The Silver Linings Handbook

We continue our discussion with Jason Usry, the host of the new podcast "Inconceivable: The Temujin Kensu Story" about the 1986 murder of Scott Macklem in Port Huron, Michigan and conviction of Kensu, who was alibied by several witnesses hundreds of miles away before and after the crime. For 37 years, Kensu has made a pretty persuasive case for his innocence yet he is still in prison. Why? We expl...

After being convicted of the 1986 murder of 20-year-old college student Scott Macklem in a college parking lot in Michigan, Temujun Kensu yelled "They got the wrong man. I'll beat them on appeal" as court officers took him away. More than three decades later, Temujin is still waiting. Why? Jason Usry, the host of the new podcast Inconceivable: The Temujin Kensu Story , joins to discuss what his in...

We return to our conversation with Lisa Brat Martinez, the advocate for Pablo Velez Jr., whose murder conviction is the most egregious case of wrongful conviction that I have ever seen. This is Part 2 of Pablo and Lisa's story where we dive more into the case, the things about our justice system that makes it difficult to reverse convictions and hope for Pablo. Listen to Part One with Lisa at: htt...

Lisa Brat Marteniz, an advocate for Pablo Velez Jr., was sitting in her bathroom with a bottle of pills and did not want to live anymore. That's when she heard her phone ding. Soon, she was reading about Pablo Velez Jr., a man who was undoubtedly wrongfully convicted. They struck up a friendship and she began crusading for Pablo in the most egregious case of wrongful conviction that I have ever se...

Sabrina Schnoor was a mom, a graduate of a high school in Owatonna, Minnesota and the kind of young woman who still loved to go fishing with her grandpa. On May 30, 2023, Sabrina agreed to meet her ex-boyfriend, Jason Horner, at his request for closure after they had recently broken up. When Sabrina did not return home, her friends tracked her using the Life360 app, and found her dead along r...

On a Sunday morning in April 1973, a 19-year-old drama major at the University of North Carolina, Asheville got dressed and left her dorm to walk the trails to the Biltmore botanical gardens to study in quiet and beauty as she liked to do on most weekends. Hours later, two teenagers stumbled onto the scene of her brutal murder. Was it an escaped psychiatric patient? Did a student kill her? Was it...

Ken Kunken experienced near-total paralysis from the shoulders down while playing football at Cornell University. Ken went on to become one of the most celebrated prosecutors in the Nassau County, New York District Attorney's Office. In this episode, we discuss Ken's journey of resilience and learning to thrive with a disability. Ken notes that even loss -- even of something as devastating as losi...

A revolution is occurring in using DNA analysis and forensic genetic genealogy to solve cases. David Mittelman, the co-founder of Othram Labs, and a pioneer in this work, joins to discuss recent cases his team has been involved in, the latest advances and more. To listen to David's wife and co-founder, Kristen Mittelman, talk more about these topics you can listen to the two episodes she joined us...

After television anchor Jodi Huisentruit disappeared in the morning on her way into work, law enforcement in Iowa and Minnesota swarmed onto the case. Over time, as few clues emerged, a group of journalists who carried about Jodi's case banded together to search for clues about her disappearance and keep pressure on authorities. Caroline Lowe, a veteran Minnesota television journalist, joins me to...

In the early morning hours of June 27, 1995, television anchor Jodi Huisentruit disappeared on her way to work at her Mason City, Iowa station. Police found a bent key, a bag, a hairdryer and at least one red high-heel shoe outside the door of her red Mazda Miata parked in her apartment complex. What happened to Jodi has become a 30-year mystery for her family, law enforcement and the journalism c...

On Halloween 1985, 17-year-old Susan Snow was getting dressed in her costume to go out with her friends when the telephone rang, and it forever transformed her life. Her father, Detective Thomas Williams of the Los Angeles Police Department, had been assassinated by gunmen as he was picking up Susan's little brother from school. She found herself in the spotlight on one of the biggest national cri...

Ashley Loring Heavyrunner was last seen on a June 2017 night near Browning, Montana. Ashley was 20 years old and an aspiring environmental scientist who was noted for her intelligence, her love of animals, her infectious humor and her communication skills. After Ashley broke up with her first love and her grandfather died, her sister, Kimberly Loring, says she fell on hard times and into a bad cro...

