Body language lies: The pseudoscience and silliness spread by alleged behavior "experts"

Body language lies: The pseudoscience and silliness spread by alleged behavior "experts"

Can you really tell who’s lying just by watching their body language? Are there any practical takeaways you can reliably and regularly get from studying nonverbal behavior in interrogation/interview settings? In this episode, I, Zach Elwood (author of some popular books on poker tells) talk to Chris Shelton, host of Speaking of Cults (speakingofcults.com). We take a hard look at the booming industry of alleged “body language experts,” behavior-based deception detection, and viral interrogation analysis (popular on YouTube and video platforms). We unpack why confident claims about blinks, posture, eye direction, and micro-movements are often misleading, how pseudoscience sneaks into true crime media and even law enforcement, and why innocent people can easily be anxious and seem suspicious under pressure. We discuss if there are realistic uses of body language in interrogation and other real-world settings, and what that might look like. If you’ve ever been persuaded by a YouTube body language "expert," this conversation might change how you think about behavior. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episoder(205)

MK Ultra fact vs. fiction: Exaggerated claims of mind control and Manchurian candidates | with Stephen Kinzer

MK Ultra fact vs. fiction: Exaggerated claims of mind control and Manchurian candidates | with Stephen Kinzer

Did MK Ultra actually accomplish anything impressive in brainwashing- and mind-control-related areas? Did the US government, as some people claim, create "Manchurian candidates," who would kill on com...

31 Mar 51min

From body language bullshit to behavior science, with Vincent Denault

From body language bullshit to behavior science, with Vincent Denault

Vincent Denault once believed he was learning how to read people’s hidden thoughts through analyzing body language. As a young lawyer in Quebec, he attended behavior analysis and “synergology” trainin...

12 Mar 1h 6min

Con man Chase Hughes' military record versus his grandiose claims

Con man Chase Hughes' military record versus his grandiose claims

How does someone who makes wildly grandiose claims about mind control, interrogation mastery, neuroscience credentials, and secret military psychology operations gain more than 1.5 million YouTube sub...

3 Mar 1h 29min

Epstein Hysteria! Moral panic and dumb overreactions from Kyle Kulinski, others

Epstein Hysteria! Moral panic and dumb overreactions from Kyle Kulinski, others

The Epstein files release has resulted in many people seeming to lose their minds: engaging in moral panic, having hysterical overreactions, filtering for worst-case interpretations of ambiguous data,...

26 Feb 29min

Is your existence improbable? Or inevitable? Exploring universalism with Arnold Zuboff

Is your existence improbable? Or inevitable? Exploring universalism with Arnold Zuboff

Many view the fact that they are here, experiencing the world, as something insanely improbable... but what if it were instead entirely inevitable? The philosopher Arnold Zuboff walks us through a min...

21 Feb 1h 27min

Waco negotiator Gary Noesner shares tips on de-escalation and reading behavior

Waco negotiator Gary Noesner shares tips on de-escalation and reading behavior

What actually works to avoid violent outcomes when someone is armed, emotional, and on the edge? I talk with former FBI chief hostage negotiator Gary Noesner, author of Stalling for Time, about the ps...

13 Feb 1h 3min

Pro negotiator discusses the “power of nice” and reading body language | with Andres Lares

Pro negotiator discusses the “power of nice” and reading body language | with Andres Lares

What actually makes negotiations work—and why do so many “tough” tactics backfire? In this episode, Zach talks with professional negotiator Andres Lares about why the most effective deals rarely come ...

9 Feb 1h 6min

FBI agent discusses interrogation tactics, body language, the lie detector, and more

FBI agent discusses interrogation tactics, body language, the lie detector, and more

A talk with Eric Robinson, a recently retired Federal Bureau of Investigation agent and former pastor, about what actually works in real-world interrogations—and what doesn’t. Drawing on 24 years in t...

31 Jan 1h 24min

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