Listen Now

This week's topic is a combination of Shelley's major in forensics and current field of work in microbiology: anthrax. There's even a brief true-crimey rundown of the anthrax attacks in 2001! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/forensic-friends/message

This week, Shelley briefly discusses the evaluation process and how clinicians might provide a psychological diagnosis. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/forensic-friends/message

Continuing with the history of clinical psychology, Shelley discusses the various approaches to understanding mental illness. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/forensic-friends/message

A newly COVID-vaccinated Shelley goes over the basics of human immunity to disease and the basis of vaccinations.  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/forensic-friends/message

Let's get into some psychology! This episode dives into what constitutes "abnormal behaviour patterns", why it's considered abnormal in the realm of psychology, and where psychological disorders really came from. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/forensic-friends/message

Forensic Friends is back to finish up the Hit and Run 'miniseries'! Shelley goes over vehicle-specific evidence like headlights and airbags, and what information might come from them in the investigation of a collision. There's also a bit at the end talking about what's changed in the podcast and why, if you're into that kinda thing. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/forensic-friends/message

This week, Shelley gives a brief rundown on what she actually does as a medical lab technician who's now doing COVID testing. Check out episode 27 about the theory behind PCR viral testing!  There's also an important announcement about the podcast. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/forensic-friends/message

This week, Shelley and Natalie dive into the very riveting world of...paint. Paint position, paint layers, paint chips, and how that can help find the culprit in a hit and run. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/forensic-friends/message

What are some things a psychology practitioner might look for when evaluating someone for a criminal proceeding? Natalie goes over a guideline for forensic mental health evaluations, while Shelley shares a cautionary tale about giving people too much benefit of the doubt. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/forensic-friends/message

Shelley and Natalie take a look at the role something as mundane as glass can play in forensic investigations, especially in hit and run crimes. Who thinks this deeply about glass?  Forensic scientists, apparently. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/forensic-friends/message

In this (post) Halloween Special, Shelley and Natalie talk about the (pseudo)science of ghosts and ghost hunting. They also call out Shelley's ghost husband for messing with the recording. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/forensic-friends/message

This week, Natalie wraps up the insanity defences with arguably the worst one yet; the Durham Rule. She and Shelley also discuss why the insanity defence isn't used very often, and also the dangers of mugwort. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/forensic-friends/message

What makes a claim pseudoscientific as opposed to scientific? Shelley discusses the six hallmarks of pesudoscience, and the problem with modern pseudoscience being closer to real science than it ever has been. She and Natalie also talk about their favourite ghost hunting moments, which is both relevant to the topic and to the season! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/forensic-friends/message

This week, we continue with the Insanity Defence mini-series and Natalie describes an insanity defence that fell out of favour in America: the Substantial Capacity Test. Shelley and Natalie also try to determine if a certain orange tyrant might actually get off with an insanity defence. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/forensic-friends/message

Shelley goes over the principles and precedent-setting cases that form the rules of evidence, AKA what type of evidence and expert witness testimony is allowed in court. She and Natalie also discuss the differences that seem to exist between Canadian and American legal culture. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/forensic-friends/message

This week, Shelley seeks out a koalogist (?) to confirm if koalas actually only eat eucalyptus while Natalie tells her about another possible "insanity defense"; the Irresistible Impulse Rule. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/forensic-friends/message

Call this self-serving, but Shelley decides to take this opportunity to shed more light about what happens to the samples sent in for medical testing. She teaches Natalie a little bit about the basics of microbiology and gives a rundown of a typical day in a medical microbiology lab, and how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the lab. Patients might not always interact directly with lab professionals, but that doesn't mean they're not an important part of the healthcare team. It's also time that other healthcare professionals understand that. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/forensic-friends/message

We talk about altered states of consciousness this week...kind of. Natalie tells a very loopy Shelley about one of the rules used in the courts to determine if the "insanity defense" applies to an accused.  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/forensic-friends/message

Shelley combines her BSc. in Forensics with her current work in microbiology and tells Natalie about how viral infections like herpes and COVID-19 can be detected using PCR, a technique that is also used in forensic science for DNA profiling. Check out episode 4 for more information about DNA analysis in forensics! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/forensic-friends/message

This week, Natalie tells Shelley about the actually ancient practice of face reading, or "physiognomy" which no one seems to know how to pronounce. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/forensic-friends/message