Audio files

In episode one of our Sexual Assault Awareness Month season, Just Science sat down with Jody West, the forensic science manager for the forensic biology section at the North Carolina State Crime Laboratory, and Dr. Patricia Melton, a senior research Forensic Social Scientist at RTI International. Discuss resources aimed to help Forensic Science Service Providers increase the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of sexual assault kit testing. Among Forensics Science Service providers, there's a variability in how they approach testing sexual assault kits.

In the final episode of our case study season Just Science sat down with Ashleigh Berg, senior forensic investigator for the Denton County Sheriff's Office, to discuss a capital murder case where a combination of a variety of forensic evidence types aided the resolution of the case. When a homicide occurs in a dynamic environment, like inside a moving vehicle that was involved in two car crashes, it can pose challenges for reconstructing the timeline of events and differentiating incident related evidence from post-incident artifacts.

In episode three of our case study season, Just Science sat down with Dr. Michael Nirenberg, a clinical and forensic podiatrist and current president of the American Society of Forensic Podiatry, to discuss how analyzing a perpetrator's gait and footprint evidence located at a crime scene can help advance investigations and resolve cases.

In episode two of our case studies Season Just Science sat down with Tim Fayle Training Capability Lead for IDEMIA Australasia and Chair of the International Association for Identifications Latent Print Certification Board to discuss the utility of friction ridge detail inadvertently captured via photographs as a valuable and potentially underutilized type of evidence within a variety of case types.

In episode one of our case study season just sat down with Anthony Earles, Forensics Identification Unit supervisor at the Maui Police Department, to discuss the Maui wildfires that occurred on August 8th, 2023, including the collaborative nature of the mass disaster emergency response effort, the forensic methodologies and technologies used to identify recovered human remains and the various challenges encountered during response mobilization due to the isolated geographic location of Maui County, Hawaii.

In the final episode of our Community Based solutions for Substance Use Challenges season Just Science sits down, Kristen Lee, substance use program coordinator at the Georgia Criminal Justice Coordinating Council. Lizann Roberts, executive director of the Coastal Georgia Indicators Coalition. And Tara Jennings, strategic planning administrator for Chatham County government, to discuss their COSSUP funded Community Data platform, which helps connect health and justice data for an individual so that first responders can best meet their needs.

In episode seven of our Community based Solutions for Substance Use Challenges season.

In episode six of our community based solutions for Substance Use Challenges, Season Just Science sits down with Doctor Terry Kerns, substance abuse law enforcement coordinator of the Nevada Office of the Attorney General.

In episode three of our Community Based solutions for Substance Use Challenges season, Just Science sits down with Doctor Chris Delcher, associate professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science and director of the Institute for Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy at the University of Kentucky, to discuss how his team tracks community drug use through wastewater analysis. Much like analyzing a urine sample to determine what drugs an individual is using. Analyzing wastewater from a community offers insight into drug trends across an entire region of people.

In episode two of our Community-based Solutions for Substance Use Challenges season, Just Science sits down with Bill Barbour, Fatal Overdose Surveillance Program Manager at King County Medical Examiner’s Office, to discuss his team’s methods for rapid toxicology results after a suspected overdose death.

In episode one of our Community Based Solutions for Substance Use Challenges season just sat down with Doctor Samantha Tolliver, Chief Toxicologist for the District of Columbia Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, or DC OCME, to discuss how their agency uses their Bureau of Justice Assistances Comprehensive Opioid Stimulant and Substance Use Program, or COSSUP, funding to improve their drug testing and analysis processes.

In episode four of our 2023 Sexual Assault Awareness Month mini season, Just Science sat down with Mark Pooley, founder of Native Search Solutions, to discuss how the challenges faced by Indigenous communities impact sexual assault investigations. In the United States, many Indigenous communities are geographically isolated, which contributes to a lack of resources such as police staffing and training, healthcare, or even access to the Internet.

In episode three of our Supporting Medicolegal Death Investigators mini season, Just Science sat down with Rebecca Reid, Laramie County Coroner in Wyoming, and Meghan Clarke, Family Advocate Coordinator at the Denver Office of the Medical Examiner, to discuss the development of new roles in MDI offices that focus on providing support to the families of decedents. On a daily basis, the staff of medical examiner and coroner offices encounter grieving families who are in need of compassion, resources, or just a listening ear.

In episode two of our Supporting Medicolegal Death Investigators mini season, Just Science sat down with Lindsey McNaughton, founder of the National Association for Forensic Autopsy Technicians, to discuss the importance of forensic autopsy technicians and her efforts to create more resources for this community. When someone dies unexpectedly or of unnatural causes, performing a full autopsy examination can be an extensive process that requires many steps and close attention to detail.

