As the ladies exit Women's History Month, Amanda surprises Lauren with a bonus episode!

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This year for Women's History Month, Amanda and Lauren are going to go on a journey through some tragic deaths of young women, and their lives that were cut too short. Because they were wanted too.

In their final week of Women's History Month, Lauren and Amanda discuss the stalking and murder of Lauren McCluskey, the failures of the University of Utah, and the legacy of Lauren's Promise.

Resources:

• RAINN (anti-sexual violence organization): you can call at 1-800-656-4673, available 24 hours a day; you can also visit online at rainn.org.
• The Stalking Prevention, Awareness, and Resource Center (SPARC): visit online for additional information at stalkingawareness.org.
• Domestic Violence Hotline: you can call at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), text by sending “START” to 88788, or visit the website at thehotline.org.
• Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: you can call 988 to talk to someone 24 hours a day, or you can visit them online at 988lifeline.org.

Sources:

• Deseret News: “What really happened to Lauren McCluskey? The inside story of her tragic death” by Gillian Friedman
• CBS News: “University of Utah student made final phone call before being slain, family says” by CBS News
• The Salt Lake Tribune: “University of Utah police officer showed off explicit photos of Lauren McCluskey to his coworker” by Courtney Tanner
• The Salt Lake Tribune: “How the University of Utah’s police department treated female victims and officers for years before Lauren McCluskey’s killing” by Courtney Tanner
• The Salt Lake Tribune: “Here’s an updated timeline of the slaying of University of Utah student Lauren McCluskey and reform that has followed” by Courtney Tanner and Sean P. Means
• ABC News: “Family of murdered college athlete Lauren McCluskey settles with University of Utah for $13.5 million” by Rahma Ahmed
• Salt Lake Magazine: “Lauren McCluskey: The Tragic and Unnecessary Tale” by Jen Hill
• NBC News: “A student from China told the University of Utah her boyfriend was threatening her. She was found dead weeks later.” by Zachary Schermele
• The Daily Utah Chronicle: “‘I felt so angry’: Roommate of Zhifan Dong Says Her Death was Preventable” by Rachel Kloepfer
• Legacy.com: “Obituary for Lauren Jennifer McCluskey, 1997-2018”
• The Lauren McCluskey Foundation website
• SPARC: “What is stalking?”
• ESPN YoutTube channel: “Listen: ESPN Investigates Lauren McCluskey’s Murder”
• Court Junkie podcast: “Ep. 136: The Unanswered Pleas for Help”
• Murder in America podcast: “Ep. 83 UTAH - The Murder of Lauren McCluskey”
• Least of These podcast: “16: Her Last Call - The Story of Lauren McCluskey - The Stalking” and “17: Her Last Call - The Story of Lauren McCluskey - The Murder”

This year for Women's History Month, Amanda and Lauren are going to go on a journey through some tragic deaths of young women, and their lives that were cut too short. Because they were wanted too.

It's a long one, folks! For the third week of Women's History Month, Amanda and Lauren head to Aruba to discuss the disappearance of brand new high school graduate Natalee Holloway, the winding road to a Dutch national taking responsibility for her disappearance and murder, and missing white woman syndrome. 

Sources:

