E40 Maria Konnikova: The Psychology Of The Con

In this short episode I was joined by psychologist and author, Maria Konnikova. Maria was born in Russia but moved to the US with her family when she was 4 years old.  Maria studied psychology and creative writing in Harvard where she was lucky enough to be tutored by Steven Pinker before completing her PhD in psychology at Columbia.

Maria has written for a host of titles including Scientific America, The New Yorker, the Paris Review, and Big Think, as well as having a stint as a producer on The Charlie Rose Show.  Maria's first book Mastermind: How To Think Like Sherlock Holmes was a NYT bestseller and has been translated into 18 languages. Maria's latest book, The Confidence Game, is a psychological exploration of The Grifter (con artist) and The Mark (victim).

Our conversation included the following topics;

1. What first got Maria interested in the con.


2. A brief bio of The Great Imposter.


3. The impact of technology on the con.


4. Why we all fall for the lure of the con.


5. Maria explains why fiction writers are often the best psychologists.


6. The traits of the conman/woman.


7. Maria tells us her favourite con movie and book.

For full episode notes, as well as link mentioned in the interview, please visit the inspirelandpodcast blog.

Enjoy the show, Dave.