Forensic Science

Science Vs

Spotify Studios

Education, Science, Health & Fitness

4.4 • 12.4K Ratings

🗓️ 7 October 2016

⏱️ 36 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

There are a slew of scientific techniques that forensic experts use to solve crimes. But how reliable are they? We’re putting forensic evidence under the microscope. To help us crack the case, we talk to Assoc. Prof. Sibyl Bucheli, attorney Chris Fabricant, former crime lab director Barry Fisher, Dr. Itiel Dror, and Assoc. Prof. Patrick Buzzini. Our Sponsors Hello Fresh – To get $35 off your first week of deliveries visit hellofresh.com and enter promo code “ScienceVS”. Frank & Oak – Go to frankandoak.com/science to get your first outfit for $79 (a pair of pants and a shirt). Wealthsimple – Investing made easy. Get your first $10,000 managed for free. Credits This episode has been produced by Wendy Zukerman, Shruti Ravindran, Diane Wu, Austin Mitchell and Heather Rogers. Our senior producer is Kaitlyn Sawrey. Edited by Annie-Rose Strasser and Caitlin Kenney. Fact checking by Michelle Harris. Sound design and music production by Matthew Boll, mixed by Martin Peralta and Bobby Lord. Music written by Bobby Lord. Selected References 2009 National Academy of Sciences and 2016 President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology reports on forensic science Overview of forensic entomology Amendt et al, “Forensic entomology,” Naturwissenschaften, 2004 Study modeling precision of dating time of death from flies Faris et al, “Forensic Entomology: Evaluating Uncertainty Associated With Postmortem Interval (PMI) Estimates With Ecological Models,” Journal of Medical Entomology 2016. Review paper on bite mark analysis Clement et al, “Is current bite mark analysis a misnomer?” Department of Justice review of Brandon Mayfield case Context can change how fingerprints are read Dror et al, “Contextual information renders experts vulnerable to making erroneous identifications,” Forensic Science International, 2006. Hair microscopy can lead to incorrect matches Houck et al, “Correlation of microscopic and mitochondrial DNA hair comparisons,” Journal of Forensic Science, 2002. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, I'm Wendy Zuckerman and you're listening to Gimlett Media's Science Versus.
0:06.9	This is the show where we pit facts against fugitives.
0:11.2	On today's show, Forensic Science.
0:14.2	How much can you trust the science being presented in courtrooms?
0:22.2	Forensic Science uses scientific methods to investigate crime and prosecute people.
0:28.4	We've all watched the telly.
0:29.7	We know how this works.
0:31.7	Hunches ran the formal and fixed tissue sample from Jane Doe 99 through GCMS.
0:36.5	There's no traces of XC, but he did find chlorohydrate.
0:40.6	And if you need Icededa translate for you?
0:42.9	I hope you like hot wings.
0:45.1	We're next playing the buffalo.
0:48.1	Forensic Science has been used by law enforcement to catch and prosecute people for decades.
0:53.8	Experts have gone into court testifying that they can match a strand of hair or a set
0:57.7	of fingerprints to a suspect, and that testimony has been used to lock up countless bad guys.
1:05.0	But what if they're not all bad guys?
1:09.0	Recently, big questions have been raised about the credentials of Forensic Science.
1:15.8	Questions like, is Forensic Science even a science?
1:23.4	Sick burn, huh?
1:25.4	Over the last few decades, the United States has freed more than 100 people whose convictions
1:30.5	were partly based on Forensic Science evidence.
1:34.1	And that's part of the reason why two of the most trusted science groups in the United
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