An Honest Liar: Exposing Peter Popoff

In this excerpt from the Independent Lens documentary An Honest Liar, we find out how magician-turned-debunker of psychics James "The Amazing" Randi worked with an undercover surveillance expert to expose how popular televangelist and "faith healer" Peter Popoff was deceiving his audience into believing he was conversing with the Lord.

Go to episode

Clip Season 17 Episode 12 Length 02:36 Premiere: 03/27/16

Recent Episodes

The Inquisitor

S27 E6 Length 1:25:31 Premiere Date 02/23/26

The Librarians

S27 E5 Length 1:25:43 Premiere Date 02/09/26

Vivien's Wild Ride

S27 E4 Length 1:24:45 Premiere Date 01/26/26

Life After

S27 E3 Length 1:23:41 Premiere Date 11/03/25

Ratified

S27 E2 Length 1:23:41 Premiere Date 10/20/25

Cracking the Code: Phil Sharp and the Biotech Revolution

S27 E1 Length 1:24:19 Premiere Date 10/06/25

Clips & Previews

An Honest Liar - Trailer

Preview Length 00:30 Premiere Date 03/27/16

An Honest Liar: Exposing Peter Popoff

Clip Length 01:33 Premiere Date 03/27/16

An Honest Liar: Exposing Peter Popoff

Clip Length 02:36 Premiere Date 03/27/16

Mimi and Dona: My Aunt Dona

Clip Length 02:34 Premiere Date 11/23/15

Stray Dog - Trailer

Preview Length 00:30 Premiere Date 11/09/15

The Black Panthers: Vanguard of The Revolution (Theatrical)

