The Silver Linings Handbook

We return to mysteries with celebrated author Brett Talley, the co-host of The Prosecutors Podcast, where we explore the connection between modern-day true crime and the human fascination with mysteries. Among other things, we explore the human need to search, solve puzzles, make sense of the world and what happens when those enigmas are solved. This is the second episode of a two-part series. Thi...

Brett Talley, is the co-host of The Prosecutors Podcast and an author of several bestselling novels and anthologies, including He Who Walks in the Shadows, That Which Shall Not Be, and The Fiddle is the Devil's Instrument. We're going to talk about the world of mysteries, from classic literary whodunits to modern-day true crime. Brett shares his journey from being a fan of classic mysteries to bec...

A ransacker stalked a small city in California, breaking into 120 homes in 20 months. Two hundred and twenty miles away, three years later, a man committed 50 home-invasion rapes. Three years after that and 300 miles to the south, a series of at least 11 murders occurred. Former FBI Profiler Julia Cowley, the host of The Consult podcast and lead profiler on the case, joins us to discuss the man wh...

Allison Dickson, who has been writing novels and short stories for more than 15 years, joins Jayson to explore our fascination with psychological thrillers. Jayson and Allison discuss how many psychological thrillers are exaggerated versions of realities that allow us to address our challenges and fears in life in a more palatable form. We touch on Gone Girl , Girl with the Train , the Room , the...

Julie Murray, the sister of Maura Murray, and I discuss our shared experience with LaDonna Humphrey, a past guest and the subject of an investigation by Javier Levia's PRETEND podcast. LaDonna is suspected of altering emails with the Murray family that permanently altered the public perception of Julie's family and the case around Maura's 2004 disappearance. Julia discusses her fear of coming forw...

Gabby Petito's parents, Nicole and Jim Schmidt, join us to talk about Gabby, a 22-year-old woman who was murdered by her fiancé while they were traveling together on a "vanlife" journey across the United States. Jim and Nichole also discuss their efforts to tackle the challenges of domestic violence and missing persons cases through their foundation. Check out the Silver Linings Handbook website a...

Time to get ready for the Spooky Month. Join us in October (late September for Patreon members) and listen to the trailer about our star-studded set of guests: We will be joined by the author Allison Dickson on psychological thrillers; Brett Talley, the author and co-host of The Prosecutors Podcast, on mysteries; former FBI Profiler and host of The Consult Julia Cowley on a real-life nightmare and...

Belonging plays such a key role in attracting and retaining talent. Creating environments where people are free to bring their entire self to work and feel welcome is a crucial leadership attribute. It is the key to successfully achieving inclusive environment when there are a diverse range of people in that environment. There is a ton of psychological research going back to Maslow...

We are joined by Jim Reed, a photographer and documentarian who was been chasing storms for almost four decades. Jim discusses chasing hurricanes, tornados and other anomalous weather across the world, the realities versus the depictions of storm chasing, the psychological and emotional cost of the work and why, for him, it's all about chasing beauty. Check out the Silver Linings Handbook website...

We wrap our episodes on the Oklahoma Girl Scout Murders with former FBI Profiler Julia Cowley, the host of The Consult podcast. In this episode, Julia gives a consult like FBI's behavioral analysis unit would for investigators and Allison Dickson of the Vintage Villains podcast and I share our theories. Special thanks to Jessica Olive Cash of Just the Facts True Crime Research for research on the...

In this second episode with Kristen Mittelman, co-founder of Othram, a forensic DNA and genetic genealogy company that has revolutionized the resolution of cold cases, Kirsten takes questions from listeners. Kristen discusses the most difficult cases Othram has solved, Othram's selection process, how Othram has built a data set that allows them to conduct genetic genealogy within underrepresented...

We continue with the case of the murders of Lori Farmer, Michele Guse and Denise Milner, three preteen girls killed at their Girl Scout camp in Locust Grove, Oklahoma. We pick up at the arrest of Gene Leroy Hart, a 33-year-old Cherokee man, explore the community reaction and take you through the trial and the verdict. Check out the Silver Linings Handbook website at: https://silverliningshandbook....

Kristen Mittelman, co-founder of Othram, a forensic DNA and genetic genealogy company that has revolutionized the resolution of cold cases, joins Jayson for a one-on-one conversation. They discuss how she and her husband, David, went from working on the Human Genome Project to attempting to identify victims, perpetrators and the unidentified who died. Othram's technology has made what was once imp...

