Filed and Forgotten - The Untested Podcast on Rape Kit Backlogs

Dakota Spotlight: True Crime & Cold Case Investigations

James Wolner

True Crime, Documentary, Society & Culture

4.8 • 900 Ratings

🗓️ 12 March 2026

⏱️ 48 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

James sits down with investigative journalist Gina Barton, host and creator of the USA Today true crime podcast Untested, to talk about a case that illustrates the real-world consequences of untested rape kits. In this episode of Untested, Detective Annie Harrison learns that a man she is investigating for rape in Michigan has also been accused hundreds of miles away. The evidence existed. The reports were filed. But delays and gaps in the system allowed years to pass before patterns came into focus. This conversation looks at how evidence can sit on shelves, how survivors are left waiting, and how one detective refused to let the case go quiet. Listen to Untested wherever you get podcasts. To read the companion piece and the full investigation, in addition to listening to the podcast: https://usatoday.com/rapekit Check out the full catalog and everything Dakota Spotlight: https://dakotaspotlight.com/ Get all episodes early, ad-free, and more. Subscribe to Spotlight PLUS: https://dakotaspotlight.com/spotlight-plus/ Sign up for the Dakota Spotlight newsletter: https://dakotaspotlight.com/newsletter/ Email: dakotaspotlight@gmail.com Facebook: https://facebook.com/groups/dakotaspotlight YouTube: https://youtube.com/@dakotaspotlightpodcast4800 X/Twitter: https://x.com/DakotaSpotlight Instagram: https://instagram.com/dakotaspotlight TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@dakotaspotlight Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/dakotaspotlight.bsky.social Proudly produced by Six Horse Media: info@sixhorsemedia.com Advertise your podcast or brand in Dakota Spotlight episodes: info@sixhorsemedia.com All content in this podcast, including audio, interviews, and soundscapes, is the property of Six Horse Media. Any unauthorized use, reproduction, or rebroadcast of this material without the express written consent of Six Horse Media is strictly prohibited. For permissions or inquiries, please contact info@sixhorsemedia.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Okay, James, how many seasons of Dakota Spotlight are there now?
0:05.1	Two?
0:05.8	More than that.
0:07.2	Three?
0:08.1	Five?
0:09.1	Four.
0:10.0	Seven.
0:10.9	Ten.
0:11.3	Keep going.
0:12.6	Eleven.
0:13.3	More.
0:14.3	Twelve full seasons.
0:15.5	Yep.
0:16.0	Ready to binge in my podcast app now.
0:17.8	Yep.
0:18.2	All of them.
0:18.6	Or at DakotaSpotlight.com.
0:31.7	You're listening to Dakota Spotlight.
0:32.9	My name is James Walner.
0:36.7	Welcome back to the show where we are once again between seasons. Across the United States,
0:39.7	thousands of rape kits have sat untested for years. They are boxes of evidence gathered during
0:45.8	traumatic medical exams, shelved, forgotten, and untested. Gina Barton is an investigative reporter
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from James Wolner, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of James Wolner and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.