Preview Length 02:31 Premiere Date 07/20/15

Lois Vossen on Curation at Sundance

Clip Length 03:29 Premiere Date 01/24/13

Half the Sky: Jane Ngori Turns a House into a Home in Kenya

Clip Length 07:37 Premiere Date 09/30/12

Rose Mapendo Shares Her Story to Inspire Action

Clip Length 09:47 Premiere Date 03/22/12

Women and Girls Lead: Meet Beverly

Clip Length 03:24 Premiere Date 03/01/12

Women and Girls Lead: Meet Sonia

Clip Length 03:09 Premiere Date 03/01/12

Women and Girls Lead: Melanne Verveer Web Exclusive

Clip Length 01:14 Premiere Date 03/01/12

Half the Sky: Desmond Tutu's Message About Manmade Customs

Clip Length 01:18 Premiere Date 03/01/12

Specials

The Opioid Trilogy, Episode 3: Coming Home

Length 15:13 Premiere Date 09/23/25

The Opioid Trilogy, Episode 2: Do No Harm

Length 15:10 Premiere Date 09/16/25

The Grocery List Show | Latino Grocery Store in Brooklyn | Ep 5

Length 12:21 Premiere Date 06/25/25

Camp Widow

Length 15:21 Premiere Date 06/23/25

The Grocery List Show | Family-Run Italian Market in New Jersey | Ep 4

Length 10:31 Premiere Date 06/18/25

The Grocery List Show | A Little Caribbean Market in Brooklyn | Ep 3

Length 10:31 Premiere Date 06/11/25

The Grocery List Show | Halal Grocery in Brooklyn | Ep 2

Length 12:07 Premiere Date 06/04/25

The Grocery List Show | Seafood City in Chicago | Ep 1

Length 12:39 Premiere Date 05/28/25

Who Can Become American? | The History of White People in America, Ep 6

Length 05:30 Premiere Date 12/18/24

Ready For Your Headliner? | United States of Comedy, Ep 5

Length 24:13 Premiere Date 12/10/24

The Art of Clown | United States of Comedy, Ep 4

Length 22:13 Premiere Date 12/03/24

America’s Gay Christian Sweetheart | United States of Comedy, Ep 3

Length 24:45 Premiere Date 11/26/24

Be Too Much | United States of Comedy, Ep 2

Length 23:40 Premiere Date 11/19/24

The Making of a Griot | United States of Comedy, Ep 1

Length 23:51 Premiere Date 11/12/24

All God's Children | The History of White People in America, Episode 5

Length 04:15 Premiere Date 10/14/24

The Diary of Afong Moy | The History of White People in America, Episode 4

Length 04:52 Premiere Date 10/07/24

Wild Hogs and Saffron

Length 18:29 Premiere Date 09/16/24

When I Close My Eyes

Length 24:02 Premiere Date 06/25/24

After Angola | holding bodies: a justice anthology

Length 18:05 Premiere Date 03/19/24

D.A. Time | holding bodies: a justice anthology

Length 12:44 Premiere Date 03/12/24

First Disappearances | holding bodies: a justice anthology

Length 12:36 Premiere Date 03/05/24

1 Hour Cozy Yule Log | Independent Lens

Length 1:00:03 Premiere Date 12/12/23

Breaking Silence

Length 17:59 Premiere Date 11/16/23

LA Street Food, South Asian Style | Spice Road, Episode 4

Length 16:31 Premiere Date 08/03/23

Back to the Motherland-ish | Spice Road, Episode 3

Length 20:51 Premiere Date 07/20/23

Southern Fried Tikka Masala | Spice Road, Episode 2

Length 16:31 Premiere Date 07/06/23

Tandoori Truck Stop | Spice Road, Episode 1

Length 16:08 Premiere Date 06/22/23

Everything Wrong and Nowhere to Go

Length 11:54 Premiere Date 04/20/23

Maletero

Length 15:32 Premiere Date 03/23/23

Underground

Length 09:46 Premiere Date 03/02/23

The Command Center to Bring Women Home

Length 20:58 Premiere Date 10/01/22

Brother

Length 14:21 Premiere Date 07/06/22

Our League

Length 36:38 Premiere Date 06/15/22

Folk Frontera

Length 14:08 Premiere Date 05/25/22

When I'm Her

Length 14:30 Premiere Date 06/21/21

The Great World of Gregory Blackstock

Length 10:38 Premiere Date 04/30/21

Jose and Mr. Ramos: The Dreamer

Length 08:19 Premiere Date 09/07/17

Jose and Mr. Ramos

Length 09:57 Premiere Date 08/07/17

Sophie and Ben

Length 12:14 Premiere Date 07/31/17

Never Conquered

Length 10:07 Premiere Date 07/28/17

TOWER - Guns on Campus - Short Film

Length 05:24 Premiere Date 02/14/17

The Rise of SWAT

Length 02:01 Premiere Date 05/08/16

The Black Panthers: Ericka Huggins

Premiere Date 02/16/16

The Black Panthers: Jamal Joseph

Premiere Date 02/16/16

County Clerk Changes History

Length 05:02 Premiere Date 06/14/15

TV Schedules

Jump to Recent Airdates

Upcoming

Keep Quiet and Forgive - S27 E8

Three decades after her assault, Lizzie confronts her Amish community's silence around sexual abuse.

Monday March 23, 2026 10:00 pm ET on KET
Monday March 23, 2026 9:00 pm CT on KET
Wednesday March 25, 2026 3:00 am ET on KET
Wednesday March 25, 2026 2:00 am CT on KET

The Tallest Dwarf - S27 E9

Filmmaker Julie Forrest Wyman searches for her place in the little people community.

Monday April 6, 2026 10:00 pm ET on KET
Monday April 6, 2026 9:00 pm CT on KET
Wednesday April 8, 2026 3:00 am ET on KET
Wednesday April 8, 2026 2:00 am CT on KET

Jump to Upcoming Airdates

Recent

The Inquisitor - S27 E7

Wednesday February 25, 2026 3:00 am ET on KET
Wednesday February 25, 2026 2:00 am CT on KET
Monday February 23, 2026 10:00 pm ET on KET
Monday February 23, 2026 9:00 pm CT on KET

The Librarians - S27 E6

Wednesday February 11, 2026 3:00 am ET on KET
Wednesday February 11, 2026 2:00 am CT on KET
Monday February 9, 2026 10:00 pm ET on KET
Monday February 9, 2026 9:00 pm CT on KET

Top

An Honest Liar: Exposing Peter Popoff

Recent Episodes

The Inquisitor

The Librarians

Vivien's Wild Ride

Life After

Ratified

Cracking the Code: Phil Sharp and the Biotech Revolution

Sponsored by:

Clips & Previews

An Honest Liar - Trailer

An Honest Liar: Exposing Peter Popoff

An Honest Liar: Exposing Peter Popoff

Mimi and Dona: My Aunt Dona

Stray Dog - Trailer

The Black Panthers: Vanguard of The Revolution (Theatrical)

Lois Vossen on Curation at Sundance

Half the Sky: Jane Ngori Turns a House into a Home in Kenya

Rose Mapendo Shares Her Story to Inspire Action

Women and Girls Lead: Meet Beverly

Women and Girls Lead: Meet Sonia

Women and Girls Lead: Melanne Verveer Web Exclusive

Half the Sky: Desmond Tutu's Message About Manmade Customs

Specials

The Opioid Trilogy, Episode 3: Coming Home

The Opioid Trilogy, Episode 2: Do No Harm

The Grocery List Show | Latino Grocery Store in Brooklyn | Ep 5

Camp Widow

The Grocery List Show | Family-Run Italian Market in New Jersey | Ep 4

The Grocery List Show | A Little Caribbean Market in Brooklyn | Ep 3

The Grocery List Show | Halal Grocery in Brooklyn | Ep 2

The Grocery List Show | Seafood City in Chicago | Ep 1

Who Can Become American? | The History of White People in America, Ep 6

Ready For Your Headliner? | United States of Comedy, Ep 5

The Art of Clown | United States of Comedy, Ep 4

America’s Gay Christian Sweetheart | United States of Comedy, Ep 3

Be Too Much | United States of Comedy, Ep 2

The Making of a Griot | United States of Comedy, Ep 1

All God's Children | The History of White People in America, Episode 5

The Diary of Afong Moy | The History of White People in America, Episode 4

Wild Hogs and Saffron

When I Close My Eyes

After Angola | holding bodies: a justice anthology

D.A. Time | holding bodies: a justice anthology

First Disappearances | holding bodies: a justice anthology

1 Hour Cozy Yule Log | Independent Lens

Breaking Silence

LA Street Food, South Asian Style | Spice Road, Episode 4

Back to the Motherland-ish | Spice Road, Episode 3

Southern Fried Tikka Masala | Spice Road, Episode 2

Tandoori Truck Stop | Spice Road, Episode 1

Everything Wrong and Nowhere to Go

Maletero

Underground

The Command Center to Bring Women Home

Brother

Our League

Folk Frontera

When I'm Her

The Great World of Gregory Blackstock

Jose and Mr. Ramos: The Dreamer

Jose and Mr. Ramos

Sophie and Ben

Never Conquered

TOWER - Guns on Campus - Short Film

The Rise of SWAT

The Black Panthers: Ericka Huggins

The Black Panthers: Jamal Joseph

County Clerk Changes History

TV Schedules

Upcoming

Keep Quiet and Forgive - S27 E8

The Tallest Dwarf - S27 E9

Recent

The Inquisitor - S27 E7

The Librarians - S27 E6

Explore KET