Carter’s Holiday Pick: Truthless
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What is Truthless about?
Hey, Conspiracy Theories listeners, if you missed my holiday break update, this is the first week of our four-week hiatus, but we're still bringing you something I am sure you'll love. Today, I'm sharing an episode from one of my favorite podcasts, Truthless. On our show, sometimes we discover the official story isn't always the truth. And on Truthless, bestselling author Brian Phillips interviews fascinating people about the outlandish lies they've told. Be sure to subscribe to Truthless wherever you listen to podcasts. We'll share a link in the show notes. New episodes of Conspiracy Theories will resume December 25th.
All right, let me tell you a story. So a long time ago on the island of Crete, there was this guy called Daedalus. Daedalus was an inventor. If he lived today, he'd have one of those social media bios that just says like, I make things, you know, the kind that, like, web designers love to have. I make things. Daedalus actually did make things, and one of the things he made was this unbelievable maze, this labyrinth so complicated no one could find their way through it. He made this labyrinth for the king of Crete who needed a way to imprison his own stepson. This stepson, you see, well, not a bad kid, but he had a complicated medical condition that unfortunately made him about 50% malevolent bovine.
That's right, the Minotaur. the original cowboy. So long story short, a hero called Theseus comes along, solves the maze, kills the Minotaur. The king's upset and he gets suspicious. Did Daedalus tell Theseus how to get through the labyrinth? Daedalus didn't, but the king doesn't believe him. So he takes Daedalus and Daedalus's son, who is 0% cow, and locks them both in a tower. Daedalus is like, well, this sucks. I don't want to live in a tower. Fortunately, Daedalus is a genius, so he figures out a way to escape. What he does is he invents wings, just casually builds some wings. He and his kid, a boy called Icarus, are going to fly right out of the tower. So Daedalus straps the wings on Icarus and he's like, okay, flying is easy.
You've just got to remember this one weird trick. Don't go too high because if you get too close to the sun, it'll melt the wax on your wings and you will fall. So Icarus takes off and it's so fun. He's got puffy white clothes. clouds all around him, and the blue sea down below, and he's just so happy. He's so happy, in fact, that he keeps flying higher. And, well, you know how this goes. He gets way too high. And just like his dad warned him, the sun melts the wax on his wings, and his story ends with a little cartoon slide whistle like...
Who is The Kid Mero and what was his first job?
I lighted my resume verbally to get a promotion. I started working at Lehman Brothers pre-9-11. This is a young Merrill. So I'm in the mailroom and I'm not making any money. And I was like, yo, there's an opening in the IT department. Young Merrill knows how to use computers to download pornography and use LimeWire. Young Merrill does not know how to fix a broken monitor. But young Merrill pretended that he did and lied his ass off and got that job. and finesse for like another two years, bro, not knowing how to do nothing.
I'm Brian Phillips. This is Truthless, Episode 2, Flying High.
Hi there, this is Steve Fishman from Orbit Media. Our new series, Season 4 in the Burden Feed, is Get the Money and Run.
You'll love it. Here's the trailer.
I'm standing here with Joe Loya. Over 14 months, Joe robbed so many banks, he lost count.
Just terrify these people and get them so scared that not only would they give me the cash, they would give me their terror. It made me feel strong. All I know is we're f***ing helpless. All I know is anarchy. All I know is chaos. I just leaned into that.
Listen to Get the Money and Run on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
The first time Marrow told me about where he grew up, this is what he said. I grew up in a neighborhood so rough, if you look it up on Google Maps, you'll get shot through the screen. This was in the Bronx in the 80s and 90s. Safe to say, Marrow never expected to get a job at one of the world's glitziest investment banks. But that's exactly what happened.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
What is Truthless about?
0:02–3:38
2
Who is The Kid Mero and what was his first job?
3:38–11:04
3
How did Mero lie his way into IT?
11:04–17:22
4
What challenges did Mero face in the IT department?
17:22–19:13
5
What was the environment like at Lehman Brothers?
19:13–21:54
6
How did Mero navigate his relationships at work?
21:54–29:04
7
What was Mero's experience replacing a hard drive?
29:04–38:18
Speakers
5 identifiedMore from Conspiracy Theories
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