• CNN: “Joran van der Sloot says he killed Natalee Holloway with a cinder block and left her in the ocean. Now Aruba considers possible next steps” by Holly Yan, Devon M. Sayers, and Aaron Cooper
• CNN: “Why Joran van der Sloot might not be prosecuted for Natalee Holloway’s murder, despite admitting he killed her” by Emma Tucker
• CNN: “FBI details how van der Sloot’s confession in Natalee Holloway’s death came together” by Holmes Lybrand, Jean Casarez, and Even Perez
• ABC News: “Natalee Holloway’s disappearance: a timeline” by Allie Yang and Emily Shapiro
• E! News: “Natalee Holloway’s Brother Shares Bone-Chilling Details from Days After Her Murder” by Brett Malec
• The New York Times: “Confession Brings Natalee Holloway Case to an End after 18 Years” by Claire Moses and Christine Hauser
• CBS News: “What to know about the Natalee Holloway case after Joran van der Sloot’s confession is revealed in court” by Alex Sundby
• NPR: “18 years after she disappeared, Natalee Holloway’s family finally has answers” by Melanie Peeples
• WVTM 13 (Birmingham, AL): “Timeline: The murder of Natalee Holloway” by Taylor Lang
• New York Post: “Natalee Holloway killer Joran van der Sloot having sex with three different women while serving life in prison” by Steve Helling
• Murder with my Husband YouTube channel: “An Entire Island Tried to Cover Up This Murder”
• Oxygen documentary series: “The Disappearance of Natalee Holloway”
• Peacock documentary: “Pathological: The Lies of Joran van der Sloot”
• True Crime All the Time Unsolved podcast: “Ep4 Unsolved - Natalee Holloway”
• People are the Worst podcast: “64. Natalee Holloway: Part 1 of 4;” “65. Natalee Holloway: Part 2 of 4;” “66. Natalee Holloway: Part 3 of 4;” and “67. Natalee Holloway: Part 4 of 4.”
• Wikipedia

This year for Women's History Month, Amanda and Lauren are going to go on a journey through some tragic deaths of young women, and their lives that were cut too short. Because they were wanted too.

In the second episode of their Women's History Month series, Amanda and Lauren discuss the murder of Dru Sjodin, a case that was local to them when they were young, and the effect the outcome of the case had on the nation.

Sources:

• Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website
• ABC News: “Missing from the mall: How investigators nabbed a serial rapist in the death of a college student” by Ivan Pereira
• Bismark Tribune: “Two decades later, Dru Sjodin case still resonates in Grand Forks and across the nation” by Sav Kelly
• CBS News: “Alfonso Rodriguez, convicted of killing Dru Sjodin, moved from death row to Florida prison” by the Associated Press
• CBS News: “Suspect Charged in Sjodin Murder” by the Associated Press
• Twin Cities Pioneer Press: “Two years after Dru Sjodin killer’s sentence overturned, review of medical examiner’s work continues” by Mara H. Gottfried
• Duluth News Tribune: “Tonight: 20/20 taking a close look at timeline of Dru Sjodin’s case in ‘Missing from the Mall’” by Trisha Taurinskas
• KIRO7 (Seattle): “Death penalty tossed in 2003 abduction, murder of North Dakota college student Dru Sjodin” by Crystal Bonvillian
• Valley News Life (Fargo area): “Community remembers Dru Sjodin on 20-year anniversary of her disappearance” by Zoe Jones
• Fox9 News (Minneapolis/St. Paul): “Dru Sjodin: Death sentence reduced to life in prison for Minnesotan who killed North Dakota student” by the Associated Press
• 20/20, Season 46, Episode 12: “Missing from the Mall”
• True Crime All the Time podcast: “The Murder of Dru Sjodin”
• No is a Sentence podcast: “Episode 51: Dru Sjodin”
• Wikipedia

This year for Women's History Month, Amanda and Lauren are going to go on a journey through some tragic deaths of young women, and their lives that were cut too short. Because they were wanted too.

In their first Women's History Month episode, Amanda and Lauren discuss the senseless murder of Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind, and the light her tragic death shined on the epidemic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.

Sources:

• Talk Murder with Me blog: “The Murder of Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind”
• The Guardian: “Women are disappearing and dying in Indian Country. We must act.” by Debra Ann Haaland
• The Guardian: “A Native American woman’s brutal murder could lead to a life-saving law” by Jenni Monet
• CBS News: “Report: Newborn is child of Savanna Greywind, slain woman who vanished while pregnant” by the Associated Press
• MPR News: “Accomplice in killing of Savanna Greywind gets 20 years” by the Associated Press
• People: “Pregnant Woman’s Killer Cut Out Her Baby with Small Blade then Smuggled Her Body Out in a Dresser” by KC Baker
• American University Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Digital Exhibition: “The History and Potential of Savanna’s Act”
• Valley News Live: “Remembering Savanna Greywind four years later” by Bailey Hurley
• A&E TV: “Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind, a Native American Woman, was Murdered and Her Baby Cut from Her Womb” by Elena Ferrarin
• KXNet News (North Dakota): Missing and Murdered Indigenous People: The Story of Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind” by Nai Remy
• Twin Cities Pioneer Press: “Savanna Greywind wasn’t dead when baby cut from womb, prosecutors say at abductor’s sentencing” by David Olson
• Matt Orchard - Crime and Society (YouTube): “The Unspeakable Murder of Savanna Greywind”
• Murder with My Husband (YouTube): “Couple Stole a Baby and Now the Mom is Missing”
• Let's Go to Court podcast, Episode 229: "The Murders of Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind & Rachel Hoffman"
• Morbid podcast, Episode 330: "The Tragic Murder of Savanna LaFontaine Greywind"
• Fetal Abduction podcast, Season 1, Episode 6: “The Murder of Savanna Greywind”
• We Are Resilient: An MMIW True Crime Podcast, Episode 1: “MURDERED: Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind”

