EP 159 Inside the Polygraph Room: What the Body Reveals When Words Lie with Alan Saquella

Alan Saquella

EP 159 Inside the Polygraph Room: What the Body Reveals When Words Lie with Alan Saquella

Alan Saquella

Research output: Other contribution

Abstract

Polygraph tests are often misunderstood — portrayed as simple “lie detectors” with jerking needles and dramatic reveals. In this episode, polygraph examiner and investigator Alan Sequella takes listeners inside the polygraph room to explain what really happens when someone is questioned under pressure.

Alan breaks down the science behind polygraph testing, explaining why it doesn’t detect lies, but rather measures physiological responses driven by the autonomic nervous system — the body’s fight-or-flight response. Together, we explore how stress, fear, deception, and even half-truths manifest in the body, and what skilled examiners look for beyond the machine itself.

Original language	American English
State	Published - Jan 7 2026

Publication series

Name	Publications

Access to Document

http://commons.erau.edu/publication/2454

Cite this

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AB - Polygraph tests are often misunderstood — portrayed as simple “lie detectors” with jerking needles and dramatic reveals. In this episode, polygraph examiner and investigator Alan Sequella takes listeners inside the polygraph room to explain what really happens when someone is questioned under pressure. Alan breaks down the science behind polygraph testing, explaining why it doesn’t detect lies, but rather measures physiological responses driven by the autonomic nervous system — the body’s fight-or-flight response. Together, we explore how stress, fear, deception, and even half-truths manifest in the body, and what skilled examiners look for beyond the machine itself.

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