8th Layer Insights
Get ready for a deep dive into what cybersecurity professionals often refer to as the "8th Layer" of security: HUMANS. Welcome to 8th Layer Insights (8Li). This podcast is a multidisciplinary exploration into how the complexities of human nature affect security and risk. Author, security researcher, and behavior science enthusiast Perry Carpenter taps experts for their insights and illumination. Topics include cybersecurity, psychology, behavior science, communication, leadership, and more.
Episodes
May 27, 2025 • 13 mins
If it made you panic, rage, or rush… it probably bypassed your cognitive defenses.
In the latest issue of Deceptive Minds, I dig into the dark cognitive malware of emotional hijacking: how scammers, manipulators, and even well-meaning voices use fear, urgency, outrage, and hope to short-circuit your critical thinking.
Inside:
🧠 Why your emotions beat your rational mind to the punch
📞 How scam messages and panic phishing bypa...
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May 20, 2025 • 12 mins
Some lies try hard to fool you. Others just make it easy for you to believe them.
That’s the danger of cognitive fluency: the simpler something feels, the more likely we are to think it’s true.
In the latest issue of Deceptive Minds, I explore:
Why fake documents with grainy photos often seem more real than verified ones
How anti-intellectualism and slogan-based disinfo campaigns thrive on fluency bias
And what makes ...
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May 14, 2025 • 11 mins
Hey friends,
Let’s start with a weird truth: People don’t fall for things because they’re true. They fall for things because they’re plausible.
That’s the dark magic of deception — it doesn’t need to be airtight, or flawless, or even particularly clever. It just needs to feel true enough. Something your brain can accept without asking too many questions.
Welcome to the Plausibility Effect — the sneaky cognitive glitch that power...
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May 5, 2025 • 13 mins
Welcome to issue #3 of Deceptive Minds: a newsletter about how we are fooled, how we fool ourselves, and what we can do about it.
In this week's episode: 🚨 Your attention is under attack! 🚨
From WWII rubber tanks to 2023’s phantom Paris bedbugs, the first strike of any scam is the same: steal your gaze, shape your reality. This issue of Deceptive Minds is all about “attention theft”—how con-artists, phishers, and AI-powered tri...
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April 28, 2025 • 12 mins
Hey friends! Here's issue 2 of Deceptive Minds: a newsletter about how we are fooled, how we fool ourselves, and what we can do about it.
🔥 Since starting this newsletter last week, we're already closing in on 3,000 subscribers to the print edition! 🔥 Huge thanks to everyone who's jumped in early!
This week, I'm diving into what I call the “artifacts of deception,” and why the flashy stuff (deepfakes, fake emails, cloned voic...
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April 28, 2025 • 7 mins
Hey listeners, Perry Carpenter here. Yeah, it's been a while since I've posted this feed, but I've got something exciting that I think you'll be interested in. It's the audio version of a newsletter that I recently started.
The newsletter is called Deceptive Minds, and it's all about how we are fooled, how we fool ourselves, and what we can do about it.
In other words, it's the exact right newsletter for the 8th Layer Insights ...
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December 27, 2024 • 40 mins
Note: We're posting Perry's new show, "The FAIK Files", to this feed through the end of 2024. This will give you a chance to get a feel for the new show and subscribe to the new feed if you want to keep following in 2025.
Welcome back to the show that keeps you informed on all things artificial intelligence and natural nonsense.
In our holiday episode, Mason opens a rather unique Christmas present from Perry, we invite a specia...
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December 20, 2024 • 61 mins
Note: We're posting Perry's new show, "The FAIK Files", to this feed through the end of the year. This will give you a chance to get a feel for the new show and subscribe to the new feed if you want to keep following in 2025.
Welcome back to the show that keeps you informed on all things artificial intelligence and natural nonsense.
Warning: today's episode gets a bit dark as we chat with seasoned prosecutor and founder of Oper...
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December 13, 2024 • 54 mins
Note: We're posting Perry's new show, "The FAIK Files", to this feed through the end of the year. This will give you a chance to get a feel for the new show and subscribe to the new feed if you want to keep following in 2025.
Welcome back to The FAIK Files--- the show about artificial intelligence and natural nonsense!
In this week's episode:
Mason shares how ChatGPT became an unexpected hero in solving his home networking and ...
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December 6, 2024 • 53 mins
Note: We're posting Perry's new show, "The FAIK Files", to this feed through the end of the year. This will give you a chance to get a feel for the new show and subscribe to the new feed if you want to keep following in 2025.
Welcome back to The FAIK Files— the show about artificial intelligence and natural nonsense!
