00:00 The episode titled "How Lie Detectors Work" from "Stuff You Should Know" discusses the history and invention of the polygraph machine.

04:05 The polygraph machine was first used to solve a crime when a woman named Helen Graham confessed after being hooked up to the machine and experiencing a drop in blood pressure followed by a sudden rise, demonstrating the placebo effect value of the polygraph.

07:57 When hooked up to a polygraph machine, the physiological changes it measures are based on the concept that a guilty person will experience fear of being detected, and while polygraphs have been used and abused for almost a century, there is a lot to criticize about their accuracy.

11:37 The technology used in lie detectors, such as the polygraph machine, has remained largely unchanged for almost 100 years, with components like the bellows and transducers still being used to measure physiological changes like breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, and galvanic skin resistance.

15:34 To become a forensic psychophysiologist, or polygraph examiner, you can either have a baccalaureate degree or five years of investigative experience and an associate's degree, complete a 10-week course, carry out 25 polygraph examinations, and have them reviewed by the Exiton Academy board.

19:30 Polygraph tests involve a post-test analysis of the data to determine if the person was deceptive or not, and the results are compared to a control question to determine if the test is inconclusive or not.

23:19 Polygraph tests are no longer used in the private sector due to the Polygraph Protection Act, and MRI lie detection is being explored as a potential alternative, although it is still in the early stages and raises ethical concerns.

26:56 Penile plus mammography has been used in a study to detect arousal in individuals deemed homophobic when exposed to homosexual pornography.

30:47 The episode ends with a series of ads for other podcasts and vacation deals.