For the fifth and final week of Black History Month, Lauren and Amanda discuss the murder of seventeen-year-old Trayvon Martin. 

Sources:

• CBS News: "Trayvon Martin: 10 Years Later" by CBS News
• History.com: "This Day in History: February 26, 2012: Florida Teen Trayvon Martin is Shot and Killed" by History.com Editors
• NPR News: "A Look Back At Trayvon Martin's Death, And The Movement It Inspired" by Karen Grigsby Bates
• Biography: "Trayvon Martin" by Biography.com Editors
• AP News: "Trayvon Martin, 10 years later: Teen’s death changes nation" by Deepti Hajela
• Famous Trials.com: "The George Zimmerman Trial: An Account" by Douglas O. Linder 
• Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement by Angela Y. Davis
• NMAAHC instagram post on Trayvon Martin’s Birthday February 5th, 2024
• Wikipedia: "Killing of Trayvon Martin"

For the fourth week of Black History Month, Amanda and Lauren return to Mississippi in the Civil Rights Movement era to discuss the murders of three civil rights workers in June 1964 - Michael Schwerner, James Chaney, and Andrew Goodman. This case is most commonly known as the Mississippi Burning case, or MIBURN, and it's a real doozy, everyone.

Sources:

• The US Code
• FBI website: “Mississippi Burning”
• FBI website: “A Byte Out of History: 50 Years Since ‘Mississippi Burning’”
• University of Virginia Miller Center: “Mississippi Burning” by Kent Germany and David Carter
• PBS American Experience: “Murder in Mississippi”
• UMKC School of Law Famous Trials: “The ‘Mississippi Burning’ Trial: An Account” 
• CBS News: “Case files and photos from 1964 ‘Mississippi Burning’ murders of civil rights workers made public for first time” by the Associated Press
• Mississippi Today: “On This Day: June 21, 1964” by Jerry Mitchell
• The Zinn Education Project: “This Day in History: June 21, 1964: Three Civil Rights Workers Murdered in Mississippi”
• US Department of Justice Civil Rights Division: “Michael Schwerner - James Chaney - Andrew Goodman” and case files
• History.com: “This Day in History: August 4: Slain civil rights workers found”
• Civil Rights Digital Library: “MIBURN (Mississippi Burning)”
• The Gospel Coalition: “9 Things You Should Know about the ‘Mississippi Burning’ Murders” by Joe Carter
• Teen Vogue: “The Mississippi Burning Murders Changed Civil Rights History” by Alexa Stevens
• Real Crime channel (YouTube): “KKK Mob Kills Three Civil Rights Workers | The FBI Files | Real Crime”
• The FBI Files channel (YouTube): “The True Story of Mississippi Burning | Full Episode | The FBI Files” 
• Criminology podcast: “Mississippi Burning”
• Wikipedia

As they reach the halfway point of Black History Month, Lauren and Amanda are changing up their format a little bit to spend two weeks in Mississippi during the Civil Rights Movement. This week, they're covering the murder of activist and NAACP Mississippi Field Secretary Medgar Evers.

