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The Chair You Never Want to Sit In: What Really Happens in a Polygraph | Rick & Ryan Holden
Mike Rhyner sits down with Rick and Ryan Holden — a father-son polygraph team whose client list ranges from federal agencies to murder suspects to people just trying to clear their names — to pull the curtain back on the world most of us hope we never have to visit.
They walk Mike through how a real polygraph actually works (and why “lie detector” is the wrong term), why the machine itself isn’t magic but the examiner better be, and why anxiety doesn’t automatically make you look guilty. Rick talks about 50+ years in the chair, from Texas death row to child abuse cases to capital murders, and Ryan breaks down how this work shows up in counterintelligence, national security, and courtrooms.
They also get into ethics: when you’re allowed to tell, when you’re not, and what it feels like to know the truth in cases that are dark, heartbreaking, and legally delicate. It’s intense, it’s honest, and it’s not reality TV.
Chapters:
00:00:00 - Welcome to Your Dark Companion
00:01:24 - Meet Rick & Ryan Holden, Human Lie Detectors (Sort Of)
00:03:53 - 52 Years in the Chair: How Rick Got Here
00:06:39 - “Lie Detector” Is a Bad Name (Here’s Why)
00:08:33 - Has the Polygraph Game Changed? Uh, Yeah
00:10:39 - Courts, Admissibility, and That 1923 Problem
00:12:12 - Is It 100% Right? (Short Answer: No)
00:13:20 - When Examiners Get It Wrong
00:15:06 - Trusting the Human, Not Just the Machine
00:16:17 - Panic in the Chair: Does Nerve = Guilt?
00:18:28 - Why They Actually Want You a Little Nervous
00:20:33 - “Do I HAVE to Take This?” Voluntary vs Forced Tests
00:22:29 - No, You’re Not Walking In Off the Street for a Cheater Test
00:24:38 - Reality TV Polygraphs Are Garbage
00:26:38 - Rick’s Still Obsessed With This Work (In a Good Way)
00:27:40 - Clearing People vs Catching People
00:28:31 - Polygraph 101: How a Real Exam Actually Works
00:33:12 - Reading Physiology, Reading Behavior, Reading You
00:35:24 - When They Confess Before the Test Even Starts
00:36:15 - Midshow Read: House of Healing
00:39:01 - The Case That Still Haunts the Room
00:43:52 - How Child Abuse Allegations Actually Move Through the System
00:47:00 - The Confession, Attorney-Client Privilege, and Outrage
00:51:32 - Are You There to Find the Truth or Deliver Justice?
00:53:41 - How Do You Hear This Stuff and Sleep at Night?
00:56:06 - “Everybody Has Something at Stake”
00:56:32 - Why People Come to Them Quietly
00:57:27 - Everyone Has a Right to Defend Themselves
Follow Your Dark Companion on Patreon for every episode:
patreon.com/YourDarkCompanion
IG: https://www.instagram.com/yourdarkcompanion/
X: https://x.com/YDC_Dfw
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@yourdarkcompanion
FB: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61559876685445
The Old Grey Wolf:
X: https://x.com/TheOldGreyWolf
IG: https://www.instagram.com/theoldgreywolf16/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mikerhyner579
To reach out email us at: [email protected]
View all episodes
By Mike Rhyner
5
44 ratings
Mike Rhyner sits down with Rick and Ryan Holden — a father-son polygraph team whose client list ranges from federal agencies to murder suspects to people just trying to clear their names — to pull the curtain back on the world most of us hope we never have to visit.
They walk Mike through how a real polygraph actually works (and why “lie detector” is the wrong term), why the machine itself isn’t magic but the examiner better be, and why anxiety doesn’t automatically make you look guilty. Rick talks about 50+ years in the chair, from Texas death row to child abuse cases to capital murders, and Ryan breaks down how this work shows up in counterintelligence, national security, and courtrooms.
They also get into ethics: when you’re allowed to tell, when you’re not, and what it feels like to know the truth in cases that are dark, heartbreaking, and legally delicate. It’s intense, it’s honest, and it’s not reality TV.
Chapters:
00:00:00 - Welcome to Your Dark Companion
00:01:24 - Meet Rick & Ryan Holden, Human Lie Detectors (Sort Of)
00:03:53 - 52 Years in the Chair: How Rick Got Here
00:06:39 - “Lie Detector” Is a Bad Name (Here’s Why)
00:08:33 - Has the Polygraph Game Changed? Uh, Yeah
00:10:39 - Courts, Admissibility, and That 1923 Problem
00:12:12 - Is It 100% Right? (Short Answer: No)
00:13:20 - When Examiners Get It Wrong
00:15:06 - Trusting the Human, Not Just the Machine
00:16:17 - Panic in the Chair: Does Nerve = Guilt?
00:18:28 - Why They Actually Want You a Little Nervous
00:20:33 - “Do I HAVE to Take This?” Voluntary vs Forced Tests
00:22:29 - No, You’re Not Walking In Off the Street for a Cheater Test
00:24:38 - Reality TV Polygraphs Are Garbage
00:26:38 - Rick’s Still Obsessed With This Work (In a Good Way)
00:27:40 - Clearing People vs Catching People
00:28:31 - Polygraph 101: How a Real Exam Actually Works
00:33:12 - Reading Physiology, Reading Behavior, Reading You
00:35:24 - When They Confess Before the Test Even Starts
00:36:15 - Midshow Read: House of Healing
00:39:01 - The Case That Still Haunts the Room
00:43:52 - How Child Abuse Allegations Actually Move Through the System
00:47:00 - The Confession, Attorney-Client Privilege, and Outrage
00:51:32 - Are You There to Find the Truth or Deliver Justice?
00:53:41 - How Do You Hear This Stuff and Sleep at Night?
00:56:06 - “Everybody Has Something at Stake”
00:56:32 - Why People Come to Them Quietly
00:57:27 - Everyone Has a Right to Defend Themselves
Follow Your Dark Companion on Patreon for every episode:
patreon.com/YourDarkCompanion
IG: https://www.instagram.com/yourdarkcompanion/
X: https://x.com/YDC_Dfw
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@yourdarkcompanion
FB: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61559876685445
The Old Grey Wolf:
X: https://x.com/TheOldGreyWolf
IG: https://www.instagram.com/theoldgreywolf16/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mikerhyner579
To reach out email us at: [email protected]
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