Traitor or faithful: how to spot a liar

Science Weekly

The Guardian

Science

4.2 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 14 October 2025

⏱️ 17 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The Traitors has returned to UK screens with its biggest viewing figures ever as 19 celebrities compete to be crowned the winner. The game depends on being able to accurately spot a liar, but are any deception detection methods actually backed up by science? Madeleine Finlay speaks to Timothy Luke, a senior lecturer in the department of applied psychology at the University of Gothenburg, to find out whether sweating, nervous ticks and reduced eye contact really can alert us to deception, and if not, what can?. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is The Guardian.
0:09.0	Science Weekly is supported by Proton VPN.
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0:57.6	Stream home anywhere with ProtonVPN.
1:05.0	The hit BBC TV show The Traders is back, and this time it's full of famous faces.
1:16.6	You are cordially invited to join me at the Traders' Castle, yours faithfully.
1:22.6	Let the horror unfold and may the worst person win.
1:32.9	Competing for a charity of their choice, three traitors have to kill off the rest of the players without being detected.
1:40.7	While the so-called faithfuls are trying to work out who among them are the double
1:45.2	crosses.
1:46.2	What would you do, Alan, if you were a traitor?
1:48.6	How would you behave?
1:50.1	I'd probably sweat loads and that, though.
1:52.6	Two roads.
1:53.1	Two roads.
1:55.1	To mask any suppression.
	...

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