Cover of Trust Me, I'm Lying

Book · 2012 · Public relations

Trust Me, I'm Lying

by Ryan Holiday · Recommended by 8 people on 5 podcasts

Why people recommend it

Trust Me, I'm Lying by Ryan Holiday is an eye-opening exposé that details the mechanics of digital media manipulation, viral journalism, and how online outrage can be intentionally engineered. Sam Corcos recommended the book on Modern Wisdom in October 2025 and on How I Write in May 2024, explaining that reading it completely transformed his perspective on media narratives and introduced him to brilliant concepts like trading up the chain. Ryan Long and Tim Pool also acknowledged the book on Timcast IRL in November 2020 through a listener super chat that thanked the show for the recommendation. Furthermore, the broader themes of the book sparked interesting commentary across various literary discussions. On How I Write in June 2026, David Perell and Ryan Holiday discussed the author's retrospective reflections on the satisfaction derived from the book's long-term success through multiple editions. Meanwhile, the host of The Daily Stoic referenced the book's epigraph in November 2023 to explore how journalism inherently functions as a form of storytelling that carefully coordinates and omits disparate events. Another episode of The Daily Stoic in July 2023 highlighted how staff members originally introduced the book to guest Garland Robinette, prompting him to invite Holiday onto the podcast to discuss his influential experiences.

Who recommended it

Ryan Holiday — 4 mentions
Discussed
“And I've had I had that process with Trust Me, I'm Ly, too, because I did the paperback like a year later and then I did a 5-year anniversary edition. So, I did that book twice and then I had to read it twice.”
Discussed
“Well, I I actually, this is the epigraph—is to trust, me, lying is the James Agy quote where it’s basically saying that fundamentally journalism is a form of lying because you’re taking disparate events and coordinating them to tell a story that you want to tell. And you’re leaving things out, and then there’s that famous, what’s her name, the”
Discussed
“I wrote trust me I'm lying in New Orleans and then I wrote the proposal for the obstacles away there and I sent it to them the week that trust me online came out”
Critiqued
“I probably rewrite Trust Me, I'm Lying just because I wrote that when I was so young, and also I've seen the legacy that that book has given you some good stuff over there or maybe I wouldn't publish it at all.”
Garland Robinette — 3 mentions
Discussed
“I was telling a friend last night I was telling you I was coming here and I said my staff brought in this book trust me I'm lying”
Discussed
“I was telling a friend last night I was coming here and I said my staff brought in this book, 'Trust Me, I'm Lying.'”
Discussed
“He went to his editors and said, 'I know 'Trust Me, I'm Lying' is going to be a blockbuster, but I want to start doing books on the Stoics.'”
Sam Corcos — 2 mentions
Recommended
“you ever read Ryan Holliday's book, Trust Me, I'm Lying. Yeah, he has this great concept called trading up the chain”
Recommended
“And so I read Ryan Holiday's book, Trust me, I'm Lying. That's right. And it really changed my perspective on this.”
David Perell — 1 mention
Discussed
“One of the things that you said that I really resonated with was you were talking about your first book, trust me, I'm lying. And you were saying something to the effect of if there were 100 units, you got 90% of the units of satisfaction from how well the book did”
Drew Michael — 1 mention
Recommended
“the most one is ant kind by Charlie Kaufman and the other is trust me I'm lying by you”
Sam Parr — 1 mention
Discussed
“so there's this guy named ryan holiday you know ryan holliday the author of trust me i'm lying is that it”
Tim Pool — 1 mention
Recommended
“trust me i'm lying by ryan holiday”
Ryan Long — 1 mention
Recommended
“Thanks for recommending the book Trust Me, I'm Lying by Ryan Holiday”

Also mentioned in the same episodes

Other mentions (24: passing, ad reads, own books)
Own book
“I use in the intro of Trust Me I'm Lying. I I I was fooling around with that word disintegrated.”
Own book
“The epigraph of this book I I used it in my media book and trust me I'm lying. Uh I think it's one of the great quotes of all time. War is a racket.”
Own book
“Today's guest, James Altter, when I did, Trust Me I'm Lying, my first book came out.”
Own book
“I was gave a talk at this thing yesterday and this guy came up to me and he was like, I read your book. Trust Me I'm Lying, It's changed my life.”
Own book
“But I remember when I was writing uh trust me, I'm lying.”
Own book
“Uh that like for instance, my first book is called Trust Me I'm Lying, which was I believe Nikki's idea, and it's great as a book title.”
Own book
“trust me, I'm lying well I I was like if this book doesn't come out like right now it's going to be like irrelevant I was like this is like of the moment I should have in retrospect”
Own book
“And I did this on I did this on Trust Me, I'm Lying, also, but I think that was like a 5-year anniversary edition, because like stuff in the media changes faster than this.”
Own book
“I did this with Trust Me, I’m Lying as well, but it was like a 5-year anniversary edition because stuff in the media changes faster than this.”
Own book
“So I I did I think two versions of the two versions of Trust Me, I'm Lying.”
Own book
“yeah well it was funny when I wrote that book which seems insane to me that I wrote a book basically about fake news before fake news was a thing but in 2000 I I was writing that book in 2011 and researching in 2010”
Own book
“and like it wasn't uh like sort of per it it seemed to be um when I was writing uh the updated version of of trust me lying I was talking about podcasting as a positive medium”
Own book
“I was—I’d be curious your thoughts on podcasting as a medium because I had such high hopes for it as a medium, and like it wasn’t—uh, like sort of per—it seemed to be, um, when I was writing, uh, the updated version of Trust Me, I’m Lying, I was talking about podcasting as a positive medium in that it’s subscriber-based,”
Own book
“I was telling H that I was saying like obviously postwriting trust me I'm lying”
Own book
“Like I didn't I didn't feel like I was getting robbed when I took like less than half for The Obstacle Is the Way as I'd gotten for Trust Me, I'm Lying.”
Own book
“I didn't feel like I was getting robbed when I took less than half what I’ve gotten for Trust Me. I thought, 'I'm writing a book about an obscure school of ancient philosophy, that sounds really sound.'”
Own book
“I had to rewrite one. I probably rewrite trust me I'm lying just because I wrote that when I was so young and also I've seen the legacy that that book is going to some good stuff out of that you did or”
Own book
“I probably rewrite trust me I'm lying just because I wrote that when I was so young and also I've seen the legacy that that book is going to”
Own book
“the performing for the my first book is called trust me I'm lying and I use this metaphor that Upton Sinclair did”
Own book
“but when I went with trust me I'm lying there was a bidding war everyone was super excited about it”
Own book
“I don't want to exaggerate the significance of the story, but when I went with Trust Me, I'm Lying, there was a bidding war.”
Own book
“I wrote Trust Me, I’m Lying while I still had a small salary; I wrote Growth Hacker while I still had a small salary, and then Dove was fired from American Apparel.”
Own book
“I wanted to call it Confessions of a Media Manipulator. My my publisher wanted to call it Trust Me, I'm Lying. And I asked Robert Green I said, Robert, I want to call it Confessions of a Media Manipulator, um but the the publisher has all this data that says trust me I'm lying is better.”
Own book
“I wanted to call it Confessions of a Media Manipulator. My my publisher wanted to call it Trust Me, I'm Lying.”