Polygraph
Subject in True Crime
Polygraph has come up in 16 episodes across 4 podcasts in TMT, including Morbid, Crime Junkie, 20/20. 5 people have made recorded remarks about it.
What people said
Ashley FlowersCreator and host of the true crime podcast Crime Junkie and founder of Audiochuck
Flowers doubts Ashley Hooley could have mistaken pre-screening for an actual polygraph.
“I think you would know if you were taking a polygraph”
Crime Junkie: MISSING: Brittany Wallace Shank (Jun 22, 2026) · Listen from 1:10:08
Flowers contends that police fixated on two brothers because the robbery theory seemed to fit too neatly.
“And I think the police got blinded by this because in their mind, all the pieces fit almost too well”
Crime Junkie: MURDERED: Alberta O. Jones (Jun 15, 2026) · Listen from 15:44
Flowers said the profilers warned that true psychopaths can pass polygraphs even under truth serum.
“those kind of people can pass polygraphs all day long, even under the spell of truth serum”
Crime Junkie: SERIAL KILLER: David Meirhofer (Jun 1, 2026) · Listen from 35:33
Flowers explained that local agents trusted polygraphs over profiling and considered Meirhofer cleared because he passed one.
“they are less convinced because in their mind, the thing that they know is polygraphs. Right. David passed a polygraph”
Crime Junkie: SERIAL KILLER: David Meirhofer (Jun 1, 2026) · Listen from 28:30
Brit PrawatCo-host of Crime Junkie, introduced in the episode as 'Britt'
Prawat suggested Mark Wadley may have passed the car question only because police asked about July 23rd rather than the 22nd.
“I feel like he squeaked by there with that were you in her car question because like they asked him about the 23rd, not the 22nd”
Crime Junkie: MURDERED: Joyce LePage Part 2 (Jul 27, 2026) · Listen from 8:40
Alaina UrquhartCo-host of Morbid, autopsy technician and author of the Butcher novels
Urquhart attributed Ridgway's passing a polygraph to his likely being a clinical sociopath.
“As we'll find out, he is very likely a clinical sociopath. That's how he was able to fix it”
Morbid: The Green River Killer - Gary Ridgway (Part 4) (Jul 16, 2026) · Listen from 55:14
Dax ShepardAmerican actor and host of Armchair Expert; this label carries his show open and his 'robot' voice bit
Shepard argues that polygraphs detect nervousness rather than lies.
“I think what it detects is nervousness”
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard: Lukas Gage (Jul 6, 2026) · Listen from 1:59:09
Ash KelleyCo-host of the true crime podcast Morbid
Kelley expresses skepticism about the polygraph that cleared Alistair Douglas.
“he agreed and ultimately passed a polygraph examination, which, like, you know how we feel about that. Hot dog in a trench coat”
Morbid: The Disappearance of Amy Lynn Bradley (Apr 27, 2026) · Listen from 35:48
Coverage over time
Podcasts
- Morbid · 6 episodes
- Crime Junkie · 5 episodes
- 20/20 · 4 episodes
- Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard · 1 episode
Episodes
True Crime Vault: The Accused20/20 · Sep 22, 2026 · 1 h 24 min
David Muir revisits the 2004 murder of three-year-old Riley Fox, her father's coerced false confession, his DNA exoneration, and the FBI's identification of killer Scott Eby.
MURDERED: Joyce LePage Part 2Crime Junkie · Jul 27, 2026 · 47 min
Ashley Flowers and Brit Prawat examine the remaining suspects in the 1971 murder of WSU student Joyce LePage, including her roommate Bruce Bierbaum.
First Comes Love, Then Comes Murder (Rebroadcast)20/20 · Jul 25, 2026 · 1 h 23 min
20/20 recounts the 2001 murder of Leslie Prier in Chevy Chase, Maryland, solved 23 years later when genetic genealogy and an airport DNA sting identified her daughter's ex-boyfriend.
The Green River Killer - Gary Ridgway (Part 4)Morbid · Jul 16, 2026 · 1 h 42 min
Alaina Urquhart and Ash Kelley conclude their series on Gary Ridgway, covering his later victims, DNA identification, arrest, plea deal, confessions and sentencing.
Lukas GageArmchair Expert with Dax Shepard · Jul 6, 2026 · 2 h 10 min
Actor Lukas Gage tells Dax Shepard and Monica Padman about surviving a hate crime, a wilderness program, his Kardashians wedding, and his borderline personality disorder diagnosis.
- The Green River Killer - Gary Ridgway (Part 1)
Morbid · Jul 6, 2026 · 52 min
Morbid hosts Alaina Urquhart and Ash Kelley begin a four-part series on the Green River Killer, Gary Ridgway, covering his first victims in 1982–1983.
True Crime Vault: A Killing on the Cape20/20 · Jun 30, 2026 · 1 h 24 min
20/20 revisits the 2002 murder of fashion writer Christa Worthington in Truro, Massachusetts, and questions whether trash collector Christopher McCowan was rightly convicted.
MISSING: Brittany Wallace ShankCrime Junkie · Jun 22, 2026 · 1 h 15 min
Ashley Flowers and Brit Prawat examine the 2018 disappearance of Brittany Wallace Shank near Sturgis, Michigan, and the conflicting stories surrounding it.
Her Last Call20/20 · Jun 20, 2026 · 1 h 27 min
20/20 revisits the 2008 abduction and murder of Florida mother Denise Amber Lee, the 911 failures, Michael King's trial, and his 2026 execution.
MURDERED: Alberta O. JonesCrime Junkie · Jun 15, 2026 · 56 min
Ashley Flowers and Brit Prawat examine the unsolved 1965 murder of Alberta O. Jones, Louisville's first Black woman prosecutor and a civil rights leader.