The Biggest Self-Help Scam in History, Solved

About this episode

This episode explores the potential deception behind a bestselling self-help book and its author.

This book has sold over a hundred million copies, billionaires swear by it. But what if it's a lie? Does the effectiveness of the book change if we find out that the author is a huge scammer and quite possibly made up the whole story that spearheaded the book? Vote for Solved for Best Indie Podcast in the 2026 Webby Awards: https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2026/podcasts/features/best-indie-podcast For practical, science-based advice each week that might change your life, sign up for my newsletter here: http://bit.ly/3JRg3NX Written & Directed by Mark Manson Edited by Michelle Hsieh Director of Photography Jess Choi Thumbnail by Jonathan Sippel Follow Mark Mark’s IG: https://www.instagram.com/markmanson Solved IG: https://www.instagram.com/solvedpodcast/ Twitter: https://x.com/markmanson LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmanson/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@IAmMarkManson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People in this episode

Host: Mark Manson

Topics covered

• self-help
• scams
• book analysis
• personal development
• critical thinking

Keywords

• self-help scam
• bestselling book
• Mark Manson
• critical analysis
• personal growth

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Webby Awards, megaphone.fm

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• Passion, Solved: Is It Really Worth Pursuing? · April 15, 2026 · 2h 10m
• Solved, Highlights: What Actually Makes People Happy · April 8, 2026 · 32 min