American Experience 35x1 - The Lie Detector

In the first decades of the 20th century, when scientificinnovations were transforming life, researchers made athrilling new claim: they could tell whether someone was lyingby using a machine.Popularly known as the "lie detector," thedevice transformed police work, seized headlines, and wasextolled in movies, TV, and comics as an infalliblecrime-fighting tool. Husbands and wives tested each other'sfidelity. Corporations routinely tested employees' honesty,and government workers were tested for loyalty and "morals."Butthe promise of the polygraph turned dark, and the lie detectortoo often became an apparatus of fear and intimidation. Writtenand directed by Rob Rapley and executive produced by CameoGeorge, The Lie Detectoris a tale of good intentions, twistedmorals, and unintended consequences.