The Problem With Being Honest: Ian Leslie

April 14, 2026 · 1h 13m

About this episode

Ian Leslie joins James Smith to discuss the complexities of honesty and the evolutionary role of lying in human nature.

Ian Leslie joins James Smith to unpack the uncomfortable truth about honesty: we can't actually handle it. A bestselling author and host of the Where Shall We Meet podcast, Ian argues that lying isn't a bug in human nature but an evolutionary feature — the very thing responsible for our big brains, our creativity, and our capacity for art. 👁️ Try Neutonic: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith 🧪 Check your Test: https://www.manual.co/smith 📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business 🏋🏼‍♂️ Online Coaching: https://www.jamessmithacademy.com Ian Leslie On Substack – https://ianleslie.substack.com/ The Ruffian Podcast by Ian Leslie - https://open.spotify.com/show/4Qm30smGRQjhEPUMq49uU8 James opens up about being honest with his employees, hiring a brutally candid editor for his next book, and how a rugby coach telling him he "played like shit" taught him more than any polite feedback ever could. He explains: ◼️ Why lying is a sign of intelligence, creativity and empathy in children ◼️ How the online world breeds dishonesty ◼️ Why office politics is passive aggression at scale ◼️ How trust is the prerequisite for any productive disagreement ◼️ Why sport is civilisation's…

People in this episode

Host: James Smith

Guest: Ian Leslie

Topics covered

honesty
lying
human nature
evolution
trust
office politics
creativity

Keywords

honesty
lying
evolution
trust
office politics
creativity
feedback
deception

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Where Shall We Meet, Manual, James Smith Business, James Smith Academy, Substack, Spotify