🎩🔍 An Honest Liar - when does deception become fraud?

Documentary discussion - watch beforehand, no screening.

What this is
A documentary about James Randi, stage illusion, skepticism, fraud, and the weird human hunger to believe.
Randi spent his life around deception, but not all deception is the same. A magic trick can be honest because everyone knows there is a trick. Fraud is something else: deception pretending to be truth.
That is where this gets interesting.
We’ll talk about illusion, belief, charisma, skepticism, and the uncomfortable question of why people often want to be fooled.

A few questions for the room

“When is deception harmless, and when does it become exploitation?”
“Why do intelligent people still fall for obvious fraud?”
“Can skepticism become its own kind of performance?”

Watching
Watch the documentary beforehand. No screening at the event.
Official info:
https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/documentaries/honest-liar/

When and where
🗓️ Date: Sunday, October 18th, 2026
🕒 Time: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM PDT
📍 Location: UBC Learning Exchange
612 Main St, Vancouver, BC V6A 2V3, Canada
Meeting point: Main entrance at 612 Main Street.
Please arrive 10 minutes before the event starts. Doors close 10 minutes after the start time.
Cap: 20