Brett and I continue our exploration of the monsters that societies breathe into existence—creatures shaped by cautionary tales, cultural trauma, and collective imagination.

Brett Talley, a horror writer and co-host of The Prosecutors podcast, joins me to discuss the monsters we create.

Our conversation touches on how loss, children and age have changed the way we view true crime stories.

Julia Cowley, a retired FBI profiler and host of The Consult podcast, joins me to continue on conversation about what we can learn from the behavior of the real-life nightmare that is the suspect, Bryan Kohberger.

Julia Cowley, a retired FBI profiler and host of The Consult podcast, joins me to discuss what we can learn from the behavior of the real-life nightmare that is the suspect, Bryan Kohberger.

Criminal defense attorney Matthew Tympanick breaks down high- and low-profile cases, sharing how jury selection, media scrutiny, and ethical boundaries shape legal strategy and trial outcomes.

In this episode, I sit down with veteran journalist and author Mark Pinsky, whose career has taken him from high-profile crime reporting to covering racial justice and religion. Mark shares how his political awakening at Duke University in the 1960s and the civil rights movement shaped his worldview, how his interest in social justice led him to cover crime and religion, and how he’s navigated the tightrope between advocacy and objectivity throughout his work. We talk about his reporting on landmark cases — including his rare jailhouse interview with Ted Bundy, the Jeffrey MacDonald murder trial, and the 1979 Greensboro Massacre. Mark opens up about how race, class, and bias influence the criminal justice system, and the ways journalists have to balance empathy with detachment when covering violent crime. We also dive into his coverage of televangelism, the political rise of white evangelicals, and how shifts in grassroots attitudes foreshadowed major political changes. Along the way, we discuss wrongful convictions, the impact of projects like the Innocence Project, and the role of media as a kind of “last-resort appeals court” for injustice. It’s a wide-ranging conversation about values, choices, and the lived experiences that shape a journalist’s craft — and the human stories that keep us doing this work. This episode includes a tribute to Jessica Olive Cash, a researcher for this podcast and The Prosecutors Podcast. Jessica was a true gift to me and the team and will be missed. To listen to me on Jessica's own podcast, Version of Events, talking about Missing and Murdered Indigenous People: Interview with Jayson Blair - Version of Events | Podcast on Spotify To donate to support a charity that fights for the cases that Jessica believed in: https://gofund.me/0f3cb380d Contact me at silverliningshandbookpod@gmail.com Check out the Silver Linings Handbook website at: https://silverliningshandbook.com/ Check out our Patreon to support the show at: https://www.patreon.com/thesilverliningshandbook Join our Facebook Group at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1361159947820623 Visit the Silver Linings Handbook store to support the podcast at: https://www.bonfire.com/store/the-silver-linings-handbook-podcast-store Visit The True Crime Times Substack at: https://truecrimemessenger.substack.com The Silver Linings Handbook podcast is a part of the ART19 network. ART19 is a subsidiary of Wondery and Amazon Music. See the Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and the California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this bonus from the Santana True Crime podcast, I discuss the disappearance of Ashley Loring Heavyrunner, a 20-year-old Indigenous woman who went missing from the Blackfeet Reservation.

In the second half of our conversation, we move from systemic critique to case-specific urgency where we examine the disappearances of Olivia Lone Bear, Jermaine Charlo, Ashley Loring Heavyrunner, Leo Wagner, Jeremy Jourdain, and Nevaeh Kingbird —not as isolated tragedies, but as part of a devastating pattern of institutional neglect.

We explore the unique threads within the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons crisis, one facet of a broader vanishing that has spanned centuries.

In this episode, I speak with Brett Talley, co-host of The Prosecutors Podcast, about the long journey from tragedy to trial in the Delphi murders. We explore the lessons learned from years of investigation, the power and peril of media attention, and the human cost behind the headlines.

We explore the psychology of denial and conspiracies, clearing up misconceptions that have persisted over the years, we examine the emotional aftermath and they dive into five years of covering the case to discuss the man convicted of the crime and his family, alternate suspects, the true crime community and creators, the loved ones of Abby and Libby and the legacy of the girls.

