Ekman is the guy on whom the lead character on the Fox show "Lie to Me" is based. Interestingly, in the pilot episode of that show, the doctor recruits a TSA screener who has demonstrated an innate ability to catch people lying (she's termed a very rare "natural").

I won't deny that his theories probably have some validity... but the idea that you can train anyone to use them in a few hours is utterly ridiculous.