Lie Detectors Don't Work, But America is Still Obsessed With Them

Guest: Ken Alder, PhD, Professor of History, Northwestern University, Author of “The Lie Detectors: The History of an American Obsession” They’re a staple in TV crime dramas and they always seem to come up when a public figure is accused of some misdeed. But they’re so unreliable they’re usually not admissible in court. We’re talking about lie detector tests. I’ve never taken one. Have you? Ken Alder has studied the rather strange history of how America, in particular, became so obsessed with the power of the polygraph and what that says about us as a society. (Originally aired: 2/27/19)