In this gripping true crime bonus episode, we dive deep into the tragic story of the Girl Scout murders at Camp Scott in Oklahoma. Allison Dixon joins us to take us through the chilling events of June 1977, where three young girls were brutally murdered, leading to the largest manhunt in Oklahoma history. The episode explores the racial tensions, forensic challenges, and the controversial trial of...

We are joined by Tom Slattery, a former site member of the US Army's Delta Force, and his wife, Jen, where we discuss the bloodshed, the wounds, the moments of guilt, depression and trauma that they have dedicated their lives to help other members of the Special Forces and their loved ones heal from, and how they think this approach would help anyone. Tom is one of the Delta Force commandos who pa...

Julie Murray, a victim's advocate, the current host of the Media Pressure podcast, and the sister of Maureen Murray, a 21-year-old woman who went missing in 2004 in New Hampshire, is the host of a new podcast called Media Pressure , where she not only tells the story of her sister, Maura's disappearance from the perspective of her family, she has also become an advocate for victims and their famil...

Jayson is joined by Brett Talley and Alice LaCour, co-hosts of The Prosecutors Podcast and The Prosecutors: Legal Briefs for part 2 on the dark side and bright side of true crime. They dive into the challenges and responsibilities of covering true crime cases, especially those involving missing and murdered Indigenous women. They discuss the impact of media coverage on public perception and the cr...

In this episode Jayson sits down with Brett Talley and Alice LaCour, co-hosts of The Prosecutors Podcast and The Prosecutors: Legal Briefs. They delve into the evolution of media in true crime storytelling, their journey through the legal profession, and the impact of social media on the criminal justice system. Join us for an insightful conversation about the cases they've covered, their motivati...

I sit down as a guest with Kevin Greenlee and Áine Cain of The Murder Sheet podcast is for a conversation about true ethical crime and media coverage of the criminal justice system. We will talk about The Murder Sheet’s recent coverage of Twitter messages between figures in the Delphi murders case. We discuss how judges’ recent efforts to prevent the poisoning of jury pools are backfiring, silenci...

Jason Ursy joins to discuss his upcoming podcast, "Missing in a Moment," which will tell the stories of the lives and disappearances of missing people in a victim-centered podcast. Jason is a host of the true-crime satire podcast, "Santa, Maybe a Criminal" and "Missing in a Moment" is his first venture into reporting real-life stories. He discusses the differences and similarities between the two...

Today, we talk with a mother who lost her son, whose death was compounded by cross-jurisdictional challenges, mistrust of law enforcement and the fact that he was a Native American. We are joined by Vangie Randall-Shorty, whose son disappeared in Farmington, New Mexico and then was found dead in the Navajo Nation days later, to discuss the search for her son, his life and death, the murder that re...

Today, we discuss the challenges for LGBTQ+ people when it comes to coming out in the workplace and the complex balancing act for companies, managers, and employees. Visit our website and follow along with us on Instagram , join our Silver Linings Fireside Chat Facebook group and join us on Patreon . The Silver Linings Handbook is a production of BlueSky Studios LLC. See the Privacy Policy at&nbsp...

Today, we discuss the heartbreaking stories of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People with Darlene Gomez, a New Mexico attorney who advocates for them and their loved ones and whose own friend, Melissa Montoya, disappeared at a bar on St. Patrick's Day in 2011 in Dulce, New Mexico. Darlene walks us from Melissa's case, the search for justice for her and others and the broader challenges with law e...

Uncover the riveting story of Tony Viola, a saga of conviction, courage, and the quest for justice. This episode delves into what Tony describes as his wrongful mortgage fraud conviction and the heart-wrenching tragedy of Dawn Pasela, a whistleblower whose testimony could have changed everything. Visit our website and follow along with us on Instagram , join our Silver Linings Fireside Chat Facebo...

In this episode, Gilbert and Jayson continue their conversation from part one and take listeners questions on race in the pre-Civil Rights era of the American South, the difficulties we have as Americans with seeing our own history truthfully or clearly, the links between the investigation into the case of Leo Schofield Jr. and his other works, the cost of mass incarceration and a wide variety of...