Hard Know

Hard Know is a narrative dive into the world of scams, cons, schemes, and deception. A journey into all the forces behind the ways we love to lie, and be lied to. From snake oil salespeople, to psychics. From news empires, to memes. Hard Know explores the patterns of behaviour that blur the lines between truth and fiction. Is it a matter of perception? Or suggestion? From Disinformed Content Media, in association with Feightner Productions. Written and produced by Dan Felton and David Felton @DisinformedDan on Twitter and Instagram Disinformed.ca/HardKnow for source notes, and more.

Dan meets his new producer and the show begins...Scumbag Steve? Tea-Sipping Kermit? Pepe the Frog? What's your meme of choice? Our favourite JPEG-based form of communication has taken over our world, but memes didn't spring up overnight. From the suggestion of "cultural transmission" in the 1970s, to an endless barrage of jokes with hidden messages, memes reach depths we've never respected.From Richard Dawkins, to weaponized political memes, who knew there was so much going on behind the GIFS...Prepare your nostrils to shoot a little extra air out as you get a scroll through the feed of memetic history. *Bzzzzzzzzzzzzz* You gonna check that?From Disinformed Content Media, in association with Feightner Productions. Written and produced by Dan Felton and David Felton@DisinformedDan on Twitter, Instagram and TikTokDisinformed.ca/HardKnow for source notes, and more Music by David Felton. Instagram: @deefeltmusic Show Artwork by Q. Instagram: @TheMightyQWorks Sounds from ZapSplat.com 

Dan ventures into the world of wellness and health products. Staying healthy is a daily challenge, and the fragility of our physical and mental health make them perfect for predatory schemes. From the first snake-oil salesman, to modern health influencers, exploiting the instinctive need to feel healthy is a lucrative business strategy. One that pays off, with little consequences.Pop a pill, try a new diet, buy this book, or ionize your bare feet with this reasonably priced "grounding mat"! Finding the key to longevity and happiness is as easy as entering your credit card information below. (Get 15% off your first purchase!)So? What are you waiting for? There's always a cure for what ails ya!From Disinformed Content Media, in association with Feightner Productions. Written and produced by Dan Felton and David Felton@DisinformedDan on Twitter, Instagram and TikTokDisinformed.ca/HardKnow for source notes, and more Music by David Felton. Instagram: @deefeltmusic Show Artwork by Q. Instagram: @TheMightyQWorks Sounds from ZapSplat.com 

Dan and his producer start with a classic scheme, the Nigerian Prince email.But where did this fishing scheme come from? Was it just a piece of the internet age? Or a spin on an old scam?And why do people fall for these tricks? The allure of money? A desperate need to be a part of something bigger?Grab your golden eggs, check those spam folders, and join the journey as we get into "advance fee" scams of all kinds.From Disinformed Content Media, in association with Feightner Productions. Written and produced by Dan Felton and David Felton@DisinformedDan on Twitter, Instagram and TikTokDisinformed.ca/HardKnow for source notes, and more Music by David Felton. Instagram: @deefeltmusic Show Artwork by Q. Instagram: @TheMightyQWorks Sounds from ZapSplat.com  

Dan and his producer seek some spiritual guidance in order to know the unknowable. From the dawn of time, humans have sought to understand life, death, and what comes after. Psychics and spiritualists of all kinds provide people with great comfort, but also, great pain. How do we navigate the lines between grief, belief, and the various ways we fill in the gaps of what we know about life itself?There's no crystal ball to give easy answers. Or maybe there is? Wanna find out? It'll cost you.From Disinformed Content Media, in association with Feightner Productions. Written and produced by Dan Felton and David Felton@DisinformedDan on Twitter, Instagram and TikTokDisinformed.ca/HardKnow for source notes, and more Music by David Felton. Instagram: @deefeltmusic Show Artwork by Q. Instagram: @TheMightyQWorks Sounds from ZapSplat.com  

HEY LOOK HERE! Hi! My name is Dan and I'm the host of the podcast whose description you are currently reading. And I'm here to tell you about how in episode 5, me and my producer are figuring out the world of Celebrity Endorsements, and the modern wave of influencer marketing.We see thousands of ads per day, and countless more pieces of content. It's awfully hard to get someone's undivided attention. So why do companies spend billions every year for a nudge from a famous name or face? Gotta stand out, that's why! But why do our brains seem to like the idea of a familiar famous friend (aka an actual stranger) to tell us what to buy, and why? Are we good at knowing who to trust? Or are the trust mechanisms we evolved with being used against us.This podcast episode was endorsed by (insert your favourite famous person's name), so you know, you gotta listen if THEY said they love it.From Disinformed Content Media, in association with Feightner Productions. Written and produced by Dan Felton and David Felton@DisinformedDan on Twitter, Instagram and TikTokDisinformed.ca/HardKnow for source notes, and more Music by David Felton. Instagram: @deefeltmusic Show Artwork by Q. Instagram: @TheMightyQWorks Sounds from ZapSplat.com   