Kevin and Áine joined me today to discuss their coverage of the case, their continued investigation and their forthcoming book, Shadow of the Bridge: The Delphi Murders and the Dark Side of the American Heartland.

After 16 years working for Hulu, Discovery, The Travel Channel, National Geographic, and others, she has begun making films about Indigenous people for mainstream audiences.

Amy Carlson claimed to be the reincarnation of Robin Williams, Joan of Arc, Marilyn Monroe, Jesus Christ and the Hawaiian goddess Pele—along with being Elvis Presley’s mother and Donald Trump’s daughter in other lifetimes. In 2023, the HBO documentary Love Has Won: The Mother God Cult traced Carlson’s journey from a McDonald’s manager in Dallas to cult leader, promoting beliefs that the COVID pandemic was planned, 9/11 was staged, Sandy Hook was a hoax and drinking silver particles was a path to spiritual and physical healing. Blending QAnon, New Age mysticism, authoritarian religion, pseudoscientific wellness influencers and science denial, Love Has Won thrived until Carlson’s mysterious death in 2021, when followers drove her mummified body from Oregon to Colorado, awaiting her reincarnation. Today, as conspiracy theories move further into the mainstream, I’m joined by her former lover, Andrew-Ryan Profaci, to talk about community, belonging, loss, power, and the cults that hide not just in buildings—but in ideas. Contact me at silverliningshandbookpod@gmail.com Check out the Silver Linings Handbook website at: https://silverliningshandbook.com/ Check out our Patreon to support the show at: https://www.patreon.com/thesilverliningshandbook Join our Facebook Group at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1361159947820623 Visit the Silver Linings Handbook store to support the podcast at: https://www.bonfire.com/store/the-silver-linings-handbook-podcast-store Visit The True Crime Times Substack at: https://truecrimemessenger.substack.com The Silver Linings Handbook podcast is a part of the ART19 network. ART19 is a subsidiary of Wondery and Amazon Music. See the Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and the California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dan and Gil join me to discuss Morgan's life, death and legacy, their grief and their triumphant aftermath in the second of two episodes.

Morgan Dana Harrington was a vibrant 20-year-old college student attending a Metallica concert in Charlottesville, Virginia, when she vanished in 2009—an event that captured national attention and ignited public grief. Her killer wasn’t identified until the 2014 abduction and murder of another University of Virginia student, 18-year-old Hannah Graham, just miles away. The two cases forced society to confront chilling questions about personal safety and predators who operate quietly among us. In this episode, I’m joined by Morgan’s parents, Gil and Dan Harrington, to reflect on her life, her legacy and how unimaginable tragedy gave birth to advocacy that reached far beyond what they ever envisioned. Together, we look closely at Morgan’s case—and what to do with the pieces of your world that have been shattered. Find out about Dan and Girl's charity here. Read a companion article on The True Crime Times here. Contact me at silverliningshandbookpod@gmail.com Check out the Silver Linings Handbook website at: https://silverliningshandbook.com/ Check out our Patreon to support the show at: https://www.patreon.com/thesilverliningshandbook Join our Facebook Group at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1361159947820623 Visit the Silver Linings Handbook store to support the podcast at: https://www.bonfire.com/store/the-silver-linings-handbook-podcast-store Visit The True Crime Times Substack at: https://truecrimemessenger.substack.com The Silver Linings Handbook podcast is a part of the ART19 network. ART19 is a subsidiary of Wondery and Amazon Music. See the Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and the California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

I am joined by Robert Peters, the director of institutional response for GRACE, which investigates abuse in Protestant churches.

Philip joins me to discuss Volkman's case, the impact on the area in Appalachia where he operated, and the lessons that we can learn from the opioid epidemic.

Haley, a doctoral student in forensic anthropology, has founded a growing nonprofit organization focused on bringing crime scene investigation services to reservations and after meeting while searching for Ashley, Haley and I sat down to discuss her journey.