Original reporting and commentary about polygraphs, voice stress analyzers, and other purported "lie detectors."
Software engineer Bill Softky ponders the question in on-line British technology publication, The Register in his article, “Will There Ever Be a Real ‘Lie Detector?’” Softky begins by dispensing with the delusion that the polygraph can detect lies: Lie detectors figure prominently in the sauciest dramas, like espionage and murder, but they deeply polarize opinion. …
David Wallace-Wells, writing for Washington Monthly, reviews Ken Alder’s new book, The Lie Detectors in an article titled, “The Big Lie: How America became obsessed with the polygraph–even though it has never really worked”: In May 1922, a wealthy family of four was driving home to San Francisco from a day trip in the Santa …
Chicago Tribune staff reporter Jason George reports: A polygraph showdown `Detector of Deception’ vs. The Skeptical Professor By Jason George Tribune staff reporter March 15, 2007 Fred Hunter’s Hinsdale office sits far from the concrete courthouses where you imagine most polygraphers ply their trade. A Ferrari dealership is stationed around the corner, and a McDonalds …
Attorney Norm Pattis provides a review of professor Ken Alder’s new book, The Lie Detectors: The History of an American Obsession on the blog, Crime & Federalism, recounting also his own experience with a CIA polygraph examiner in the 1980s.
Guest host Julie Burstein interviewed Northwestern University professor Ken Alder today about his new book, The Lie Detectors: The History of an American Obsession for WNYC Radio’s Leonard Lopate Show. The interview may be downloaded as an MP3 audio file here.
William Grimes reviews Ken Alders’ newly released book, The Lie Detectors, (which has previously been mentioned on this blog): March 2, 2007 Books of The Times The Tangled Web of the Truth Machine By WILLIAM GRIMES Its inventor called it the cardio-pneumo-psychograph. To a clutch of coeds in Berkeley, Calif., in 1921, it was a …