OF#26 - Interrogation, GameStop, and American decline
Can cops tell when perps are lying? What does the GameStop fiasco mean for Wall Street? And is America suffering a spiritual crisis?
Hi there, I’m Thomas Najar, and welcome to issue 26 of Open Frame.
I typically use this space to share articles I’ve read, but more and more of my time has been taken up by reading literature. This trend started last year and has only picked up.
A few weeks back, I read Great Expectations, then dove into The Amber Spyglass, the third in Philip Pullman’s trilogy His Dark Materials. I read Jonathan Livingston Seagull (which was excellent) in a day and am now on to The Godfather. I’m investing more time reading literature than I have in years, and I couldn’t be happier!
If you’d like to see more of my faves, you can check out my Goodreads profile.
I’ve been using the rest of my leisure time to watch video essays. Here are some of my favorites this week.
Interrogation and deception
Hollywood is rife with interrogation scenes between cops and perpetrators that are oozing with tension and intimidation. Surprise, surprise—the reality is far different.
Can you get the truth from a suspect by frightening and intimidating them? No.
Can you build skills to tell when someone is lying? I’m afraid not.
Joe Navarro is a former FBI interrogation specialist and body language expert who breaks it down for us.
Gamestop madness
Wall Street went bonkers last week when GameStop shares blew through the roof. A Subreddit group had made war on short-selling hedge funds, and both regulators and the free trading site Robinhood, the platform that made the Reddit raid possible, were caught flat-footed.
The Economist breaks down what happened, what it means, and where things go from here.
America in crisis
Chris Hedges is a journalist and Presbyterian minister. He’s been prophesying the dangers of corporate power, consumerism and religious extremism in this country for years.
In this short film, Hedges takes us through what he sees as the spiritual poverty underlying the decay of our culture and the gradual failure of our institutions.
That’s it for this week folks. Have a great week, stay safe, and remember to be awesome!
Thomas
It's good to know there aren't any shortcuts to tell when someone is lying. Also, I have serious bookcase envy of the former FBI agent.