logo
episode-header-image
Dec 2015
23m 23s

Episode 11: Forgery

Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam
About this episode
This week on Hidden Brain, we explore real and fake, from fine art to fine wine. Shankar speaks with Noah Charney, author of The Art of Forgery, about why art forgers are compelled to spend their lives copying the great masters, and why so many of them want to get caught. Also this week: why we love studies that prove wine connoisseurs wrong. 
Up next
Jul 6
Waking Up Your Spiritual Brain: Part 2
Last week, we talked with psychologist Lisa Miller about the science of spirituality. Today, we explore what those ideas can look like in everyday life. Miller explains why moments of connection, spiritual practices, and even periods of suffering can sometimes open the door to de ... Show More
1h 33m
Jun 29
Waking Up Your Spiritual Brain: Part 1
Food, safety, and strong relationships are essential to our survival. Psychologist Lisa Miller says our brains also crave something else: transcendence. She suggests that spirituality is a universal human capacity, and that feeling connected to something larger than ourselves may ... Show More
50m 5s
Jun 22
Stepping Out of the Shadows
Why does one bad experience have the power to overshadow an otherwise good day? Psychologist Alison Ledgerwood explores the negativity bias, the deeply human tendency to hold on to what went wrong and overlook what went right. She explains why our minds are drawn to losses and th ... Show More
1h 28m
Recommended Episodes
Feb 2023
Fake It and You'll Make It: Elmyr de Hory
A talented artist is even more talented at forgery. He crosses paths with the rich, famous, and fabulous, and his forgeries are eventually forged themselves. Truly and wonderfully ridiculous, no?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 
49m 31s
Jun 2024
Wolfgang Beltracchi - The Art of Fraud (encore)
Wolfgang Beltracchi is possibly the most artful forgers ever to have gotten into the game. While most would create a forgery by meticulously copying every line, shape and color in a known masterpiece, Beltracchi studied the artist then made his own original compositions imagining ... Show More
43m 55s
Sep 2025
True Lies and Genuine Fakes
In 1998, an art gallery gets a mysterious phone call. The caller claims they have been fooled by a master forger and that many of their prized paintings are fakes. Or are they? This is the story of the life and lies of the notorious Eric Hebborn. What did he do, and what does tha ... Show More
41m 6s
Dec 2019
SYSK Selects: How Wine Fraud Works
<p>Wine fraud may be a case of rich con artists tricking wealthy people into parting with money, but it's still a crime. Learn all about this weird, widespread practice in this classic episode.</p><p> </p> Learn more about your ad-choices at <a href="https://www.iheartpodcastnetw ... Show More
48m 7s
Dec 2012
The Dark Side of Creativity
<p>Creative minds make our favorite art and develop unique solutions to real-world problems. But is there a dark side? Are creative minds more prone to madness and deception? In this episode, Julie and Robert turn the tables on innovation.</p><p> </p> Learn more about your ad-cho ... Show More
42m 30s
Jan 2024
Artistic License to Steal
A wannabe art dealer sells fake works by American masters of Abstract Expressionism in an $80 million scam, fooling rich collectors and pocketing millions. (Original air date: 8/20/2018) 
40m 43s
Mar 2024
Navigating Cheesiness, Kitsch, and the Quest for Authenticity: Episode 24 of The Painting Podcast
This episode delves into the fine line between cheesiness, kitsch, and high art. From the pastoral scenes of Gainsborough to the consumer culture critiques of Warhol and the polling experiments of Komar and Melamid, we examine how artists challenge and redefine our notions of tas ... Show More
29m 25s
Mar 2024
Authenticity, Part 3
In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe explore the topic of authenticity. What is it? Why do we place such value on it? They discuss authenticity in terms of psychology, art, music, religion and more… (part 3 of 3) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy infor ... Show More
1h 3m
Apr 2023
SYMHC Classics: Tiara of Saitafernes
This 2019 episode the tale of an elaborate hoax. It starts with the Scythians and how their artifacts became highly prized in 19th century Europe, and ends with an artist who came into fame as a result of his part in a forgery.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 
29m 4s