Your Dark Companion Podcast

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 Companion00:01:24 - Meet Rick & Ryan Holden, Human Lie Detectors (Sort Of)00:03:53 - 52 Years in the Chair: How Rick Got Here00:06:39 - “Lie Detector” Is a Bad Name (Here’s Why)00:08:33 - Has the Polygraph Game Changed? Uh, Yeah00:10:39 - Courts, Admissibility, and That 1923 Problem00:12:12 - Is It 100% Right? (Short Answer: No)00:13:20 - When Examiners Get It Wrong00:15:06 - Trusting the Human, Not Just the Machine00:16:17 - Panic in the Chair: Does Nerve = Guilt?00:18:28 - Why They Actually Want You a Little Nervous00:20:33 - “Do I HAVE to Take This?” Voluntary vs Forced Tests00:22:29 - No, You’re Not Walking In Off the Street for a Cheater Test00:24:38 - Reality TV Polygraphs Are Garbage00:26:38 - Rick’s Still Obsessed With This Work (In a Good Way)00:27:40 - Clearing People vs Catching People00:28:31 - Polygraph 101: How a Real Exam Actually Works00:33:12 - Reading Physiology, Reading Behavior, Reading You00:35:24 - When They Confess Before the Test Even Starts00:36:15 - Midshow Read: House of Healing00:39:01 - The Case That Still Haunts the Room00:43:52 - How Child Abuse Allegations Actually Move Through the System00:47:00 - The Confession, Attorney-Client Privilege, and Outrage00:51:32 - 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 Quietly00:57:27 - 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_DfwTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@yourdarkcompanionFB: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61559876685445
The Old Grey Wolf: X: https://x.com/TheOldGreyWolfIG: https://www.instagram.com/theoldgreywolf16/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mikerhyner579
To reach out email us at: Info@Stolenwatermedia.com
 
 
 

Show Notes

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: Info@Stolenwatermedia.com

 

 

 

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Creators and Guests

Host
Mike Rhyner
Mike Rhyner… "a little on the bumpy side, but rather likable"…so stated famously by a grade school teacher in Oak Cliff, where Mike grew up. A complicated guy, yet a guy who can do long division and remember call strike three to A Rod. Probably best left unattended. Don't expect assistance from him if a medical situation arises.

What is Your Dark Companion Podcast?

"Whatever I want it to be about on a given day; is what it is." Your Dark Companion couples your familiar friends from radio, Mike and Grubes! Mike brings his classic interviews that draw you in, and Grubes—The Devil—drops…well the drops, and throws the occasional grenade. Mike likes to draw on his fascinating acquaintances and friends allowing them to tell their stories as you've never heard them. But he also goes outside his network, sharing Grubes' network, and often outside of both, to bring you those they don't know, but believe have a story that will make you laugh, make you think, think differently, or just entertain you…"that's what we are trying to do here."