Confidence is KING! (so they say). But finding confidence isn't easy. It can take a lifetime to build-up, and a moment to destroy. Studies show you CAN fake it 'till you make it, and that there's no difference to the world around us whether we're truly confident, or just pretending. All great schemers have confidence, real or not. Confidence was the root word of the "Con Man", so is too much confidence a risk? Or does too little of it leave us at risk for exploitation? Dan and his producer are on a mission to find out what role confidence plays in deception, and self-deception... We're going on an adventure!From Disinformed Content Media, in association with Feightner Productions. Written and produced by Dan Felton and David Felton@DisinformedDan on Twitter, Instagram and TikTokDisinformed.ca/HardKnow for source notes, and more Music by David Felton. Instagram: @deefeltmusic Show Artwork by Q. Instagram: @TheMightyQWorks Sounds from ZapSplat.com    

After getting rattled in episode 6, Dan returns to the studio to dive into the word of semantics, and language to figure out what's going on when we talk to each other, and when messages get sent. It's not about what you say, or necessarily what you mean. It's what the receiver of the message understands. A lot gets lost in the sauce when we communicate, so are we really getting through to each other? Is the host of this podcast getting his message across? Or is language a confusing mess where we do the best we can?How do words convey meaning? Why do we often suffer from breakdowns of communication? And how easy is it to mislead and deceive people with a simple change of a word?From Disinformed Content Media, in association with Feightner Productions. Written and produced by Dan Felton and David Felton@DisinformedDan on Twitter, Instagram and TikTokDisinformed.ca/HardKnow for source notes, and moreMusic by David Felton. Instagram: @deefeltmusic Show Artwork by Q. Instagram: @TheMightyQWorks Sounds from ZapSplat.com     

Us vs Them, Good vs Evil, Left vs Right, Coke vs Pepsi. If you can dream it, you can divide it! As Dan's frustration builds with the things he's learned this season, it's time to figure out the forces behind the divisive news, politics and social commentary that is everywhere. Part psychological exploit, part news driven narrative, but it's 100% human. One side vs the other is simple, easy to understand, and makes our brains fell all warm and fuzzy.They say there's two sides to every story, but can it all be so simple? Or are we just curving the finer details that we so desperately need to pay attention to. Feeling overwhelmed? Let us do the thinking and narrative building for you!Hard Know's listeners are the most intelligent, good-looking, and loving people on earth.  Don't agree? Well then to hell with you!  From Disinformed Content Media, in association with Feightner Productions. Written and produced by Dan Felton and David Felton@DisinformedDan on Twitter, Instagram and TikTokDisinformed.ca/HardKnow for source notes, and moreMusic by David Felton. Instagram: @deefeltmusic Show Artwork by Q. Instagram: @TheMightyQWorks Sounds from ZapSplat.com    

~BREAKING NEWS~ This episode, Dan's learned a lot this season, and he's feeling more confident than ever. We're in the business of passing along the ideas about what's happening in the world that you NEED to know! We rely on news to keep us informed, tell us the truth, and reassure us in an uncertain world. But from the beginning, news, money, and the power to sway the informational tides of the world have been too deliciously tempting to ignore. The News Barons of history have stood on the shoulders of the greats that came before. From Hearst, to Pulitzer, to Packer, Beaverbrook, Black, and more... They've all been small-time compared to the greatest news manipulator of them all... You ready to kick this podcast up a notch with us?From Disinformed Content Media, in association with Feightner Productions. Written and produced by Dan Felton and David Felton@DisinformedDan on Twitter, Instagram and TikTokDisinformed.ca/HardKnow for source notes, and moreMusic by David Felton. Instagram: @deefeltmusic Show Artwork by Q. Instagram: @TheMightyQWorks Sounds from ZapSplat.com     

It's the Season 1 Finale... Dan's in some trouble after finding out what's been going on all season. With Rupert Murdoch in his crosshairs, Dan must make his case. Is there any difference between the kind of narrative weaving that the media moguls of the world take part in, and what an everyday podcaster does? Or is it just a difference in the size of the audience?Taking a look at the life and empire building of the man behind Fox News, and a business model that employs the many psychological tricks of deception that we've touched on this season. From a humble couple of Questions will be asked, answers will be given, voices (of many varieties) will be heard. Everyone wants to rule the world, because hey, wouldn't we do a better job? It all comes down to this... Who do you want to be? From Disinformed Content Media, in association with Feightner Productions. Written and produced by Dan Felton and David Felton@DisinformedDan on Twitter, Instagram and TikTokDisinformed.ca/HardKnow for source notes, and moreMusic by David Felton. Instagram: @deefeltmusic Show Artwork by Q. Instagram: @TheMightyQWorks Sounds from ZapSplat.com