Just Science Podcast

In this special release episode, Just Science sat down with Stacy Sechrist, community violence researcher at RTI International, Jesse Brey, criminal justice researcher and PhD student at Temple University, and Harrod Emmanuel Clay Jr., pastor and community-based advocate, to discuss findings from RTI’s Victim and Witness Participation research project, which is supported by the philanthropy Arnold Ventures.

For individuals who have experienced or witnessed severe community violence, there is often hesitation to report the crime, participate in law enforcement interviews, or engage in court proceedings. To better understand these barriers, community violence researchers at RTI International and Temple University conducted interviews with individuals who had recently experienced incidents of severe community violence, and found that fear of retaliation, concerns about social consequences, and poor communication from law enforcement are among the most significant obstacles to victim and witness engagement in the criminal legal system. Listen along as Stacy, Jesse, and Pastor Clay describe the importance of giving victims and witnesses a voice after violent crime, common themes found across the research interviews, and important considerations for improving the legal system’s response to victim and witness participation.

This episode is funded by RTI International’s Justice Practice Area.

Some content in this podcast may be considered sensitive and may evoke emotional responses or may not be appropriate for younger audiences.   

Listen to all podcast episodes here: Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Soundcloud, Spotify, & YouTube Podcasts!

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month; a national campaign which aims to support sexual assault survivors while also highlighting innovations in sexual assault response and prevention. In honor of Sexual Assault Awareness month, Just Science host and forensic scientist, Mikalaa Martin, sat down with several subject matter experts to discuss innovative methods for sexual assault evidence processing and workflows.

This episode is funded by the National Institute of Justice’s Forensic Technology Center of Excellence (Award No. 15PNIJ-21-GK-02192-MUMU).

Some content in this podcast may be considered sensitive and may evoke emotional responses or may not be appropriate for younger audiences.   

Listen to all podcast episodes here: Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Soundcloud, Spotify, & YouTube Podcasts!

In this special release episode, Just Science sat down with Chuck Heurich, Senior Physical Scientist with the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), and Dr. Jennifer Snippen, experienced medicolegal death investigator and consultant, to discuss recent updates to NIJ’s Guide for the Death Scene Investigator.

Twenty-five years ago, NIJ released a guide to help medicolegal death investigators navigate complex scenes and cases; a document that has since evolved with the development of best practices and technological advancements. In 2024, a new version was released after a multi-disciplinary group of experts collaborated to make four major changes, including updates to documentation for death notifications to the office, procedures for child death investigations, partnering with law enforcement, and more. Listen along as Chuck and Dr. Snippen describe why the Death Investigation Guide was developed, how the newest updates came to be, and implications for day-to-day operations for medicolegal death investigators.

This episode is funded by the National Institute of Justice’s Forensic Technology Center of Excellence (Award No. 15PNIJ-21-GK-02192-MUMU).

Some content in this podcast may be considered sensitive and may evoke emotional responses or may not be appropriate for younger audiences.   

Listen to all podcast episodes here: Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Soundcloud, Spotify, & YouTube Podcasts!