In this week’s episode:
Mason has an update on last week's shocking story of Google Gemini’s alleged threats aga...
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November 29, 2024 • 52 mins
Note: We're posting Perry's new show, "The FAIK Files", to this feed through the end of the year. This will give you a chance to get a feel for the new show and subscribe to the new feed if you want to keep following in 2025.
Happy FAIKs-giving everyone! Welcome to the newly renovated and relaunched FAIK Files podcast. On this week's episode, Perry & Mason cover Anthropic's recent hiring of an employee focused on AI well-being, a...
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October 7, 2024 • 31 mins
This is Part Three of a ten-part miniseries exploring Perry Carpenter's latest book, FAIK: A Practical Guide to Living in a World of Deepfakes, Disinformation, and AI-Generated Deceptions. Each episode kicks off with a dramatized reading of the "Whispers from the Static" vignette that opens the chapter, followed by an in-depth conversation with Perry Carpenter and Mason Amadeus, where they unpack the chapter's themes and real-world...
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September 30, 2024 • 29 mins
This is Part Two of a ten-part miniseries exploring Perry Carpenter's latest book, FAIK: A Practical Guide to Living in a World of Deepfakes, Disinformation, and AI-Generated Deceptions. Each episode kicks off with a dramatized reading of the "Whispers from the Static" vignette that opens the chapter, followed by an in-depth conversation with Perry Carpenter and Mason Amadeus, where they unpack the chapter's themes and real-world i...
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September 30, 2024 • 32 mins
This is Part One of a ten-part miniseries exploring Perry Carpenter's latest book, FAIK: A Practical Guide to Living in a World of Deepfakes, Disinformation, and AI-Generated Deceptions. Each episode kicks off with a dramatized reading of the "Whispers from the Static" vignette that opens the chapter, followed by an in-depth conversation with Perry Carpenter and Mason Amadeus, where they unpack the chapter's themes and real-world i...
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September 17, 2024 • 59 mins
In this conversation, Perry sits down with Dr. Bilyana Lilly to discuss her new book Digital Mindhunters (Coming Oct 30) and the intersection of cybersecurity, disinformation, and AI. She describes the narrative structure of her book, navigating a world of cyber threats and influence operations, and the evolving landscape of disinformation with AI amplifying threats. Dr. Lilly emphasizes the importance of awareness and education in...
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September 3, 2024 • 57 mins
In this episode, Perry catches-up with Stephanie (Snow) & JC Carruthers. They talk about social engineering, the DEFCON Social Engineering Community / Village, and share their favorite (and most embarrassing) social engineering stories.
Perry also gives a quick update on his recent exploits entering an AI chatbot into the Social Engineering Village CTF, speaking at the DEFCON AI Village, and the release of his new book, FAIK: A P...
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July 30, 2024 • 55 mins
On this episode, Perry gets to sit down with Ed Skoudis to discuss the simplicity and complexities of cybersecurity ethics. Ed's new book is The Code of Honor: Embracing Ethics in Cybersecurity.
Guest:
Ed Skoudis (LinkedIn) (Twitter) (Website)
Books and References:
The Code of Honor: Embracing Ethics in Cybersecurity, by Paul J. Maurer and Ed Skoudis
The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel: Genius, Power, and Deception on the Ev...
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July 9, 2024 • 49 mins
On this episode, Perry gets to sit down with Jon Gillham. Jon is the founder and CEO of Originality.ai -- an AI content detection platform designed to help website owners, content marketers, writers and publishers hit 'publish' with integrity in the world of generative AI.
In this interview, we get the lowdown on how AI content detection works, what it is good at, and where some of the current limits are.
Guest:
Jon Gillham (Link...
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June 4, 2024 • 51 mins
On this episode, Perry gets to sit down with investigative journalist, author, and podcaster, Geoff White. They discuss Geoff's new book, "Rinsed: From Cartels to Crypto: How the Tech Industry Washes Money for the World's Deadliest Crooks", the state of global cybercrime, and (everybody's favorite topic) artificial intelligence.
Guest:
Geoff White (LinkedIn) (Twitter)
Books and References:
Rinsed: From Cartels to Crypto: How t...
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May 7, 2024 • 56 mins
In this episode, Perry sits down with award winning cybersecurity author, George Finney to discuss his recent book, Project Zero Trust. This is a broad discussion that hits on the concepts of Zero Trust, George's approach to writing the book, his passion for storytelling, and much more.
Guest:
George Finney (LinkedIn) (Website)
Books and References:
Project Zero Trust: A Story about a Strategy for Aligning Security and the Busi...
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