The Silver Linings Handbook

From Juárez to the Indigenous reservations of Montana, Irish artist Brian Macguire has used his paintings to build his awareness and as his form of protest against the marginalization of certain people. Macguire, who grew up during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, knows the suffering of the disappeared all too well.

To see Brian's work:

https://www.kerlingallery.com/artists/brian-maguire

To find out more about Brian's "...

As the Emilee Weaver case faded from the headlines, Clara S. Lewis uncovered truths every woman—and every partner—should know. Muskingum University student Emile Weaver gave birth in the bathroom at her sorority house at the Ohio school. She was convicted of aggravated murder and sentenced to life without parole after her baby was found dead. Did we get it wrong? Clara S. Lewis, a Dartmouth College professor who wrote the ...

Lane Igoodin, a writer, activist and professor, joins me to discuss the challenges of adopting his children from foster care, the challenges of navigating intersectionality in this world, the balancing act between the rights of parents and what's best for children and love under pressure as you fight to keep your family together.

Contact me at silverliningshandbookpod@gmail.com

Check out the Silver Linings Handbook website a...

Kristin Louise Duncombe grew up traveling the world as the daughter of a U.S. State Department foreign service officer. But Kristin’s childhood and those of at least six other girls were shattered when they crossed paths with an American diplomat in Africa who sexually abused them. After one of the girls came forward with her story, the State Department swiftly sent him back to Washington, but officials declined to refer t...

After Dawn Michelle Holt went missing in Waldorf, Maryland in 1996, it took two decades before clues began to emerge about what might have happened to her on the night where she disappeared on the way to seeing her son and daughter. In Part 2, Dawn's daughter, Samm, and her sister, Sherri Shelton, join me again, along with Raul Montero, an advocate who has helped the family collaborate with law enforcement and get attentio...

In April 1996, Dawn Michelle Holt returned to Southern Maryland after spending a few weeks with her sister in Florida. She called her husband from a hotel in Waldorf, Maryland, to let her husband know that she was coming to see her 2-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter. She has not been seen since. The nearly 3-decade investigation has offered many sorted clues, but one question remains: What happened to Dawn Holt? I am j...

Claire St. Amant rose to the top of the true crime journalism world as a producer for 48 Hours, contributor to 60 Minutes, covering some of the biggest cases and bringing to life the story of Samuel Little, America's perhaps least known and most prolific serial killer. Claire's work trying to break through the typical true crime model, however, left her jaded and she joins me to discuss this, her crusade for change and her...

When Dione Thomas died in a Gallup, New Mexico hotel room, it was ruled a homicide. Deep into the investigation, the family discovered it had been reclassified as an undetermined death. Similar to the family of Ellen Greenberg in Pennsylvania, her family is pushing for an independent forensic pathologist to review the case and for the death to be once again classified as a homicide. But, unlike the Greenberg case, the fami...

In many ways, the death of Dione Thomas is the Indigenous Ellen Greenberg case. Christine Means and Karen Watson have spent years questioning the circumstances surrounding their sister Dione's death. At first, the police in Gallup, New Mexico, said it was a murder and they had a suspect. Years later, the family found out that the medical examiner classified what appeared to be a brutal beating as "undetermined." Karen and ...

I continue the second and final part of my interview with journalist Billy Jensen. Jensen & Holes: The Murder Squad was one of the top true crime podcasts before it was rocked by a scandal. In this episode, we dive into the scandal but also talk about crime, victims, addiction and recovery, the struggles of journalism and our concerns about men's mental health.

Investigative journalist Billy Jensen and investigator Paul...

I want to share some listener updates for the summer - living my life, some work we are doing related to some cases and just some cool things I love about and will be doing with our listeners.

Contact me at silverliningshandbookpod@gmail.com

Check out the Silver Linings Handbook website at:

https://silverliningshandbook.com/

Check out our Patreon to support the show at:

https://www.patreon.com/thesilverliningshandbook

Join our F...

Jensen & Holes: The Murder Squad was one of the top true crime podcasts. Investigative journalist Billy Jensen and investigator Paul Holes, both known for work related to the Golden State Killer case, co-hosted the podcast that topped the charts since 2019. At the 2022 CrimeCon convention for true crime enthusiasts in Las Vegas, Jensen was a headline speaker on a panel on the Long Island Serial Killer case, held a book...

I continue my conversation with tribal Judge Victorio Shaw. Humbolt County, on the northern California coast, is known as the place where the name Bigfoot originated and is the home of Murder Mountain, which took its name from serial killers who fled here. The 2018 documentary by the same name explores how Humbolt is the county in the United States with the highest rate of missing persons. But it does not touch on how many...

Humbolt County, on the northern California coast, is known as the place where the name Bigfoot originated and is the home of Murder Mountain, which took its name from serial killers who fled here. The 2018 documentary by the same name explores how Humbolt is the county in the United States with the highest rate of missing persons. But it does not touch on how many of those people are Indigenous. North of Murder Mountain li...

This is a re-release of a September 26, 2023, episode.

In this episode, Jayson, Dani Brillhart and Colton Jones, of the band NI/Co, discuss what it's like to break into the music industry while remaining authentic, sending a message of love from music while nurturing their own love and managing racism as an interracial couple in the public eye. We also get to listen to their powerful music.

See Privacy Policy at https://art1...

Rebecca Harbowy went to get help at a British Columbia hospital with people who loved her. Hours later, she disappeared in a mystery that is still unsolved. In the second part of my conversation with Rebecca's mom, Debbie, we talk about her search for Rebecca and her hope to improve the systems that failed her.

Listen to part one with Debbie:

https://silverliningshandbook.com/2025/05/02/142-the-disappearance-of-rebecca-harbo...

The day of November 23, 2023, was a difficult one for 36-year-old Rebecca Harbowy. She had just committed to getting clean from an opioid addiction and was staying with her parents at their home in Maple Ridge, British Columbia. When she found herself markedly disoriented, Rebecca asked if her mom could take her to the hospital. Several hours later, despite assurances Rebecca would not be released because of the condition ...

I continue my conversation with Donna Hall, who grew up in Philadelphia crime family. We continue to discuss her family, the cases they were involved in and how starting her podcast to tell their story has given her a voice and begun the process of her healing.

To check out The Hall Closet podcast:

https://thehallclosetpodcast.com/

Contact me at silverliningshandbookpod@gmail.com

Check out the Silver Linings Handbook website a...

Donna Jean Hall grew up in a Philadelphia-area crime family. It was not like being Meadow or A.J. from the Sopranos, but there were some parallels. She did not even realize that the crimes and abuse in her family were out of the normal until one day when her best friends’ family barred them from seeing each other. Along the way, Donna’s stepfather would be exposed as a Philadelphia police informant who led to several wrong...