A Web of Lies: A podcast about pretend students

My name is Job Wierikx and I am a journalism student in Utrecht. For my graduation project, I created a podcast about pretend students. These are students who say they are studying, but are not actually doing so. They lie about this to everyone around them. The students end up in a web of lies that is difficult to escape. I can relate to this, as I was once a pretend student myself.
With this podcast, I want to remove the taboo surrounding pretend students. I have noticed that many of them still struggle with feelings of shame and guilt. I also want to draw more attention to the subject. The podcast mentions a few elements that can help you recognize that someone may be a pretend student. If you are a pretend student and you come across the podcast, I hope it will encourage you to tell the truth. Being stuck in a web of lies is incredibly difficult. Getting out of it is a huge relief, which I wish for every pretend student.

Episode 1
The first episode of Een Web van Leugens (A Web of Lies) is about me. I talk about the periods in my life when I was a pretend student. You’ll hear my roommates say that they didn’t suspect anything. You’ll also hear a preview of the next episodes.

Episode 2
In the second episode of A Web of Lies, I talk to Maarten. He was also a pretend student and shares his experiences as a pretend student and how his web of lies collapsed. Brian Kiesling also speaks in this episode. He has conducted the only scientific research into pretend students to date. And it yielded some interesting results.

Episode 3
In the third episode of A Web of Lies, I talk to my parents. They talk about what it was like for them when my lie came out. The three of us never talked about this before. But now we do, with a microphone nearby.

Author: Job Wierikx

Translation: Niels Bakker