# How Much Does Authenticity Matter in Elections? | Politics with Paul #92

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Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/politics-with-paul-7031218/how-much-does-authenticity-matter-in-elections-politics-with-paul-92.md
Podcast: [Politics with Paul](https://stenobird.com/podcast/politics-with-paul-7031218)
Published: 2026-05-12T12:45:00+00:00
Episode link: https://podcast.paulrader.org/episodes/SpF4ff7xMYz
Audio file: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/media.podcastai.com/episodes/SpF4ff7xMYz.mp3?u=1778605204
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/politics-with-paul-7031218/episodes/how-much-does-authenticity-matter-in-elections-politics-with-paul-92
Duration seconds: 2897

## Resource

Do we want authentic candidates in elections as much as we say we do? "Authenticity" is a favored buzzword by a politician's supporters to showcase why their candidate is the best, and by commentators who over-simplify the reason an election resulted the way it did. But can we actualyl say what "authenticity" is? Here's something crucial about how we judge politicians - our perception of their authenticity is deeply subjective and often influenced by biases we don't even realize we hold. But can we more objectively define authenticity? Today's episode of Politics with Paul centers on the various explanations of what authenticity is, how our perceptions of it can be biased, and what it means (and should mean) for our politics.

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## Transcript

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