Why We Confess, From Augustine to Oprah

Oprah Winfrey wore a charcoal-gray blazer and sensible slacks, with understated pewter jewelry. She looked less a guru and more an attorney, which was fitting, because this segment was a deposition. Sitting opposite James Frey, the author of the best-selling 2003 ersatz biography A Million Little Pieces, Oprah took her guest to task with cool but wounded earnestness.

“I don’t know what’s true,” she said, “and I don’t know what isn’t. So… I wanted to start with this Smoking Gun report titled ‘The Man Who Conned Oprah.’ And, I want to know—were they right?”