Secrets From the Crime Lab

A podcast for practitioners, professionals, and enthusiasts of forensic science, applied science, and science related topics: exploring the truth of true crime. Learn about the real forensic science behind the cases, how it actually works behind the closed doors of the crime lab, and what happens when it fails or is misunderstood. Hosted by a scientist with over twenty years of laboratory experience, this podcast discusses the challenges and nuances of the forensic fields from her own experiences and with forensic and subject matter experts.

Episodes

16 episodes

A Glimpse into Advanced Investigations: Exploring the Role of Private Investigators with William Losefsky

In this episode of 'Secrets from the Crime Lab,' host Angela Swarts returns after a brief hiatus to delve into an enlightening conversation with William Losefsky of Investigative Concepts. With a background in law enforcement and extensive expe...

February 18, 2025 • Season 3 • Episode 1 • 1:16:24

PART II - Case Solved? Unraveling a DNA thread in the Zodiac killer enigma. Featuring Forensic Scientist George Schiro

Part II of George Schiro’s story about his involvement in unraveling the identity of the notorious Zodiac Killer. What did he find in his examination of the alleged DNA profile of the Zodiac and Gary Stewart? Is Gary Stewart the biologic...

October 04, 2023 • Season 2 • Episode 5 • 35:22

Case Solved? Unraveling a DNA thread in the Zodiac killer enigma. Featuring Forensic Scientist George Schiro.

The Zodiac case remains one of the most notorious unsolved murder mysteries in American history, and it continues to capture public interest and speculation. The self-proclaimed Zodiac killer was a serial killer who operated in Northern Califor...

June 27, 2023 • Season 2 • Episode 5 • 38:27

S2E3: Space Forensics! Bloodstain Pattern Analysis in Microgravity with Detective Zack Kowalske

On this episode I spoke with Det. Zack Kowalske, an expert in bloodstain pattern analysis, crime scene reconstruction, and a pioneer in Space Forensics! We discussed BPA (bloodstain pattern analysis), some concerns in the field (error rates), a...

March 09, 2023 • Season 2 • Episode 3 • 50:42

S2EP2: Joining the Dark Side.The Role of the Forensic Science Defence Expert. Dr. David Schudel

"The role of a forensic science defence expert is often referred to by those working for the police/state/government forensic labs as being on the "dark side."In Joining the Dark Side, author David Schudel outlines the evolution...

January 05, 2023 • Season 2 • Episode 2 • 1:06:17

S2Ep1 - Cognitive bias in forensic pathology decisions with Dr. Itiel Dror

In this episode I spoke with Dr. Itiel Dror, a cognitive neuroscientist known in the forensic realm for his contributions to revealing the unconscious implicit biases in forensic decisions and providing tools to minimize them. He recently publi...

November 08, 2022 • Season 2 • Episode 1 • 1:30:00

Ep. 9 (Season 1 Bonus) Massively Parallel Sequencing - Tools for forensic laboratories learning to handle terabytes of genetic data, how it improves investigations, and a free workshop.

Massively Parallel Sequencing has revolutionized laboratories' ability to harness more and more information from our genetics. This has led to massive improvements in medical diagnostics, public health (think SARs-CoV-2 variant identification),...

July 27, 2022 • Season 1 • Episode 9 • 50:33

Ep. 8 Identical Twins, drugs, smoking, and crime. Applied Epigenetics with Dr. Athina Vidaki, Erasmus MC, Netherlands

Epigenetics: The clothes of your DNA. While the DNA sequence contains the instructions, your epigenome controls which part of the instructions are read and used. But how do we use this in forensic science? Learn more about biomarkers linked to ...

April 21, 2022 • Season 1 • Episode 8 • 51:04

Episode 7: Ethics as Lived Practice. Anticipatory Capacity and Ethical Decision-Making in Forensic Genetics with Dr. Matthias Wienroth and Dr. Carole McCartney, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne

New Technology is great...but let's use it to catch the right person. In this episode I spoke with Professors Dr. Matthias Wienroth and Dr. Carol McCartney, two of the authors of "Ethics as Lived Practice. Anticipatory Capacity and Ethical Deci...

April 09, 2022 • Season 1 • Episode 7 • 1:03:12

Ep. 6 Science SNiP: Forensic DNA Phenotyping, Predicting Human Appearance

DNA as the "Biological Witness". Forensic DNA Phenotyping predicts the externally visible characteristics - i.e. what a person may look like - from their biological material. It has applications in criminal investigations when other leads...

March 28, 2022 • Season 1 • Episode 6 • 27:51

Ep. 5 Consent, DNA databases, and misuse of a San Francisco rape victim's DNA.

This week's discussion is all about consent and ethical use of genetic information, including DNA databases. I define and discuss what is meant by consent and informed consent and how it's related to the treatment of Henrietta Lacks and how her...

March 17, 2022 • Season 1 • Episode 5 • 43:29

Ep. 4 Document Authentication, handwriting analysis, mailbox bombings, and snipers. Forensic Document Examination with Meredith Dekalb Miller.

This episode is the first in a series (non-sequential) providing overviews of different fields of forensic science.Meredith Dekalb Miller is an FBI trained expert in Forensic Document Examination with almost twenty years experience in b...

March 08, 2022 • Season 1 • Episode 4 • 43:05

Ep. 3 The English Chemist: Cell site analysis, drugs, weird fingerprints, and egg fraud. With forensic science expert Dr. David Schudel (Full episode)

Following on from episode 2...this time our discussion focuses on the experiences of David Schudel, PhD as an expert in the UK. He is an expert in Forensic Chemistry, Fire Analysis, and Cell site analysis (to name a few) and over the years has ...

March 01, 2022 • Season 1 • Episode 3 • 57:30