The Ballad of Dena & Andrea

Send a text In this final episode of the Ballad of Dena & Andrea I read a bit from the old bible and wonder about our current institutions for mental health and our sick carceral system.  I speak with two folks who've worked in various positions as educators and facilitators in restorative justice, sex education, and art programs.   I'll mention the fund that Andrea started with her...

Send a text Comedian, Showrunner, Ceramicist and very good friend Eliza Skinner and I talk about how rom coms effed us all, Bad Women, cultural fables, what do our "butts and guts want" and how she should’ve been a Unitarian Minister. The song for this episode is Get a Job. Inspired by the fact that Dena was fired from Walmart within hrs of the local news making public a picture of her a...

Send a text Female rage. I'm feeling it and that's what this week's song is about. And to balance complaint with community - the guest is my good friend Marta Portillo. An actor, teaching artist, and certified very good person. We discuss her work as an interpreter, the importance of independent health clinics and education, dramatic catholic rituals, PERIODS!, grieving what you tho...

Send a text A lullaby from Andrea's perspective & interview with ever-charming performance artist-actor-comedian-goddess Caroline Kingsley Moffat! We discuss her new mother journey, community, buttcracks, and more!  The Violet Hour / Winnifred Coombe https://www.instagram.com/winnifredcoombe/ The Motherhood Center https://themotherhoodcenter.com/ Tully https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5D3...

Send a text Tara Shoe and Becky talk about HPV. Fun!  Tara Shoe https://x.com/tarashoe Scaretown USA https://www.instagram.com/scare_town_usa/ HPV & Cervical Cancer https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/hpv/basic-information.html https://www.cancer.gov/types/cervical/screening/abnormal-hpv-pap-test-results HPV Vaccine https://www.gardasil9.com/patient-a/ HRT Cancer link overestimated https://www.nytimes....

Send a text Tara Shoe tells me about New Jersey's Christian Surfers and we get into a bit of the Matthew Coleman story. The man (and Christian Surfer) who killed his kids b/c they had serpent's blood.  Thank you for listening. For more about postpartum psychosis, go to Postpartum Support International . For the full album click here . Join the conversation on I nstagram .

Send a text In the episode, I'll briefly intro the song "Gentle Letters". Based on Dena's story. Dena wrote her surviving daughters a letter once a week after her arrest. The letters piled up, and were unsent - Dena's children weren't ready for them. Some letters include drawings of children, all are filled with how much she loves and misses her daughters. Dena calls...

Send a text In this episode we get into a bit of the religious messaging that Andrea Yates was receiving like the pamphlet she received with a rhyme titled “Modern Mother Worldly.” I chat with my good friend and host of the parenting podcast “One Bad Mother,” Biz Ellis. We talk about her experience as a mother, women’s health (being ignored), and sing inappropriate camp songs!  Pod takes twists an...

Send a text In this episode we get into a bit of the religious messaging that Dena was receiving as well as a glimpse into her home life. Song incorporates a bible verse that Dena fixated on before the killing. Guest: Writer, Tara Shoe. We talk about her experience with cervical cancer, growing up in an evangelical Christian environment, women’s health, the allure of church communities, changing m...

Send a text This first episode introduces the story of Dena & Andrea in an epic murder ballad. You’ll hear a bit about what a murder ballad is and why I dig them. I’ll chat with two friends, who also tell stories of murder, about the pros and cons of true crime, what it’s like to create macabre content with humor, and the importance of letting go of reductive “good/evil” narratives. Guests: Mu...

Send a text Trailer for "The Ballad of Dena & Andrea" A podcast featuring murder ballads and conversation in reaction to the story of two women who killed their children in the early 2000s. Hosted and created by Becky Poole Songs written and sung by Becky Poole Musical Saw by Becky Poole Song and Theme Instrumentation, Production, and Mix by Abby Posner Mastered by Dave Locke Podcast...