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In this episode I am joined by Dr. Matthew Go, Nandar Yukyi, and Elaine Chu to discuss their article "On WEIRD Anthropologists and Their White Skeletons" from Volume 4, Number 4.

In this episode I am joined by Marin Pilloud, SaMoura Horsley, Chaunesey Clemmons, and Casey Philbin to discuss their article "Terminology Used to Describe Human Variation in Forensic Anthropology" from Vol. 4. No. 4. also co-authored by: Cassie Skipper, Alba Craig, Krista Latham, Katie Zejdlik, and Deborah Boehm.

In this episode I am joined by Kamar Afra to discuss her paper, "Self-Reported Ancestry and Craniofacial SNPs: Assessing Correspondence with Implications for Forensic Case Analysis and Reporting" from Vol. 4. No. 4.  co-authored by Drs. Michelle Hamilton and Bridget Algee-Hewitt. This episode is dedicated in memory of Dr. Steve Ousley. You are missed as a mentor and a friend. 

In this episode I am joined by Dr. Kate Spradley to discuss her paper co-authored by Dr. Richard Jantz, "What Are We Really Estimating in Forensic Anthropological Practice, Population Affinity or Ancestry?" from Vol. 4, No. 4.   Click here to access data used in this study You can follow Operation Identification through Facebook or through Instagram using #operationidentification

In this episode I am joined by Drs. Heather Edgar and Steve Ousley to discuss their paper, "Testing the Homogeneity of 'White': Dental Morphology in Americans and Australians of European Descent" from Vol. 4, No. 4.  In this episode, we explore the importance of testing our assumptions and long-held beliefs. To find out more about Dr. Edgar's work check out the Bridge Lab.  Also, please check out  the New Mexico Decedent Image Database and the Orthodontics Case File System.  You can follow Dr. Ousley at statsmachine.net

In this episode I am joined by longtime colleague and friend, Dr. Alexandra Klales, to discuss her paper, "Current State of Sex Estimation in Forensic Anthropology" from Vol. 4 No. 2.  Dr. Klales and I do a deep dive into an aspect of the biological profile that receives little attention, and, importantly, how we should all be embracing uncertainty. You can access the MorphoPASSE program at www.morphopasse.com and follow Dr. Klales through the Washburn University Forensic Anthropology Recovery Unit or her personal website.

In this episode, Dr. Doug Ubelaker of the Smithsonian Institution, Department of Anthropology discusses The Historical Development of Forensic Anthropology from Volume 3, Number 3.

In this episode of the Forensic Anthropology Companion Podcast, I am joined by Rachel Simpson and Dr. Hugh McKenzie to discuss their paper Ancestry Variation in the Accuracy of Rogers's Sex Estimation Method from Volume 3, Number 3.

Today I am joined by return guest, Dr. Chris Maier, to discuss his paper, Evaluating Mixed-Methods Models for the Estimation of Ancestry from Skeletal Remains, from Volume 2, Issue No. 1.  We do a deep dive on statistics focusing on the different ways you can evaluate model performance and what each of these different metrics tells you.

In this episode I am joined by Micayla Spiros to discuss her paper, Standardization of Postcranial Nonmetric Traits and Their Utility in Ancestry Analysis from Volume 2. No. 1.  We discuss the concept of ancestry and the trials and tribulations of method standardization. 

In this episode, I interview Cortney Hulse and Dr. Kyra Stull from the University of Nevada, Reno about their paper "Rib Fracture Frequency and Location Using Vehicular Crash Data". Click on the acronym to learn more about the Crash Injury Research and Engineering Network (CIREN).

In this episode, I am joined by long-time friend and collaborator Dr. Greg Berg to chat with Dr. Richard Jantz about his paper "Amelia Earhart and the Nikumaroro Bones: A 1941 Analysis versus Modern Quantitative Techniques" from Vol 1. No. 2.  We take a deep dive into the Amelia Earhart story covering the span between her disappearance in 1937 through Dr. Jantz's initial presentation of the Nikumaroro Bones hypothesis in 1998, a published rebuttal of the hypothesis in 2015, formal development and presentation of the hypothesis in 2018, and moving toward the determination of a positive identification.  A warning, though, this one will be a little bit statistics heavy; however, I feel that it is necessary to have a good foundational understanding of the procedures that Dr. Jantz used and how he used them to be able to critically examine his findings. As you’ll soon find, it is important to provide some, or any, measure of certainty to support your claims. To find out more information about TIGHAR at https://tighar.org/ Dr. Richard Jantz is Director Emeritus of Forensic Anthropology Center, Professor Emeritus Dr. Jantz conducts research in the areas of human variation, skeletal biology and forensic anthropology. He is primarily concerned with developing computerized data bases in these areas which can be used to address a variety of research questions.

In this episode, I sit down with Drs G. Richard Scott and Marin Pilloud to talk about their article and resulting application: "rASUDAS: A New Web-Based Application for Estimating Ancestry from Tooth Morphology", which was co-authored and developed with David Navega, João d'Oliveira Coelho, Eugénia Cunha,  and Joel D. Irish. If you would like to use the rASUDAS application, you can access it at https://www.osteomics.com.   We would love to hear from you! If you have any suggestions for any special episodes or would like to get involved and interview researchers in the field, reach out to us @JForensicAnth

In this episode, I am joined by Dr. Diana Messer of Western Carolina University as cohost for a deep dive into establishing a methodological framework to study trauma with Dr. Angi Christensen paper, "Forensic Fractography of Bone: A New Approach to Skeletal Trauma Analysis" co-authored by Joseph T. Hefner, Michael A. Smith, Jodi Blakely Webb, Maureen C. Bottrell, and Todd W. Fenton.  Dr. Christensen is a Forensic Anthropologist with the FBI Laboratory, as well as an associate editor for this very journal.  Many thanks to Dr. Diana Messer for co-hosting this episode. You can follow her updates at https://www.dianamesser.com  This episode is dedicated to Dr. Steven A. Symes.  We hope you're doing well <3

In this episode, we take a deep dive into ancestry estimation with Dr. Bridget Algee-Hewitt discussing the paper “Temporal, Geographic and Identification Trends in Craniometric Estimates of Ancestry for Persons of Latin American Origin” she co-authored with Drs. Cris Hughes and Bruce Anderson.  Dr. Algee-Hewitt is a Senior Research Scientist at Stanford University’s Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity and also a Quantitative Researcher with Facebook’s SBG Data Science Research and Development Team.  

In this inaugural episode of the Forensic Anthropology Companion Podcast,  I  first have a chat with two of the editor's of Forensic Anthropology, Drs. Joseph Hefner and Nicholas Passalacqua, about the history of the journal and its future directions.  Next, I interviewed Autumn Lennartz to discuss her paper "Moisture Content in Decomposing, Desiccated, and Mummified Human Tissue", followed by Dr. Chris Maier and Rebecca George to talk about their paper "Examining Differences in Presumed Migrants from Texas and Arizona Using Cranial and Dental Data", and lastly, I was able to chat with Ariane Maggio about her paper "A Simplified Protocol for the Histological Preparation of Cortical Bone Samples for Light Microscopy: A Revision of Garcia-Donas et al. (2017)". For more information about the journal Forensic Anthropology, please check out: http://journals.upress.ufl.edu/fa/index For more information about Operation ID, please head to: https://www.txstate.edu/anthropology/facts/outreach/opid.html Please follow us on Twitter and Instagram @JForensicAnth and let us know what you would like to hear.