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  1. Podcasts/
  2. The Back of the Book/
  3. What a Tangled Web: Honesty in the 21st Century
September 17, 2026
The Back of the Book•September 17, 2026

•Episode length: 1h

Ricochet

What a Tangled Web: Honesty in the 21st Century

Episode length: 1h

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The first topic for our new season is an important one, and that’s no lie. Chris talks to Christian B. Miller, the A.C. Reid Professor of Philosophy at Wake Forest University, about the virtue of honesty. What does it mean to be honest? Is it more rewarding—and less risky—to be dishonest today than it was in the past? How are Americans dishonest today online, on campus, and in politics? Christian’s new book is The Honesty Crisis: Preserving Our Most Treasured Virtue in an Increasingly Dishonest World (Oxford, 2026).

Time Stamps:

2:49 What is honesty?

15:14 Deepfakes and online infidelity

31:07 Academic dishonesty and the tragedy of Jason Arday

42:39 Honesty and politics

52:39 The exception of the arts

Show Notes:

  • Christian B. Miller’s book, The Honesty Crisis
  • Billy Joel, “Honesty”

Opening and closing music: Brendan Benson, “Spit It Out,” used with permission from the artist.

Produced by Keira Stenson.

Hosted by Christopher J. Scalia

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