Secret Service agent on building rapport, reading people, and polygraphs | Brad Beeler

Secret Service agent on building rapport, reading people, and polygraphs | Brad Beeler

Author: Zachary Elwood May 30, 2026 Duration: 1:10:51
How much can we really learn from people's words and behavior—and where do we risk fooling ourselves? In this talk, former Secret Service agent and polygraph examiner Brad Beeler explores the practical realities of interrogations, deception detection, statement analysis, and reading people in high-stakes situations. We discuss why confirmation bias is such a threat to good investigations, why many popular body-language claims are overstated, and how investigators might make use of subtle behavioral clues without becoming wrongly overconfident in them. Brad shares stories from criminal investigations, explains how experienced interviewers think about truth and deception, and offers a polygraph examiner’s take on the controversial subject of polygraphs. We also talk about the importance of rapport-building and listening to what people are actually trying to communicate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ever wonder what a professional poker player notices about your tells, or how an FBI interrogator knows when someone’s lying? People Who Read People: A Behavior and Psychology Podcast digs into these questions through conversations with a fascinating array of experts. Host Zachary Elwood sits down with people whose jobs depend on accurately interpreting others-from jury consultants and behavior researchers to sports analysts and deception detection professionals. Each episode pulls back the curtain on the practical frameworks these individuals use to make sense of why we act the way we do, moving beyond textbook theory into the messy, applied reality of human interaction. With over 135 episodes in the archive, this podcast offers a deep and varied library exploring the subtle signals, hidden motivations, and cognitive patterns that drive our daily lives. You’ll hear specific stories and case studies that reveal how understanding behavior plays out in high-stakes courtrooms, strategic games, and everyday relationships. It’s for anyone curious about the mechanics of social dynamics, self-awareness, and the art of observation. Elwood’s grounded, interview-led approach makes complex psychological concepts accessible and immediately relevant, building a resource that feels both insightful and genuinely useful.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 50

People Who Read People: A Behavior and Psychology Podcast
Podcast Episodes
Army Psy-Op veteran talks influence, blowback, psy-op myths, and more [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:28:42
A talk with an Army Psychological Operations soldier about what military psy-op work really involves—and how different the reality is from many people's ideas about the nature of that work. We discuss his psy-op work in…
Can computers spot lies better than humans?, with Bennett Kleinberg [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:02
Can machines spot a lie better than we can? I talk with psychology researcher Bennett Kleinberg, whose work brings together psychology, machine learning, natural-language processing, and deception detection. We explore w…
Can computers detect lies better than humans?, with Bennett Kleinberg [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:47
Can machines spot a lie better than we can? I talk with psychology researcher Bennett Kleinberg, whose work brings together psychology, machine learning, natural-language processing, and deception detection. We explore w…
Inside a Scientology e-meter auditing session, with Chris Shelton [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:23:35
Former Scientologist Chris Shelton spent thousands of hours using the e-meter to "audit" fellow members of the Church—but what does the device actually measure, and why do Scientologists trust it as an infallible guide t…
Inside a Scientology e-meter auditing session, with Chris Shelton [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:29:20
Former Scientologist Chris Shelton spent thousands of hours using the e-meter to "audit" fellow members of the Church—but what does the device actually measure, and why do Scientologists trust it as an infallible guide t…
How Pete Blair scored 100% in a deception detection study [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:56
In a 2014 deception detection study, Pete Blair made 33 judgments—and got all 33 right. That paper was titled “Expertise in deception detection involves actively prompting diagnostic information rather than passive behav…
How Pete Blair scored 100% in a deception detection study [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:08:56
In a 2014 deception detection study, Pete Blair made 33 judgments—and got all 33 right. That paper was titled “Expertise in deception detection involves actively prompting diagnostic information rather than passive behav…
Behaviorally, poker and interrogations are very different [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:32
Zach Elwood, author of influential books on poker tells and host of the People Who Read People podcast, joins The Deductionist podcast for a wide-ranging conversation about what we can and can't learn from human behavior…
Behaviorally, poker and interrogations are very different [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:16
Zach Elwood, author of influential books on poker tells and host of the People Who Read People podcast, joins The Deductionist podcast for a wide-ranging conversation about what we can and can't learn from human behavior…
Understanding defenses of the polygraph, with David Goldberg [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:19:50
Polygraphs are a controversial tool in criminal investigations: critics argue they're too unreliable to trust, while proponents say that, even if they’re not perfect, they nonetheless can play a valuable role in helping…