Sources:

• Medgar Evers College: “History: The Murder of Medgar Evers”
• FBI History: “Medgar Evers”
• Zinn Education Project: “This Day in History: June 12, 1963: Medgar Evers Murdered in Mississippi”
• Mississippi History Now: “Medgar Evers and the Origin of the Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi” by Dernoral Davis
• Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee: “June 12, 1963: Medgar Evers Murdered”
• NAACP: “Medgar Evers”
• History.com: “This Day in History: June 12, 1963: Civil rights leader Medgar Evers is assassinated”
• History.com: “Montgomery Bus Boycott”
• AP News: “60 years after Medgar Evers’ murder, his widow continues a civil rights legacy” by Emily Wagster Pettus
• The Washington Post: “Medgar Evers battled for civil rights. His home shows what it cost him.” by DeNeen L. Brown
• Stanford Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute: “Evers, Medgar Wiley”
• The New York Times: “Beckwith’s Second Trial Ends in Hung Jury” by John Herbers
• The New York Times: “Beckwith Case a Mistrial; Jury was 7-5 for Acquittal” by John Herbers
• Time: “Trials: Hung Jury” by No Byline
• TruthDig: “A Black Voter Suppression Slap in the Face” by Michael Datcher
• Documentary: Stamped from the Beginning
• Black History for White People podcast: “Medgar Evers - Part 1” & “Medgar Evers - Part 2”
• Crime Binge podcast: “Episode 57: Medgar Evers”
• Deadly Faith podcast: “Episode 23: The Assassination of Civil Rights Leader Medgar Evers | with Guest Kyle Butler”
• Wikipedia

This week, Amanda and Lauren continue their Black History Month series and discuss Black Liberation Army member and current Most Wanted "terrorist" Assata Shakur. Those quotes are sarcastic... obviously. 

Sources:

• Assata Shakur’s website: “About Assata Shakur”
• Democracy Now!: “Sekou Odinaga, Black Liberation Activist who Helped Free Assata Shakur, Dies at 79” by No Byline
• The Guardian: “Assata Shakur: from civil rights activist to FBI’s most wanted” by Bim Adewunmi
• FBI website: “JoAnne Deborah Chesimard” poster
• University of Virginia Law Special Collections: “Black Liberation Army Member, Assata Shakur, Tried on Murder and Assault Charges” based on New Jersey v. Chesimard
• Black Past: “Assata Olugbala Shakur (1947 - ) by Terry Anne Scott
• History is a Weapon: “Women in Prison: How It Is With Us” by Assata Shakur
• Washington Post: “Assata Shakur was convicted of murder. Is she a terrorist?” by Krissah Thompson
• The New Yorker: “The American Fugitives of Havana” by Jon Lee Anderson
• Washington Informer: “A New Campaign Demands Assata Shakur’s Removal from FBI Watch List” by Sam P. K. Collins
• WNYC Studios, Notes from America: “How Assata Shakur Became One of America’s Most Wanted” by Kai Wright
• The Progressive Magazine: “The Life and Ongoing Impact of Assata Shakur” by Kassidy Tarala
• Wikipedia

It's Black History Month! This week, Lauren and Amanda cover the inspiring academic and activist Angela Davis, who was on the FBI's Most Wanted list for a crime she didn't commit, and who has made it part of her life's work to fight back against the systems of oppression that put her there.

Sources:

• Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture: “Angela Davis”
• New York History: “Women and the American Story: Life Story: Angela Davis (1944- )”
• New York Times Magazine: “Angela Davis Still Believes America Can Change” by Nelson George
• Thought Co.: “Biography of Angela Davis, Political Activist and Academic” by Jone Johnson Lewis
• History.com: “How Angela Davis Ended Up on the FBI Most Wanted List” by Antonio Mejias-Rentas
• The History Makers: “Angela Davis” 
• The Guardian: “Angela Davis: ‘We knew that the role of the police was to protect white supremacy’” by Lanre Bakare
• National Archives: “Angela Davis (January 26, 1944)”
• Speak Out: “Angela Davis: Author, Educator, and Activist”
• Freedom is a Constant Struggle by Angela Y. Davis
• An Autobiography by Angela Y. Davis
• Documentary: 13th
• Documentary: Stamped from the Beginning
• Wikipedia