Inside the Talina Zar Investigation

Dakota Spotlight: True Crime & Cold Case Investigations

James Wolner

Documentary, Society & Culture, True Crime

4.8 • 900 Ratings

🗓️ 19 March 2026

⏱️ 47 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Journalist Melissa Jeltsen joins me to discuss the investigation behind her podcast What Happened to Talina Zar. In April 2020, a woman posted a troubling message on Facebook about COVID-19 and then vanished. What followed was an unusual search involving online sleuths, hidden identities, and a mystery that captured national attention. Listen to What Happened to Talina Zar wherever you get podcasts and https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-what-happened-to-talina-z-310583841/ Learn more about Melissa Jeltsen’s work: https://melissajeltsen.com/ 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

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0:33.5	The weight is over. Last One Laughing is back and it's even more brutal than last time. Share your biggest regrets. I don't regret this haircut. What did you ask for? The Shaggy Slim Shady? Joining us this series we have... Romish Wengrenner Nathan, Diane Morgan, David Mitchell, Mel Gedroich, Amy Gledhill, Alan Carr, Bemi Soler, Ike Mellon, Sam Campbell, Maisie Adam, and Bob Mortimer.
0:54.8	Anyone want a song?
0:56.6	No.
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1:05.1	Okay, James. How many seasons of Dakota Spotlight are there now? Two? More than that.
1:10.7	Three? Five. Or? Two? More than that. Three, five, four, seven, ten,
1:14.8	keep going. Eleven, more. Twelve full seasons. Yep. Ready to binge in my podcast app now. Yep, all of them.
1:22.2	Or at Dakota Spotlight.com. You're listening to Dakota Spotlight. My name is James Walner. Welcome to dot com.
1:29.4	You're listening to Dakota Spotlight.
1:31.0	My name is James Walner.
1:32.2	Welcome back to the show.
1:47.0	Folks, I'm getting very excited about the next season of Dakota Sparlight, and I hope to announce the subject of the story and tell you more about it soon.
1:51.0	It's safe to say I'm fully obsessed with this story at this point.
1:55.9	But in the meantime, while we wait, today I have a real treat for you.
2:00.1	First, a short conversation I had with
2:02.3	investigative journalist Melissa Jeltson, host and creator of the podcast, What Happened to. After that,
	...

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