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How to Tell the Truth, With MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell 


On this week’s episode of The Upgrade, we’re talking about how to tell the truth—and how to know when the people around you are being less than truthful. We’ll be hearing from MSNBC host and author Lawrence O’Donnell with the story behind his book, Deadly Force—the murder of an unarmed black man and the police cover up that followed. Melissa chats with writer and semi-professional poker play Peter Alson about his former life as a bookmaker, and how to tell when someone is lying. And Lifehacker managing editor Virginia Smith tells us about a story from the Lifehacker archive: “How to Detect When Someone’s Lying (and Get Them to Tell the Truth).”

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In This Episode

Introduction (0:00 - 5:39)

Alice and Melissa discuss Alice’s gullibility, lying, and whether or not Melissa would save Alice from the TB ward.

The Interview: Peter Alson (6:56 - 23:44)

Writer and former bookie Peter Alson talks about his life of crime, and how he learned to detect when someone is lying in poker. Is the square life for suckers?

Story Time: Lawrence O’Donnell (24:00 - 35:23)

Lawrence tells how he came to find out about the unjust killing of James Boden, and the police cover-up that followed. How did his father, the lawyer in the trial, know it was a cover-up? Plus: what he learned from the police officer involved in the shooting who ultimately admitted the truth.

Ripped From the Archives (36:39 - 45:01)

This week, Lifehacker managing editor Virginia Smith joins us to discuss a classic Lifehacker story: “How to Detect When Someone’s Lying (and Get Them to Tell the Truth)”

Upgrades of the Week and Credits (46:17 -52:58)

Every week we talk about one tiny thing making a big difference in our lives. This week we talked about running, the Fakespot chrome extension, and adding miso to everything (including stuffing).