L'irrationnel

The main character, Alec Mercer (Jesse L. Martin) is based on the real-life Duke University psychology and behavioral economics professor Dan Ariely. Part of Ariely's fame has come from his research into the psychological principles behind dishonesty, including in his book "The Honest Truth about Dishonesty", a documentary, "(Dis)Honesty: The Truth About Lies", and many academic papers. However, in 2021, a 2012 paper coauthored by Ariely and several others and purporting to study issues of dishonesty was itself retracted due to evidence that the data in it was falsified. The second episode of "The Irrational" nods to and then dismisses this controversy: a crusading investigative reporter who had previously been skeptical of Mercer's methodology (formerly calling it "pop culture junk science") comes to him for help, explaining that when she further investigated his work, she found it "unimpeachable."