Secrets We Keep

• Introducing Should I Spit?

  DNA is the blueprint for life. While police call it the ‘gold standard’ for forensic identification, transnational corporations see dollar signs. Investigative journalist Claire Aird brings the untold story of how your DNA data can land you in a murder investigation, and how this same data is amassed for power and profit. Should I Spit? is the origin story of the multibillion dollar consumer DNA industry. From police hoping to solve cold murder cases, to one of the most powerful churches in the world, everyone seems to want a piece of what makes you, you. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  --------  

  4:07
• Should I Spit? - Episode 3 - Eternal Families

  In this episode of Should I spit?, Claire discovers how the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is inextricably linked with the history of genetics and genealogy, through the church’s doctrines and rituals. Michael is shocked to learn that he was identified through a blood sample his father donated at his local church. Michael’s DNA doesn’t match and is cleared by police, however, he is shaken and wants answers. He can’t understand how the police linked him and his family to Angie’s murder. Michael is approached by a journalist who discovers the Idaho Falls Police had quietly been using a new forensic identification technique called Familial Searching. Using this method, police found Michael based on DNA information stored in a publicly-available genealogy database owned by Ancestry.com. Lifeline 13 11 14 Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  --------  

  45:17
• Should I Spit? - Episode 2 - The Warrant

  Claire travels to Salt Lake City to meet Michael Usry, a Mississippi man who was implicated in the brutal murder of Idaho Falls teen Angie Dodge years earlier. The police suspect Michael because his name, appearance and age match the confession of a man in jail, believed to be his accomplice. Michael is also a horror filmmaker whose dark film features similarities to Angie’s murder. In episode two of Should I Spit?, The police interrogate Michael and force him to give his DNA under a court order. The police tell Michael they also have DNA evidence which links him to the crime. Lifeline 13 11 14 Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  --------  

  34:11
• Should I Spit? - Episode 1 - The Beacon

  While working on a cybersecurity podcast, journalist Claire Aird reads a startling statistic: Ninety per cent of people with European ancestry in the US are identifiable because of DNA data their relatives have uploaded to a family history database. Claire’s curiosity soon becomes an investigation into how our DNA is being used for power and profit. In this episode of Should I Spit?, Claire finds out that the DNA data on genealogy sites is never fully anonymous, so she starts to interrogate how police really use these sites to hunt for criminals, overseas and in Australia. Lifeline 13 11 14 Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  --------  

  36:42
• Pray Harder - Bonus - An update

  Richard gives an update on Todd Hubers plea hearing and shares two more important stories from women who grew up in the Revival Church movement. Do you know more? Get in touch [email protected] Lifeline 13 11 14; 1800 Respect 1800 737 732 Looking for what to listen to next? Try Crime In Focus: Killer Charm, the story of how a grandmother from suburban Queensland orchestrated the murder of her ex-partner. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  --------  

  34:12

More Society & Culture podcasts

Trending Society & Culture podcasts

About Secrets We Keep

Secrets We Keep: Podcasts in Family