, well...
0:06.2	Hey there, this is Paul Walter Houser.
0:08.8	Yes, the man with three names for each of his acclaims.
0:12.8	That's right. Paul Walter Houser from Itanya, the Naked Gun, and the Fantastic Four.
0:18.0	On Bullseye for Maximum fun.org and NPR.
0:33.1	Hey, hey, you're listening to It's Been a Minute from NPR. I'm Brittany Luce. And today, we're getting into one of the most talked about politicians of the year, none other than New York
0:38.8	Congressman George Santos. Just to give you a little backstory here, Santos was elected back in
0:44.3	November, and days after he won, the New York Times dropped a bomb of a story revealing that a lot of
0:50.2	Santos' purported biography can't be backed up by evidence. From his family history to his alleged time as an investor at Goldman Sachs, there are no
0:59.4	records.
1:00.3	I repeat, there are no records.
1:04.0	Make of that way you will.
1:07.3	Today, we're not digging into the validity of his claims.
1:10.8	A congressional ethics committee can handle that. And they are. Today, we're not digging into the validity of his claims.
1:13.7	A congressional ethics committee can handle that.
1:14.7	And they are.
1:17.3	They're investigating whether or not he broke any laws.
1:23.2	But we are asking why Representative Santos might embellish his resume in the first place.
1:27.5	My guest today, Tara Burton is an expert on self-making.
1:34.2	Her forthcoming book is literally titled, Self-made, Creating Our Identities from Da Vinci to the Kardashians.
1:39.8	And for Tara, the concept of, quote, self-made is two sides of the same coin. Well, there's really two complementary definitions.
	...

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