CSI On Trial

We’re two best friends having unfiltered conversations about the modern sh*t we all go through, with a rotating cast of top therapists to help us unpack it all. 

We’re not experts, just very curious, slightly unhinged, and can label our feelings (most of the time).

Come hang with us as we have the uncomfortable conversations about dating, love, sex, mental health, loneliness, friendships, grief and everything else that only Alex Cooper talks about.

Listen to Free Therapy on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

 

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What's the biggest risk you'd take to see the world? Ria Xi will be the first person to run the length of the Silk Road across Asia and Europe, and she'll run it alone. Ria believes travel should happen at the pace of a single footstep - slow enough to savor everything between point A and B. Julie catches Ria from her nomadic training route, but stick around to the end of the episode to hear an update from Ria along her record-breaking run!

To support Ria's run, check out her GoFundMe and follow along on Instagram @whereisriax for occasional chances to join her crew.

Check out Ria's podcast, Planetary Run Club, where she interviewed Julie for her debut episode!

Follow @solita_travels for bonus content and subscribe on Substack for Julie's big 3 takeaways from each episode.

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Michael Imperioli and Steve Schirripa star in the untold true story of how the New York Mafia exploited the aftermath of 9/11. Nearly 3,000 families lost loved ones that day, and a shocked world mourned alongside them. But for Five Families—the New York Mafia—the day meant something very different. While the world saw an unspeakable tragedy, they saw an opening: the business opportunity of a lifetime. They might have succeeded were it not for one dedicated and courageous cop. Because of him, many of the men involved were convicted and imprisoned. UnderGround Zero: 9/11 & The Mob is the shocking true story born in the immediate aftermath of 9/11—one that has never been told. Names of the guilty have been changed to protect the innocent.

Listen here and subscribe to UnderGround Zero: 9/11 & The Mob | Starring Michael Imperioli & Steve Schirripa on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts!

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In our final episode, law professor Maneka Sinha and criminology professor Nicholas Scurich join host Molly Hermann to talk about lessons learned from the series and how the criminal justice system can make forensic science more reliable.

CSI On Trial is a co-production of iHeart Podcasts and School of Humans. It is a Curiosity Podcast based on the Curiosity Stream series CSI On Trial. You can watch all six episodes of the video series here if you sign up for Curiosity Stream.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Warning: This episode contains details of violence against children. 

New science in the 1990s advanced the understanding of how fires work, but it took years for substantive change to follow. That had a huge impact on those already sitting in prison for arson convictions that were actually accidents.  David Gavitt and Anthony Kyles each spent over 20 years in prison, both convicted using now-outdated investigative methods for arson.

CSI On Trial is a co-production of iHeart Podcasts and School of Humans. It is a Curiosity Podcast based on the Curiosity Stream series CSI On Trial. You can watch all six episodes of the video series here if you sign up for Curiosity Stream.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Warning: This episode contains details of violence against children. 

Shaken baby syndrome is a hypothesis that has been around for decades, rooted in the mechanics of whiplash.  Medical academics, law enforcement, and prosecutors all agree that violently shaking a baby is a form of child abuse. But Audrey Edmunds, a pregnant mother running a daycare out of her home, was wrongfully convicted of shaking a child who died in her care and served 11 years in prison. The scientific community advocated for her release after studies questioned what was known about the “tell-tale” signs of shaken baby syndrome.

CSI On Trial is a co-production of iHeart Podcasts and School of Humans. It is a Curiosity Podcast based on the Curiosity Stream series CSI On Trial. You can watch all six episodes of the video series here if you sign up for Curiosity Stream.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Warning: This episode contains details of graphic violence and sexual assault against children. 

Before he was drafted into the NBA, Chris Paul experienced a tragic loss: the murder of his grandfather Nathaniel Jones. Five teenagers were ultimately convicted, including brothers Rayshawn Banner and Nathaniel Cauthen. The key piece of physical evidence was a pair of size 9 Nike Air Force 1s found in the boys’ home. But with millions of Nike Air Force 1s sold, how unique was that shoeprint collected at the crime scene?

CSI On Trial is a co-production of iHeart Podcasts and School of Humans. It is a Curiosity Podcast based on the Curiosity Stream series CSI On Trial. You can watch all six episodes of the video series here if you sign up for Curiosity Stream.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Warning: This episode contains details of gun violence against children.

The man who taught police departments around the country how to analyze bloodstain patterns went on to testify in one of the most famous cases of the 20th century: The OJ Simpson trial.  But in the case of Indiana state trooper David Camm, the interpretation of just a few specks of blood sent him to prison for the murder of his entire family-a crime he was acquitted of after being imprisoned for over a decade.

For more on the Christopher Vaughn case, listen to the podcast “Murder in Illinois”

CSI On Trial is a co-production of iHeart Podcasts and School of Humans. It is a Curiosity Podcast based on the Curiosity Stream series CSI On Trial. You can watch all six episodes of the video series here if you sign up for Curiosity Stream.

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Warning: This episode contains details of gun violence. 
 
The gangster era of the 1920s led to breakthroughs in firearms used as evidence in criminal trials. But many studies now show that matching cartridge casings from a crime scene leaves room for human error. And for Odell Adams, the questionable reliability of firearms analysis put him on trial twice for the same crime. 

CSI On Trial is a co-production of iHeart Podcasts and School of Humans. It is a Curiosity Podcast based on the Curiosity Stream series CSI On Trial. You can watch all six episodes of the video series here if you sign up for Curiosity Stream.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Warning: This episode contains details of graphic violence and sexual assault. 

Using bitemarks to investigate crimes dates back centuries to the Salem Witch Trials, but it became famous in the modern era during the prosecution of Ted Bundy. Bitemarks are often touted as being as unique as a person’s fingerprint.  But Keith Harward calls that claim bogus. He was wrongfully convicted of murder and rape based on bitemark evidence. 

If you'd like to learn more about Charles McCrory's case, check out Liliana Segura and Jordan Smith's article in the Intercept:

https://theintercept.com/2023/03/12/bite-mark-analysis-charles-mccrory-alabama/

CSI On Trial is a co-production of iHeart Podcasts and School of Humans. It is a Curiosity Podcast based on the Curiosity Stream series CSI On Trial.  You can watch all six episodes of the video series here if you sign up for Curiosity Stream.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.