Tremors in the Blood

Starred review from January 9, 2023
In this fascinating look at the history of lie detectors, Wired reporter Katwala (Quantum Computing: How It Works and How It Could Change the World) explores how American law-enforcement came to place its faith in them. In 1921, San Francisco police chief August Vollmer learned of experiments to detect lies by measuring blood pressure. He recruited officer John Larson, who had degrees in physiology and psychology, to build on those experiments. Aided by Leonarde Keeler, Larson invented a device that translated blood pressure measurements into written lines, to be analyzed after a subject was asked a series of questions. It was seized on by Vollmer as a breakthrough, but as Katwala shows, it led to significant false conclusions, as there “is no way for an examiner to be sure whether a change in blood pressure is due to fear of getting caught or anxiety about being falsely accused.” More recently, lie detection technology has expanded to include processes “powered by brain scans and artificial intelligence” that have been “greedily adopted by police forces and governments, drawn in by the false promise of a machine that tells the truth.” Katwala has real storytelling chops, and the chilling conclusion about the flawed nature of polygraphs truly hits home. This evocative account complements Ken Alder’s The Lie Detectors: The History of an American Obsession. Agent: Kris Dahl, ICM Partners.

June 10, 2024

In this true-crime thriller, award-winning journalist Katwala (The Athletic Brain: How Neuroscience Is Revolutionising Sport) offers a detailed history of the polygraph, showing how it has been used--and misused--since its creation. In the early 1920s, San Francisco police chief August Vollmer was genuinely interested in new and innovative ways to improve policing. When he read about experiments in which blood pressure changes indicated a person was lying, he recruited John Larson to build a "lie detector." Larson, unlike most police officers of his era, had attended college, earning degrees in both physiology and psychology. Larson constructed a machine that successfully tracked blood pressure measurements on paper, but this flawed device almost immediately showed reliability issues, despite Vollmer's claim that it was a "breakthrough." Narrator Paul Bellantoni strikes the perfect conversational tone--with just a dash of noir detective--drawing listeners into the details of the 1920s crimes and criminal investigations while also clearly presenting Katwala's extensive research. VERDICT While the technology has changed, modern policing still relies heavily on scientific evidence. Katwala's fascinating history of this unreliable device is a cautionary tale that will likely appeal to those interested in criminal justice and true crime.--Beth Farrell

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