In episode one of our Supporting Medicolegal Death Investigators mini season, Just Science sat down with Cory Russo, Medical Examiner Investigator at the Utah State Office of the Medical Examiner, and Chelsea Brown, Senior Deputy Coroner at the Orange County Coroner's Office, to discuss how internship programs at medical examiner and coroner's offices can be a great way to pursue a career in the field. While medicolegal death investigators are often heard about in the media, the path to join this profession is often unclear.

In episode four of our Unidentified Human Remains mini season Just Science sat down with Katharine Pope, a Research Public Health Analyst at RTI International, and Elissia Conlon, a Special Advisor to the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner, to discuss mass fatality incident management and disaster victim identification. A mass fatality incident includes any incident where there are enough fatalities to require the involvement of a special operation or organization such as a natural disaster, large transportation accident, or terrorist attacks.

In episode one of our Unidentified Human Remains mini season, Just Science sat down with Dr. Kenneth Aschheim, Assistant Chief Forensic Ontologist for the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner, to discuss how dental evidence can be used to help identify human remains. Due to their strength, heat resistance, and lack of decomposition over time, teeth are one of the most resilient substances found in the human body. As a result, forensic odontologists can use the teeth of decedents to match the antemortem dental records in order to help identify unknown human remains. Listen as Dr.

In episode three of our Unidentified Human Remains mini season, Just Science sat down with Mark Pooley, founder of Native Search Solutions, and Dustin Driscoll, Research Public Health Analyst at RTI International, to discuss the many barriers faced by indigenous communities when it comes to identifying missing and murdered persons.

In episode five of our community based solutions for Substance Use Challenges season Just Science sits down with doctor Nicole Swiderski, New Jersey path to recovery grant manager and Jass Pelland, New Jersey Path to Recovery program manager to discuss how the New Jersey State Parole Board's 2021 Comprehensive Opioid Stimulant and Substance Use Program Award is supporting peer recovery and other services that help individuals with a substance use disorder navigate reentering the community after release from prison.

In episode four of our community based solutions for Substance Use Challenges season, Just Science sits down with Doctor Nabarun Dasgupta, pharmacoepidemiologist and senior scientist at the University of North Carolina Injury Prevention Research Center, and Erin Tracy, research chemist in the University of North Carolina Injury Prevention Research Center, to discuss their unique approach to providing drug checking services on a broad scale.

In this special release episode, Just Science sat down with Chuck Heurich, senior physical scientist with the National Institute of Justice, and Dr. Jennifer Snippen, experienced medicolegal death investigator and consultant, to discuss recent updates to NIJ's guide for the Death Scene investigator. 25 years ago NIJ released a guide to help medicolegal death investigators navigate complex scenes and cases, a document that has since evolved with the development of best practices and technological advancements.

In this 2024 Sexual Assault Awareness Month special release episode, Just Science sat down with Doctor Katherine Scafide, Associate Professor and sexual assault response researcher at George Mason University, to discuss how her team is developing methods to improve the visibility of bruises on black and brown skin tones following a sexual assault involving victims of color. During a sexual assault medical forensic exam capturing injuries such as bruises can be crucial for helping bring a case to justice.

In this 2024 Sexual Assault Awareness Month special release episode, Just Science sat down with Erin House, Special Assistant Attorney General in Michigan, Richard Johnson, Kalamazoo SAKI investigator, and Lindsey King, Kalamazoo Community Based Victim Advocate, to discuss their team based approach for investigating sexual assault cold cases. While DNA can be a helpful tool for convicting sexual assault offenders, many sexual assault cold cases do not include DNA evidence.

In episode three of our 2023 Sexual Assault Awareness Month mini season, Just Science sat down with Orlando Salinas, Lieutenant Trampas Gooding, and Jennifer Pollock from the Texas Department of Public Safety to discuss how statutes regarding lawfully owed DNA and familial DNA searches are utilized in sexual assault investigations. When an unknown DNA profile is found in samples collected within a sexual assault kit, the unknown profile is searched within national DNA databases such as the combined DNA index system, also known as CODIS.

In episode two of our 2023 Sexual Assault Awareness Month mini season, Just Science sat down with Dr. Julie Valentine, the Associate Dean of the Brigham Young University College of Nursing, to discuss the factors that contribute to low prosecution rates for sexual assault cases. In our last episode, Dr. Valentine highlighted the importance of sexual assault kit submission and DNA evidence as the groundwork for prosecution in sexual assault cases.