There Are Four Ways To Lie

The Rest Is Science

Goalhanger

Science, Physics, Mathematics

4.5 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 17 February 2026

⏱️ 53 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Is deception a uniquely human trait, or is the natural world built on a foundation of fraud? When a cuttlefish shifts its skin to mimic a female and sneak past a rival male, this may be deceptive but is it telling a lie? Professor Hannah Fry and VSauce's Michael Stevens explore the evolutionary biology of dishonesty across the animal kingdom. What is the neurological difference between a biological reflex and a calculated bluff? What kind of cognitive processing is needed for true artifice, and are human beings the only creatures on earth who possess it? Moving from tactical falsehoods by the Adélie Penguin, to the complex betrayals seen in Macaques and Great Apes, Hannah and Michael apply evolutionary game theory to the wild to evaluate the psychology of false signals and the battle between perception, manipulation, illusion and power. ------------------- For more information about Cancer Research UK, their research, breakthroughs and how you can support them, visit ⁠⁠https://cancerresearchuk.org/restisscience⁠⁠ Cancer Research UK is a registered charity in England and Wales (1089464), Scotland (SC041666), the Isle of Man (1103) and Jersey (247). A company limited by guarantee. Registered company in England and Wales (4325234) and the Isle of Man (5713F). Registered address: 2 Redman Place, London, E20 1JQ. ------------------- Find The Rest Is Science all over the internet by ⁠⁠clicking here.⁠⁠ ------------------- Video Producer: Oli Oakley Video & Social: Bex Tyrrell Researcher: Hannah Dodd-Vastiau Assistant Producer: Imee Marriott Senior Producer: Lauren Armstrong-Carter Head Of Digital: Samuel Oakley Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	The world moves fast. Your workday? Even faster. Pitching products, drafting reports,
0:07.0	analyzing data. Microsoft 365 copilot is your AI assistant for work, built into Word, Excel,
0:14.0	PowerPoint, and other Microsoft 365 apps you use, helping you quickly write, analyze, create, and summarize.
0:22.2	So you can cut through clutter and clear a path to your best work.
0:26.1	Learn more at Microsoft.com slash M365 copilot.
0:30.2	Welcome to The Rest is Science.
0:31.8	I'm Michael Stevens.
0:33.0	And I'm Hannah Fry.
0:34.1	And Hannah, I have a confession to make.
0:37.2	I lied to you.
0:40.3	Excuse me?
0:43.3	Or at least I was untruthful.
0:45.3	Go on.
0:46.3	And I need to get this off my chest.
0:49.3	So if you remember the day of the photo shoot, you me some iron brew like giant bottles of iron
0:56.2	brew because I had never had it before and I was so touched by your gift that I realized I should
1:01.4	have brought you a gift now I brought the um swords of truth with me because I wanted to play
1:09.5	with them and I said, wait a second.
1:12.4	I could give these to her and I'll say that I brought them for her.
1:16.8	And it'll look like we both got gifts for each other.
1:20.0	So the rest of my trip, I didn't have my swords of truth to play with.
1:27.7	But you did have that internal little nugget of joy knowing that you've made me happy.
	...

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