In this episode, I talk with Dana Diaz about her journey of overcoming a lifetime of abuse. Dana discusses her experiences with physical, emotional, and psychological abuse and trauma, and the intergenerational cycle of abuse that so many people face. Despite the stigma and shame surrounding psychological abuse, Dana has emerged as a voice for those who cannot speak out. We explore the complexitie...

Janet Sherlund was adopted as a child and is grateful for her new parents. But she also recognizes the trauma that comes from being pulled away from your family of origin, your history and move and talk like you. In some ways, she felt that she was being painted on like a canvas, turned into the image of others and not who she really was. After being given away by her parents, she was never secure...

Disappearances can happen to anyone at any time. Ed Dentzel, the host of the Unfound podcast and an expert on missing person cases, joins us for Part 2 of my interview with him. In this episode, Ed discusses disappearance profiles, the role of victimology in solving missing person cases and the link that we discover in the conversation between Ed's life and why he is so interested in disappearance...

Ed Dentzel is a man of many trades. Trained as a classical pianist and a high school football player, he worked as an actor on Star Trek: The Experience , was a writer and held many other jobs before starting a podcast in 2016 focused on missing persons cases. In his time on his podcast, Unfound , Ed has covered approximately 300 cases and has become an expert in why people go missing and is acute...

One of the greatest challenges for small local law enforcement agencies like those in the Jon Benet Ramsey and Delphi cases is that they are not accustomed to complex criminal cases. One of the challenges for large agencies is that they can become apathetic and overwhelmed with data. Scot Thomasson, a veteran of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tabacco, Firearms and Explosives, known as the ATF, joins me to...

Lisa Sugarman lived her whole life believing her father had died when she was a child as a heart attack. Three decades later, she found out he died of suicide. Lisa joins us to discuss her grief over losing her father "twice" and her efforts to promote suicide prevention. Fill out our Listener Survey at: https://bit.ly/slhwinter25survey Contact me at silverliningshandbookpod@gmail.com Check out th...

Monte Fronk's daughter went missing at 16, was sex trafficked, and then rescued in a raid in St. Paul, Minnesota. Just as Monte's daughter was beginning to get her life back together again, she was murdered by her boyfriend, who gunned the 24-year-old down in their Brooklyn Park apartment. Her body was found in the same room as her 23-year-old boyfriend, who committed suicide. Nada's death in May...

Bob Aellis has beautiful memories of growing up in New York doing things like going to the zoo with his dad. But when his father died and his older brother, William, returned home, Bob’s life became a hellscape, he says, as years of sexual abuse by William began. Later, Bob would find out that William had abused many children in the neighborhood and five decades later, he would realize that other...

George Ackerman, a police officer, attorney and PhD. in criminal justice, felt like his life was thriving. He had started his family, and they were living an idyllic life. Then, his mother became sick. She was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. George discusses what he hopes for others and wishes he knew, when it came to being a caretaker as a loved one slips away. Fill out our Listener Survey at...

Bill Thomas, a victims' advocate and host of the Mind Over Murder  podcast, joins to share his deeply personal journey as the brother of Cathy Thomas, one of the victims of the infamous Colonial Parkway murders. Bill reflects on the investigation, the challenges faced by victims' families and the importance of finding answers, even decades later. We talk about the complexities of true crime a...

We made it through another year. We step back and take a look at what we learned from the more than 50 guests we had on the podcast this year. In this episode, we get to hear some of the best thoughts, observations and advice from Gilbert King, John Mitchell, Jerry Colonna, Julie Murray, Bruce Maitland, Bill Gilmour, Julia Cowley, Allison Dickson, Brett Talley, Alice LaCour, Kevin Greenlee, Áine C...

In this bonus episode from the Minneapolis True Crime Podcast Meetup in early December, I sat down with Jim Schmidt, the father of Gabby Petito, to discuss domestic violence. Right before our discussion, I received a message from a friend who let me know that she was experiencing domestic violence. Jim's response is an example of the powerful and deeply personal work that the Gabby Petito Foundati...

My listeners are why I am here. You mean the world to me. This episode is one where I give you the chance to share your thoughts. This year, I had an intimate conversation with two listeners to share their perspectives on podcasts, community, growth, grief, love and what struck them most this year. Contact me at silverliningshandbookpod@gmail.com Check out the Silver Linings Handbook website at: h...