The Bone Club

Forensic science can answer an awful lot of questions, but misused, can also do an awful lot of damage in the process. On this episode of The Bone Club, Stephanie and Ashley sit down with Dr. Tebah Browne, PhD, a Science Policy Specialist with the New York Innocence Project, as we discuss everything from how forensic science can be misused to wrongfully convict innocent individuals, as well as the...

Join Ashley and Stephanie as we welcome our friends Hannah Carson (U. Montana) & Thomas Delgado (U. Utah) and reminisce about the 2026 American Academy of Forensic Science Conference held in New Orleans. We discuss some of our highlights and lowlights and look forward to 2027 and Florida.

Of the many topics effecting forensic anthropology (academia and government service), one of the stickiest is the rise, fall, and implications of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion programs. Join us as we have a conversation with Dr. Sean Tallman about how DEI programs have come about and changed, its relationship to meritocracy, and the implications they have had on the field. NOTE: The opinions...

Join the Jenna and Ashley with a special episode of The Bone Club as we have a conversation with Nick Oldrieve and Brett Robinson of Please Bring Me Home on how non-profit/non-governmental organizations can work to help in the search for missing persons. We go in depth into how Please Bring Me Home operates and the strengths and difficulties such organizations face in their search for answers of C...

Join the Bone Club on this special Canadian Thanksgiving edition where we discuss the thorny issue of gender and forensic anthropology from the lens of transgender people and communities with our special guest Dr. Samantha Blatt. Our conversation touches on the issues of theory, definitions, and even how to assess gender in a forensic context. If you have any questions for Dr. Blatt or any of us,...

What happens to us when we die? To help answer that question anthropologists have developed research facilites to study human decomposition. Join Stephaine and Ashley as we talk with Dr. Danny Wescott of Texas State University's Forensic Anthropology Center about the fascinating world of decomposition, the research, facilities, and the ethics that surrounds it all. For more information on the Fore...

Join The Bone Club as we talk with Dr. Tracy Rogers from the University of Toronto about the complexity of field and scene work in forensic anthropology. Starting with discussing her work on Pickton case in British Columbia in 2002, Dr. Rogers talks about the complexities and similarities of all sorts of scenes and how to approach field work as a forensic anthropologist.

Join The Bone Club as we discuss with Erin Waxenbaum, President of the American Board of Forensic Anthropology, about the role of the ABFA and certification in forensic anthropology and medico-legal death investigation. We go over everything from what the ABFA is to how students can access it's resources to progress in their studies and careers. For more information, visit https://www.theabfa.org.

Join the Bone Club with our special guest Skylar Joseph as we discuss the role of forensic anthropologists in humanitarian relief, human rights investigations, and conflicts, particularly through the lens of the International Committee of the Red Cross. We discuss the issues of the ICRC's neutrality, the work environment within the ICRC, and how one can get involved. We also go beyond the ICRC to...

Join Ashley, Stephanie, and Jenna, with our special guest Katharine Pope as we discuss the darker side of forensic anthropology and death investigation-the secondary and vicarious trauma that comes along. In this episode, The Bone Club tackles what exactly is psychological trauma, why it comes about, how it manifests, and what can be done to mitigate and treat. Any questions for Kat should be emai...

Join Ashley and Stephanie as they sit down with friends and anthropologists to discuss the research and happenings at the 2025 American Academy of Forensic Sciences conference from Baltimore, Maryland! Joining us are Taylor Flaherty (UNLV), Thomas Delgado (Univ. Utah), Skylar Joseph (Univ. Leinden), Hannah Carson (Univ. of Montana), and Dr. Samantha Blatt (Idaho State University), and others, as w...

In this episode of The Bone Club, we sit down with Dr. Tiffany Fracchia of Vanderbuilt University to discuss the concept and uses of isotopic analyses in forensic anthropology and how they can be used for everything for understanding what someone's general diet was like and where they may have come from. We also discuss the forensic implications of these types of analyses. Dr. Fracchia's professio...

On this episode of the Bone Club, join us and our special guest Laura Cirillo as we discuss the importance and methods of scientific communication. Laura's Email for Questions: Misslauracirillo@gmail.com

What goes on at conferences? And what exactly is a "field school"? In this episode, Stephanie, Ashley, and Jenna explore the value and variety of conferences and field schools as a means of networking and understanding the field as a whole. List of Conferences and Field Schools

Join Stephanie, Jenna, and Ashley as they discuss the ins and outs of grad school and the lay of the job landscape in the field of forensic anthropology. What are some considerations before you begin this career, and how does someone go about getting started? We answer that an more in this episode of The Bone Club. Music: Into the Dark by SPIRA (Under License from Track Club)

Who is The Bone Club? And what is forensic anthropology? Join Stephanie, Jenna, and Ashley as they explore the deeper meaning of the field of forensic anthropology and its wider place in society..